WEB - New Canadian Media - Ottawa, 14/04/2020 - Article, English High blood pressure may be one of the underlying health conditions that make a Covid-19 infection a lot more severe for South Asian Canadians. Image credit: Photopin Image source: New Canadian Media website. Summary: Devyaani Datta - Preliminary research of COVID-19 data reaffirms a troubling reality: many of society’s most vulnerable populations face a greater chance of falling sick. For Canada’s South Asian populations, this news is met with a degree of alarm. Rakesh Kumar, an accountant who recently arrived in Calgary from India, is one of thousands of new Canadians from South Asia who are anxious about their health. Kumar suffers from both high blood pressure and high cholesterol and is aware that he’s in a difficult situation. Asked whether South Asians in Canada are at greater risk to fall ill from the pandemic or are more likely to get more severe infections, Dr. Maher Hussain, clinical director of the South Asian Canadians Health and Social Services in Brampton, said they are vulnerable on both counts. Citing a study from McMaster University, he said, “South Asian people in Canada have higher rates of heart disease, double the rate of diabetes and are more prone to becoming overweight compared to white people.”
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PRINT - Chinese Canadian Times - Toronto, 10/04/2020 - ARTICLE, Chinese Translated Summary: Yuan Mo - This article discusses the underground sales of personal protective equipment in Canada, including face mask and sanitizers, and urges Canadians to prioritize the resources for the use of medical staff. Specifically, the article mentions that the public health experts in Canada have reached consensus that wearing a mask can be an additional measure to be used at places where social distancing would be difficult to implement. However, the Public Health Agency of Canada emphasizes that Canadians should be wearing non-medical masks, and reserve medical-grade masks for medical professionals.
WEB - Pride - Ajax, 07/04/2020 - COMMENTARY, 1/4 page web, English
Summary: Roberta K. Timothy - The fear and mistrust of health systems expressed by many in Black, Indigenous and racialized communities stem from historical eugenic practices of both governments and individual doctors. These communities have experienced systemic racist violence for generations. They have recently experienced xenophobic responses to COVID-19 and historically, other health crises. The author is concerned how anti-Black racism, anti-Indigenous racism and other forms of intersectional violence will impact the health of our communities during this crisis. The question often asked is: how will we navigate health systems that continuously violate us? Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said: “Our government is going to make sure that no matter where you live, what you do or who you are, you get the support you need during this time.” This sounds good in a speech, but how will it be practiced in a system that does not provide adequate services for racialized and marginalized communities? If we are to truly survive this global pandemic as a global community, we must drastically decolonize and change our health ideologies and practices. PRINT - Corriere Canadese - Toronto, 01/04/2020 - ARTICLE, Italian
Translated Summary: Giorgio Mitolo - There were 1,966 confirmed coronavirus infections in Ontario as of Tuesday, compared to 4,162 in Quebec. In a telephone conversation that day with his Quebec counterpart François Legault, Ontario Premier Doug Ford mentioned a company that produces and distributes medical supplies in order to help the Francophone province confront the crisis and the growing need for masks and protective gowns. As Ford continued to call on the people to stay home as much as possible, the province decided to close all public playgrounds, beaches and off-leash dog parks. Ontario officials checking usability of 55 million N95 masks, stockpiled after SARS - Punjabi4/2/2020 RADIO - CJMR Parvasi - Oakville, 23/03/2020 - NEWS, Punjabi
Translated Summary: Meenakshi Saini - The Government of Ontario has confirmed they are looking at using expired medical supplies to deal with the growing coronavirus outbreak in the province. Approximately 55 million N95 respirator masks were stockpiled in Ontario after the SARS epidemic in 2002. Officials would only confirm the expiration of those masks but did not reveal how many are left in the stockpile that could potentially be deployed. On average, N95 masks expire after five years for normal use, though in a crisis situation exceptions for their use could be made. Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott says that the ministry is working closely with manufacturers and key partners to explore and evaluate the use of expired supplies including N95 respirators. |