'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Canada will be banning the entry of all foreign nationals who have travelled through southern Africa in the last 14 days as concerns over a new coronavirus variant grow.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said individuals who have travelled through southern Africa in the last 14 days and are currently in Canada are being asked to quarantine now and to go for a COVID-19 test.
The countries include South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini.
Those individuals must remain in quarantine until they receive a negative result, he said.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said there are currently no direct flights from the region to Canada.
Canadians and other permanent residents returning to Canada from the region through another country must take a negative COVID-19 test in the third country.
They will also be tested upon arrival in Canada, Duclos said, and will quarantine until they have proof of a negative test.
He said these individuals will then be released to quarantine somewhere safe, but must be tested once again on day eight.
Duclos said Global Affairs Canada will also be issuing a travel advisory, asking all Canadians not to travel to southern Africa, noting the government is “acting quickly to protect the health and safety of Canadians."
According to Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, laboratories across Canada have been “alerted” to the B.1.1.529 variant, and have “searched for possible detections.”
“But to date there are no indications of the variant’s presence in Canada,” Tam said. “There have not been any identifications of this variant through post-arrival testing of travellers to date.”
While the variant is still being studied, Tam said it is considered “unusual” due to the high number of mutations.
“Due to the potential for increased transmissibility and the possibility of increased resistance to vaccine induced protection, we’re concerned about this new variant and are closely monitoring the evolving situation,” she told reporters.
Tam said it is “very difficult” to keep the mutation out of Canada “entirely.”
“The border is never 100 per cent, but each layer provides an additional layer of protection,” she said.
While the travel ban currently only covers seven countries, Alghabra said officials will continue to monitor data from around the world as well as from tests conducted at the border.
“We’ll take additional precautionary measures if necessary,” he said, adding that officials will be “constantly” re-evaluating and reassessing the list of affected countries.
The news from Canada comes just after the World Health Organization (WHO) designated B.1.1.529 a variant of concern, and named it “omicron.”
According to the WHO, the variant was first reported from South Africa on Nov. 24.
Since then, cases of the variant have been reported in Belgium, Botswana, Israel and Hong Kong.
The WHO said this variant has a “large number of mutations,” some of which “are concerning.”
“Preliminary evidence suggests and increased risk of reinfection with this variant, as compared to other VOCs,” a press release reads.
According to the WHO, the number of cases of this variant “appears to be increasing in almost all provinces in South Africa,”
Fears over the variant have prompted several countries including Britain, the U.S. and the European Union to tighten their border controls.
But, speaking at a media briefing on Friday, South Africa’s Health Minister Joe Phaahla said the travel bans are against the norms and standards of the WHO.
With a file from Reuters
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
Several Nova Scotia groups that assist women are speaking out against comments on domestic violence by Justice Minister Brad Johns, and at least one is calling for his dismissal.
Every good wedding has to have one teensy, tiny crisis.
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.