Provincial health officials says uncertainty about new variants BA.2
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 02 Mar, 2022 11:05 AM
British Columbia's provincial health officer says there are still some uncertainties about new variants, including B-A-point-2, with some cases present in B-C.
Doctor Bonnie Henry says the province is prepared for a potential uptick in COVID-19 cases during the next respiratory season.
She says the province will integrate wastewater surveillance testing into its regular surveillance of respiratory illness including influenza, and also include other pathogens to get a periodic snapshot of what else may be circulating in communities.
Henry says a decline in hospitalizations, immunity from vaccination and the availability of at-home rapid tests point the way forward to normal activities like high school graduations, which young people need to feel connected to others.
Only days before Canadian truck drivers were required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to get into the country or face quarantine, the federal government is backing away from the vaccine mandate. The new rule will still take effect for American truckers starting this weekend, with drivers being turned away at the border unless they've been inoculated.
Canada is joining forces with Mexico to challenge how the United States is interpreting the new rules that govern duty-free cars and trucks. Mexico last week asked for a dispute resolution panel to challenge the stringent U.S. interpretation of the auto rules of origin enshrined in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
A new report suggests Canada is not doing enough to adapt to and prevent the effects of climate change and is lacking the critical data it needs to do so.
Two schools have stopped in-person classes in British Columbia, less than two days after most students returned to classrooms following an extended holiday break due to the surging COVID-19 Omicron variant. The Education Ministry says schools in Hazelton and Surrey recently made the decision.
Given the continued need for public safety measures under the Emergency Program Act and ongoing work to repair damaged highways, the provincial state of emergency is being extended until the end of day, Jan. 18, 2022.
There are 36,087 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 244,551 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 469 individuals are in hospital and 97 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
