Tag: COVID19

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Is there truly no COVID-19 in Turkmenistan? Experts weigh in

Turkmen women wearing traditional dress demonstrate how to fumigate a house with the smoke of burning wild rue (known locally as yuzerlik) in Ashgabat on December 11, 2020. – In tightly-controlled Turkmenistan, which still insists it has no virus cases, the pandemic has led to a boom in a herb whose Turkmen name translates as “medicine for a hundred illnesses”. Wild rue — known locally as yuzerlik — has for millennia been popular in North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia as a panacea for sickness and ill fortune. But in Turkmenistan strongman leader and ex-dentist Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov has gone a step further. In March he ordered wild rue burning on a “systematic level”, trumpeting the bacteria and infection-killing qualities of its faintly intoxicating smoke. (Photo by Igor SASIN / AFP) (Photo by IGOR SASIN/AFP via Getty Images)Share on Pinterest
Turkmen women wearing traditional dress demonstrate how to fumigate a house with the smoke of burning wild rue, known locally as yuzerlik, in Ashgabat on December 11, 2020. In Turkmenistan, the pandemic has led to a boom in an herb whose Turkmen name translates as ‘medicine for a hundred illnesses.’ (Photo by IGOR SASIN/AFP via Getty Images)
  • COVID-19 has been present in nearly every country in the world.
  • However, the Turkmenistan government claims that there have been no cases or deaths there. The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeated these claims.
  • Experts argue that the WHO needs to do more to investigate the situation.

Since its emergence toward the end of 2019, SARS-CoV-2 has spread around the world. Cases of COVID-19, which is the disease that SARS-CoV-2 causes, have officially been reported in almost every country — as have deaths to the disease. To date, there have been more than 4.8 million confirmed deaths globally.

A small number of countries have reported no cases or deaths. One of these countries is Turkmenistan. The WHO’s official statistics reflect the statistics provided by the country’s government.

However, reports from the country suggest that Turkmenistan has not miraculously escaped the effects of the pandemic. Like the countries it shares a border with, such as Iran and Afghanistan, it has experienced waves of infection — despite the government denying this.

Stay informed with live updates on the current COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment.

Speaking with Medical News Today, Prof. Luca Anceschi — a professor of Eurasian Studies at the University of Glasgow in the United Kingdom and an expert on Central Asia — said that like in North Korea, the authoritarian government was attempting to uphold an image of ushering in a golden age for the country.

For the government, a global pandemic does not fit into this picture, so it denies it.

“Turkmenistan and North Korea are similar in the sense of being very authoritarian regimes, run by people who have a very eccentric approach,” said Prof. Anceschi. “They are also extremely isolated states, using their borders as a control mechanism to stop the access of new ideas that could be destabilizing.”

“Like North Korea, in Turkmenistan, the government has control over the media, and on top of that, there is a particular narrative that the government has been putting out for the last 15 or 20 years about Turkmenistan living in this golden age, and the golden age is there because the government brought it with it.”

“That makes the eruption of a pandemic impossible […] because it would challenge this narrative. We have seen the same with [HIV] and [AIDS], which is another illness [that] was never publicly acknowledged in Turkmenistan. It is characteristic of this regime to hide these kinds of situations,” said Prof. Anceschi.

This analysis was also backed up by Dr. Jason Klocek, an assistant professor in politics and international relations at the University of Nottingham in the U.K. and an expert on state repression. Dr. Klocek has also lived in Turkmenistan for 2 years.

Dr. Klocek told MNT that, “[i]n many ways, the Turkmenistan government’s denial of COVID-19 cases is in line with long standing policy.”

“For more than a decade, the government has also claimed there are no people living with [HIV or AIDS] in the country. And a series of outbreaks, including the bubonic plague, were reported by civil society organizations in the early 2000s but denied by government officials.”

“Add to this the fact that the current president, Gurbanguly Berdimuahamedow, has used the image of a healthy nation — coupled with his previous dentistry career — to bolster his legitimacy. Admitting there is a COVID-19 outbreak could undermine that authority,” said Dr. Klocek.

According to Prof. Anceschi, the Turkmenistan government’s denial of COVID-19 in the country has created difficult conditions for people living there.

“It has been very difficult [for people living in the country] because Turkmenistan has had waves of infection, even last year.”

“Turkmenistan shares a border with Iran, which at one point was very significantly hit [by COVID-19], and with Afghanistan, which also has some problems. And, in general terms, all of Central Asia has infection rates as high as everywhere.”

“What is very difficult is the fact that there has been no considered effort to recognize this pandemic, which means no international cooperation. If public health is a human right, which it is, then that’s a lot of human rights violation that the government has perpetrated.”

“So, what can you do? The government at the beginning was saying that [COVID-19] doesn’t exist, and then it said it does exist but we have things like natural cures, and then, of course, people were dying.”

“What is incredible is [that the government’s messaging] is very dissonant: On the one hand, you have the fact that the government does not accept the fact that there is a pandemic, and then on the other, you start to see guidance for use of masks, hand-washing, and compulsory vaccination. So, the idea is that they don’t acknowledge the virus, but it is there.”

– Prof. Luca Anceschi

For Dr. Klocek, a key issue is the limited access to the country that makes getting detailed information on the COVID-19 situation difficult.

“The number of infections and the scale of their consequences are difficult to assess from outside the country,” said Dr. Klocek.

“Reports from civil society groups both within and outside the country suggest that the number of infections remains high and [that] hospitals are currently overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. Individual reports of [citizens with the infection] are starting to surface via various media outlets.”

“The Turkmenistan government has also recently imposed additional travel restrictions in areas of the country where a high number of people are exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.”

“Sadly, and similar to past outbreaks in the country, the extent of those suffering on the ground may not be known until it is too late to act,” added Dr. Klocek.

For Dr. Klocek, there has been too little focus on the situation in Turkmenistan from the international community.

“The international community has been largely silent [regarding the government’s claims]. There was a brief uptick in interest during the summer of 2020, when the WHO sent an observation team. But the visit was highly scripted, and the team could not confirm the presence of COVID-19 in the country.”

“[The team] did, however, express concern about ‘increased cases of acute respiratory disease or pneumonia of unknown cause’ and advised the country to carry out measures ‘as if there is coronavirus in the country.’”

“A Turkish diplomat also died of an illness with coronavirus-like symptoms in July 2020, but Turkish authorities remained silent on the matter, including the Turkmenistan government’s refusal to let the diplomat return to Turkey for treatment.”

“Since the summer of 2020, relatively little attention [had been] paid to the situation in Turkmenistan until the WHO’s regional director for Europe, [Dr.] Hans Kluge, traveled to Ashgabat this month.”

“A number of civil society organizations have tried to use the recent visit to put pressure on the WHO to make a formal statement about the situation in Turkmenistan. They are still waiting for a reply,” noted Dr. Klocek.

Prof. Anceschi said that the WHO had a responsibility to not simply repeat the government’s claims that there have been no cases of COVID-19 or related deaths.

“The WHO is as guilty as the regime. I understand that we live in the real world and you need to maintain access to a regime as intractable as Turkmenistan. However, as the WHO, you can’t just pretend that nothing is happening. Being cooperative with the regime means no one is safe.”

“The thing that is surprising is the totally pro-government line we got from the WHO. I tried to contact the WHO. They never replied. Other colleagues have had the same experience.”

“As I understand, in prior epidemic contexts — the avian flu or SARS-CoV-1 — [the WHO] would get back to you within 1 hour. They have been totally uncooperative with disseminating the truth.”

“The problem is that when you create a context in which this information [is] false, you have a further disservice: On top of not providing access to human rights in terms of public health, you also disseminate fake news. And [the WHO is] guilty of this. No one believes that Turkmenistan does not have COVID-19.”

“Now […] the government is making vaccination compulsory [and] running a campaign about washing your hands — what more do the WHO need to say there is a problem in Turkmenistan?”

“This consistent policy of sticking to the government line when the government is corrupt and has a tradition for disseminating fake data — I don’t understand why the WHO keeps being like this. It’s a very big credibility hit,” argued Prof. Anceschi.

On October 8, 2021, the government of Turkmenistan hosted an international forum on infectious disease control and health diplomacy. In it, the WHO’s Dr. Kluge said:

“The COVID-19 pandemic has shown unequivocally the fundamental importance of health for worldwide prosperity and security. There is a demonstrable need to rethink global governance structures, the relationship between the private and public sectors, and the values upon which our nations and societies operate.”

Dr. Kluge also stressed the importance of transparent communication, met with Turkmenistan government officials, and introduced the new WHO representative to Turkmenistan, Dr. Egor Zaitsev, to national officials. According to the WHO’s official page, the meeting explored further opportunities to strengthen the collaboration between the WHO and Turkmenistan.

For live updates on the latest developments regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.

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Genetic link between COVID-19 and Alzheimer’s identified

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A new study finds a genetic bridge between Alzheimer’s and COVID-19. Nor Hasen/EyeEm/Getty Images
  • In a new study, scientists have identified a genetic link between the development of Alzheimer’s and severe COVID-19 outcomes.
  • The study also identifies the same immune system changes in both diseases.
  • Targeting specific “risk” genes could lead to future treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and COVID-19.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, a syndrome where cognitive function declines progressively over time.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 55 million people live with dementia worldwide, and doctors diagnose 10 million new cases each year. Around 60–70{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of these are Alzheimer’s cases.

Stay informed with live updates on the current COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment.

“While Alzheimer’s is primarily characterized by a harmful buildup of amyloid protein and tangles in the brain, there is also extensive inflammation in the brain that highlights the importance of the immune system in Alzheimer’s,” explains Dr. Dervis Salih.

Dr. Salih is a senior research associate in neurodegenerative disease at University College London (UCL).

In previous work by UCL, genetic studies revealed that different genes can alter the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. These “risk genes” change how microglia, or immune cells of the brain, respond to amyloid protein and tangles.

Scientists have focused on a subpopulation of microglia cells known as interferon response microglia (IRM), which increase with age and in response to amyloid proteins.

IRM cells respond to interferon proteins that the body releases to fight viral infections, such as SARS-CoV-2.

According to Dr. Rosa Sancho, head of research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, “Fairy early in the pandemic, people with dementia emerged as a group at particular risk of severe COVID-19.”

The current findings, published in the journal Brain, build on previous work by Dr. Salih.

The new study, led by Naciye Magusali, a doctoral candidate at UCL, focused on the genotyping of 2,547 human DNA samples. Of these, 1,313 were from people with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, and 1,234 were from controls without Alzheimer’s.

The authors identified a variant of the interferon-stimulated gene oligoadenylate synthetase 1 (OAS1) that can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by an estimated 11–22{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809}.

Scientists have also shown that OAS1, which regulates inflammatory proteins, contributes to the genetic risk associated with severe COVID-19 outcomes.

According to the current study, cells treated to mimic the effects of COVID-19 showed a lower expression of OAS1.

Dr. Salih explains: “The variant in OAS1 associated with disease is lowering OAS1 expression. This supports the idea that people with lower levels of OAS1 are more likely to show a chronic cytokine response or ‘cytokine storm.’”

The work shows that the body needs OAS1 to reduce the amount of inflammation-causing proteins. According to Dr. Salih:

“We see in […] microglial cells that OAS1 is suppressing pro-inflammatory function of cells in response to elevated levels of interferon.”

These findings show the importance of inflammation in both the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and the severity of COVID-19.

Speaking about the new research, Dr. Sancho points out that “[w]e don’t know whether the effects of this risk gene could influence long-term neurological consequences of COVID-19 or whether COVID-19 […] increases the risk of dementia later in life.”

Dr. David Strain, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, comments: “It does add important information as to the pathogenesis of the more severe presentations of COVID-19 and will hopefully be able to shed further light on potential treatment options or even personalized preventive medicine.”

For live updates on the latest developments regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.

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Today’s coronavirus news: Pfizer submits preliminary research on COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged five to 11; Ontario reports another 704 COVID-19 cases and seven more deaths

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Saturday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

8:00 p.m.: Three Alaska hospitals have now instituted crisis protocols that would allow them to ration care if needed as the state recorded the worst COVID-19 diagnosis rates in the U.S. in recent days.

According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, one person in every 84 in Alaska was diagnosed with COVID-19 from Sept. 22 to 29. The next highest rate was one in every 164 people in West Virginia.

Fairbanks Memorial Hospital activated the protocol Friday because of a critical shortage of bed capacity and staffing, along with the inability to transfer patients to other facilities. Two other Alaska hospitals, in Anchorage and Bethel, have invoked the same protocol.

Fairbanks Chief Medical Officer Dr. Angelique Ramirez said the decision to move to crisis standards was because of many factors, including community spread caused by the low vaccination rates and a high number of patients waiting to be admitted.

Statewide, 60{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of eligible Alaskans are fully vaccinated. The Fairbanks North Star Borough is the third-worst region for vaccination rates in Alaska, with just under 52{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of eligible residents vaccinated.

7:00 p.m.: Public Safety Canada says a contingent from the Canadian Armed Forces is expected to “be in position” Monday to decide where to deploy eight critical care nurses that will help Alberta combat the fourth wave of COVID-19.

The federal agency also says the Canadian Red Cross is planning to provide up to 20 medical professionals, some with intensive care unit experience, to augment or relieve existing staff working in Alberta’s hospitals.

Premier Jason Kenney announced Thursday that the province was finalizing a deal to secure eight to 10 intensive care ward specialists from the military, likely to be based in Edmonton, to help in hospitals.

He also said up to 20 trained Red Cross medical workers, some with intensive care experience, would be deployed in central Alberta.

Alberta is dealing with a COVID-19 crisis that has seen well over 1,000 new cases a day for weeks while filling intensive care wards to almost twice normal capacity.

The province’s health delivery agency has had to scramble and reassign staff to handle the surge of intensive care patients far above the normal capacity of 173 beds.

5:00 p.m.: New Brunswick is reporting a record-smashing 140 new COVID-19 infections and four deaths in a single day as the Maritime province continues to grapple with the the pandemic’s fourth wave.

Health officials say the deaths include a person aged 30 to 39 in the Fredericton region, a person aged 50 to 59 in the Edmundston region and two people aged 70 to 79 in the Fredericton and Moncton regions.

The four deaths bring the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in the province to 64.

Officials say among the 140 new cases, 94 are people who are unvaccinated, 34 are fully vaccinated and 12 are partially vaccinated.

New Brunswick currently has 44 people hospitalized due to the virus, with 17 in intensive care.

The province says 35 of the patients in hospital — or nearly 80 per cent — are unvaccinated while nine are either partially or fully vaccinated.

“Healthy younger people are getting sick as well as older individuals,” Premier Blaine Higgs said in a statement.

“Of the 140 cases announced, 88 are under 40. Those in that age bracket are less likely to end up in hospital but they still carry and can transmit the virus.”

In addition to the 140 new cases, the province reported 49 recoveries from COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the number of active cases to 764.

The province said public safety officers will be conducting spot checks at churches this weekend, many of which have been the sites of recent COVID-19 exposures.

Officials said while the vast majority of churches have been following the rules, concerns remain that not all are and fines will be issued to institutions and individuals who break the mandatory public health rules.

“Four more New Brunswickers lost to the virus is a grim reminder of the continuing toll COVID-19 is taking on our communities and on people at every stage of life,” Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said in a statement.

While the number of hospitalizations remains manageable for now, the admissions place an extreme burden on the province’s health-care system, she said.

“We expected cases to climb and they may continue to do so for the next little while until we see the impact of the additional measures brought in last week.”

New Brunswick reimposed a state of emergency in late September to deal with the sudden spike in COVID-19 cases.

That followed a decision two months earlier to drop all of its COVID-19 restrictions — the first jurisdiction in Atlantic Canada to do so.

At the time, some infectious disease experts warned New Brunswick would face a surge in Delta-variant cases in the fall, mainly because of the decision to drop mask requirements in indoor public places.

The mask order has now been reinstated, along with a number of other health-protection measures. They include new rules to limit contacts, ensure physical distancing and require certain businesses and events to have vaccination or masking-and-testing policies.

3:45 p.m.: A one-day vaccine campaign, with more than 35 clinics across the City of Toronto, got underway on Saturday.

Mayor John Tory announced the launch of #Vax25, a COVID-19 inoculation push to promote vaccine clinics in the city’s 25 wards.

“I continue to urge eligible residents to get vaccinated now to help protect themselves and the progress we have made fighting this pandemic and reopening schools and businesses,” Tory said as he thanked city councillors for teaming up for the initiative.

#Vax25 features at least one clinic per ward supported and promoted by the ward’s councillor.

Read the full story here: Toronto launches one-day #Vax25 vaccine push throughout the city’s 25 wards

2:30 p.m.: Health Canada has received drugmaker Pfizer’s preliminary research on the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine in children aged five to 11.

The drugmaker confirmed Saturday it provided the initial trial data to the federal department for review as it prepares to make a formal submission — possibly later this month — seeking authorization to use the product in children.

Pfizer Canada spokeswoman Christina Antoniou said the submission will be a request for full authorization.

She said the new drug submission process for COVID-19 vaccines offers the same flexibility as the interim order authorization pathway did, including allowing the company to submit a rolling submission.

“In other words, [it’s] not an emergency use authorization but a full approval under which we would continue to submit new data as it becomes available,” Antoniou said in an email.

Pfizer’s vaccine was initially given the green light for use in Canada last December. The two-shot vaccine, developed in partnership with German pharmaceutical company BioNTech, is currently available for those aged 12 and older.

Pfizer and BioNTech said last week that researchers found the vaccine antibody responses in children were just as strong as those found in teenagers and young adults getting regular-strength doses.

The companies submitted the research to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week and plan to request emergency use authorization of their vaccine in children ages five to 11 “in the coming weeks.”

Pediatric studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in children aged six months to age five is ongoing, with initial results expected before the end of the year, Antoniou said.

12:15 p.m.: Quebec is reporting 640 additional cases of COVID-19 today and five more deaths due to the pandemic.

The vast majority of cases are due to the contagious Delta variant, which accounted for 86.9 per cent of infections sequenced between Sept. 12 and Sept. 18.

Overall hospitalizations declined by nine to 301, while the number of people in intensive care dropped by one to 83.

About 89 per cent of Quebec’s eligible population 12 and over have received one shot of vaccine, and 84 per cent have received two doses.

11:15 a.m.: Ontario is reporting another 704 COVID-19 cases and seven more deaths, according to its latest report released Saturday morning.

The province reports 401 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in unvaccinated people, 44 were partially vaccinated, and 198 cases in fully vaccinated people.

There are 274 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the province, including 141 patients in intensive care testing positive for COVID-19. There are 110 people on ventilators. Locally, there are 150 cases in Toronto, 67 in Peel Region, 46 in York Region with 70 cases in Ottawa, 44 in Hamilton, 32 in Windsor and 32 in Niagara.

Ontario has administered 37,333 vaccine doses since its last daily update, with a total 21,847,046 vaccines given as of 8 p.m. Friday night.

According to the Star’s vaccine tracker, 11,263,479 people in Ontario have received at least one shot, or about 86.4 per cent of the eligible population 12 years and older. The province says 10,583,567 people have completed both vaccination shots, or approximately 81.2 per cent of the eligible population.

7:44 a.m.: Canadians overwhelmingly support the idea of requiring vaccine passports to gain admittance to public places such as restaurants, bars and gyms, a new poll suggests.

Fully 78 per cent of respondents to the Leger poll said they strongly support (56 per cent) or somewhat support (22 per cent) requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to visit non-essential public places where numerous people typically congregate, including concert halls and festivals.

Just 13 per cent said they strongly oppose a proof-of-vaccination requirement, variations on which are being introduced by provincial governments across the country. Another nine per cent said they’re somewhat opposed.

Support ranged from a low of 70 per cent in the Atlantic Provinces to a high of 86 per cent in British Columbia. Eighty-one per cent of Alberta respondents also supported the move, although their province has been the most reluctant to adopt a vaccine passport system.

The poll of 1,537 Canadians was conducted Sept. 24-26, as health care systems in both Alberta and Saskatchewan were being overwhelmed by soaring cases of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The online poll cannot be assigned a margin of error as internet-based surveys are not considered random samples.

Seventy-four per cent of respondents said governments should not lift all public health restrictions now. Just 18 per cent supported lifting them.

Opposition to relaxing public health orders included 76 per cent of respondents in Alberta, where Premier Jason Kenney lifted most restrictions over the summer, only to have to reimpose some recently as the fourth wave of the pandemic swept the province.

Unsurprisingly given their provinces’ struggles with the fourth wave of the pandemic, Kenney and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe ranked the lowest among provincial first ministers for their handling of the health crisis.

Fully 80 per cent of Alberta respondents said they were very or somewhat dissatisfied with Kenney’s performance, and 74 per cent of Saskatchewan respondents felt the same about Moe.

By contrast, 74 per cent of Quebec respondents expressed satisfaction with Premier François Legault’s handling of the pandemic, 61 per cent of British Columbians were satisfied with Premier John Horgan and 52 per cent of Ontarians were satisfied with Premier Doug Ford’s performance.

Fifty-seven per cent nationally said they were satisfied with the federal government’s handling of the pandemic while 61 per cent expressed satisfaction with their municipal governments.

Respondents were split over the state of the pandemic in Canada, with 39 per cent saying they think the worst is over, 22 per cent saying we’re in the worst period of the crisis now and another 21 per cent saying the worst is yet to come. Nineteen per cent didn’t know.

7:43 a.m.: When Russians talk about the coronavirus over dinner or in hair salons, the conversation often turns to “antitela,” the Russian word for antibodies — the proteins produced by the body to fight infection.

Even President Vladimir Putin referred to them this week in a conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, bragging about why he avoided infection even though dozens of people around him caught the coronavirus, including someone who spent a whole day with the Kremlin leader.

“I have high titres,” Putin said, referring to the measurement used to describe the concentration of antibodies in the blood. When Erdogan challenged him that the number Putin gave was low, the Russian insisted, “No, it’s a high level. There are different counting methods.”

But Western health experts say the antibody tests so popular in Russia are unreliable either for diagnosing COVID-19 or assessing immunity to it. The antibodies that these tests look for can only serve as evidence of a past infection, and scientists say it’s still unclear what level of antibodies indicates protection from the virus and for how long.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention says such tests should not be used to establish an active COVID-19 infection because it can take one to three weeks for the body to make antibodies. Health experts say tests that look for the virus’s genetic material, called PCR tests, or ones that look for virus proteins, called antigen tests, should be used to determine if someone is infected.

7:42 a.m.: It’s a milestone that by all accounts didn’t have to happen this soon.

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 700,000 late Friday — a number greater than the population of Boston. The last 100,000 deaths occurred during a time when vaccines — which overwhelmingly prevent deaths, hospitalizations and serious illness — were available to any American over the age of 12.

The milestone is deeply frustrating to doctors, public health officials and the American public, who watched a pandemic that had been easing earlier in the summer take a dark turn. Tens of millions of Americans have refused to get vaccinated, allowing the highly contagious Delta variant to tear through the country and send the death toll from 600,000 to 700,000 in 3 1/2 months.

Saturday 7:42 a.m.: California will become the first U.S. state to require COVID-19 vaccinations for children to attend public and private schools in person in a mandate that could effect millions of students.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced that the coronavirus shot will be added to 10 other immunizations already required for school kids, including those for measles and mumps.

Exemptions would be granted for medical reasons or because of religious or personal beliefs but the exemption rules haven’t been written yet pending public comment.

Any student without an exemption who refuses to get the vaccine would be forced to do independent study at home.

“We want to end this pandemic. We are all exhausted by it,” Newsom said during a news conference at a San Francisco middle school after visiting with seventh graders.

“Vaccines work. It’s why California leads the country in preventing school closures and has the lowest case rates,” Newsom said.

Read Friday’s coronavirus news.

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Montana health officials: ‘The data are overwhelming. The COVID-19 vaccine offers the best protection against infection and at preventing severe illness’

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By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

The Department of Public Wellness and Human Solutions (DPHHS) launched a new report very last week with Montana-particular information from the past eight months that illustrates the best tool towards severe health issues from COVID-19 is to get vaccinated.

Impression by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay

The report reviewed facts from February to September 2021, and identified that 89.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the scenarios, 88.6{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of hospitalizations and 83.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the fatalities had been amid folks not fully vaccinated, including those not however eligible for vaccination.

The report also examined a recent 8-7 days period of time from July 11 to September 4, 2021, and found that between all instances noted in people suitable for vaccine, that Montanans who have been not entirely vaccinated contracted COVID-19 at a amount 4.4 instances increased than thoroughly vaccinated people. And, the COVID-19-linked hospitalization and demise prices were 5.1 and 3.3 instances greater, respectively, amongst not fully vaccinated individuals as as opposed with entirely vaccinated folks.

“The data are too much to handle. The COVID-19 vaccine delivers the greatest safety from an infection and at preventing severe health issues,” said DPHHS Director Adam Meier. “Clinical trials have found that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and efficient at preventing extreme COVID-19-related results. If you have not gotten vaccinated and still have inquiries, I inspire all qualified Montanans to seek the advice of with their health care service provider or pharmacist.”

DPHHS community well being specialists also famous the influence of COVID-19 ailment on more youthful age teams. Adults aged 18-39 had the greatest amount of COVID-19 situations in contrast with other age groups between both of those the totally vaccinated and unvaccinated. Having said that, grownups in this age team who have been not totally vaccinated expert case fees 4.4 moments bigger than fully vaccinated persons in this age group.

DPHHS knowledge also present a notable age gap concerning vaccinated and unvaccinated men and women with severe COVID-19 relevant results, with intense results happening at younger ages amid people not absolutely vaccinated as opposed with completely vaccinated people. In a modern 8-7 days time period, the median age for COVID-19 hospitalizations was 60 a long time for not absolutely vaccinated and the median age amongst people thoroughly vaccinated was 75 years.

COVID-19 bacterial infections amongst totally vaccinated folks are called “breakthrough” cases. A breakthrough COVID-19 case is described as a COVID-19 infection which occurred 14 or far more days just after completing the major COVID-19 vaccine sequence. Depending on the distinct vaccine administered, completion of collection could be a single or two doses of vaccine.

It’s critical that all Montanans choose the essential safeguards to secure by themselves and their beloved ones.

“In addition to encouraging vaccination, DPHHS encourages all Montana residents and site visitors to training individual accountability and just take precautionary actions to gradual the distribute of the virus, which includes putting on a confront masking when correct, steering clear of massive crowds, remaining house when not sensation perfectly, and washing arms routinely,” said DPHHS acting State Medical Officer Dr. Maggie Cook dinner-Shimanek.

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Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario cracks down on businesses that flout vaccine certificate rules; Province reports 1,315 new COVID-19 cases over the past two days

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Friday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

7.06 p.m. The COVID-19 pandemic has made a bad situation worse for the homeless and housing resources in British Columbia’s capital, where shelter spaces are scarce for those who test positive for the virus, the province’s housing minister says, The Canadian Press reports.

David Eby said Friday he had hoped that once tent encampments were dismantled, the Crown agency BC Housing and provincial staff would be able to find more permanent solutions for the homeless, but a surge in COVID-19 cases hasn’t made that possible, according to CP.

“As the pandemic continues … we’re faced with a very real prospect, again, of not being able to provide supportive shelter for everyone who is COVID-positive and living in Victoria,” he said.

Many resources, such as non-profit organizations, were nearly overwhelmed as tent encampments around the region were dismantled and shelter spaces had to be found for those residents, he said.

“While this was a critical COVID response, and that response has helped ensure we don’t have COVID ripping through outdoor encampments across the city of Victoria today, it pushed many resources to the breaking point,” Eby said.

The province, along with the local health authority and city, announced the creation of 50 new COVID-19 isolation shelter spots to help those who have contracted the virus and want to live indoors.

The new spaces will be split between 30 spots in existing shelters and 20 in pop-up locations, Eby said. They will be temporary, and there are no plans to continue operating them after the pandemic.

Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps said the city has been working with the provincial government and Island Health to find a solution.

The city has been put in the difficult position of trying to keep parks open for the public as well as allowing homeless people to stay as they may be struggling with mental or other health conditions, she said.

“Sleeping in a tent in a park is neither a housing nor health solution,” Helps said.

3.09 p.m. British Columbia’s provincial health officer has mandated masks for all schoolchildren across the province after three school districts announced their own policies to include kindergarten-to-Grade 3 students, reports The Canadian Press.

Dr. Bonnie Henry says she has heard the concerns of parents as COVID-19 cases have risen over the last couple of weeks among kids, especially those between the ages of five and 11, and in communities with lower vaccination rates, according to CP.

Henry says her school mask mandate will be in place until at least January, when it will be assessed based on whether vaccines would be available for children under 12.

She says school staff who were prioritized for vaccination should be immunized, as well, to reduce the risk of COVID-19 entering schools at a time when more respiratory illnesses are circulating and so that families can gather for Thanksgiving.

School districts in Vancouver, Surrey and Burnaby had already announced that a provincial mask mandate for students in Grade 4 and up would be extended to younger kids, leaving 57 other school districts to either introduce policies independently or wait for Henry to impose a province-wide measure.

2:45 p.m. Following the suspension of a Kingston pub’s liquor licence, Ontario’s alcohol regulation agency says there will be “consequences” for businesses that do not comply with the province’s new vaccine certificate rules.

The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario suspended the sports pub’s liquor licence on Thursday after the Kingston Public Health Unit received complaints that J.A.K.K. Tuesdays was not asking customers for their proof-of-vaccination, a requirement of all indoor dining businesses.

J.A.K.K. Tuesdays is the first business to have its liquor licence revoked since the certificate rules went into effect last week, but it might not be the last.

In a statement to the Star, the AGCO said that businesses that do not comply with the regulation could face fines, temporary suspensions of their liquor licence, or — in the most extreme circumstances — a complete revocation of the licence.

Read the full story here from Jacob Lorinc

2 p.m. Alberta’s Opposition NDP is urging Premier Jason Kenney to make sure every member of his United Conservative caucus is vaccinated against COVID-19.

Thomas Dang, the NDP’s deputy house leader, says anyone who is not vaccinated should be removed from caucus.

Dang says with Alberta hospitals overcrowded with infected patients, it’s imperative that political leaders set the right example and get their shots.

Dang says all the NDP’s legislature members and staff have received both doses.

It’s not clear how many UCP members have been vaccinated, but there has been division in the caucus over health restrictions and vaccinations.

Kenney says the government is pursuing mandatory vaccinations or proof of negative tests for all house members, but adds there are constitutional issues that must be worked out.

2 p.m.: The surge in COVID-19 cases is continuing in Atlantic Canada, with Newfoundland and Labrador reporting 41 new cases and two more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus since the province’s last update.

Officials said today the two new deaths involve a man in the central health region and a woman in the eastern health region who were both 70 years old or older.

The new cases include 31 in the central health region and 10 in the eastern region.

Newfoundland and Labrador has 180 active reported cases of COVID-19 and seven people in hospital with the disease, including four in critical care.

1:45 p.m. California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced the nation’s first coronavirus vaccination mandate for schoolchildren, a plan that will have all elementary through high school students get the shots once the vaccine gains final approval from the U.S. government for different age groups.

The government has fully approved the COVID-19 vaccine for those 16 and over but only granted an emergency authorization for anyone 12 to 15. Once federal regulators fully approve the vaccine for that group, the state will require students in seventh through 12th grades to get vaccinated in both public and private schools, Newsom’s office said.

The state will require the COVID-19 vaccine for students in kindergarten through sixth grade only after the federal government has given final approval for anyone 5 to 11.

The announcement comes as infections in most of California have dropped markedly in the last month. But Newsom has been emboldened after easily defeating a recall effort last month following a campaign where he emphasized his commitment to vaccine mandates to end the pandemic.

In Los Angeles County — the nation’s largest, with more than 10 million residents — just 1.7{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of people tested for the virus have it and daily infections are down by half in the last month, when most kids went back to school.

“These numbers are amazingly low given that 3,000-plus schools are now open countywide,” county Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday.

1:30 p.m. The Manitoba government is tightening COVID-19 public health orders, especially for people who are not fully vaccinated.

Starting Tuesday, a cap of 25 people will be placed on indoor events that include unvaccinated people, although there will be a one-week grace period for weddings and funerals.

People who allow unvaccinated people on their property will only be allowed 10 guests outdoors, while indoor gatherings will be restricted to one other household.

In the southern health region, where vaccination rates are low, retail businesses will be limited to half capacity.

Across the province, outdoor public gatherings will be capped at 50 people.

Chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, says most of the orders will not affect the majority of Manitobans because they are vaccinated.

The province already requires people to show proof of vaccination to attend a range of venues, including sporting events, concert halls and restaurants.

1:11 p.m. (updated) Ontario is reversing course and introducing a mandatory vaccination policy for staff at long-term-care homes.

The government’s previous policy was to require regular testing for those not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Long-Term Care Minister Rod Phillips announced today that all in-home staff, support workers, students and volunteers must be vaccinated by Nov. 15 unless they have a valid medical exemption.

He says any staff not fully vaccinated by then will not be able to enter a long-term-care home to work.

Phillips says vaccination rates of staff in many homes are not high enough in the face of the Delta variant.

Homes will also start randomly testing fully vaccinated staff, caregivers and visitors to try to detect breakthrough cases early.

1:06 p.m. The union representing flight attendants at Canada’s major airlines says reducing on-board food and drink service might help combat a rise in unruly passenger behaviour.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees says flight attendants are being subjected to verbal abuse from some passengers who don’t want to comply with the federal requirement to wear a mask on board.

The union says some passengers are taking their masks off to eat or drink and then leaving them off for longer than they should. It says this can lead to confrontations and also potentially exposes flight attendants to the virus.

Many airlines have restored most of their food and beverage service this summer after reducing service during the first stage of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Transport Canada still recommends that airlines limit non-essential tasks, including in-flight service.

The union says Transport Canada should take a stricter stance. It says the regulator should reduce food and drink service on short-haul flights or set a limit on the amount of time a passenger can have their mask off to eat and drink.

12:15 p.m. Ontario is reporting another 668 COVID-19 cases and 11 more deaths. Of the 11, three of the deaths occurred more than one month ago and have been added due to a data cleanup, according to the province’s latest report released Friday morning.

Ontario is also reporting 647 COVID-19 cases for Thursday, as the data was not released on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Nine deaths were also reported on Thursday, five of which occurred more than one month ago and were added as part of a data cleanup.

Ontario has administered 29,704 vaccine doses since its last daily update, with 21,809,713 vaccines given in total as of 8 p.m., Thursday night. The total also includes 37,553 vaccine doses administered on Wednesday.

Read the full story from the Star’s Urbi Khan

11:30 a.m. Tokyo’s train stations were packed with commuters Friday as Japan fully came out of a coronavirus state of emergency for the first time in more than six months.

Emergency measures had been in place for more than half of the country, including Tokyo. Outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga thanked the people for their patience and co-operation. Cases are declining, but he asked them to stick to their basic anti-virus measures.

The emergency measures have mainly involved requests for eateries to curb alcohol and hours. They can now serve alcohol and operate an hour longer but still close at 9 p.m.

Daily reported cases fell below 1,600 this week nationwide after the mid-August peak of 25,000. Health experts attributed the declining numbers to vaccinations and increased social distancing after alarm from the near collapse of medical systems during the summer.

Nearly 59 per cent of Japanese people have been fully vaccinated. Japan has reported 1.6 million cases and 17,641 confirmed deaths.

11:15 a.m. Quebec’s legislature will soon only be accessible to people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

The National Assembly announced the new health order targeting staff, visitors and politicians on Thursday evening, following a heated debate among the parties.

The governing Coalition Avenir Québec party as well as the Opposition Liberals voted in favour, arguing that elected officials should set an example for the rest of the population regarding vaccination.

Québec Solidaire and the Parti Québécois, the third and fourth parties in the legislature, opposed the measure because the public health department has not recommended it.

The vaccine passport requirement is expected to come into effect later in October.

The rule will require political personnel, legislature staff, journalists and visitors to show a piece of ID as well as proof they have been adequately vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to access the legislature.

11 a.m. A surge in demand has caused the Nova Scotia government to hit the pause button on Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) referrals, at least temporarily.

The province’s clinical lead for MAID, Dr. Gord Gubitz, said this week that Nova Scotia Health would put a 30-day hold on assisted-dying requests as the province works through a “significant backlog” caused by increased demand exacerbated by COVID-19 strains on the health-care system.

So far in 2021, referrals for MAID have already outstripped those from all of last year. In 2020, there were a total of 373 referrals; as of September of this year there were already 395 referrals.

“We know that recent changes in legislation made MAID an option for more people who were seeking it. We also know that with time grows awareness,” said Gubitz in an emailed statement.

Read the full story from the Star’s Steve McKinley

10:20 a.m. (updated) Ontario is reporting 1,315 cases of COVID-19 over the last two days and 12 more deaths.

The province says 668 cases of the virus and eight deaths were reported Friday, and 647 new cases and four deaths were reported on Thursday.

The Ministry of Health had not released updated data on Thursday because it was a federal holiday.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says that 502 of today’s new cases are in people who are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.

She says that 496 of Thursday’s cases were in unvaccinated people.

Elliot says 278 people are hospitalized because of COVID-19, with 163 people in intensive care because of the virus.

The ministry says that 86.3 per cent of Ontarians over the age of 12 have one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 81 per cent have two doses.

9:55 a.m. Justice Brett Kavanaugh tested positive for COVID-19 after taking a routine test Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court said. Kavanaugh, 56, who learned of the test results Thursday night, has no symptoms and has been fully vaccinated since January, the court said. His wife and daughters tested negative on Thursday.

The court said that “as a precaution,” Kavanaugh and his wife will not attend a formal investiture ceremony at the court Friday for the newest justice, Amy Coney Barrett.

The court is scheduled to begin its nine-month term on Monday, returning to the courtroom for arguments for the first time in a year and a half.

Kavanaugh is the first sitting justice known to have tested positive for COVID-19, although the Washington Post reported Barrett tested positive before she joined the court. All nine have been fully vaccinated.

9:25 a.m. India said Friday that British nationals arriving in the country will be subjected to COVID-19 tests and a 10-day mandatory quarantine, in response to the same measures imposed on Indians visiting the U.K.

India has been demanding that Britain revoke what it called a “discriminatory” advisory that includes Indians even if they are fully vaccinated with the Indian-made AstraZeneca shots.

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had discussed the issue with British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss in a meeting in New York earlier this week.

India was irked that while the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine has been recognized by Britain, its version produced by Serum Institute of India has been excluded.

A foreign ministry official said that starting on Monday, all British arrivals, irrespective of their vaccination status, will have to undertake RT-PRC test within 72 hours before travel, another test on arrival in India and the third one eight days later.

8:21 a.m. The British Columbia ministries of health and education plan a joint news conference Friday to announce what are described as enhanced health and safety guidelines for B.C. schools.

A joint release from the ministries says provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Education Minister Jennifer Whiteside will make the announcement at 10:30 this morning.

It comes as school trustees in Vancouver, Surrey and Burnaby have moved beyond provincial regulations and tightened mask mandates in their districts to require face coverings for all students, regardless of grade level, in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.

B.C. currently requires masks for students in Grades 4 to 12 and Henry has resisted calls from parents and teachers to make face coverings mandatory in kindergarten to Grade 3.

She says masks are just one tool in containing COVID-19, while good ventilation and limits on intermingling between classes are other keys ways to curb the spread of the virus.

Members of a fourth Metro Vancouver school board meet later today to discuss a mask mandate for students in all grades in the New Westminster district, and to consider a recommendation to seek a legal opinion regarding mandatory vaccinations for staff members.

7:55 a.m. Pakistan banned unvaccinated adults from flights Friday as it tries to push vaccinations and avoid further lockdowns to contain the coronavirus.

Aviation Minister Ghulam Sarwar Khan announced the ban on Twitter, saying “only fully vaccinated passengers of age 18 years and above will be allowed to undertake domestic air travel within Pakistan.”

The government said last week unvaccinated people will not be allowed to work from offices and will not be eligible to enter shopping malls as of Friday. However, it was unclear how they would be stopped from entering such venues.

The bans don’t apply to children, who are not yet eligible for Pakistan’s vaccination campaign.

Nearly 30 million people are fully vaccinated in the country of 220 million. There is no shortage of vaccine, but many people have been hesitating, and the new measures are aimed at pushing them to get the shots.

Pakistan has reported 1.2 million COVID-19 cases and 27,785 deaths since the pandemic began last year.

7:40 a.m. Coronavirus deaths in Russia hit a record on Friday for the fourth straight day, and confirmed cases continued to surge as well.

Russia’s state coronavirus task force reported 887 deaths, the country’s highest daily number in the pandemic. The previous record, from a day earlier, stood at 867.

The task force also reported 24,522 new confirmed cases from Thursday — the highest daily tally since late July.

“The dynamic is bad. It elicits concern,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

The Russian government has no plans to impose a lockdown, according to Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, the head of the task force.

Russia has had only one nationwide lockdown, at the beginning of the pandemic in the spring of 2020. The country’s authorities have shunned imposing tough restrictions ever since.

Peskov pointed out that many regional governments have their own infection-control measures, but he wouldn’t say whether the Kremlin considered those rules sufficient.

7:20 a.m. A fire at a hospital in the Romanian port city of Constanta killed at least nine COVID-19 patients, authorities said Friday.

All the victims were in the intensive care unit of Constanta’s Hospital for Infectious Diseases, said Constantin Amarandei, head of the city’s emergency inspectorate. Only one patient from the ICU survived.

The Health Ministry said in a statement that 113 patients were in the medical unit of the hospital and all the survivors have now been evacuated. The fire was extinguished by mid-morning but its cause is not yet known.

6:15 a.m.: Merck & Co. said Friday that its experimental COVID-19 pill reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half in people recently infected with the coronavirus and that it would soon ask health officials in the U.S. and around the world to authorize its use.

If cleared, Merck’s drug would be the first pill shown to treat COVID-19, a potentially major advance in efforts to fight the pandemic. All COVID-19 therapies now authorized in the U.S. require an IV or injection.

Merck and its partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said early results showed patients who received the drug, called molnupiravir, within five days of COVID-19 symptoms had about half the rate of hospitalization and death as patients who received a dummy pill. The study tracked 775 adults with mild-to-moderate COVID-19 who were considered higher risk for severe disease due to health problems such as obesity, diabetes or heart disease.

Among patients taking molnupiravir, 7.3{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} were either hospitalized or died at the end of 30 days, compared with 14.1{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of those getting the dummy pill. There were no deaths in the drug group after that time period compared with eight deaths in the placebo group, according to Merck. The results were released by the company and have not been peer reviewed. Merck said it plans to present them at a future medical meeting.

6:05 a.m.: Japan fully came out of a coronavirus state of emergency for the first time in more than six months as the country starts to gradually ease virus measures to help rejuvenate the pandemic-hit economy as the infections slowed.

At Tokyo’s busy Shinagawa train station, a sea of mask-wearing commuters rushed to their work despite an approaching typhoon, with some returning to their offices after months of remote work.

The emergency measures, in place for more than half of the country including Tokyo, ended Thursday following a steady fall in new caseloads over the past few weeks, helping to ease pressure on Japanese health care systems.

Outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga thanked the people for their patience and co-operation, and asked them to stick to their basic anti-virus measures.

“Once again, I seek your co-operation so that we can return to our daily lives feeling safe,” he said.

5:45 a.m.: Toronto Public Health has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Toronto East Detention Centre in Scarborough, according to a spokesperson from the Ministry of the Solicitor General.

Ontario is reporting 34 active COVID-19 cases among inmates at the correctional facility, as of Thursday.

According to provincial data, the detention centre reported four confirmed cases on Sept. 12. By Sept. 23, there were 17 active cases. An additional 17 confirmed infections were reported Monday.

Located near Eglinton Avenue East and Birchmount Road in Scarborough, the correctional facility has a capacity of 473 inmates.

Read more from the Star’s Joshua Chong.

5:30 a.m.: Somalia has opened the country’s first public oxygen plant as the Horn of Africa nation with one of the world’s weakest health systems combats COVID-19.

The oxygen plant was installed Thursday at a hospital in the capital, Mogadishu. It is expected to produce 1,000 cylinders of oxygen a week.

The scarcity of medical oxygen has hurt response efforts across many African nations as the Delta variant of the coronavirus now drives the bulk of infections on the continent of 1.3 billion people.

Insecurity in Somalia poses an added challenge to efforts to fight the pandemic. A COVID-19 ward recently set up at the hospital was partially destroyed weeks ago in an attack by the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group, which controls parts of Somalia and frequently targets the capital.

Part of the work around the oxygen plant’s installation focused on repairing that damage.

Somalia has one of the highest case fatality rates from COVID-19 in Africa, and few measures are enforced to slow the spread of the virus.

5:15 a.m.: Saskatchewan’s proof-of-vaccination policy is now in effect, meaning residents will have to show they have been immunized or have a negative COVID-19 test to access several businesses and event venues.

Public service employees are also required to provide proof of vaccination or provide a negative COVID-19 test result at least every seven days.

It comes a day after Saskatchewan recorded its highest daily case count of COVID-19 and its highest number of people needing intensive care.

Businesses that will be requiring proof of vaccination include restaurants, bars, nightclubs, theatres, casinos and entertainment venues.

Children under the age of 12 are exempt from the requirements.

5 a.m.: On Thursday, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has announced about 35 out-of-province health-care staff will be brought in to help deal with the province’s growing COVID-19 crisis.

The move comes after the premier spent the week resisting calls from health-care professionals for a hard circuit-breaker lockdown in the province as well as playing down the immediate need for outside help.

But at a press conference on Thursday, Kenney said Alberta was working to bring in five or six workers from Newfoundland and Labrador, eight to 10 from the Canadian Armed Forces and about 20 from the Canadian Red Cross. The workers would likely head to Fort McMurray, Edmonton and Red Deer to assist with the province’s overwhelmed ICUs, Kenney said.

“It’s a helping hand,” said Kenney. “It will help to provide some relief. In some of our hospitals, that is very welcome.”

For weeks, Alberta has been grappling with the worst COVID-19 crisis in the country. About 200 additional ICU beds have been opened up while hospitals have struggled to keep up with the onslaught of mostly unvaccinated patients being admitted.

Read more from the Star’s Kieran Leavitt.

4:30 a.m.: A third school district in British Columbia has announced its own policy extending a provincial mask mandate for kindergarten-to-Grade 3 students starting Monday.

The Burnaby School District followed the lead of the Vancouver and Surrey districts in mandating masks for all grades as concerns mount about the rising number of COVID-19 infections among children who are not eligible for vaccination.

The district says in a letter sent to parents Thursday that the Burnaby Board of Education made a unanimous decision on the change after requesting an urgent meeting Wednesday night with Dr. Ariella Zbar, the medical health officer of Fraser Health.

“Her assurance that masks are an effective layer of protection for all students when used in concert with other health and safety measures informed the board’s decision to promptly implement this new mask requirement,” the letter says.

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COVID-19 lockdowns ‘deepened social inequality’

COVID-19 lockdowns ‘deepened social inequality’
A COVID-19 vaccination centre sign stands at St Thomas' hospital opposite Westminster on September 13, 2021 in London, United KingdomShare on Pinterest
A COVID-19 vaccination center sign stands at St Thomas’ Hospital opposite Westminster on September 13, 2021, in London, United Kingdom. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
  • Lockdown measures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic have changed people’s lives.
  • Different social groups felt these changes disproportionately.
  • Future research is necessary to determine if, how, and why these social inequalities continue to persist.

The United Kingdom officially announced its first lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic on March 23, 2020. Two more national lockdowns occurred in the months that followed, Home Decoration.

The lockdowns resulted in unprecedented changes to people’s lives, but not all these changes ended when the lockdowns were over.

A recent study, which appears in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, explores the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on various dimensions of different social groups.

Stay informed with live updates on the current COVID-19 outbreak and visit our coronavirus hub for more advice on prevention and treatment.

Researchers at the University of Oxford, U.K., used data from the first eight waves of the U.K. Household Longitudinal Survey on COVID-19 — from March 2020 to March 2021. They also used data from the main survey of two waves before the pandemic — from 2017 to 2019.

The panel survey covers a representative sample of 51,000 adults from approximately 40,000 households. The researchers reached out to individuals aged 20–65 years who participated in the main study to ask them to join the COVID-19 supplementary study. This required monthly online reporting from April 2020. In May 2020, the researchers added the option to report by telephone.

In total, nearly 16,000 individuals responded, representing a 42{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} response rate.

The authors reviewed the impact of COVID-19 and COVID-19-induced measures as the surveyed population reported.

The researchers were especially interested in how income, their use of time, and their well-being changed throughout different stages of the pandemic. In addition, they wanted to determine if these factors varied based on the sex, ethnicity, and education level of those surveyed.

Many of the measures officials implemented to contain the spread of COVID-19 involved reducing physical contact between people. As a result, the first wave of lockdowns impacted global social behavior immediately.

For example, business closures and remote work altered working patterns. Countries that introduced lockdown measures, such as the U.K., Australia, and the United States, immediately recorded reductions in work earnings.

Studies conducted following the first U.K. lockdown indicated that women and parents experienced a more negative influence on their subjective well-being than that of other social groups. Black, Asian, and minority ethnic immigrants were also more likely to have experienced economic hardship.

“So often, we focus just on cases and hospitalization, ICU usage, and mortality numbers, but it’s important to also look at the social impacts,” said Richard M. Carpiano, Ph.D., in an interview with Medical News Today.

Carpiano is a public and population health scientist and a medical sociologist. “A pandemic is very much a sociological phenomenon as much as it is the spread of a virus.”

As more lockdowns occurred, people’s health and overall feeling of well-being changed, not only because of the possibility or actuality of contracting SARS-CoV-2 but also because of related worry and stress.

The study showed that at the start of the pandemic, individuals who worked experienced a reduction in average earnings and the hours they worked per week. In addition, there was an increase in distress levels.

Data indicates that the mental health of most U.K. adults returned to pre-pandemic levels after the first lockdown, but that was not true for everyone.

Another study that appears in The Lancet supports this observation. It showed that 1 in 9 people did not experience an improvement in their mental health once the first lockdown lifted.

These lingering lockdown effects differed across the sexes, ethnicities, and between degree and nondegree holders. For example, during the first lockdown, the decline in pay was smaller for female than for male workers, possibly because of a higher proportion of women working in key sectors. Later, however, paid work time for men recovered faster than that for women.

Initially, the subjective well-being experienced by women suffered more than that of men. Then, as women’s subjective well-being began to recover, men’s distress levels began to rise.

Regarding earnings, Black, Asian, and marginalized ethnic people were more negatively affected than white individuals. This earnings gap persisted after easing lockdown restrictions.

The researchers conclude that the long-lasting pandemic and related restrictions have produced persistent negative consequences for earnings, work patterns, and subjective well-being.

Author Muzhi Zhou spoke with MNT about the study:

“Some changes in social inequality seem to disappear once lockdown measures are lifted, while other changes remain persistent throughout the whole year. It is worrying to see that the deepened social inequality could be long term for certain social groups.”

The study concludes by noting, “The negative impacts of the spread of COVID-19 and its related measures vary not only in their extent but also in their speed among different social groups.”

The authors suggest further research to understand the factors that have driven and exacerbated these social inequalities. To stress their point, they quote poet Damian Barr: “We are in the same storm, but we are not all in the same boat.”

Speaking about future research, Zhou told MNT: “I think that given the richness of this continuing dataset and the growing number of people contracting [SARS-CoV-2], it is time to examine whether positive and negative COVID-19 test results have different impacts on people of different social groups. Moreover, whether people respond and behave differently after they have taken the vaccine is another very interesting topic.”

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