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.
Streamed online from National Defence Headquarters, the apology followed the federal government’s $600-million settlement with tens of thousands of current and former Armed Forces members who experienced such behaviour while serving.
The agency says a low-pressure system is moving into the southern part of the province starting Monday night and is expected to stay on until Tuesday, bringing up to 20 centimetres of snow in some areas.
The British Columbia government is lifting a restriction on gasoline for the general public that was put in place after flooding and landslides cut off supply. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the 30-litre limit per visit to the pumps proved effective and will lift on Tuesday.
Melanie Mark, the minister of tourism, arts and culture, says COVID-19 and recent natural disasters have had devastating impacts on events and tourism, and expanding the program to nearly $30 million is a way to help communities safely resume activities.
The survey conducted by Leger and commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies suggests four in ten Canadians have a friend or family member who is not vaccinated. Seventy per cent of these don’t discuss the matter with them, with half of those saying they have given up trying to persuade them to get protective shots.
Figures obtained through an access to information request show 8.5 million trees had been planted as of mid-November, representing just over 0.4 per cent of what the Liberals have repeatedly promised.
