www.theasianstar.com Vol 20 - Issue 11
Saturday, April 17, 2021
BC’s Covid-19 spike could overwhelm hospitals, scientists say An independent Covid-19 modelling group says hospitalizations from Covid-19 are projected to overwhelm hospital capacity in British Columbia by May, unless rigorous restrictions are put in place. The B.C. Covid-19 Modelling Group is made up of a range of academics from Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia and has support from the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences. Sarah Otto, a UBC professor and a member of the group, has previously warned that the province is under-reporting its Covid-19 variants. She says transmission of the virus must be reduced by roughly 40 per cent from the levels seen in March to help health authorities control case growth. The group also projects cases of variants of concern to rise to nearly 2,000 a day by late April.
Tel:604-591-5423
Canada on track to pass USA in number of new Covid-19 cases relative to population In a reversal of earlier pandemic trends, Canada is on the verge of matching — perhaps surpassing — the United States in the number of new Covid-19 cases relative to its population. Updated data compiled from the Johns Hopkins University Covid-19 dataset shows that the United States is adding roughly 196 new Covid-19 cases per one million people daily, and Canada, as of Tuesday, was adding 180 new cases per one million people daily. The
data is based on a seven-day rolling average of daily new infections. While this amounts to, in raw numbers, a difference of some 59 million cases, it’s a worrisome trend, experts say. Anthony Dale, the president and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association, said the United States has suffered “the biggest public health catastrophe in probably the modern Western world’s history.” Continued on page 7
Fraser Health area residents & youth should get priority vaccines says Vancouver physician Why are Surrey MLAs silent on this issue? A Vancouver family physician is questioning why people in Fraser Health and younger people are not being prioritized for Covid-19 vaccinations since they are both big drivers of the spread of the virus. Dr. Birinder Narang agrees with the decision to immunize all adults living and working in Whistler, and thinks many
factors make residents in Surrey more at risk to contracting the virus. “There’s still people working essential, front-line jobs, there are still people who don’t have financial security or don’t have the ability to work from home and are living in multi-generational settings Continued on page 7
13.5 lakh take shahi snan: ‘It is a matter of faith’ pandemic. Kumbh happens once in 12 years and they can’t miss it, the devotees said. “It is a matter of faith which is bigger than anything else. I am a believer in god. How can I miss this opportunity to take bath on this auspicious day,” said Vicky Tyagi, a railway employee posted in Delhi who arrived here on Tuesday with three of his friends. In their 20s, they said they took the Narsan route to enter Uttarakhand from Uttar Pradesh.
Despite the steep rise in Covid-19 cases across the country, more than 13.5 lakh devotees turned up at the ghats of Ganga in Haridwar for the third shahi snan during the Kumbh Mela on Wednesday, officials said. While the authorities said adequate measures, such as mandatory negative RTPCR reports for those coming in, have been in place to ensure safety of the devotees, many of the visitors The Indian Express spoke to said belief was more important than the
Surrey RCMP raid wedding party and fined host & restaurant owner for breaking Covid-19 rules Nearly $17,000 in fines have been handed out by RCMP in Surrey, B.C., in the last week to a growing number of people who police say are ignoring Covid-19 health orders. RCMP said in a statement that most of the fines were issued over large gatherings, including a $2,300 fine for the host of a wedding where 22 people attended against the provincial health officer’s orders. Sgt. Tyler Wickware, with Surrey RCMP’s COVID-19 Compliance and Enforcement Team, says officers have seen the number of people and businesses ignoring the health orders “creeping up.” Mounties
say the majority of the fines announced Wednesday stem from large gatherings, with officers going to five separate homes between April 7 and April 11 to issue fines. Other fines went to a restaurant owner who violated dining-in restrictions and to a man who refused to wear a mask inside a business. Wickware says the sunny weather can make it very inviting to gather with others, but public health orders remain in place limiting those gatherings, even outdoors.