Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The suggestion that raccoon dogs may have played a role in the origin of COVID-19, based on the collection of genetic material from a wet market in China, doesn’t shed much light on the current pandemic situation, according to one Canadian expert.
Speaking on CTV’s Your Morning on Monday, Dr. Isaac Bogoch said that it was “pretty unfortunate” that we’re finding out about this new potential animal vector this late, considering that we know those samples were collected in early 2020.
“They’re only being made available now, and in fact they were uploaded to a global public repository for genetic material, and then subsequently removed, so there certainly is an issue with transparency,” he said.
The data hasn’t undergone peer review yet. Bogoch noted that the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has called for more transparency from China.
“I think another key point here is that this is still a theory, we still don’t have an answer, this provides incremental data in terms of understanding what the origin of the virus was,” he said.
The animal vector theory has centred on bats since the beginning of the pandemic, meaning raccoon dogs could be a new intermediate animal vector between bats and humans. Still others contend the virus could have leaked from a lab.
The most important thing is preparation for the future, Bogoch said.
“It’s important to understand where this virus came from. But on the other hand too, regardless of where it came from … we need to be prepared,” he said.
“We need early detection systems globally so that we know that there’s an issue well before it becomes a much bigger issue, we need to have support for public health systems all over the planet, we need a response plane that’s not just Canada but a global response plan.”
Click the video above this article to watch the full interview with Dr. Isaac Bogoch
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
B.C. conservation officers recently seized a nine-foot-long Burmese python from a home in Chilliwack.
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
The Ontario government is introducing changes to auto-insurance, but some experts say the move is ill-advised.
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Newfoundland’s unique version of the Pine Marten has grown out of its threatened designation.
A Toronto man is out $12,000 after falling victim to a deepfake cryptocurrency scam that appeared to involve Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
It started small with a little pop tab collection to simply raise some money for charity and help someone — but it didn’t take long for word to get out that 10-year-old Jace Weber from Mildmay, Ont. was quickly building up a large supply of aluminum pop tabs.
There’s a group of people in Saskatoon that proudly call themselves dumpster divers, and they’re turning the city’s trash into treasure.
Ontario is facing a larger than anticipated deficit but the Doug Ford government still plans to balance its books before the next provincial election.