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globalnews.ca

COVID-19 cases increase in Quebec amid ‘very, very contagious’ variant - Montreal | Globalnews.ca

Quebec is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases. Experts forecast we will see more infections in the months to come, and recommend the most vulnerable receive their booster shot.
globalnews.ca globalnews.ca

COVID-19 cases increase in Quebec amid ‘very, very contagious’ variant​


By Matilda Cerone Global News
Posted July 23, 2024 4:27 pm
Updated July 23, 2024 6:08 pm
2 min read


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WATCH: Quebec is seeing a slight increase in hospitalizations due to Covid-19, and many more positive tests. Experts forecast more is to come and are recommending fall booster vaccines, especially for vulnerable groups. But as Matilda Cerone reports, they want to wait until a new vaccine becomes available.
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Quebec is seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases. The positivity rate for tests has risen from 2.3% in March, to 16.3 per cent the first week of July.
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The most recent variant, KP.3, accounts for most new cases in Canada.
“It’s very, very contagious, that’s why we see a lot of cases at the moment,” explained Dr. Nicholas Brousseau, a public health physician at Quebec’s National Public Health Institute (INSPQ). “But it is not more severe than other variants, so the level of hospitalization is not so high.”
Emergency rooms have been over capacity for the past month, but COVID-19 is only one of many factors causing the backlog.
The latest health and medical news emailed to you every Sunday.
The new surge in cases is linked to summer gatherings and travel.
“If you don’t want to get sick on vacation, you might have to take some preventative measures, like wearing a mask on a plane,” epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos said.
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Some may want to consider getting vaccinated in the fall, when infections are expected to rise as children go back to school.
The INSPQ highly recommends that vulnerable people receive a booster shot. That includes seniors, long-term care home residents, immunocompromised or chronically ill people, and health-care workers.
“For young, healthy adults, the risk of hospitalization or severe illness is very low,” Brousseau added. “It’s more of an individual decision.”
All currently available vaccines are equally effective, experts say. However, Brousseau recommends waiting for “the updated vaccine, because a new vaccine is in development that will be adapted to the COVID-19 strain that is circulating at the moment.”
Labos says that as long as vaccines only target the spikes of the virus, there will be new waves of infections.
“If you could make it so that it was targeting a part of the virus that doesn’t mutate,” he explained,” it would be stable no matter what variant came up.”
 

Quebec renews COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for fall amid uptick in cases​

Positivity rate for COVID-19 tests jumped to 16.3 per cent in July​

CBC News · Posted: Jul 23, 2024 11:56 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 23
A health-care worker prepares to swab a man at a walk-in COVID-19 test clinic

The positivity rate for COVID-19 tests jumped to 16.3 per cent in July from 2.3 per cent in April — the lowest rate so far in 2024. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

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With COVID-19 cases on the rise, Quebec's immunization committee has released its recommendations on administering vaccines this fall.
In a report published Monday, the committee recommends that the same groups as it did last year get a booster dose. They include:
  • People aged 60 and over.
  • People living in long-term care homes.
  • People who are immunocompromised, undergo dialysis or live with a chronic illness.
  • Pregnant people.
  • Health-care workers.
  • Adults living in isolated areas.
Quebec had 790 positive COVID-19 cases in the week of July 14, according to the latest data from the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ). About 820 patients were hospitalized due to COVID-19 that same week, nearly twice as many since the end of April.
The positivity rate for COVID-19 tests jumped to 16.3 per cent in July from 2.3 per cent in April.
People who have never had COVID-19 are more likely to develop complications following their first infection with SARS-CoV-2 despite good vaccination coverage, the immunization committee report says. That's because the effectiveness of the vaccine tends to wane after several months, especially when new variants emerge.
The committee says the likelihood of experiencing severe COVID-19 symptoms leading to hospitalization is much higher for elderly people, and that risk is compounded when a person has a chronic illness.
Preliminary analyses conducted on people who were 60 years old and older during the 2023 vaccination campaign show that they were 43 per cent more protected than people who only received a booster dose in 2022.
Young adults in good health may get another dose, but the committee says a booster dose for that group would have few benefits given the group's low risk of developing COVID-19 complications.

"The vaccine is very effective to prevent severe hospitalization. It's not as effective to prevent transmission," said Dr. Nicholas Brousseau, a public health physician at the INSPQ. "That's why our recommendations target at-risk people."

New variants​

The committee is also recommending that the government wait for the availability of vaccines which are better adapted to new strains circulating before launching the next vaccination campaign.
It is calling on the government to withdraw its preference for mRNA vaccines over Nuvaxovid (Novavax) so that Quebec may recommend the vaccine that "offers protection against variants that are closest to those circulating" and look into offering booster doses along with the flu shot.
The virus SARS-CoV-2 continues to produce new variants since it was first detected in 2019, with the JN.1 strain being the most prominent in Quebec and Canada as of March 13, 2024.
The last provincial vaccination campaign targeted the XBB.1.5 variant.
"By fall 2024, it is expected that new versions of COVID-19 vaccines, targeting one or more strains closer to those currently in circulation, will be developed and authorized," the report says.
 

Two Australian water polo players test positive for covid ahead of Games​

The Australian Olympic team has been rocked in the days before the Paris Games begin with several athletes struck down by Covid.

less than 2 min read
July 24, 2024 - 9:50AM

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Olympics: As the Australian swimmers arrive in Paris athletes have been warned about security concerns. Preparations for Water Polo have stalled as two players test positive for COVID.

Two Australian athletes from the women’s water polo team have tested positive to Covid in the days before the Paris Olympics.
The Australian Olympic Committee confirmed a second case had been recorded on Tuesday (AEST), just hours after the first case was reported.
While the identity of the athletes had not been revealed, the first individual missed training with the second still well enough to train.
“The player who has tested positive to Covid last night has chosen not to train with her teammates this afternoon,” the AOC said in a statement.
“All close contacts have been tested. A second player who was a close contact has also tested positive, but that player is well enough to train.
The two athletes have not been revealed. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

The two athletes have not been revealed. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“The Water Polo team followed the Australian Olympic Team Respiratory Illness protocols correctly which allowed for early diagnosis and treatment. A reminder has been sent to all teams to reinforce the protocols.
“No other athletes in the Australian Team have been diagnosed with COVID and teams and officials will continue to observe common sense precautions in line with team protocols.”
Australian Olympic team chef de mission Anna Meares said the team was taking any illness seriously as they attempted to stop the spread in the days before competition begins.
“At this stage we are treating this like any other respiratory illness,” Meares said.
“It was late last night when she presented with symptoms.
Covid has struck the women’s water polo squad. Pics Adam Head

Covid has struck the women’s water polo squad. Pics Adam Head
“I need to emphasise that we are treating Covid no differently to other bugs like the flu. This is not Tokyo. The athlete is not particularly unwell and they are still training but sleeping in a single room.

“At the moment she is doing well, she is comfortable. We are testing and monitoring her close contacts and roommate.”
All Australian athletes have been advised to wear face masks when they’re in crowded areas, such as the Olympic Village food hall.
The women’s water polo team are set to hit the water for their opening game against China to take place on Saturday at 4am (AEST).
 
apnews.com

Five players on Australia’s women’s water polo team have tested positive for COVID-19

Five players on Australia’s women’s water polo team have tested positive for COVID-19. Anna Meares, the chef de mission for the Australian team in Paris, says the COVID cases have been confined to the water polo team.
apnews.com apnews.com

Five players on Australia’s women’s water polo team have tested positive for COVID-19​

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FILE - The Olympic rings are seen on the Eiffel Tower, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Paris. Five players on Australia’s women’s water polo team for the Paris Olympics have tested positive for COVID-19. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, File)
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2 of 2 |
A boll floats on the water during Australia’s women’s team training at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 23, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Updated 8:58 AM EDT, July 24, 2024
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PARIS (AP) — Five players on Australia’s women’s water polo team for the Paris Olympics have tested positive for COVID-19.
Anna Meares, the chef de mission for the Australian team in Paris, said the COVID cases have been confined to the water polo team. She said the affected players are clear to practice when they feel well enough to train.
“We treat COVID no differently to any other respiratory illness, but we want to ensure that we have our protocols working as well and dealing with these illnesses and minimizing them is a part and parcel of every Olympic Games,” she said Wednesday.
The protocols include wearing masks and isolating from other team members outside of training. The whole team has been tested, according to Meares.
“More broadly, we have our respiratory illnesses protocol in place and we have reinforced with all of the teams as they arrive into our village,” she said. “Two basic rules around that really simple hygiene practices are effective. And if you are feeling unwell or have any symptoms, get tested.”
Paris is the first Olympics since the Tokyo Summer Games in 2021 and Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 were staged in COVID bubbles with rigorous testing protocols.
 
www.independent.co.uk

Olympics chiefs play down Covid fears as first athletes test positive

The Australia water polo team reported two players had tested positive ahead of the Paris Games
www.independent.co.uk www.independent.co.uk

Olympics chiefs play down Covid fears as first athletes test positive​

The Australia water polo team reported two players had tested positive ahead of the Paris Games​

Jamie Braidwood
1 day ago
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Two Australia water polo players are isolating ahead of the Olympics

Two Australia water polo players are isolating ahead of the Olympics (Getty)
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Olympics chiefs have played down fears of a Covid cluster at the Paris Games after the Australia water polo team reported two players had tested positive and were isolating.
The Australian team said the first athlete to test positive for Covid chose not to train with her teammates on Tuesday afternoon and a second player, who was a close contact, later also tested positive.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were delayed by a year and held largely without spectators but Paris 2024 will be the first post-pandemic summer Olympics. While there is no obligation to wear a mask, anybody with symptoms is being asked to stay at home or at their hotel to avoid spreading the disease.






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“I need to emphasise that we are treating Covid no differently to other bugs like the flu. This is not Tokyo,” Australia’s Olympic team chief Anna Meares told a press conference on Tuesday.
“It was late last night when she presented with symptoms and the good thing is that having our own testing equipment means that we can get that information really, really quickly and intervene both in diagnosis and treatment,” Meares added.

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The opening ceremony for the Paris Olympics takes place on Friday, with hundreds of thousands of spectators expected to line the Seine in the city.

France’s health minister Frederic Valletoux said there was only a small increase in Covid cases in the country ahead of the Olympics.
“Of course Covid is here. We’ve seen a small peak,” he said. “But we are far from what we saw in 2020, 2021, 2022.

“Some precautions are being taken but, because the level at which Covid is spreading is very low, they depend on the organisers.”
 
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