'Cybersecurity incident' shuts down London Drugs stores across Western Canada
All 79 locations of pharmacy and retail chain London Drugs were shut down Sunday after it was the victim of a “cybersecurity incident.”
The Canadian Red Cross has been called in to help with contact tracing at an iron ore mine that may have played an early role in spreading the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant around the country.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair tweeted Tuesday that the Red Cross will provide remote contact tracing support related to COVID-19 cases at the fly-in Mary River mine until Sunday.
Operated by the Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation and located on the north end of Baffin Island – remote even for Nunavut – Mary River made headlines earlier this year because of local opposition to plans to expand the mine, including a week-long blockade of its access road and airstrip by Inuit hunters.
A few cases of COVID-19 were detected at the mine sporadically through 2020, but the situation escalated last month when what is now known as the Delta variant began to spread there.
An outbreak at the site was confirmed by territorial health officials on May 2. At the time, there were nine active cases of COVID-19 at Mary River among some 1,000 workers.
Although shift changes and other non-essential travel were halted when the outbreak was declared, the case count continued to climb. By May 4, the nine cases had become 12. Two days after that, the number was 23 and non-essential operations at the site were shut down.
That meant a flurry of activity as most of the mine's active workers returned to their homes across the country. Yet it wasn't until more than three weeks later that health authorities in Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, and elsewhere began to publicly warn household members and high-risk contacts of those who worked at the mine and tested positive for the virus.
It is difficult to determine exactly how many cases were the result of exposure at the Mary River mine, because Nunavut does not include them in its overall COVID-19 case count.
Instead, individuals who test positive at the mine are counted as COVID-19 cases in their home communities – where they live during the weeks when they are not at the site.
Provincial health authorities in Ontario reported on May 31 that they were aware of more than 120 positive cases in workers who had returned to the province from Mary River, covering 33 of Ontario's 34 health regions. The timespan of mine workers returning to the province closely aligns with that of the Delta variant becoming a serious concern in Ontario, although no direct connection has been proven.
Dr. Michael Patterson, Nunavut's chief public health officer, told reporters on Monday that the last new diagnosis of COVID-19 at Mary River was made on May 29, and that there have not been any active cases there since June 5.
The mine remains in an outbreak situation, however, and the territory reminded mine employees last week that once they leave the site and return home, they must isolate and notify their local public health authority.
All 79 locations of pharmacy and retail chain London Drugs were shut down Sunday after it was the victim of a “cybersecurity incident.”
Three women diagnosed with HIV after getting 'vampire facial' procedures at an unlicensed medical spa are believed to be the first documented cases of people contracting the virus through a cosmetic procedure using needles.
Elias Lindholm scored 1:02 into overtime and the Vancouver Canucks came all the way back to beat the Nashville Predators 4-3 in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on Sunday.
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Aerial photos posted by Chinese state media on Sunday showed wide devastation in part of the southern city of Guangzhou after a tornado swept through the day before, killing five people, injuring dozens others and damaging more than 140 buildings.
Ontario is introducing a suite of measures that will crack down on cellphone use and vaping in schools.
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday described domestic violence as a 'national crisis' after thousands rallied around the country against violence toward women.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Vancouver Canucks when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series Sunday.
U.S. intelligence officials have determined that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely didn't order the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny in February, according to an official familiar with the determination.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.