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Monkeypox: Should Canada declare a public health emergency? In the wake of the United States' declaration of monkeypox as a public health emergency Thursday, questions are being raised about whether Canada should follow suit as case numbers continue to rise. Such a declaration in Canada wouldn't have to look like the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the most recent event to prompt a Canadian declaration of a health emergency, experts say. But it could trigger a deployment of additional resources that would be helpful to those fighting the virus where it is spreading in Canada now — and prevent it from becoming harder to contain in the future. However, the federal government is remaining silent on whether an emergency declaration is something they are mulling — only saying that they have treated monkeypox as a priority since the beginning of the outbreak in May and are helping provinces with a variety of resources, including vaccines. For more details about Canada’s response to date on monkeypox, read Teresa Wright’s story here. 
Is the pandemic over? When will countries move out of the COVID emergency phase? Scientists continue to predict a series of COVID-19 waves in the coming months, as people move indoors during the fall and winter, this time with nearly no masking or social distancing restrictions in place. However, while cases may surge again, experts say deaths and hospitalizations are unlikely to rise with the same intensity, helped by vaccination and booster drives, previous infection, milder variants and the availability of highly effective COVID treatments. These forecasts raise new questions about when countries will move out of the COVID emergency phase and into a state of endemic disease, where communities with high vaccination rates see smaller outbreaks, possibly on a seasonal basis. Already some provinces in Canada are reporting stabilizing of cases from the current wave, including Ontario, where the province’s top doctor announced Friday the seventh wave has peaked. The potential wild card remains whether a new variant will emerge that out-competes currently dominant Omicron subvariants. For more about what experts around the world are predicting about how the pandemic may play out in the months ahead, read this story on our Global News site. 
Q: How transmissible is monkeypox? Do I need to disinfect surfaces in restaurants and public transportation, etc. to keep myself safe? To date, 99 per cent of cases have been among men and and 98 per cent of them reported having sexual contact with other men — but all public health officials and health experts worldwide have stressed that this is not a sexually transmitted disease and can be spread to anyone who is in close physical contact with an infected person. Andrew Seale, a World Health Organization expert on HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases, says that intimate physical contact is really the key. That means transmission can happen to others who might share a household with an infected individual. “It’s about just being in that close and intimate environment. So those are the most (likely situations) where transmissions clearly are possible,” Seale said in a recent Q&A hosted by the WHO earlier this week. “We are seeing cases of women and children that are most likely linked to that level of household contact in the context of this outbreak in newly infected countries. But… so far it’s not going on to other groups. So we’re not seeing that then lead to an onward transmission through other settings, whether it’s schools or workplaces, for example.” As for whether public spaces could be conduits for infection, Seale again stressed close, physical contact is how all cases have been spread to date in all countries, with no cases linked to public spaces. “Really, skin-to-skin contact is the most efficient way (the virus spreads), especially if there is an exposed lesion,” Seale said. “Contact with those lesions essentially will lead to transmission. So, kissing, skin-to-skin contact and close intimacy.” | 
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