ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR
- 7/28/2020
Shoppers employee in Kelowna, B.C. tests positive for COVID-19
An employee at a Shoppers Drug Mart in Kelowna, B.C., tested positive for COVID-19, according to a list of cases maintained by Loblaws, Shoppers' parent company. - 7/28/2020
Ottawa should transfer money to provinces for doctors' COVID losses
Until recently, few had heard of this obscure code. Recently the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) disclosed that during the pandemic, a at least $623 million had been paid to civil servants—especially in the Canada Revenue Agency and Correctional Services. According to Yves Giroux of the PBO (Jennifer Chevalier, CBC News, July 24, 2020), this amount of lost productivity was the “absolute minimum.” Federal employees were permitted to stay at home during the pandemic and receive full pay while not working—all thanks to the pay code 699 policy. This involved at least 76,000 persons, or a quarter of all government employees. Randall Denley (Ottawa Citizen, July 29, 2020) put this number at 79,000. (By comparison, there are 86,000 practising physicians in Canada.) - 7/28/2020
Alberta premier stands by health minister as doctors' group votes non confidence
Of the nearly 9,000 who voted in the association's survey—two-thirds of the number who were eligible—98% said they did not have confidence in minister Tyler Shandro - 7/28/2020
Siemens Healthineers releases test kit for coronavirus
Siemens Healthineers announced the availability of its molecular Fast Track Diagnostics (FTD) SARS-CoV-2 Assay test kit used to detect the severe respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. - 7/28/2020
Alberta launches remote communication between patients and providers as part of COVID-19 response
The government of Alberta has given patients the ability to create their own secure messaging account to connect with healthcare providers. Brightsquid Secure-Mail has been integrated into the provincial MyHealth Records (MHR) portal. Patients registered for MHR can create their own Secure-Mail account to communicate virtually with community healthcare providers. - 7/28/2020
Toronto, Peel to join Stage 3 of reopening Friday, July 31; Windsor-Essex remains in Stage 2
The province wants to collect and examine data for at least another week before deciding whether the Windsor-Essex can move ahead in the reopening process - 7/27/2020
Spravato, a new intranasal treatment for resistant depression
Intended for patients who have not responded adequately to at least two different antidepressants - 7/27/2020
Scientists get closer to blood test for Alzheimer's disease
The testing identified people with Alzheimer's vs. no dementia or other types of it with accuracy ranging from 89% to 98% - 7/27/2020
Health Canada approves remdesivir to treat severe COVID-19 symptoms
Health Canada has approved the use of remdesivir to treat patients with severe symptoms of COVID-19. The federal agency says the antiviral drug may be used to treat patients who have pneumonia and require extra oxygen to help them breathe. It's the first drug that Health Canada has authorized for the treatment of COVID-19. Health Canada approved its use in adults and adolescents. - 7/27/2020
Parents divided over sending kids back to school: poll
As the clock ticks down to September, a new poll suggests many Canadian parents are on the fence about whether to send their kids to school if and when classrooms are reopened. The poll by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies comes as provincial governments are working on how to get students back into classrooms, most of which have been shuttered since mid-March due to COVID-19.