'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
The latest evidence does not show the Omicron variant is contagious for less time than previous versions of the virus that causes COVID-19, chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Tuesday.
But Tam told the House of Commons health committee that the sheer number infections from Omicron is stressing workforces and is a reason to adjust our risk tolerance for ending isolation periods early.
"This is a difficult decision that the provinces have to make," Tam said.
Three weeks ago, the United States Centers for Disease Control said data on infectious periods supported cutting the isolation period to five days from 10, if people wear masks after leaving isolation.
That was based on data the CDC said suggested Omicron was most infectious for about two days before symptoms started and for three days after.
In Canada, quarantine rules are set by provinces and territories, except as it relates to international travellers. But the Public Health Agency of Canada still recommends people infected with COVID-19 isolate for at least 10 days after they test positive or symptoms begin, whichever came first.
Every province and territory has stopped following that advice, starting with Ontario and Saskatchewan on Dec. 30.
Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Yukon and Nunavut, cut the isolation period from 10 days to seven for vaccinated people. Every other province and the Northwest Territories say five days.
Unlike the CDC however, in Canada the shorter isolation period only applies to fully vaccinated individuals -- and in the Northwest Territories to people with a booster shot.
Unvaccinated individuals are still supposed to isolate for 10 days everywhere though exceptions are made in some places for children not yet able to be vaccinated.
Tam was asked by MPs at the health committee Tuesday when Canada would change its guidance and she said the Public Health Agency of Canada is working to update its data on infectious periods.
"There's very little information," she said. "But the studies that we've managed to amass, including a recent one for Japan, suggests that the period of communicability is no shorter than the other variants, because the viral shedding and the viral load doesn't decrease really until day 10 following symptom onset or specimen collection after the diagnosis."
The Japanese study is preliminary and still not peer reviewed but it indicated the viral load was highest among Omicron patients three to six days after symptoms started and disappeared at around 10 days.
That makes it no different from previous variants, Tam said.
"An individual that is infected, for example, is still capable of shedding the virus and communicating this even up to the 10 days," Tam told the MPs.
The Japanese study showed similar results to a data review in the United Kingdom published earlier this month.
However, that doesn't mean the isolation period can't be adjusted with the right precautions, said Tam.
"We do recognize that because so many people are infected with Omicron, at the moment, maintaining business continuity and continuity of critical services is extremely challenging," she said.
Tam said reducing the isolation period carries "a certain amount of risk" and makes other protective layers, like masks, and testing even more important.
The United Kingdom reduced its isolation period from 10 days to seven before Christmas, and further to five days on Monday. But the U.K. says symptoms must be gone and the individual must have two negative rapid tests taken on day five and day six.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2022.
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.
English, history, entertainment, math and geography: high school trivia teams could be quizzed on any of it when they compete at the Reach for the Top Nationals in Ottawa in June.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.