Western said before the start of the fall term that it was trying to preserve as many on-campus learning opportunities as it could safely provide.
GEOFF ROBINS/The Globe and Mail
Five students at the University of Western Ontario have tested positive for COVID-19 less than a week after the start of classes, prompting the local health authority in Ontario to declare an outbreak.
The Middlesex-London Health Unit said the five students live in the broader community, not on campus, and have not attended classes or campus activities. But they visited bars and restaurants in London’s downtown where they mixed with a number of people.
They also spent time with other students in neighbouring houses and apartments. The health unit declared a community outbreak Sunday, saying it expects more cases to turn up in the next few days.
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It’s the first major outbreak associated with a postsecondary institution in Canada since the fall term began. Some epidemiologists have expressed concern that young people returning to school, even with classes primarily online, could become a key vector of disease transmission as they gather for parties and other social events. The outbreak occurred as other communities with large university-age populations are cracking down on behaviour that could endanger public health.
Many Canadian universities have chosen a hybrid model that combines online learning with some limited in-person instruction. But each is charting its own course on how much activity to allow on campus and how many students to lodge in university residences. One aspect of student life that many universities struggle to restrict, however, is off-campus social life. Frosh-week parties and public-health concerns were reported in some communities across Canada last week.
“We know our students value the opportunity to be on campus and have some in-class experiences – and for this to continue to happen, everyone must play a role in keeping themselves and the community safe by following public-health guidelines,” said Jennifer Massey, associate vice-president of student experience at Western.
“Students want to be together and socialize, and we strongly encourage them to avoid parties and large gatherings and ensure their social circles include a maximum of 10 people.”
Western said before the start of the fall term, which began Sept. 9, that it was trying to preserve as many on-campus learning opportunities as it could safely provide. Roughly 25 per cent to 30 per cent of its classes will include an unspecified “on-campus experience” this fall, including some undergraduate seminars and labs where physical distancing is possible. The amount of in-person instruction differs depending on a student’s program and year of study.
Concerns about the behaviour of postsecondary students have been raised elsewhere. At Queen’s University, a professor wrote an open letter to the community last week saying he had seen large gatherings of students partying and not observing physical-distancing rules. The City of Kingston was forced to close a public beach close to campus after crowding became impossible to control.
City officials have responded to more than 300 noise complaints in the past two weeks, primarily from the area around the Queen’s campus, and issued dozens of fines in an attempt to clamp down on gatherings.
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In Nova Scotia, RCMP announced that four university students had been charged under the Health Protection Act over the Labour Day weekend for failing to self-isolate after entering what’s been called the Atlantic Bubble. Three of the students were in Antigonish, N.S., and one was in Wolfville, N.S. All were fined $1,000. Nova Scotia requires all students coming from outside Atlantic Canada to isolate for 14 days and be tested three times for COVID-19.
Dozens of universities in the United States have shifted to holding classes entirely online after a number of outbreaks in the wake of students returning last month. In many cases, the outbreaks were linked to parties or to students living together in dormitories.
Although the level of community spread in Canada has been much lower than in the U.S., bringing students back together is a growing concern for public-health officials.
“If we ever needed evidence to show there’s still a risk from COVID-19 in the community, this is it,” said Chris Mackie, Middlesex-London Medical Officer of Health.
“We know the temptation to get back together with friends and party is great, but it is crucial that we all do our part to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
The affected Western students are being monitored in isolation, the health unit said. The university has already set up a trailer in a campus parking lot to facilitate testing for students and staff.
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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.
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