Corona Virus Symptoms

B.C. has identified its first case of the COVID-19 omicron variant, health officials confirmed Tuesday. 

"I’m reporting we have now one confirmed case of the omicron variant in Alberta," Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, told a news conference Tuesday.

Countries are acting swiftly to isolate regions where COVID-19 variants of concern have emerged. Many scientists are not convinced that travel bans actually work. Some say bans encourage countries to downplay outbreaks or hide new variants. Others say bans can buy time.

Incoming air travellers from all countries except the United States will be required to take COVID-19 tests when arriving in Canada, the federal government announced today.

The omicron variant was already in the Netherlands when South Africa alerted the World Health Organization about it last week, Dutch health authorities said Tuesday, adding to fear and confusion over the new version of the coronavirus in a weary world hoping it had left the worst of the pandemic behind.

Yukon now has the highest rate of deaths due to opioids in the country at 48.4 deaths per 100,000 people, more than double the Canada-wide rate of 19.4. “This is shocking,” said Heather Jones, the territory's chief coroner.

Ontario's chief medical officer of health says the province is investigating two potential cases of a new COVID-19 variant in Hamilton.

The World Health Organization on Monday pushed for an international accord to help prevent and fight future pandemics amid the emergence of the worrying new omicron coronavirus variant.

The Ontario government announced on Sunday that there are two cases of the new omicron variant of the coronavirus confirmed in Ottawa.

With the emergence of the omicron variant, the holidays rapidly approaching and COVID-19 case levels still elevated in much of the country, should Canada wait for more proof of waning immunity before expanding eligibility of boosters?

Dr. Adina Weinerman is on a mission to get her fellow health-care workers at Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Hospital vaccinated against COVID-19. The idea behind her work is that while vaccine mandates by themselves can generate angry compliance, some friendly persuasion can change minds.

U.S. federal health regulators say an experimental COVID-19 pill from Merck is effective against the virus, but they will seek input from outside experts on risks of birth defects and other potential problems during pregnancy.

The Liberal government has introduced legislation to provide workers in federally regulated sectors with 10 days of sick pay — while also making it an offence to intimidate or prevent patients from seeking care, or to interfere with health professionals trying to deliver it.

As scientists race to find out more about a coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, here's what we know about where and when it was identified, why it is causing concern and what countries have done in response.

There were smiles, some tears and hundreds of Band-Aids plastered on little arms as Alberta's COVID-19 vaccination clinics opened their doors to children Friday.

A new coronavirus variant that was identified this week in South Africa has been named a variant of concern and given the name Omicron by the World Health Organization.

A slew of nations moved to stop air travel from southern Africa on Friday in reaction to news of a new, potentially more transmissible coronavirus variant.

Nunavut’s chief public health officer declared a tuberculosis outbreak in Pangnirtung Thursday. The government said enhanced public health 'follow-up of the situation is necessary.'

Health Minister Audrey Gordon acknowledged nurses are feeling "COVID fatigue," as the health-care system remains strained by the pandemic. "Individuals are looking at other opportunities, but what we are saying to them is stick with us."

As kids aged five to 11 are being offered the vaccine across the country, doctors weigh in on what this age group can do for national vaccination rates and how this could bring us back to more normal times.

New variant identified in the midst of surging coronavirus cases and vaccination rates that are falling short of the government's target.

Eighty people in Waterloo region have died from suspected overdose deaths so far this year, eight more since the last update in early October.

Canada's chief public health officer says she hopes vaccines for babies and toddlers will be approved in the new year, depending on how clinical trials play out.

The European Union's drug regulator on Thursday recommended approval of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine for use on children from five to 11 years old, clearing a path for shots to be administered to millions of elementary school pupils amid a new wave of infections sweeping across the continent.

Many doctors, engineers and scientists say the Public Health Agency of Canada's shift toward recommending medical masks and respirators over cloth masks is due to increased acknowledgement of aerosol transmission.

Some health experts are urging establishments and institutions to re-think the use of plexiglass as a measure against COVID-19, arguing the barriers can even be "counterproductive" when they obstruct the ventilation needed to avoid spreading the more transmissible delta variant.

Children aged five- to 11-years-old are now eligible to get vaccinated in the province, and officials have been busy making preparations to put youngsters — and their parents — at ease.

Expectant moms respond the N.W.T.'s plan to send them to Alberta to deliver their babies due to a staffing shortage at Stanton Territorial Hospital.

Germany is poised to pass the mark of 100,000 deaths from COVID-19 this week, a sombre milestone that several of its neighbours crossed months ago but which Western Europe's most populous nation had hoped to avoid.

After hearing Rebecca Billard's story, Dr. Christopher Levesque got in touch with Ensemble Moncton, a harm reduction organization, to offer his help.

While many parents signed their kids up to be first in line for a COVID-19 vaccine, others have more questions. The drive to vaccinate Canadians 5-11 against COVID-19 could prove tougher and perhaps take longer than earlier age groups.

Quebec's ombudsman has submitted her final report into what went wrong in long-term care homes during the pandemic, saying residents were "cast aside" and imploring the government to right its wrongs by making recommended changes immediately. 

The World Health Organization's Europe office said projections show its 53-country region could face another 700,000 deaths in the COVID-19 pandemic by next spring, topping two million in total.

CVS, Walgreens and Walmart pharmacy chains recklessly distributed massive amounts of pain pills in two Ohio counties amid overdose deaths, a federal jury said Tuesday in a verdict that could set the tone for other city and county governments that want to hold pharmacies accountable for their roles in the opioid crisis.

Five people connected to Mayo died from either substance abuse or opioids in 2021, the territory's coroner says. The Yukon town has a population of just 457.

Premier François Legault said he and Health Minister Christian Dubé will hold a press conference at 5 p.m. to "explain in detail how the vaccination plan will work."

As Western University continues to wait for government funding to expand its nursing program, applications to the Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing were up by 20 per cent this past year, driving up competition at a time when nurses are burned out and leaving the profession in droves.

A new paper calls into question a decades-old Canadian study that has informed breast cancer screening guidelines for women in their 40s around the world, which generally do not recommend a yearly mammogram.

The Liberal government starts its third term in office today with a speech from the throne delivered by Gov. Gen. Mary May Simon — and a plan to pass a flurry of legislation before the Christmas break.

Three people have died following a suspected outbreak of blastomycosis, a fungal lung infection, in the Constance Lake First Nation, northwest of Timmins, Ont.

The Public Health Agency of Canada said it hopes to keep the number of wasted doses of COVID-19 vaccines in Canada under five per cent.

A health-care worker gives her tips for preparing your child to receive their vaccine, while a pediatrician addresses questions your child may have.

An Ontario mother says she had to take her baby to three different hospitals, and speak with six doctors in less than a week, to get an accurate diagnosis after he was injured in a fall. Has the strain of the pandemic made it more likely for doctors to make mistakes?

A national health advocacy body is calling on the federal government and some social media companies to reduce threats and violence some front-line health-care professionals are experiencing at work.

Dr. Sheila Singh has seen a big spike in pediatric brain diseases that could have been treatable if they had been diagnosed sooner. She says we need to critically evaluate our pandemic response to prevent these tragedies from repeating during the next pandemic.

Pediatric experts say the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged five to 11 will not only protect them against infection, but also help relieve skyrocketing children's mental health struggles.

in a bid to raise vaccination rates among holdouts, doses of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine are now available in several provinces, including British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta. But uptake of the single-dose option has been slow.

A Montreal long-term care home is being praised after escaping the worst of COVID-19. The Montreal Chinese Hospital was COVID-free during the first wave of the pandemic, and now staff members have been honoured with a medal from the National Assembly.

A recent complaint from a northern Quebec family who say police were called on them while at a local medical clinic, will be a learning lesson for the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay, says the board's chair.

Starting on Nov. 30, fully vaccinated Canadians taking short trips abroad will no longer need proof of a negative COVID-19 test to return home, Ottawa confirmed on Friday.