BREAKING Loblaw agrees to sign grocery code of conduct after months of negotiations
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. said Thursday it's ready to sign on to the grocery code of conduct, paving the way for an agreement that's been years in the making.
The latest FluWatch report confirms what experts have been warning could happen as an early rise in influenza cases spreads across Canada: we’re now officially in the midst of a flu epidemic.
“At the national level, influenza activity has crossed the seasonal threshold, indicating the start of an influenza epidemic. All surveillance indicators are increasing and most are above-expected levels typical of this time of year,” the report said.
The latest numbers from Canada’s national surveillance system, which tracks the spread of influenza and influenza-like illnesses, reports an 11.7% positivity rate in Canada in the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, an increase from 6.3 per cent reported in the two weeks before— thereby crossing the threshold of 5% positivity over that period and putting Canada into flu epidemic territory.
Across Canada, the percentage of hospital visits by patients with flu-like symptoms has been above the seasonal average, along with those reporting cough and fever as symptoms. The FluWatch report for the week ending Nov. 5, 2022, showed there were 78 hospitalizations cases related to Influenza.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), meanwhile, is reporting a rising number of cases in much of the country.
Emergency departments and hospitals have been battling the huge influx of patients, with many being treated in hallways. Dr. Rose Zacharias, president of the Ontario Medical Association, told CTV's Your Morning last week, that “this is the first year since the pandemic began that we're heading into a normal flu season.”
“Coupled with the COVID-19 virus still circulating and RSV, which is another common childhood virus that comes around this time of year, we're seeing that increased strain, and the emergency departments and healthcare teams still dealing with burnout," Zacharias added.
Children's hospitals, in particular, have been strained by the new surge of young patients with viral infections. Half of the flu (51 per cent) illnesses have been reported in children aged two to four years and 10 to 16 years, according to the report. To date, between Aug. 28, 2022 and Nov. 5, 2022), 133 pediatric influenza-associated hospitalizations and 17 ICU admissions have been reported.
According to the U.S. CDC, most children catch a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) before they turn two and it is typically a mild illness. But in some cases, it can have severe outcomes, leading to difficulty in breathing, dehydration, and other serious illnesses such as bronchiolitis or pneumonia.
Currently, Canada’s healthcare system is grappling to find medications for respiratory illnesses which have been on the rise. The overall activity of several viruses is above expected levels, according to the weekly respiratory virus report for the week ending Nov. 5, 2022. The data looks at the number of detections of only seasonal human coronaviruses and not the novel pandemic coronavirus.
The rise in flu cases is also straining U.S. hospitals.
An increased number of flu cases have hit the U.S. weeks earlier than usual. Last week, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that about half of the country —25 states— reported high or very high respiratory illness activity. In an interview with ABC News, Dr. Frank Belmonte from the Advocate Children's Hospital in Chicago, said, “This is our March of 2020. So, this is the pediatric version of the beginning of the pandemic."
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. said Thursday it's ready to sign on to the grocery code of conduct, paving the way for an agreement that's been years in the making.
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
A Montreal father who kidnapped his daughter who has autism and lied to police when they asked where she was should serve three years in prison, a Crown prosecutor said.
To give Canadians a break on their summer road trips, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to suspend all gas and diesel taxes from Victoria Day to Labour Day.
A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance 'with a high capsaicin concentration.'
Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ Aiden Pleterski was soliciting new investors as recently as February – a year-and-a-half after he was petitioned into bankruptcy for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million - police alleged on Thursday.
Many Canadians found a message from the Canada Revenue Agency this week as they received their first direct deposit for the Canada Carbon Rebate.
A smuggling operation used drones to fly drugs across the Niagara River from Canada into upstate New York, using a newly purchased US$630,000 house along the river as a drop point, according to a criminal complaint unsealed this week.
Auto technology has evolved and many newer cars use wireless key fobs and push-button starters instead of traditional metal keys. But that technology also makes things easier for thieves.
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.