We’re breaking down what you need to know about the pandemic by answering your questions. You can send us your questions via email at COVID@cbc.ca and we’ll answer as many as we can. We’ll publish a selection of answers every weekday on our website and we’re also putting some of your questions to the experts on the air during The National and News Network. So far, we’ve received more than 40,000 emails from all corners of the country.
What are the long-term effects of a COVID-19 infection? Can your lungs be damaged permanently from the disease?
Researchers say COVID-19 is so dangerous because it invades our respiratory cells and triggers an immune system response that targets those infected cells, destroys lung tissue and ultimately clogs our airways, cutting off our oxygen supply.
The Campbell family wrote to us asking if COVID-19 can lead to long-term damage to a person’s body — specifically, their lungs.
“The answer is likely yes,” said Dr. Samir Gupta, a respirologist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.
The level of damage will depend on the severity of the infection and how it progresses in each person.
“For people with mild infections, we are unlikely to see any long-term consequences,” Gupta said. “The concern is in people who will develop pneumonia with this infection, and particularly those who will end up on a ventilator in the ICU.”
The problem, Gupta said, is that there is “very little” information on COVID so far — so doctors are basing their knowledge on similar infections.
“This infection does seem to cause a lot of scarring in the lungs, and if we extrapolate from what we know of other infections that can also lead to pneumonia and ventilator use, [COVID-19] is likely to cause some permanent loss in lung function and some permanent decline in functional capacity, with symptoms like permanent shortness of breath.”
In severe cases, sometimes the treatment can also cause damage.
When someone has severe pneumonia, for example, their lungs aren’t able to do their job of getting oxygen in and carbon dioxide waste out. In such cases, a mechanical ventilator may be used to perform these functions until the patient recovers.
Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Alberta, said ventilators themselves can damage the lungs.
“If someone has been critically ill with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), on a ventilator, regardless of the cause, there are a number of issues,” she said.
Saxinger said lung function decline, loss of muscle mass and even post-traumatic stress disorder are possible.
“Some people end up with long-term decreased stamina … even five years out.”
In short, doctors don’t yet know if the recovery from COVID-19 is different from any other severe lung infections, but it appears that mild and moderate cases can recover well.
Is it safe to have an operation while COVID-19 is being treated in the same hospital?
Most provinces in Canada have already begun their reopening stages. Part of that includes resuming surgeries, and Mark G. is wondering if it would be safe to have an operation done in a hospital that is simultaneously treating COVID-19.
We spoke to some emergency department (ER) doctors who said, for the most part, patients shouldn’t worry.
Right now, there are still some emergency surgeries taking place despite most hospitals treating COVID-19 patients, explained Dr. Alan Drummond, an ER physician in Perth, Ont.
“Emergency surgeries and cancer or cardiovascular surgeries that can’t be delayed have been ongoing,” he said. “These are being done under very strict protective guidelines to minimize the risk of transmission. So if you absolutely need surgery, there should be no concern.”
“Hospital wards have been restructured to place COVID-19[-positive] patients at a safe distance from non-COVID patients,” said Drummond.
Dr. Brian Goldman, ER doctor and host of the CBC podcast The Dose, said it’s “unusual for patients to get infected” with the virus while in the hospital.
“Hospital [staff] are well trained and equipped to handle patients infected with the coronavirus,” he said.
Even with hospitals that have experienced “outbreaks,” patients should understand these are not on the same scale as long-term care homes, for example.
“An outbreak may be as few as two to three people infected,” said Goldman. “It does not mean that there is widespread transmission of the virus in the hospital.”
“This means all COVID[-19] patients are cared for within these sites in their designated units,” a spokesperson for B.C.’s Ministry of Health said.
Goldman thinks it’s a good idea.
“In order to accelerate the treatment of patients waiting for delayed surgeries due to COVID, it might make sense to have COVID-only and non-COVID hospitals to simplify the need for infection control.”
Ontario released its comprehensive framework last week to help hospitals assess their readiness for resuming scheduled surgeries and procedures. But a spokesperson for the minister of health, Christine Elliott, said this framework “does not contemplate COVID-19-only hospitals.”
Do I need to isolate when I get back from the hospital?
This question comes from Gohar F., who recently went to the ER and was wondering if she is required to isolate when she returns home.
The two ER doctors we asked agreed there’s no reason to isolate when you return from the hospital; however, there are a few exceptions.
Goldman said you won’t need to isolate unless your visit to the hospital included coming into close contact with a patient who has a known or suspected case of COVID-19, or you were “contacted by Public Health because they are tracing contact of a person known to be infected with COVID-19.”
You’d also need to self-isolate if your visit to the hospital was for the purpose of being tested for the virus, Goldman said.
If you have been swabbed and are awaiting results, Drummond said you should isolate until you know whether you are positive or not.
“Thankfully, the turnaround time for diagnostic tests has improved dramatically since the pandemic started,” he said.
When it comes to patient safety in the hospital, staff are being extra cautious, wearing all the proper personal protective equipment and implementing strict isolation measures for COVID-19 patients.
We’re also answering your questions every night on The National. Last night your questions included: What kind of non-medical masks should people wear? Watch below:
An emergency room doctor answers viewer questions about the COVID-19 pandemic including what kind of non-medical mask people should wear. 2:46
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
