#BCCDC

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Health officials in British Columbia say a fourth child has died due to complications related to influenza.

In its weekly respiratory illness update, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) said the death, involving a child under the age of 10, was reported between Jan. 14 and Jan. 20.

Influenza-related deaths refer to fatalities where flu was a contributing factor, but may not be the primary cause of death. Previous flu-related child fatalities have been attributed to secondary bacterial infections related to the virus.

Full article

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

[covid-safer-hotties]

Letter: School in the time of COVID-19 - Published Sept 5, 2024

The Editor:

We can disagree on many things, but all of us should be able to agree on this simple fact:

"Sick children can’t learn, sick teachers can’t teach." - Amanda Hu, community advocate

Once again children and youth in B.C. are returning to school during a COVID surge.

Needless to say what will follow is predictable. Sadly, it was preventable, had we prioritized the rights of children to life, health, safety and education and child development during an ongoing pandemic.

Make no mistake, the emergency phase may be over, but COVID-19 is not.

B.C. preschool and school children, their families and teachers will yet again be infected with COVID-19 this fall. That is, unless they were recently infected, or they are part of the minority of families who continue to use all available layers of protection to avoid a (re)infection.

Last year in B.C., updated COVID-19 vaccines became available only after Thanksgiving.

By then, infections had already peaked. This year again, unless things change, the newest COVID-19 vaccines will likely only be available too late for many B.C. school children, their families and their teachers.

B.C. is not alone. The other provinces and territories are also failing children with schools restarting when the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is high and yet another more contagious sub variant, KP.3.1.1, is spreading freely.

However, If you are in B.C., you’d be hard pressed to find up to date COVID-19 information.

As of May 2, the BCCDC declared the respiratory virus season over and switched its COVID-19 Situation Report from weekly to monthly. It’s as if someone thought limiting data in the summer would make COVID-19 disappear, or perhaps help it become seasonal.

Thankfully, the Government of Canada has continued to report Respiratory virus trends. As shown in the graph below, unlike RSV and Influenza, SARS-CoV-2 does not stop spreading with the arrival of summer (surveillance week 25). Maybe your family has already learned this.

pic

Image of Percentage of tests positive for Canada side by side with BC (Fig.4)

The reported laboratory test positivity rate as of Aug. 24 was 17.9 per cent in B.C., same as last year when school reopened. This number is an under estimation of the true level of infections in B.C. communities given testing is restricted to healthcare settings (EDs, hospitals and congregate settings outbreaks) while community rapid tests results are not being recorded.

By comparison, BCCDC’s last reported COVID-19 Situation Report is from July 27, 2024, too long ago to be of much use to parents and teachers. The next one is out today, Sept. 5, after B.C. schools’ resume. It’s really difficult to manage one’s risk of COVID-19 without any timely and easily accessible data.

Thanks to Dr. Tara Moriarty, an infectious disease researcher and associate professor at the University of Toronto, faculty of Dentistry, the Canadian COVID-19 Forecast for Aug. 31 to Sept. 13, 2024, now confirms that B.C. is in the severe category, with estimates of about one in every 27 people infected or roughly 196,900 - 224,800 infections this week.

This is higher than the national COVID-19 forecast and represents the highest hazard level of any Canadian province and territory during this time period. As B.C. schools restart, this translates to likely one person infected in a class of 26 students plus a teacher.

This is a rinse and repeat of last fall and the ones prior during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. How long can we keep on re-infecting school children and teachers?

Again, we can disagree on many things but all of us should be able to agree on this simple fact:

"Sick children can’t learn and sick teachers can’t teach." - Amanda Hu

There is another way. It involves cleaning the air that our children and their educators share and breathe. The accumulated evidence is there, “respiratory viruses” are breathed in.

Worth reminding that even though SARS-CoV-2’s enters via the respiratory tract, it is a vascular virus that can impact every organ system of the body, and its effects can last well after the acute phase of the illness is over. This is true for adults, adolescents and children, though the presenting symptoms may differ.

This school restart should have been different.

In April, the BC Green Caucus introduced the Clean Air Act. A private member bill, it “proposes that both indoor and outdoor environments be monitored and regulated for air quality, especially in places frequented by vulnerable groups such as children, students, and the elderly.”

This bill addresses pollution, wildfire smoke and infectious aerosols. It passed first reading, but when the second reading will occur is anyone’s guess.

In late May, the Healthy Environment and Climate Change (HECC) team of VCH Public Health co-produced with Fraser Health a guidance document on Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality for Schools and Childcare Facilities.

It marks a significant departure from prior BC public health COVID-19 recommendations and states, “Many respiratory infections are transmitted through the air from a person infected with a virus or bacteria. Ventilation and air filtration may help to reduce transmission of respiratory infections, particularly in crowded, poorly ventilated spaces.”

Many of B.C.’s schools are” crowded and poorly ventilated spaces”, especially the portables and schools without any mechanical HVAC.

In June, at the Educational Facility Managers Association BC’s Annual Conference, Stephen McNichols, the engineer on the Ventilation Technical Advisory Panel for the Ministry of Education and Child Care, presented the latest ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers) Standard 241, Control of Infectious Aerosols.

This standard was issued by ASHRAE in June 2023 to establish equivalent clean airflow requirements to reduce the risk of disease transmission through exposure to infectious aerosols in buildings and spaces (e.g. schools, hospitals, residential homes) during an epidemic or in a pandemic like COVID-19.

Then in early August, the BC Ministry of Education and Child Care updated its HVAC guidance to school districts and included ASHRAE’s Standard 241.

These slow steps towards addressing clean air in schools and in childcare facilities gave me hope that this year, B.C. schools restart would actually look different.

Unfortunately, so far none of these new guidances have translated into any meaningful improvements to the indoor air quality in B.C. schools.

Until today, Suzy Mah, a Vancouver School Board Trustee, was herself unaware of the new VCH/FH guidance on Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality in Schools and Childcare Facilities. Meanwhile the pandemic continues, and parents still have no idea what is the quality of the air in their school children’s classroom.

History will not be “kind” to the adults charged with keeping kids healthy and learning in school in the time of COVID-19.

- Lyne Filiatrault, retired B.C. emergency physician

[newsbites]

News from western Canada and beyond, 30 May

According to the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), families in Vancouver Island are facing the highest costs in BC for healthy, nutritious food.

2. A pair of central Island wildfires have been contained by Coastal Fire Centre crews.

3. The Canadian Public Services and Procurement Minister, Helena Jaczek, has said the government expects to have a plan for the future of the official residence of the Prime Minister at 24 Sussex Drive by the fall.

Jaczek appeared today before a House committee on government operations and was pressed by Opposition MPs on when her government intends to make a decision about the official residence of the prime minister.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family have not taken up residence in the mansion, which was closed to staff last fall due to its worsening condition, including a rodent infestation.

4. The B.C. government has purchased a motel in Courtenay to use as supportive housing, as the province's lease on another motel in the city expires.

People currently staying at the Travelodge motel in Courtenay will be moving into the Super 8 motel next month, since the province's lease at the Travelodge is expiring on June 30.

The province first started leasing the Travelodge in spring 2020 to give homeless people in the area a place to stay and self-isolate amid the pandemic.

The province considered purchasing the Travelodge outright, but said it could not reach a deal with the building's owner, prompting the B.C. government to purchase the Super 8 instead.

5. Danielle Smith has won re-election in Alberta and the UCP has won majority government.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says it’s time to put personal and political attacks in the “rear-view mirror” and focus on the province’s economy. 

[college-girl199328]

Indicators of the spread of COVID-19 in British Columbia continued their upward trend this week, with the number of people hospitalized with the disease hitting its highest level since January 12.

As of Thursday, there were 260 students, up from 250 last week, an increase of nearly 18 percent. The growth in the hospital population matches recent trends in other indicators, including the official case count and wastewater surveillance data.

Health officials have said between 40 and 50 percent of those in hospitals at any given time are there because of incidents, representing the third-highest total the province has seen this year.

Relative to 2022, however, when the hospital census rose as high as 985 and rarely dropped below 300, hospitalizations are still low in B.C.

Just how high the current wave of infections will rise is difficult to predict, but the available indicators do not yet show any signs of slowing down.

The BC Center for Disease Control reported Thursday that 456 new, lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 had been detected during the epidemiological week of March 19 to 25.

That's an increase from the 405 new cases reported last week for March 11 to 18. Similarly, the BCCDC reported 135 new hospital admissions for the week before.

Both of these metrics – the official case count and new hospitalizations – come with notable caveats, but each one continues to move in a direction that suggests rising transmission of COVID-19.

The official case count is limited because it only includes infections confirmed through lab-based testing by British Columbia residents. The official count also excludes reinfections.

The new hospital admission figures are limited because they are incomplete. Last week's hospitalizations for March 11 to 18 have been updated in this week's report to 143. This week's total of 135 for March 19 to 25 will similarly increase when next week's data is released.

To supplement its other data, the BCCDC also monitors concentrations of the coronavirus in wastewater across the Lower Mainland and in several communities in the Interior and on Vancouver Island.

Throughout March, wastewater surveillance has shown rising levels of SARS-CoV-2 at every monitored treatment plant. Last week, the BCCDC announced for the first time that it had begun using a more sensitive test on Feb. 28.

This week, the agency updated its wastewater surveillance data to remove trendlines, citing uncertainty caused by the change in testing methods as the reason. It says the removal of trendlines is temporary.

"(The new test) is more efficient and sensitive, meaning it can yield a higher test result even if viral levels have not changed," a statement on the BCCDC wastewater surveillance page reads.

"Therefore, observed increases in viral concentrations in wastewater since the beginning of March are likely due, at least in part, to this new test analysis and interpretation being influenced."

"BCCDC acknowledges that the public and health-care partners use wastewater data to understand how SARS-CoV-2 is spreading in B.C. and to assess their risk of infection," the statement continues. "We anticipate the next wastewater update will describe how the change in testing affected trends and recent results."

[awanderingcanadian]

Oops, There It Is!

Well, the dreaded lurgy finally caught us. We gave it a good run for its money though, lasting until November, 2022, and having had several successful virus free travels. So when it came, armed with vaccines and weakened strains, we felt resignation rather than fear. I had already been battling a non-COVID virus for over 3 weeks, and had been testing every 2 days to be sure it wasn’t COVID. Craig, on the other hand, was a picture of health. We only discovered the little COVID bastard when we took the mandated rapid test to visit my mum who lives in care. What a surprise when Craig’s very quickly, and very clearly, came back positive.

We immediately donned KN95’s and Craig was banished to another bedroom and bathroom. I started testing daily, and 3 days later went out with my family for a belated birthday celebration…only to test positive the next morning:( I notified everyone I had indoor contact with over those past few days, sharing my fabulous news, and cancelled upcoming plans to present at a conference and go shopping in Seattle with my girlfriends. There’s never really a convenient time to be ill, but at least we were home from our travels.

Day 1 I slept and slept. Day 2 though I spent about 90 minutes outside raking leaves and pine needles. Day 3 I lay about reading. Day 4 of isolation, I took another test, just for my own curiosity, and was very encouraged by the results. and did some light housekeeping…and blame COVID for keeping it light, lol!

There’s still a line, but it’s so very faint. Day 5 of COVID jail, brought a negative test, but I rode out my isolation.

Craig was finished 3 days ago, and he too is testing negative. According to BCCDC guidelines, we don’t need to test after isolating for 5 days, but inquiring minds wanted to know. Ironically, we both had just received our boosters with the new Omicron variants, just days before testing positive, and with our relatively easy sailing through our virgin COVID voyage, I’m thanking the power of vaccines.

As for my other long lasting viral infection, COVID seems to be kicking that one to the curb. Go figure, a silver lining amongst it all.

[q4qq]

BCCDC launches new platform for data on respiratory diseases - Global News..

BCCDC launches new platform for data on respiratory diseases - Global News.. BCCDC launches new platform for data on respiratory diseases  Global News.. . . . . . . . .

[auressea]

“The whole entire point behind freedom of information is that it allows us to see for ourselves what government is doing rather than having a third-party intermediary that has a discretionary power to say some things and not say other things.”....

"The ministry argued that, in an emergency, B.C.’s Public Health Act overrides freedom of information laws.

“[The] decision to disclose information relating to managing the risk of transmission of COVID-19 is ultimately at the discretion of the PHO — she is given the authority, in her role as the senior public health official for the province, to determine whether disclosure is in the public interest,” it stated.

But the commissioner disagreed.

While ultimately siding with the province, saying it was providing enough information to mitigate public health risk, the commissioner said arguments positioning B.C.’s provincial health officer as gatekeeper for all COVID-19 data were unsubstantiated."

@allthecanadianpolitics

[fresherbrine]

1/24/2018 The Washington Post: Canada’s fix to the opioid crisis: Vending machines that distribute prescription opioids to addicts

[allthecanadianpolitics]

Hey do you or your followers have any insight on what Covid measurements are most accurate? The dashboard you just shared showed crisis levels, but the wastewater testing dashboard for BC (by the BCCDC) at least seems to suggest that the numbers are a lot lower than any time since last year and not much higher than the summer. I'm still masking and avoiding crowded events anyways and have been since 2020, so I'm going to keep doing that, but it would be nice to know why so many measures seem to be saying different things & to know which is the most trustworthy

~~~~

[2plan22]

RT @CTVVancouver: The BCCDC has now added 59 flights to its list of COVID-19 exposures over the last five days. https://t.co/VlBIfkPSdU 2PLAN22 http://twitter.com/2PLAN22/status/1348053099898875904

The BCCDC has now added 59 flights to its list of COVID-19 exposures over the last five days. https://t.co/VlBIfkPSdU

— CTV News Vancouver (@CTVVancouver) January 9, 2021

[originallandlockedmariner]

Our provincial ministry of health and BCCDC sent out the new Personal Prevention Practices (the Golden Rules) so immediately I fucked with it… personally, I prefer mine :)

[mindblowingscience]

Can COVID be transmitted via the mouth (i.e. viral particles entering through there)? I had been under the impression that the viral particles enter through the eyes or nose, but that food/the mouth was not considered a potential vector of transmission. But I was just reading a recent CBC article about mask advice, and it says "The virus that causes COVID-19 is thought to be transmitted when infectious droplets enter through the eyes, nose or mouth."

Yes, Covid19 can be caused by breathing in through the mouth. This is from the BCCDC (British Columbia Centre for Disease Control:

Droplet Contact

Some diseases are spread by infected droplets contacting surfaces of the eye, nose, or mouth. Large droplets that may or may not be visible to the naked eye are made when a person sneezes or coughs. These droplets usually spread only one to two metres and quickly fall to the ground.

Influenza and SARS are examples of diseases that can spread by droplet contact.

The evidence suggests that COVID-19 is transmitted by droplets.

Airborne transmission

Airborne transmission is when microorganisms travel on much smaller evaporated droplets (often called aerosols). These droplets stay in the air for many hours and, often travel long distances. Transmission occurs when others breathe the microorganism into their throat or lungs.  

Examples of diseases spread by airborne transmission include measles, chickenpox and tuberculosis.  

Coronaviruses are mostly lung and throat organisms, and the mouth has just as much access to those areas as the nose is.

[secondimpact]

bc gov: no more mask mandate happy colonialism day!

bccdc: 185 new cases july 28

🥲

[college-girl199328]

As data suggests cases of COVID-19 are rising in British Columbia, the province's top doctor says the situation is under control, even as some critics are calling on the area to do more.

According to the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), wastewater testing shows a steady increase in viral load across the province in March. The BCCDC says it began using a most sensitive test for SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater on Feb. 28, "affecting comparisons before and after that date."

Dr. Lyne Filiatrault, a retired emergency physician who speaks for Protect Our Province B.C., a group of healthcare professionals, scientists, and advocates who say they want evidence-based policies, says if you look at data after that date, the amount of virus in wastewater has increased in many regions.

"I'm hearing of more cases of COVID happening now, and my colleagues that are still practicing are also seeing more cases right now," said Filiatrault. The BCCDC's weekly report noted 292 patients in hospitals with the virus that causes COVID-19 as of Thursday, compared to 250 a week ago. Three weeks ago, there were 205 patients in the hospital. 

Nineteen patients are in critical care, up five from 14. Filiatrault, speaking on CBC's The Early Edition, said the province is not responsible for tracking how the virus is circulating in the community and warning the public about an uptick.

She would like to see officials make efforts to monitor and control indoor air quality and remind people to restrict indoor gatherings at this time. "We don't have any public health when it comes to COVID in this province," said Filiatrault, adding that "now is not the time to gather indoors where we don't know what the quality of the air is."

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said while wastewater data does fluctuate, there has not been a dramatic increase in hospital admissions. Henry, also speaking on CBC's The Early Edition, said the level of immunity among the population in B.C. is high, people are still getting infected with the virus, most cases are mild has not been a severe spike in people getting seriously ill.

Canada's national vaccination advisory body has called for high-risk individuals to get another COVID-19 booster shot starting this spring. The B.C. government will offer one to those most at risk: long-term care residents, seniors, Indigenous people, and the immunocompromised.

Henry said the province will continue to track wastewater, test for new variants, and provide the public with weekly COVID case numbers. After three challenging years, Henry said this spring should be a time of renewal and hope.

'People need to get back to doing those things that are important to us and being with others."

[psqqa]

Canadian COVID-19 Info

hey canada-friends, your friendly neighbourhood law librarian here with some places where my colleagues and i are getting info for our covid-19 alerts, as well as some with info outside the scope of our covid-19 alerts but that you might still find useful (i feel like you all have a pretty good grasp on where to stay up-to-date with stuff, but just in case). a lot of these have good general info regardless of whether you live in that region or not:

WHO’s global COVID-19 situation map

WHO’s general COVID-19 page

Public Health Canada 

Employment and Social Development Canada (for EI, etc.)

Federal gov travel health notice

Chief Public Health Officer’s Twitter account (Dr. Theresa Tam!!)

For indigenous folks: Indigenous Services Canada, APTN News, APTNNews twitter

For ON folks: ON gov page, Public Health ON page, Toronto page, TO public health twitter, TO medical officer’s twitter, Ottawa public health twitter, TBay public health twitter

For QC folks: QC gov page, Sante Montreal page, Sante QC twitter, Sante Montreal twitter 

For BC folks: BCCDC, BC gov provincial support page, VCH page, BC CDC twitter, First Nations Health Authority, FNHA twitter, RCCbc twitter

For AB folks: AB gov page, AHS page, CMOH twitter, AHS twitter

For MB folks: MB gov page, MB Gov twitter, Winnipeg page

For SK folks: SK gov page , SaskHealth twitter

For NB folks: NB gov page, NB health twitter

For NL folks: NL gov page, GovNL twitter

For NS folks: NS gov page, NS health twitter

For PEI folks: PEI gov page, Health PEI twitter, PEI Wellness twitter 

For YK folks: YK gov page, gov twitter

For NWT folks: NWT HSS page, NWT public safety notice, CPHO twitter

For NU folks: Dept of Health page, Gov twitter

National Collaborating Centres for Public Health

Andre Picard twitter (journalist)

Theresa Boyle twitter (journalist)

Bonus EU: ECDC, EC page, twitter grouping of EU institutions, twitter grouping of EU member health authorities

Bonus US: CDC, NPR Health news twitter, NIH, FDA, Fogarty research info, Medline Plus twitter