Coronavirus Global Updates 24 September ::: Death rate reaches highs not seen since second wave | Strained ICUs near point of triage protocol | Alberta reports 1, 660 new cases, 17 deaths

Fri Sep 24 08:17:00 CAT 2021

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Coronavirus Global Updates 24 September  ::: Death rate reaches highs not seen since second wave | Strained ICUs near point of triage protocol | Alberta reports 1,660 new cases, 17 deaths

Zimbabwe COVID19 Update

COVID-19 update: As at 23 September 2021, Zimbabwe had 129 134 confirmed cases, including 121 841 recoveries and 4 600 deaths. To date, a total of 3 008 335 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

Death rate reaches highs not seen since second wave | Strained ICUs near point of triage protocol | Alberta reports 1,660 new cases, 17 deaths

Alberta’s COVID-19 death rate reaches highs not seen since second wave

The fourth wave of COVID-19 is killing Albertans at a rate not seen since the pandemic’s brutal second wave last winter.

Over the past three days, Alberta has reported a cumulative 66 deaths from the novel coronavirus, including 29 on Wednesday. The daily counts are among the highest seen at any point during the pandemic.

The numbers are a sharp contrast to comments made by Premier Jason Kenney last week, when he boasted Alberta has seen lower fatality rates throughout the pandemic than other jurisdictions.

Over the past 18 months, Alberta’s death rates from COVID-19 are the fourth-highest in Canada, below Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba.

‘A fragile balance’: Alberta’s strained ICUs near point of triage protocol

Alberta Health Services is looking to identify what triggers would be used to launch its triage protocol as the healthcare system continues to be stretched, admitting more than 20 COVID-19 patients into ICU beds per day.

The announcement came as the province has admitted an average of more than 23 people into ICU’s over the past five days, including 22 on Wednesday and 23 on Tuesday. AHS president and CEO Dr. Verna Yiu said 18 patients have been moved out of ICU over the past two days.

“We are facing a fragile balance. On some days we are seeing more ICU patients than admitted the new ICU beds being created.”

Flames prepare proof-of-vaccine system to fill Saddledome amid COVID-19 fourth wave concerns

As many as 13,500 fans will return to the Saddledome this weekend as Alberta struggles with hospital capacity amid the fourth wave of COVID-19.

The Calgary Flames will face off against the Edmonton Oilers Sunday evening to begin their preseason schedule. It’s the first time fans will return to the stands since before the pandemic began more than 18 months ago.

The Flames are requiring all attendees aged 12 and over to provide proof they are fully immunized against COVID-19, meaning at least two weeks have passed since they received their final dose of vaccine.

Fans must also wear masks at all times when in the building, except when actively eating or drinking. There are no capacity limits.

Alberta reports 1,660 new cases, 17 deaths

Here are the latest COVID-19 numbers for Thursday, released this afternoon by Alberta Health:

*	Alberta reported 1,660 new cases in the last 24 hours.
*	Seventeen new deaths were reported, bringing the province’s death rate to 2,611 people. This includes a woman in her 30s in the Edmonton zone who had no underlying health conditions.
*	There are now 20,180 active cases in Alberta, down from 20,304 cases.
*	There now 1,058 people in hospital, up by 18 people from yesterday. The province has admitted 23 people on average per day over the past five days.
*	There are 226 people in ICU, down four people from yesterday. This is the second highest number of people in ICU for COVID-19 in the province to date.
*	Dr. Verna Yiu said there are 310 Albertans in ICU, 226 of them with COVID-19. She said that’s the highest ICU numbers have ever been in Alberta.
*	The province admits about 23 people on average per day over the past five days. The only reason the province has capacity to do so is because people are dying, Yiu said.
*	The province completed 17,896 tests in the last 24 hours for a positivity rate of about 9.3 per cent.

Province supporting in-school vaccination clinics, ICU numbers reach all-time high

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw and Dr. Verna Yiu, AHS president and CEO, provided an update on COVID-19 Thursday.

Yiu said AHS is supporting in-school immunization clinics for Grades 7 to 12, which are open as well to teachers and staff. More than 1,000 eligible students have been immunized through this program so far, she said.

The conference comes as Alberta reported that an 18-year-old from the Central zone had died from COVID-19 on Wednesday, along with 1,336 new cases.

Follow Calgary Herald/Sun reporter Dylan Short  <https://twitter.com/DylanShort_> @DylanShort_ for live updates.

Watch the conference live stream below:

Notley calls for independent chief medical officer of health

Alberta opposition leader Rachel Notley called for a new Order in Council to allow the Chief Medical Officer of Health to act independently of the premier and government cabinet.

Notley said the UCP government has been caught up in infighting over power as Albertans die from COVID-19.

“The motivations of the cabinet our now stained by suspicion and self interest as the campaign for the UCP leadership started yesterday,” said Notley.

Notley said she’s calling on the premier to surrender public health decisions to the chief medical officer of health, along with a new panel of medical experts and health professionals.

“[Dr. Deena Hinshaw] should be empowered to make the best public health decisions,” said Notley.

The chief medical officer of health has been advising government behind closed doors up until this point, leaving the decisions up to elected officials.

Canadians less optimistic that the worst of COVID is over: Poll

The fourth wave caused by the Delta variant of COVID-19 has left Canadians felling less optimistic about the end of the pandemic, according to a new Research Co. poll.

An online survey of a representative group of Canadians has found 48 per cent of Canadians believe the worst of the pandemic is behind them, but that number is down 24 points from when the same question was asked in July.

More than one third of Canadians (36 per cent) think the worst is yet to come.

The same survey found Albertans are the least satisfied with their provincial government’s handling of the pandemic. Only 26 per cent of Albertans polled said they are satisfied with the provincial administration. That’s a 20-point decrease from July, and the lowest satisfaction rate of a provincial government recorded by Research Co.

Alberta records first teenage death as province breaks 1,000 hospitalizations

Alberta reported its first COVID-19 death in a teenager Tuesday as hospitalizations surpassed 1,000 patients for the first time during the pandemic.

Provincial data shows there were 20 deaths related to COVID-19 reported on Wednesday, bringing the provincial death toll to 2,594. One of those deaths was an 18-year-old, the first person under the age of 20 in the province to die from the virus. Alberta Health confirmed the death was a female under the age of 20 in the central zone and there were “pre-existing conditions” involved.

She died on Sept. 20.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeted that the latest fatalities are a reminder that COVID-19 affects everyone.

Data online shows that COVID-19 in Alberta is currently spreading among young people faster than any other age group. The seven-day rolling average of new cases in people aged five to 11 as of Sept. 18 — the most recent data — is 61.43 cases per 100,000 people. For children aged 12 to 19 the average is 41.14 per 100,000 people.

Despite the high case rates, provincial data shows hospitalization among these age groups remains low when compared to older individuals. However, Dr. Tehseen Ladha, a pediatrician who is part of Protect our Province (POP), said there are concerns that if the virus is able to spread freely, there could be an increase in severe illness in younger children.

City council approves vaccine passport bylaw for Calgary

A city council decision Wednesday means Calgary restaurants, bars, movie theatres and other businesses must ask patrons for proof of COVID vaccination or a recent negative test.

The new bylaw, which takes effect Thursday, essentially makes it mandatory for certain businesses to participate in the province’s vaccine passport system. Businesses and customers that shirk the rules could face a $500 fine.

Children younger than 12 are exempt, since they’re currently not yet eligible to get the shots to protect against COVID.

Recreation and fitness facilities must also require proof of immunization, and that applies to kids 12 and older unless they’re participating in “curriculum-based” school activities.

YMCA Calgary requiring vaccination for participants over 12 years old

YMCA Calgary is requiring full vaccination for all participants over the age of 12 in facilities.

This puts the organization alignment with a new City of Calgary mandatory vaccine passport bylaw which includes recreation facilities, including YMCAs, to require proof of vaccination and masks.

“Our approach follows recommendations from Dr. Kirsten Fiest, an epidemiologist with a focus on children’s health YMCA Calgary has retained to advise us,” a press release issued Wednesday reads.

“This decision will help provide clarity and ensure consistency for people using our services. Most importantly, this
decision will best protect the whole YMCA Calgary community, our key responsibility as a health and wellness
organization.”

Doctors’ group host update on COVID-19 in schools

Alberta doctors’ group Protect our Province (POP) hosted a 4 p.m. update on COVID-19 transmission in schools.

Calgary emergency physician Dr. Joe Vipond started by saying there is a bit of a drop in numbers from last week.

There are at least 82 Alberta K-12 schools that have reported 10 per cent or greater absenteeism due to respiratory illness, said Dr. Wing Li from Support Our Students group. At least 2,932 absentees.

Dr. Gosia Gasperowicz said younger Albertans under 20 years old are now the fastest growing group of infection in the province compared to other age groups.

Reporter Dylan Short asked what doctors are seeing day-to-day within the hospitals right now given that Alberta has surpassed 1,000 hospitalizations for the first time on Wednesday.

Vipond said it’s really important that patients who are unwell continue to come into the hospital as doctors are seeing sicker patients come in with conditions that could have been treated earlier.

Short asked if the doctors were worried about younger people taking up more hospital beds.

Pediatrician Dr. Tehseen Ladha said this is a concern as the virus goes through younger populations. She noted 75 per cent of pediatric surgeries were cancelled at the Alberta’s Children Hospital.

“Of those that are hospitalized in Alberta, we’ve seen a 30 to 40 per cent rate of ICU admissions from those children.”

A question was asked about how to properly isolate a child if they test positive for COVID-19.

Vipond said COVID-19 is airborne, so decreasing the amount of aerosol virus is important. It’s important to still interact with your children, but you can wear a mask while doing so, he said.

Have a fan on in the room, and open the doors and windows if the weather permits. Try to separate the infected child from his or her siblings if possible.

“Think of it as cigarette smoke, the closer you are to the person, the higher risk there is.”

Food court operators plead for province to reverse closure order

Alberta food court operators say they were blindsided by the UCP government’s decision to ban dining at food courts they say will decimate their industry.

“The change was made as early as Saturday morning just as the country’s largest landlords were ready to look at using vaccine passports and were caught off guard,” said Cunningham, co-founder of Ninety Eight Food Co. which operates a number of outlets.

He called the move one that discriminates against food courts with no valid explanation.

Alberta reports death of 18-year-old, 1,336 new cases

Here are today’s COVID-19 numbers released this afternoon by Alberta Health:

*	Alberta reported the death of an 18-year-old from the Central zone on Wednesday, the youngest person to have died from COVID-19 in the province.
*	Alberta reported 1,336 new cases in the last 24 hours.
*	Over the last 30 days, Alberta has reported 251 deaths from COVID-19. That represents 33.7 per cent of Canada’s total COVID-19 deaths in the same time span, despite the fact Alberta has only 11.7 per cent of the country’s population.
*	Twenty new deaths were reported, bringing the province’s death rate to 2,594 people.
*	There are now 20,304 active cases in Alberta, down from 20,917 cases.
*	There now 1,040 people in hospital, up by 44 people from yesterday. This marks the first time the province has seen more than 1,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19.
*	There are 230 people in ICU, up eight people from yesterday. Alberta’s ICU caseload is the highest than at any other time during the pandemic.
*	The province completed 14,521 tests in the last 24 hours for a positivity rate of about 9.2 per cent.
*	Out of the province’s total population, 69.5 per cent have received at least one dose, with 62.1 per cent fully vaccinated.
*	Of those eligible for the vaccine, 81.8 per cent have received at least one dose, with 73 per cent fully vaccinated.

Under pressure, U.S. donates half-billion more COVID-19 vaccine doses to world

WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday promised to buy 500 million more COVID-19 vaccine doses to donate to other countries as it comes under increasing pressure to share its supply with the rest of the world.

President Joe Biden made the announcement during a virtual summit aimed at boosting global vaccination rates against the coronavirus and rallying world leaders to do more.

“To beat the pandemic here we need to beat it everywhere,” Biden said as he kicked off the summit, which included leaders from Britain, Canada, Indonesia and South Africa as well as World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“This is an all hands on deck crisis,” Biden said of the pandemic that has raged since early 2020, killing more than 4,900,000 people.

The additional vaccines will bring U.S. donations to more than 1.1 billion doses, far short of the 5 billion to 6 billion doses global health experts say is needed by poorer countries. Delivery of the new tranche will begin in January.

U.S. FDA authorizes third dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for older Americans

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday authorized a booster dose of the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for those aged 65 and older and some high-risk Americans, paving the way for a quick rollout of the shots.

The booster dose is to be administered at least six months after completion of the second dose, and the authorization would include people most susceptible to severe disease and those in jobs that left them at risk, the FDA said.

INVESTORS DIARY 2021

Company

Event

Venue

Date & Time

National Unity Day

December 22

Christmas Day

December 25

Boxing Day

December 26

Public Holiday in lieu of Boxing Day falling on a Sunday

December 27

Companies under Cautionary

ART

PPC

Starafrica

Fidelity

Turnall

Medtech

Zimre

Nampak Zimbabwe

DISCLAIMER: This report has been prepared by Bulls ‘n Bears, a division of Faith Capital (Pvt) Ltd for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy or subscribe for any securities. The information contained in this report has been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty is made or guarantee given as to its accuracy or completeness. All opinions expressed and recommendations made are subject to change without notice. Securities or financial instruments mentioned herein may not be suitable for all investors. Securities of emerging and mid-size growth companies typically involve a higher degree of risk and more volatility than the securities of more established companies. Neither Faith Capital nor any other member of Bulls ‘n Bears nor any other person, accepts any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this report or its contents or otherwise arising in connection therewith. Recipients of this report shall be solely responsible for making their own independent investigation into the business, financial condition and future prospects of any companies referred to in this report. Other  Indices quoted herein are for guideline purposes only and sourced from third parties.

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