The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world on Wednesday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.
6:31 am: You may not believe that Dr. Matt Strauss is qualified to work in public health, but have you considered that famous public health saying, Live free or die? Strauss tweeted that at the end of August, and it’s an idea that lasted until the Romans came, more or less, which is a hot streak. Some places still follow him, with truly tragic results.
Regardless, the anti-lockdown, anti-restraint, and anti-public health physician was hired in early September to be the new interim medical health officer at Haldimand-Norfolk in southwestern Ontario; That appointment was confirmed 8-1 by the local board of health Monday night, which is also the local county council. There had been considerable dismay over Strauss’s ratings before the council went behind closed doors, but it came out with a much softer approach, like the people the lawyers had told, well, you’d have to pay him anyway. .
It is an absurd and backward political hiring.
Read the Bruce Arthur column.
6:28 am: The UK plans to offer a third dose of coronavirus vaccines to all people over the age of 50 and other vulnerable people to help the country weather the pandemic during the winter months.
The booster shots will be implemented starting next week. They were approved a day after the government backed plans to offer a dose of the vaccine to children ages 12 to 15.
The booster injections are intended to protect against a modest decrease in immunity among those who have received two blows.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday that “the result of this vaccination campaign is that we have one of the freest societies and one of the most open economies in Europe.”
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, which advises the government, recommended that booster vaccines be offered to all people over the age of 50, healthcare workers, people with underlying health problems, and people who live with people whose immune systems are impaired. committed. They will be given no earlier than six months after a person has received their second dose of vaccine.
About 30 million people will be eligible for the booster injections, which are intended to protect against a modest decrease in immunity among those who have received two strokes.
Although the number of people now contracting COVID-19 is much higher than at this time last year (more than 30,000 new infections per day), the British government has chosen not to reintroduce further virus restrictions in England, as this year’s vaccine campaign has been reduced. the number of people who require treatment for COVID-19 and subsequently die.
6:27 am: Cambodia will launch a campaign on Friday to begin administering COVID-19 vaccines to children between the ages of 6 and 11.
Prime Minister Hun Sen said on Wednesday that steps were being taken to allow children to safely return to school after a long absence due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In an audio message to the heads of provinces and municipalities posted on his Facebook page, he said that more than 1.8 million children were expected to receive their injections under the program, which will use the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine.
He also said he was considering getting vaccinated children between the ages of 3 and 5 soon.
6:27 am: Healthcare workers in France face suspension from their jobs as of Wednesday if they have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. With around 300,000 workers still unvaccinated, some hospitals fear a shortage of staff will add to their strain.
Vaccinations are now mandatory for healthcare, homecare and emergency workers in France, and Wednesday is the deadline for such staff to have received at least one injection. Otherwise, they face suspension of payment or inability to work. But a higher court has barred staff from being fired outright.
6:27 am: The World Health Organization said about 4 million coronavirus cases were reported worldwide last week, marking the first major drop in new infections in more than two months. In recent weeks, there have been around 4.4 million new cases of COVID-19.
In its weekly update released Tuesday, the UN health agency said that all regions of the world saw a drop in COVID-19 cases compared to the previous week.
Although the global death toll fell to around 62,000, with the decline steepest in Southeast Asia, there was a 7% increase in deaths in Africa. The highest number of cases was seen in the US, Britain, India, Iran, and Turkey and the highly contagious delta variant has now been reported in 180 countries.
The WHO also said that children and adolescents continue to be less affected by COVID-19 compared to adults, adding that deaths of people under the age of 24 due to the disease account for less than 0.5% of global deaths.
The WHO has previously said that children should not be prioritized for COVID-19 vaccines given the extreme shortage of vaccines globally.
6:25 am: Statistics Canada will say this morning what reading the consumer price index posted for August.
The country’s headline inflation barometer registered 3.7 percent in July, which was the largest year-on-year increase since May 2011, as price growth accelerated since June.
Part of the high inflation reading for July was due to prices comparing to lows seen a year ago during the first months of the pandemic, particularly gasoline and food.
BMO’s Benjamin Reitzes says that while August is seasonally a weak month for the consumer price index, that may not be true this year, as he expects an annual inflation rate of 4.1 percent for the month.
On a note, he says that rising restaurant prices can drive up food prices that tend to fall in August and early fall.
It also says that the annual inflation rate could increase in August due to high house prices.
Reference-www.thestar.com