Covid-19 Daily News Digest – April 13, 2020
COVID-19: Ontario broadens criteria to ramp up testing; province reports 478 new cases
By significantly increasing the number of tests each day, we will identify cases early, contain them and prevent putting more people at risk,” Elliott said.
Elliott said the province will be giving priority to certain groups including: hospital patients, residents of long-term care facilities and retirement homes, health care employees and other frontline workers, and indigenous Canadians.
COVID outbreak declared at BGH
Ford announced that more tests needed to be conducted on hospital patients, long-term care residents, healthcare workers, first-responders, rural and indigenous communities, shelters and group homes.
Found in The Brantford Expositor
Hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser launches PPE drive in Toronto amid COVID-19 pandemic
“We hope that we don’t have to continue on,” said Wickenheiser. “Our governments are waiting for shipments to help people but there’s a lot of vulnerable populations or Indigenous communities that are going to need this stuff and we’re trying to help out.”
Coronavirus Update: As experts try to outsmart the virus, the hunt is on for drugs that will hit COVID-19 where it’s weak
In Canada, there have been at least 23,318 cases reported, which is more than double the number from 9 days ago. There have also been at least 6,650 recoveries and 652 deaths. Health officials have administered more than 416,484 tests.
How does COVID-19 cause death? Here’s what happens in the lungs
“Once the virus reaches the lungs, it causes inflammation which results in fluid accumulating in the lung and difficulty breathing,” he said. “This fluid fills the lung’s air sacs… [then] blood oxygen levels fall below normal, a condition known as pneumonia.”
FSIN: Better PPE needed for the North as residents await COVID-19 test results
The FSIN and the chiefs of two of the communities whose residents the nurse worked in on Monday are calling on the Saskatchewan government and Saskatchewan Health Authority to provide personal protective equipment for health care workers and community members and to improve measures in place for health-care workers serving northern communities.
COVID-19 shouldn’t overshadow ongoing fight against TB, Inuit leaders say
“The reality that we live in with relation to TB is not unlike the reality of COVID-19 … where you can be out in your community and there could be a silent killer in your midst,” said Obed, who is president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK).
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stefanovich-tb-covid19-wakeup-call-1.5510675
Nurse brought COVID-19 to facility in Saskatchewan’s far north, says FSIN
According to the FSIN, the nurse drove up from Saskatoon to Stony Rapids on April 5 and was treating members of the community the next day, including those in long-term care, seniors and vulnerable people in hospital.
Indigenous dancers are sharing videos made in self-isolation to help people get through the pandemic
Great-grandmother, 97, becomes Brazil’s oldest coronavirus survivor
Her unexpected recovery was a ray of hope in Brazil, where the coronavirus has laid bare a stretched public health system and exposed fierce political debate over how to best tackle the virus’ spread and prop up the country’s economy.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/brazilian-woman-97-become-countrys-180846766.html
Quebec records 39 new COVID-19 deaths as cases approach the 13,000-mark
The increase of 554 new cases, to 12,846, is the smallest increase since March 31, though the death toll continued to soar — from 289 to 328.
https://ca.news.yahoo.com/quebec-records-39-covid-19-212719803.html
Nunavik’s total of COVID-19 cases rises to 10
The board reminded residents to wash their hands frequently and thoroughly, to remain home whenever possible, maintain a distance of at least two metres between individuals whenever out of the home and to avoid visiting friends and relatives.
https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/nunavik-s-total-of-covid-19-cases-rises-to-10-1.4893229
Health Canada approves new rapid COVID-testing kits
The company will start shipping thousands of tests this week. In about a month, Dr. Lem said he expects they will be able to ship 10,000 tests a week. In three to four months, they expect to move 100,000 to 200,000 each week.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-health-canada-approves-new-rapid-covid-testing-kits/
No new COVID-19 cases, 1 false positive on Easter Sunday
“The current statistics may be a reflection of the effect strict social distancing measures have had and reaffirms that these measures must be continued. Manitobans are reminded this is not the time to let their guard down,” the release said.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/mantioba-covid-19-update-1.5530389
Finding the strength to stay clean, stay sober in pandemic isolation
You see, the freedom of being able to go out and see people that matter have been a huge part of my recovery.
There are new ways of communicating with groups and social gatherings, but none of them are like actually being in the presence of people who have helped me on this journey.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/pov-coronavirus-pandemic-sobriety-1.5527955
Indigenous tourism being ignored by federal government, B.C. operators say
The current packages offered by the Canadian government don’t meet the need of most operators,” said James Cowpar, with Haida Style Expeditions, a Haida-owned tourism company specializing in cultural eco-tours. “Anything is better than nothing but as it stands, our industry has fell through the cracks.”
Charities adapt Easter meals amid COVID-19
The federal government has committed $100 million for organizations that help get food to Canadians who can’t afford groceries or who have uncertain access to food and other basic necessities, including Indigenous Peoples and remote northern populations.
That funding is being allocated to groups like Food Banks Canada, the Salvation Army, Second Harvest, Community Food Centres Canada, and Breakfast Club of Canada, who have been calling for donations and support because of an uptick in demand for their services.
https://www.cambridgetimes.ca/news-story/9940331-charities-adapt-easter-meals-amid-covid-19/