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Brampton, Ont., teen among youngest Canadians to die with COVID-19
A teenage girl in Brampton, Ont., is among the youngest Canadians to die with COVID-19 after her family said she contracted the coronavirus amid the province's devastating third wave.
Emily Victoria Viegas, 13, died on April 22, according to an online fundraiser launched in her memory that's raised more than $80,000 for her grieving family.
Family friend Adrian Goddard, who organized the fundraiser, told CBC News that Viegas had contracted COVID-19 as well as pneumonia. Her mother is currently in intensive care with COVID-19, Goddard said, while her younger brother is also infected and in isolation, but doing OK.
Dr. Andrew Healey, William Osler Health System's interim corporate chief of emergency medicine, said Monday afternoon that this is the first person under the age of 19 who has died in their health system.
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No private gatherings starting Wednesday as Manitoba tries to 'dampen the third wave'
Get-togethers still allowed in parks, but food courts must close, among other stricter rules
Most Manitobans will no longer be allowed to have visitors at their homes — indoors or outdoors — for at least four weeks as COVID-19 cases continue to rise, officials say.
Outdoor gatherings in public places will also be capped at 10, and changes are coming to the retail, restaurant and recreational sectors and faith-based gatherings, Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Brent Roussin said at a news conference Monday.
The restrictions will come into effect Wednesday to "dampen the third wave," Premier Brian Pallister said, and extend beyond the May long weekend.
"We're at a very critical point, not without precedent," Pallister said.
The variants are a new variable at play, he said, calling out a gathering of hundreds of anti-maskers in Winnipeg on the weekend as an example of how some aren't taking the current threats seriously.
"It's clear that some Manitobans have forgotten about those fundamentals, and as a consequence, we are where we are."
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Alberta's Wood Buffalo region to declare state of local emergency as COVID-19 cases climb
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo in northeastern Alberta is declaring a state of local emergency due to climbing COVID-19 case numbers.
Wood Buffalo council passed the motion Sunday night in response to the region's worsening COVID-19 situation, a news release said. The municipality encompasses the community of Fort McMurray and is the centre of Alberta's oilsands production.
The region now has the highest number of cases per capita in the province. The municipality is contending with at least 17 separate outbreaks — at oilsands camps, businesses and daycare centres — and its only hospital has expanded capacity in its intensive care unit (ICU) to accommodate a growing number of coronavirus patients.
Declaring a state of local emergency will give the municipality temporary powers — under the provincial Emergency Management Act — to prevent the crisis from escalating, the release said. Mainly, it gives the community access to more resources.
Council also passed additional motions to request accelerated vaccine distribution for Wood Buffalo and to call for an emergency meeting with Premier Jason Kenney, ministers and federal leaders.
Those recommendations will be raised at a public council meeting Tuesday.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro confirmed Monday that he and Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw will meet with community leaders Tuesday to consider what else the province can do to support the region.
At a news conference Monday, Kenney said he has been in touch leaders in the region, and said that part of the issue seems to be that immunization uptake is low in the region.
On Monday, hundreds of local classrooms closed and public and Catholic students are expected to remain at home for at least two weeks.
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In a Montreal ICU, health-care workers strain to treat younger patients and COVID-19 deniers
Jewish General Hospital ICU has treated nearly 300 COVID-19 patients in pandemic
It's still hard for Ramtin Saeedi to breathe or talk. His words are slow and deliberate. He has to catch his breath between sentences.
"The first day I arrived here, I was in the midst of dying," the 46-year-old said while sitting in a chair in his room in the intensive care unit at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital.
He's behind a sliding glass door in a negative pressure room, with an oxygen tube running through his nose.
Saeedi has been in the hospital since April 13. He said he thinks he caught the virus from his son, a university student studying online at home. The whole family was infected.
In recent days, Saeedi's condition has improved. He praises the hospital staff who have helped him.
"They have been so kind, it's a good team," he said, holding his hand to his chest in a gesture of gratitude.
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Quebec confirms 1st death due to AstraZeneca vaccine-linked blood clots
Woman identified as 54-year-old Francine Boyer
Quebec's Ministry of Health has confirmed the woman's death was caused by a vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT).
She has been identified by her family as 54-year-old Francine Boyer.
According to a news release sent out Tuesday evening, Boyer and her husband Alain Serres both took the AstraZeneca vaccine on April 9.
While he experienced no complications, she was hospitalized and later died on April 23.
The release states that in the days following her vaccination, Boyer suffered from severe fatigue and headaches. She was hospitalized locally and then transferred to the Montreal Neurological Institute as her condition worsened.
In the statement, Boyer's family encourages anyone who has been vaccinated to keep an eye out for reactions or unusual symptoms and to contact their doctor or public health if they have any concerns.
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