Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to more severe respiratory problems, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) were both examples of coronaviruses.
The most recent novel (or new in humans) coronavirus, officially named SARS-CoV-2, was discovered in Wuhan, China in December 2019.
SARS-CoV-2 causes a respiratory disease called COVID-19. There is no vaccine and no drugs to treat it.
Coronaviruses primarily spread through droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. They can also spread through close, prolonged contact, such as touching or shaking hands.
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
Symptoms range from a very mild, cold-like illness to a severe lung infection.
The most common symptoms include fever, fatigue, and a dry cough, according to the WHO.
Some patients also experience aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually.
Most people recover from the disease without requiring any medical treatment and some people who are infected don’t develop any symptoms at all.
The WHO says about one out of every six people who contract COVID-19 become seriously ill and develop difficulty breathing.
Older people, those with compromised immune systems, and those with underlying medical problems such as high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes are more likely to develop serious illness.
The Public Health Agency of Canada says the health risk associated with COVID-19 is low for the general population in Canada, but that this could change rapidly.
When should I watch for symptoms?
People returning from travel abroad to Hubei, China and Iran are advised to self-isolate for 14 days and contact Ottawa Public Health.
All other travellers returning from outside Canada are advised to monitor their health for two weeks upon returning and to contact Ottawa Public Health at 613-580-6744 if they start developing symptoms.
If they start feeling symptoms, get away from other people as quickly as possible and call your doctor or OPH.
Only people who have travelled abroad are asked to avoid crowded public spaces and areas where they cannot easily get themselves away from others if they start feeling symptoms.
Ottawa’s medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches said there is currently no evidence of community transmission in the area, which occurs when the virus doesn’t come from a known source such as travelling to a region with positive cases.
What should I do if I have symptoms?
Ottawa Public Health (OPH) recommends people with mild symptoms call them at 613-580-6744 or your health care provider.
OPH also recommends calling your health care provider or a walk-in clinic prior to visiting them in person.
People with severe symptoms should contact their health care provider first.
If your health care provider is unavailable, go to the hospital emergency department and look for special signs.
What is the current situation in Ottawa?
The province reported Ottawa’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 on Wednesday, March 11.
It’s a man in his 40s who tested positive after returning from a vacation to Austria.
He is currently in self-isolation, according to the city’s medical officer of health, Dr. Vera Etches, and Ottawa Public Health is following up with a small number of people who had close contact with him.
Its focus remains on detecting any cases that result from international travel and encouraging people to take measures to help prevent the spread of the virus within the community.
Health officials are currently testing 10 to 20 people per day, Etches said, and there are plans to ramp up testing in the coming days.
There have been more than 150 negative tests in Ottawa since January.
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said federal and provincial health authorities are preparing for a ‘range of scenarios,’ but that Canadians can take steps to slow the spread of COVID-19. 2:08
The city will open up a number of community assessment centres that will become hubs for testing and information about coronavirus, in an effort to take pressure off of hospital emergency rooms.
The first assessment centre will open in a central Ottawa location within the next week, according to Dr. Andrew Willmore, the medical director for emergency management at The Ottawa Hospital.
What if I have travel plans?
Public Health officials are encouraging people with travel plans to research what is happening in their particular destination before making a decision about whether to go.
Global Affairs Canada has issued COVID-19-related travel notices for China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Spain.
Several U.S. states, including New York, Washington, and Florida, have declared states of emergency because of COVID-19.
At a press conference Wednesday, Ontario’s associate chief medical officer, Barbara Yaffe, said while there is no yes-or-no answer to the question of whether to cancel travel plans.
“Think about how important is it that you go? If it’s a work-related thing, can it be done virtually?” said Yaffe.
“Is there some way of doing it without going there? And if you are going there, what are you going to be doing there? Are you going to be around a lot of people?
How do I protect myself?
Public health officials say there is no reason to wear a mask if you are well because there is little evidence showing that wearing a mask in public prevents healthy people from becoming infected.
As stated above, the general public does not need to avoid crowds at this time.
Ottawa Public Health advises people to take the following measures to reduce the risk:
Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
Stay at home if you are sick, which includes not visiting others in hospital or a care home.
Cover your mouth and nose when you cough and sneeze.
If you don’t have a tissue, sneeze or cough into your sleeve or arm.
Do you know the most effective way to use hand sanitizer? Ottawa pharmacist Chen Zhou explains the technique. 0:38
In Canada (and elsewhere) large events are being cancelled, some people are being told to work from home, and some students will be taking courses online for a few weeks.
It’s a temporary public health strategy aimed at slowing the potential spread of COVID-19 and buying time.
For more information
Infectious disease experts and a doctor specializing in the elderly answer your questions about the COVID-19 pandemic. 9:03
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
