COVID-19 Coronavirus

CRA fires 232 people for falsely claiming $2,000 monthly pandemic benefit
OTTAWA - The Canada Revenue Agency has now fired more than 200 people for falsely claiming a federal income benefit during the COVID-19 pandemic. The CRA says as of March 15, 232 employees "inappropriately applied for and received" the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and have been terminated, an increase of...
Mar 26, 2024
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COVID vaccines don't cause cancer. But false claims persist in sea of misinformation
Anyone who spends even a moderate amount of time online has likely come across social media posts falsely claiming that COVID-19 vaccines are harmful to human health. Among the most widely debunked claims is that vaccines developed with messenger RNA technology can cause cancer because they contain "monkey virus D...
Mar 23, 2024
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COVID was a good chance to study what the animals did while humans were locked down
VANCOUVER - The COVID-19 lockdown for humans was not an opportunity for wildlife to run free, in fact a new study found herbivores tend to be more active around people, while carnivores remained hidden. The study, published Monday in Nature Ecology and Evolution and led by researchers at the University of B.C., is one...
Mar 18, 2024
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COVID was a good chance to study what the animals did while humans were locked down
VANCOUVER - The COVID-19 lockdown for humans was not an opportunity for wildlife to run free, in fact a new study found herbivores tend to be more active around people, while carnivores remained hidden. The study, published Monday in Nature Ecology and Evolution and led by researchers at the University of B.C., is one...
Mar 18, 2024
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COVID-19 Coronavirus

Supreme Court will not hear appeal from churches who fought Manitoba COVID rules
WINNIPEG - The Supreme Court of Canada has decided not to hear an appeal by several churches that fought Manitoba's COVID-19 restrictions. Lawyers for the churches argued public health orders in 2020 and 2021 that temporarily closed in-person religious services, then permitted them with caps on attendance, violated the...
Mar 14, 2024
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Canadian Covid Society launches to address long-term effects, prevent further illness
A new non-profit group called the Canadian Covid Society launched today. The national society aims to lead the fight against COVID-19 by advocating for people suffering from long COVID and raising awareness about preventing ongoing infections. The founders are two ER doctors, an engineer, a physicist and a governance ...
Mar 06, 2024
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Child poverty rate rises in B.C. after pandemic cash lost, report says
VANCOUVER - A report says more than 126,000 children in British Columbia lived in poverty in 2021 despite decades of policy changes, with some of the worst situations in single-parent families and on First Nation reserves. The First Call Child and Youth Advocacy Society has been doing the reports for 27 years and note...
Feb 26, 2024
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Makers of COVID-19 protective equipment seek over $5 billion in damages from Ottawa
OTTAWA - Canadian manufacturers of masks and other equipment for protecting against COVID-19 are seeking more than $5 billion in damages from the federal government, saying Ottawa misled them about buying and helping sell their products. In a statement of claim filed in Federal Court, the companies and their industry a...
Feb 14, 2024
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Quebec court upholds province's COVID-19 curfew after Charter challenge
MONTREAL - A provincial court justice of the peace has upheld the Quebec government's imposition of curfews during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding several people guilty of breaking the health order during a protest. Marie-France Beaulieu of the Quebec court ruled Tuesday that the curfew - which forced Quebecers to stay ...
Feb 02, 2024
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Class-action lawsuit over COVID-19 outbreaks in Quebec long-term care is approved
MONTREAL - A judge has authorized a class-action lawsuit against the Quebec government on behalf of all residents of public long-term care homes that experienced major COVID-19 outbreaks during the pandemic's first year. The lawsuit in Superior Court alleges that the province's response to the first two waves of COVID-...
Jan 23, 2024
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Thierry Henry says he had depression during career and cried "almost every day" early in pandemic
PARIS (AP) - Thierry Henry, who won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship with France and is Arsenal's all-time highest scorer, has opened up about the fact he "must have been in depression" during his soccer career. The 46-year-old former forward says he had a spell early in the coronavirus p...
Jan 09, 2024
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Thierry Henry says he had depression during career and cried "almost every day" early in pandemic
PARIS (AP) - Thierry Henry, who won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship with France and is Arsenal's all-time highest scorer, has opened up about the fact he "must have been in depression" during his soccer career. The 46-year-old former forward says he had a spell early in the coronavirus p...
Jan 09, 2024
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CRA has fired 185 employees for 'inappropriately' claiming COVID-19 CERB benefits
OTTAWA - The Canada Revenue Agency says 185 employees have been fired to date for claiming a federal COVID-19 benefit when they were not eligible for it. That's an increase of 65 since the CRA last updated the public on its review in September. The CRA is reviewing approximately 600 cases in which current employees re...
Dec 20, 2023
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US homelessness up 12% to highest reported level as rents soar and coronavirus pandemic aid lapses
WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States experienced a dramatic 12% increase in homelessness as soaring rents and a decline in coronavirus pandemic assistance combined to put housing out of reach for more Americans, federal officials said Friday. About 653,000 people were experiencing homelessness during the January snapsho...
Dec 15, 2023
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Get your shots, Henry tells B.C., as flu rises in return of pre-pandemic patterns
VICTORIA - Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says she's seeing a drop in COVID-19 cases in British Columbia but influenza illnesses appear to be increasing, in line with pre-pandemic patterns. She says cases of H1N1 flu and respiratory syncytial virus are both rising, with youngsters testing positive for RSV i...
Dec 11, 2023
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1 in 9 Canadian adults have had long-term symptoms from COVID infection, StatCan says
OTTAWA - Statistics Canada says about one in nine Canadian adults have had long-term symptoms from COVID-19 infection. The report released today says that amounts to 3.5 million Canadians. Symptoms are defined as long-term if they persist for three months or longer after a COVID-19 infection and they can't be explain...
Dec 08, 2023
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CRA claws back $458 million in pandemic-era wage subsidies after partial audit
OTTAWA - The Canada Revenue Agency has denied or adjusted $458 million in funds disbursed to employers through a pandemic-era wage subsidy program as a result of a partially completed auditing process. The agency is releasing a report Monday that offers detailed findings of its audits of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsi...
Nov 20, 2023
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COVID-19 down, influenza and RSV up in B.C., says CDC
VANCOUVER - New data suggest that COVID-19 activity in British Columbia is trending downward, while influenza and RSV are on the rise. A weekly update provided Thursday by the BC Centre for Disease Control says COVID-19 cases, new hospitalizations and deaths are all declining from a peak in the first week of October. I...
Nov 17, 2023
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Health authority declares COVID-19 outbreak with 15 cases at Victoria-area hospital
VICTORIA - A COVID-19 outbreak has been declared at a Victoria area hospital. Island Health says in a statement the outbreak was declared Thursday at the centre unit of Saanich Peninsula Hospital, with 15 patients infected and all experiencing mild illness. The statement comes as new BC Centre for Disease Control data ...
Nov 10, 2023
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COVID-19 waning in B.C., with hospital admissions, deaths and positive cases down
VANCOUVER - New data suggest that a recent surge in COVID-19 activity in British Columbia appears to be waning, with the number of hospital admissions, deaths and positive tests all down sharply. An update released by the BC Centre for Disease Control on Thursday says there were 144 new COVID hospitalizations in the we...
Nov 10, 2023
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Canada's health spending growth 'modest,' remains below pre-pandemic levels: CIHI
Growth in Canada's health spending increased slightly but has remained below pre-pandemic levels and is expected to reach $344 billion in 2023, new data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information says. That's about $8,740 per person, CIHI's national health expenditure trends report said Thursday. The institute'...
Nov 02, 2023
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China's chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou who helped drive the anti-COVID fight dies at age 60
BEIJING (AP) - Wu Zunyou, an epidemiologist who helped drive anti-COVID-19 measures in China that suspended access to cities and confined millions to their homes has died on Friday. He was 60. An announcement from China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention about Wu's death gave no cause, but said that "resc...
Oct 27, 2023
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