News Releases from Department of Health | Revised data shows increase in boosters administered & decrease in vaccinations completed

A study yesterday in Radiology used imaging to determine that breakthrough infections are less severe when a patient is fully vaccinated against COVID-19 compared with patients who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.The study was based on images collected from the COVID-19

Middlesex-London Health Unit reported two deaths and 190 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, compared to six deaths and 180 cases a week ago.The deaths involved a man in his 70s and woman in her 90s, neither of whom were associated with a long-term care or retirement home. Based on vaccination status of deaths reported in the last six weeks, one was unvaccinated and one was vaccinated.

READING, Pa. - The Reading Police Department is searching for the suspects involved in a shooting that left one man wounded. The shooting happened at approximately 2:30 a.m.

(Memphis Police Department) MEMPHIS, Tenn. - An Amber Alert has been issued for a 2-day-old baby in Memphis, Tennessee after the child's mother was found dead, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.Officials say at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday, officers found an abandoned vehicle in the area of Sedgwick Drive in Levi Road while searching for 27-year-old Danielle Hoyle.Investigators found Hoyle's body near the car.

Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has found success in a new domain, as BBC One Wales has provided her with her own solo slot.The "thrilled" 31-year-old took to Instagram to reveal all about Dare To Dance.The Caerphilly beauty will be choreographing dance routines for individuals or groups on the show to practise, perfect, and then unveil to "surprise family and friends".She will be uniting people through the power of performance, showcasing a message or major milestone in life via each dance.Amy, who has her own inspiring message to deliver by battling Crohn's disease while pursuing her dazzling dance career, was filled with excitement at the prospect of filming the new series.Now a star beyond the Strictly stage, she shared with her Instagram followers: "I'm soooooo excited one of the projects I'm working on this year has finally been announced today!"Amy had previously won a BAFTA Award for her emotive documentary Strictly Amy: Crohn's And Me, which revealed the trials and tribulations of finding widespread national fame while battling an invisible chronic illness behind-the-scenes at the same time.The star sadly had to drop out of her Strictly tour performances earlier this week due to being hospitalised with a flare-up of the condition.In an earlier statement, she had elaborated: "I’m thrilled to be fronting my own series for BBC Wales.Dance can have such a positive impact on physical and mental health, socialising and self-confidence so it’ll be a privilege to share my passion with people and help them experience their own special moment on the dancefloor.“It’s going to be such a joyous and uplifting show and I can’t wait to take people on their own dance journey."Excitement is long overdue for Amy, after the

Rajiv Gupta is managing director and senior partner at consulting firm BCG. Sripradish Kapikad, Platinion associate director, and Surya Giri, Platinion senior engineer at BCG, contributed to the piece.Never miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint.

Ontario’s policy restricting visitors in long-term care homes could soon change.Long-Term Care Minister Paul Calandra says he’s reviewing the rules that took effect in late December to protect residents against the infectious Omicron variant of COVID-19.Calandra says he will have an update on the policy over “the next day or two.” 2,939 people in Ontario hospitals with COVID, 555 in intensive care His comments come as public health rules on social gatherings and businesses started lifting for the rest of the province this week.Ontario long-term care homes currently won’t accept general visitors or let residents leave for social trips, as more than half of the province’s homes contend with virus outbreaks.Meanwhile, businesses that were shuttered last month during the Omicron case surge can now open to 50 per cent capacity and social gatherings can include 10 people indoors.

Jimin is speaking out.

Omicron more transmissible than Delta

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia city health officials say they aren't ready to drop the mask mandate yet, but said "eventually" the mask mandate will end. Dr. Cheryl Bettigole explained that while it's great that more people are doing home tests, counting cases isn't the best metric to determine how we're doing in terms of the pandemic. "We still have more than 500 cases per day, we are on track to see 300 deaths in January.

More officers have been called in to help with an illegal blockade at the Coutts border crossing according to RCMP as the protest enters its fifth day.

Manitoba’s current public health orders to be extended one week Provincial officials had previously announced that the existing orders would be extended through Feb. 8.Global News will stream the press conference on this page.

COVID-19: Quebec premier drops plan to tax people who are unvaccinated Lawyer Natalia Manole says the government should revert to the previous rule, which required caregivers to present negative results from tests taken within the previous 72 hours.She says if health-care workers who are unvaccinated are able to work under those conditions, she doesn’t see why caregivers shouldn’t be afforded the same right.Manole also notes that in certain instances, COVID-19-positive health workers have been permitted to stay on the job.She says she represents at least 80 caregivers and residents who are seeking an injunction to have the decree immediately suspended and to have a judicial review of the health order at a later date.

PHOENIX - Phoenix Police are investigating an incident caught on camera stemming from a stolen car investigation showing an officer punching a girl several times on Jan. 31.Body camera footage was released less than a day later by the department, giving a view of both sides to the story.The girl's family says she's just 13 years old.

COVID-19, a decrease of 14 compared with the previous day.The province also recorded 3,816 new novel coronavirus cases. The government says this number is not representative of the situation, though, because official testing is limited to certain high-risk groups such as health-care workers and teachers.

LONDON - A British Airways pilot in the U.K. was forced to abort an attempted landing at Heathrow Airport as the plane was hit with strong winds brought by Storm Corrie, one of two storms that have battered the country in recent days. A video captured on Monday by aviation channel Big Jet TV showed British Airways flight 1307, which had departed from Aberdeen, tilt toward its left side as it approached the runway in London.

Karnataka minister for Health and Family Welfare and Medical Education, Dr. Sudhakar K on Wednesday announced that the active Covid-19 case count in Karnataka state capital Bengaluru has gone below 1 lakh in the past twenty four hours. 

Super Bowl is around the corner which means it‘s time for super commercials. Hologic is a global medical technology company that is making its first commercial debut despite being around for 36 years.

COVID on Wednesday with 555 in intensive care units.This is down by 152 hospitalizations and a decrease of 13 in ICUs since the previous day. Last Wednesday, there were 4,016 hospitalizations with 608 in ICU.The province recently began distinguishing between those who were admitted to hospital directly because of COVID, and those who were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for the virus.Of the 2,939 people in hospital with COVID-19, 56 per cent of them were admitted because of the virus, while 44 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.Of the 555 people in ICUs with the virus, around 83 per cent were admitted because of COVID, while around 17 per cent were admitted for other reasons.

Love Island star shares his two-year-old daughter Blossom Fincham with his ex, Casey Ranger.Over the past week, the tot spent two nights in the Royal London Hospital, having already spent eight hours in A&E.She further underwent an array of medical tests over a period of three days before being discharged and allowed to go home.Posting to her private Instagram account, Casey revealed she had been in a "living nightmare" as the events unfolded.The NHS worker didn't confirm what had caused Blossom to seek medical attention but did confirm to followers that her daughter is "on the mend" and recovering at home.Referring to Blossom as her 'brave little bear', Casey wrote: "The last few days have been a living nightmare. "After spending eight hours in A&E we were rushed away in an ambulance to the Royal London Hospital.“After two nights there and three days of continuous tests, scans & X-rays, we are finally home.

Nicola Sturgeon yesterday confirmed that a sub-variant of Omicron has been found to be in circulation in Scotland.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka’s Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa said that the proposed Special Goods and Services Tax will be managed under the Departments of Inland Revenue, Customs, and Excise.

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FILE IMAGE - Then-Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the Edward Kennedy Institute on the White House Cancer Moonshot Task Force's mission to double the rate of progress in cancer research and treatment on Oct. 19, 2016, in Boston, Massachusetts.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya on Wednesday (2) ordered to release three workers from the All Saint’s Church Church in Colombo, from where a hand grenade was discovered in January 2022.One church worker who was remanded over the incident and two other workers who were held based on detention orders were thus released.Deputy Solicitor General Dileepa Peiris informed the court that it was revealed that the three workers were not connected to the incident in any way, and the Attorney General had advised to release them.However, the Attorney General had noted that he would inform the court on the 28th of February on the course of action that would be followed with regard to Francis Munendran, another church worker is being held over the incident.

WASHINGTON :

@ashishkjha sheds light on this important question. https://t.co/0eu9m6Zmro

COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal has decided that it would announce an order with regard to granting bail to Attorney-at-Law Hejaaz Hizbullah, on the 7th of February.The decision was made by Justices Menaka Wijesundara and Neil Iddawela on Wednesday (2).On the 28th of January, the Puttalam High Court refused to grant bail to detained lawyer Hejaaz Hizbullah.On 14 April 2020, Hizbullah was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).Hizbullah was being investigated for allegedly “aiding and abetting” the Easter Sunday bombers and for engaging in activities deemed “detrimental to the religious harmony among communities”.

LONDON :

Anxiety and frustration are growing among Ottawa residents, as throngs of truckers and other demonstrators who arrived last week to protest Canada’s COVID-19 restrictions continue to disrupt life in the capital. From traffic jams and shuttered businesses, to noise-polluted nights and people urinating in the streets, Abigail Bimman looks at why Ottawans are calling for action on the demonstrators.

World Health Organization officials say scientists are tracking a “worrying” increase in COVID-19 deaths as the Omicron variant continues its spread around the globe.

PHILADELPHIA - A small street in the Germantown section of Philadelphia is causing big problems for neighbors who say an ongoing construction project has turned it into one of the most dangerous in the city. The 5500 block of Morton Street is a one-way road, adorned with the proper signage that warns motorists not to enter through the wrong side. Still, residents say a parade of cars is often spotted driving against the grain."Pretty much every time I come down, I hear someone coming up the wrong way," one resident said. The problem started last Fall when the Philadelphia Water Department began a sewer repair project on Church Lane, a road that intersects with Morton Street, Baynton Street and Belfield Avenue.In the months since, several streets have closed and caused a traffic nightmare that has subsequently sent some puzzled motorists up Morton Street."It's a mess, it's just one big mess, especially when they come the wrong way," Cynthia Frisby said. When drivers aren't heading the wrong way, some are speeding.

₹1,000 crore to ₹83,000 crore from this fiscal year’s revised estimates of ₹82,000 crore. The department of health research was allocated ₹3,200 crore, an increase from the revised estimates of ₹3,080 crore of the current fiscal. The finance ministry allocated ₹690 crore for future pandemic preparedness as part of the Prime Minister’s Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission-BioSecurity Preparedness and strengthening pandemic research.

Premier Jason Kenney said on Tuesday he is optimistic Alberta will be able to ease public health restrictions and scrap the restrictions exemption program vaccine passport by the end of the month. Quinn Ohler explains.

data released by the Treasury Department, marking a new milestone as government spending and borrowing continues to surge.The new record is for the government's total debt outstanding, which includes $23.487 trillion in debt held by the public and another $6.525 trillion in intra-government debt such as federal trust funds and other accounts.Spending by Congress was already increasing at a steady clip for years before the coronavirus sparked a borrowing surge of $5 trillion in pandemic relief that exacerbated the rate."$30 trillion in debt is an obscene number, but what's even more depressing is the fact that most politicians in both parties don't really care," Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., said in a statement on the milestone.

LOS ANGELES - Monday would have been Heather Garcia's 30th birthday.Instead of celebrating, her family and friends are mourning her death as the mom of five was killed after falling out of a party bus – a 1999 Ford E-350 Super Duty – over the weekend.Garcia was celebrating with her friends in downtown Los Angeles early Saturday when she accidentally fell to her death on the 101 Freeway. The California Highway Patrol responded to the incident a little before 3 a.m.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says the province is looking at a staged approach to relaxing public health measures when the data supports the timing.

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw updates the COVID-19 situation in the province on Feb. 1.

COLOMBO (News 1st); Health authorities are urging the public to avoid nonessential trips over the long weekend as COVID-19 infections being reported have recorded a steady rise.The Deputy Director General of Health Services, Dr. Hemantha Herath responded to the question whether the OMICRON variant is at a community spreading rate or not, by stating that it cannot be confirmed exactly according to the definition of the term ‘community spread’, however, if the variant has reached that stage, the public should be careful in their conduct.Meanwhile, member of the Central Committee, of the GMOA, Dr.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said it was urging caution after Denmark became the latest country to drop all of its COVID-19 restrictions that aimed at helping to reduce the spread of infections.

COVID-19.“As far as my business is concerned, I mean, everything is kind of up in the air,” he said.On Monday, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe announced that, by the end of the month or possibly sooner, he would remove the public health order mandating most businesses to require customers to prove they’re fully vaccinated or provide a recent negative COVID-19 test result. Medical experts reject statements by Scott Moe that vaccines don’t stop COVID-19 spread Plumb said he doesn’t know if that means more customers will visit his restaurant, or fewer.“I really can’t speculate what might be happening in the minds of my customers,” he said.

BENSALEM, Pa. - The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is issuing refunds after months worth of erroneous tickets that penalized drivers for speeding in an unposted work zone. Dennis O'Sullivan, a local driver, said he received a speeding ticket through the mail from a camera on the Route 1 work zone in Bensalem last November. He later got the warning that should have preceded the ticket. "I never had any opportunity to modify anything because I was never notified of the first violation," O'Sullivan explained to FOX 29's Hank Flynn.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Newly-released court documents are providing more information surrounding the death of an 11-year-old boy at an Old Town Scottsdale hotel.The incident, according to officials, happened at an Extended Stay America hotel near Scottsdale Road and Goldwater Boulevard."When we showed up, the victim, who ended up being a juvenile, was taken to a local hospital, where they were later pronounced deceased," said Sgt. Kevin Quon with the Scottsdale Police Department."When they talk about a juvenile being murdered in my backyard, that's horrific," said Peggy Hicklim, who lives in the area.It’s just really tragic, it’s just really hard," said Jordan Barclay who also lives in the area.

There were  38,332 booster doses administered yesterday, taking the total to date to 1,362,811. Also, 8,636 paediatric doses were given yesterday, bringing the total to 177,964.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins will be joined by Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and Ministry of Health Chief Science Advisor Ian Town to make an announcement on booster vaccines at 1.30pm.

COVID-19 pandemic.The churches, Church of God in Aylmer and Trinity Bible Chapel in Waterloo, argue indoor and outdoor gathering restrictions are over-broad, unreasonable, arbitrary limits that violate Charter rights and cannot be justified.The two churches leading the constitutional challenge, which held its first hearing on Monday, have both faced numerous charges, including findings of contempt, for repeatedly defying COVID-19 restrictions. COVID-19: Ontario churches’ constitutional challenge has 1st day in court The challenge is being held virtually in the St.

EastEnders star Martine McCutcheon has expressed her surprise regarding her family's history with raised cholesterol and how it caused her grandmother to have surgery as a result.The actress, who was recently announced as an ambassador for Flora ProActiv's Valentine's Day campaign commits to regularly getting her cholesterol levels tested, and stresses the importance of doing so.Speaking about her family's history with their health, Martine, 45, said: "I was really shocked when I found out that we had a family history of raised cholesterol because I didn’t think something like that would affect us."My nan needed an operation on her heart because of the complications it caused, which has caused me to be aware."She added: "So, being part of this campaign is close to my heart and I’d urge everyone to get their cholesterol tested, to prevent more serious health complications."It’s quick and easy to get a test, you can pop into your local pharmacy or book an appointment with your GP."Last year, the TV personality spoke to Daily Express about her grandmother's operation.She explained: "My nan had high cholesterol.