Coronavirus

B.C. Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham speaks during a news conference in Vancouver, on Friday July 5, 2019. The British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture says it is ending the COVID-19 quarantine program for seasonal agricultural temporary foreign workers but will keep a different program for another year to support self-isolation to curb the spread of the virus.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. ends quarantine program for temporary foreign workers, self-isolation continues

The British Columbia Agriculture Ministry says it is ending the COVID-19 quarantine…

B.C. Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham speaks during a news conference in Vancouver, on Friday July 5, 2019. The British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture says it is ending the COVID-19 quarantine program for seasonal agricultural temporary foreign workers but will keep a different program for another year to support self-isolation to curb the spread of the virus.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A person bundled up in a heavy jacket for the cold weather wears a face mask to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Vancouver, on Tuesday, December 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. Human Rights Commissioner calls for mask mandate to be reinstated

Kasari Govender says the lifting of the mandate harms the human rights of thousands in B.C.

A person bundled up in a heavy jacket for the cold weather wears a face mask to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Vancouver, on Tuesday, December 21, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A doctor wears a stethoscope around his neck as he tends to patients in his office in Illinois on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia says it has suspended a doctor from practising while it completes an investigation into allegations that he sidestepped COVID-19 public health orders. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Jeff Roberson

B.C. doctor alleged to have circumvented COVID-19 regulations suspended during probe

Interim order affects Dr. Stephen Malthouse, a family practitioner on Denman Island

A doctor wears a stethoscope around his neck as he tends to patients in his office in Illinois on Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2012. The College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia says it has suspended a doctor from practising while it completes an investigation into allegations that he sidestepped COVID-19 public health orders. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Jeff Roberson
A vial of a plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed by Medicago, is shown in Quebec City on Monday, July 13, 2020 as part of the company’s Phase 1 clinical trials in this handout photo. The World Health Organization has rejected Medicago’s made-in-Canada COVID-19 vaccine, restricting Ottawa’s ability to donate the shots to countries in need. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Medicago

UPDATED: WHO rejects Canadian-made COVID-19 vaccine, will review decision

Health Canada authorized Medicago’s two-dose Covifenz vaccine in February for adults 18 to 64

A vial of a plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed by Medicago, is shown in Quebec City on Monday, July 13, 2020 as part of the company’s Phase 1 clinical trials in this handout photo. The World Health Organization has rejected Medicago’s made-in-Canada COVID-19 vaccine, restricting Ottawa’s ability to donate the shots to countries in need. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Medicago
Daniella Okezie poses for a portrait at a studio in Kitchener, Ont., in a Feb. 15, 2022, handout photo. Okezie is going to walk across the stage to mark the completion of her bachelor’s degree from Wilfrid Laurier University next month. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Click Photography, Christine Kufske, *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Universities in Canada plan in-person convocation ceremonies after lengthy hiatus

Daniella Okezie has been practising her strut. In a few weeks, the…

Daniella Okezie poses for a portrait at a studio in Kitchener, Ont., in a Feb. 15, 2022, handout photo. Okezie is going to walk across the stage to mark the completion of her bachelor’s degree from Wilfrid Laurier University next month. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Click Photography, Christine Kufske, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos rises during Question Period in Ottawa, Thursday, March 24, 2022. Duclos held a press conference Friday to announce new support for health care. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Feds commit another $2B to provinces to address health backlogs caused by COVID-19

Throughout the pandemic hospitals across the country had to delay non-emergency procedures

Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos rises during Question Period in Ottawa, Thursday, March 24, 2022. Duclos held a press conference Friday to announce new support for health care. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
A woman wears a protective face mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 as she walks past a billboard from the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver Thursday, April 8, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Legacy and language around masks will be debated long after pandemic recedes: experts

Experts agree the message around mask wearing could have been better communicated

A woman wears a protective face mask to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 as she walks past a billboard from the Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver Thursday, April 8, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
A vial of a plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed by Medicago, is shown in Quebec City on Monday, July 13, 2020 as part of the company’s Phase 1 clinical trials in this handout photo. International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan says he wants the World Health Organization to greenlight Medicago’s COVID-19 vaccine so it can be donated and used by the COVAX vaccine sharing alliance. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Medicago *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Canada’s international development minister urges WHO to approve Medicago vaccine

Canada intends to donate 20 million doses, which can only happen if WHO approve that vaccine

A vial of a plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed by Medicago, is shown in Quebec City on Monday, July 13, 2020 as part of the company’s Phase 1 clinical trials in this handout photo. International Development Minister Harjit Sajjan says he wants the World Health Organization to greenlight Medicago’s COVID-19 vaccine so it can be donated and used by the COVAX vaccine sharing alliance. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Medicago *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam is seen via videoconference as Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos looks on during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic and the omicron variant, in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. Tam says increased COVID-19 transmission is “not unexpected” as public health measures are lifted and cases pick up internationally. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Tam expects ‘spring blip’ in COVID-19 cases

Dr. Theresa Tam expects a rise in COVID cases as restrictions lift

Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam is seen via videoconference as Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos looks on during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic and the omicron variant, in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. Tam says increased COVID-19 transmission is “not unexpected” as public health measures are lifted and cases pick up internationally. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam is seen via videoconference as Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos looks on during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic and the omicron variant, in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. Tam says increased COVID-19 transmission is “not unexpected” as public health measures are lifted and cases pick up internationally. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Bump in COVID-19 cases ‘not unexpected’ as health measures lifted, Tam says

But any increase in hospitalization is expected to be less than what we just saw

Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam is seen via videoconference as Minister of Health Jean-Yves Duclos looks on during a news conference on the COVID-19 pandemic and the omicron variant, in Ottawa, on Friday, Jan. 7, 2022. Tam says increased COVID-19 transmission is “not unexpected” as public health measures are lifted and cases pick up internationally. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Emergency-room nurse Eram Chhogala poses for a photograph at a park near her home, in Toronto, Thursday, March 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin

Two years in, no moving on from COVID-19 for Canada’s exhausted health-care workers

40 health organizations called for urgent government action to address ailing system

Emergency-room nurse Eram Chhogala poses for a photograph at a park near her home, in Toronto, Thursday, March 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin
Seven-year-old Mabel Limdao is held by her father William as Dr. Kevin Evelyn of UHN gives her a COVID-19 vaccine at a "Kids and Families Vaccine Clinic" operated by Black Creek Community Health Centre and hosted by Jane and Finch EarlyON child and Family Centre in the Jane and Finch Mall in Toronto on Thursday, January 13, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

NACI recommends kids get Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, calls Moderna suitable alternative

Pfizer dose is preferred for the first two shots because of the potential risk for myocarditis

Seven-year-old Mabel Limdao is held by her father William as Dr. Kevin Evelyn of UHN gives her a COVID-19 vaccine at a "Kids and Families Vaccine Clinic" operated by Black Creek Community Health Centre and hosted by Jane and Finch EarlyON child and Family Centre in the Jane and Finch Mall in Toronto on Thursday, January 13, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Sonja Mally is photographed near her home in Toronto, on Monday, March 14, 2022. The artist has been barely able to leave her home since developing long COVIID. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

‘Complete change in our quality of life’: Long COVID a burden for many Canadians

Canada lacks centralized system of data collection that could help study and treat the condition

Sonja Mally is photographed near her home in Toronto, on Monday, March 14, 2022. The artist has been barely able to leave her home since developing long COVIID. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Travellers pushing luggage on carts walk through Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Friday, July 30, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Travellers pushing luggage on carts walk through Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., on Friday, July 30, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
The World Health Organization says it is expecting to reject the COVID-19 vaccine candidate from Canada’s Medicago because of the company’s ties to big tobacco. A vial of a plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed by Medicago, is shown in Quebec City on Monday, July 13, 2020 as part of the company’s Phase 1 clinical trials in this handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Medicago *MANDATORY CREDIT*

WHO may reject Canadian-made Medicago COVID-19 vaccine because of ties to big tobacco

Canada has a contract to buy up to 76 million doses of Covifenz

The World Health Organization says it is expecting to reject the COVID-19 vaccine candidate from Canada’s Medicago because of the company’s ties to big tobacco. A vial of a plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine candidate, developed by Medicago, is shown in Quebec City on Monday, July 13, 2020 as part of the company’s Phase 1 clinical trials in this handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Medicago *MANDATORY CREDIT*
An attendee enters an Airbus A380 passenger aircraft, operated by Etihad Airways, during the 15th Dubai Air Show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 13, 2017. Bloomberg photo by Natalie Naccache.
An attendee enters an Airbus A380 passenger aircraft, operated by Etihad Airways, during the 15th Dubai Air Show in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 13, 2017. Bloomberg photo by Natalie Naccache.
Bev Pausche poses for a photograph in West Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, March 11, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

‘Can’t we have lives too?’: High-risk Canadians feel forgotten as COVID rules lift

Experts and disability activists say it’s a familiar disappointment after 2 years of the pandemic

Bev Pausche poses for a photograph in West Vancouver, B.C., on Friday, March 11, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney hopes Albertans will de-politicize mask wearing. (Photo by Government of Alberta)
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney hopes Albertans will de-politicize mask wearing. (Photo by Government of Alberta)
A colourful float makes its way down Ste. Catherine St. during the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Montreal, Sunday, March 22, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

Students, festival organizers make masks a choice as Canada nears St. Patrick’s Day

Return of the Irish holiday doesn’t come without risks, even though provinces have lifted mandates

A colourful float makes its way down Ste. Catherine St. during the annual St. Patrick’s Day parade in Montreal, Sunday, March 22, 2015. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
A police officeer photographs protesters as they gather at the Foothills Hospital to oppose COVID-19 related public health measures in Calgary, Alta., Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Calgary police chief says officers in no-win situation at weekend protest clash

Some are concerned police have allowed weekly protest to grow by not enforcing the law

A police officeer photographs protesters as they gather at the Foothills Hospital to oppose COVID-19 related public health measures in Calgary, Alta., Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh