Health
Alberta doctor calls for more restrictions, data as hospital COVID-19 outbreaks and case numbers spike – Global News
The Rockyview General Hospital in Calgary and Lethbridge’s Chinook Regional Hospital are the latest acute care centres in the province to declare an outbreak of COVID-19, meaning nine of Alberta’s hospitals had outbreaks as of Thursday.
For Rockyview emergency room physician Dr. Joe Vipond, the news of an outbreak a this hospital was “sad” but “not surprising.”
“We have three out of the four major… adult hospitals in Calgary and all four hospitals in Edmonton having outbreaks, which is really concerning,” Vipond said Wednesday.
Read more:
Calgary doctor calls for urgency in hospital COVID-19 outbreak reports to prevent future situations
He said the problem of recurring hospital outbreaks won’t be resolved unless health officials release more data about how the virus is spreading through the facilities.
“The more concerning question to me is: how is it getting around? How is it getting from ward to ward when we have multiple ward outbreaks? How is it getting to the patients, to the health care workers?” Vipond said.
“There’s some failure in the system that’s allowing that to happen.”
Vipond renewed calls made last month for Alberta Health to release some of the findings from its investigation into the June COVID-19 outbreak at the Misericordia Community Hospital in Edmonton.
The province’s health ministry has repeatedly said it’s working on finding a way to release data in the report in a way that doesn’t compromise any sensitive information like patient names.
[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]
On Thursday, chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said that work was still ongoing, but said there was no timeline for when that information would be in doctors’ hands.
“It’s been promised to us and we still haven’t seen it,” he said. “So we still don’t really understand why these outbreaks are occurring.”
Increase in cases a further threat to province’s hospitals
After announcing roughly 800 new cases of COVID-19 in Alberta on Thursday — a technical glitch prevented Alberta Health from providing a detailed numbers update — Hinshaw said she was “very concerned about the level of hospitalizations in Edmonton and Calgary.”
“We must protect our health system by reducing community transmission,” she said.
“The fact that we are now reporting 800 new cases is extremely concerning. It is most concerning because it means that the measures that we introduced 10 days ago — which may have helped cases plateau over the last few days — are not having enough of an effect,” Hinshaw continued.
“It means that in about seven to 10 days from now, our hospital numbers will rise further, which means that care for Albertans with other issues besides COVID-19 will be impacted.”
Hinshaw said officials will be considering implementing measures that target where transmission is happening and cases are rising, if the trend continues, so the health-care system isn’t overwhelmed.
The doctor also said the province’s current mandatory mandatory and voluntary restrictions are “weak,” and Alberta’s community case numbers need to go down.
“We’ve seen the voluntary restrictions do not work,” he said. “We’ve seen that with masks. We’ve seen that with (the) voluntary request for people to decrease their cohorts. So now we need some strong responses.”
“We want to be Atlantic Canada. We want to be New Zealand. We want to be Australia. It’s very sad that we’re being Manitoba and we’re being the United States. We can do better than this.”
Vipond said in light of Health Canada’s recognition in recent days of aerosol transmission of the virus, he’d like to see safety protocols for health-care workers updated, including whether all employees should wear N95 masks when dealing with patients.
Hinshaw said updates to employee protocols have been updated, including changing the policy around how patients with dementia are cared for — an update Hinshaw mentioned on Oct. 16 — and trying to limit the number of multi-bed rooms that are used to full capacity.
She said a list of updated health measures for medical staff will be made available as soon as possible.
© 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
<!–
isIE8 = true;
Date.now = Date.now || function() return +new Date; ;
Alberta Health Services (AHS) has confirmed a case of measles in Edmonton, and is advising the public that the individual was out in public while infectious.
Measles is an extremely contagious disease that is spread easily through the air, and can only be prevented through immunization.
AHS says individuals who were in the following locations during the specified dates and times, may have been exposed to measles.
- April 16
- Edmonton International Airport, international arrivals and baggage claim area — between 3:20 p.m. and 6 p.m.
- April 20
- Stollery Children’s Hospital Emergency Department — between 5 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- April 22
- 66th Medical Clinic (13635 66 St NW Edmonton) — between 12:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- Pharmacy 66 (13637 66 St NW Edmonton) — between 12:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
- April 23
- Stollery Children’s Hospital Emergency Department — between 4:40 a.m. to 9:33 a.m.
AHS says anyone who attended those locations during those times is at risk of developing measles if they’ve not had two documented doses of measles-containing vaccine.
Those who have not had two doses, who are pregnant, under one year of age, or have a weakened immune system are at greatest risk of getting measles and should contact Health Link at 1-877-720-0707.
Symptoms
Symptoms of measles include a fever of 38.3° C or higher, cough, runny nose, and/or red eyes, a red blotchy rash that appears three to seven days after fever starts, beginning behind the ears and on the face and spreading down the body and then to the arms and legs.
If you have any of these symptoms stay home and call Health Link.
In Alberta, measles vaccine is offered, free of charge, through Alberta’s publicly funded immunization program. Children in Alberta typically receive their first dose of measles vaccine at 12 months of age, and their second dose at 18 months of age.
Health
U.S. tightens rules for dairy cows a day after bird flu virus fragments found in pasteurized milk samples – Toronto Star
/* OOVVUU Targeting */
const path = ‘/news/canada’;
const siteName = ‘thestar.com’;
let domain = ‘thestar.com’;
if (siteName === ‘thestar.com’)
domain = ‘thestar.com’;
else if (siteName === ‘niagarafallsreview.ca’)
domain = ‘niagara_falls_review’;
else if (siteName === ‘stcatharinesstandard.ca’)
domain = ‘st_catharines_standard’;
else if (siteName === ‘thepeterboroughexaminer.com’)
domain = ‘the_peterborough_examiner’;
else if (siteName === ‘therecord.com’)
domain = ‘the_record’;
else if (siteName === ‘thespec.com’)
domain = ‘the_spec’;
else if (siteName === ‘wellandtribune.ca’)
domain = ‘welland_tribune’;
else if (siteName === ‘bramptonguardian.com’)
domain = ‘brampton_guardian’;
else if (siteName === ‘caledonenterprise.com’)
domain = ‘caledon_enterprise’;
else if (siteName === ‘cambridgetimes.ca’)
domain = ‘cambridge_times’;
else if (siteName === ‘durhamregion.com’)
domain = ‘durham_region’;
else if (siteName === ‘guelphmercury.com’)
domain = ‘guelph_mercury’;
else if (siteName === ‘insidehalton.com’)
domain = ‘inside_halton’;
else if (siteName === ‘insideottawavalley.com’)
domain = ‘inside_ottawa_valley’;
else if (siteName === ‘mississauga.com’)
domain = ‘mississauga’;
else if (siteName === ‘muskokaregion.com’)
domain = ‘muskoka_region’;
else if (siteName === ‘newhamburgindependent.ca’)
domain = ‘new_hamburg_independent’;
else if (siteName === ‘niagarathisweek.com’)
domain = ‘niagara_this_week’;
else if (siteName === ‘northbaynipissing.com’)
domain = ‘north_bay_nipissing’;
else if (siteName === ‘northumberlandnews.com’)
domain = ‘northumberland_news’;
else if (siteName === ‘orangeville.com’)
domain = ‘orangeville’;
else if (siteName === ‘ourwindsor.ca’)
domain = ‘our_windsor’;
else if (siteName === ‘parrysound.com’)
domain = ‘parrysound’;
else if (siteName === ‘simcoe.com’)
domain = ‘simcoe’;
else if (siteName === ‘theifp.ca’)
domain = ‘the_ifp’;
else if (siteName === ‘waterloochronicle.ca’)
domain = ‘waterloo_chronicle’;
else if (siteName === ‘yorkregion.com’)
domain = ‘york_region’;
let sectionTag = ”;
try
if (domain === ‘thestar.com’ && path.indexOf(‘wires/’) = 0)
sectionTag = ‘/business’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/autos’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/autos’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/entertainment’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/entertainment’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/life’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/life’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/news’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/news’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/politics’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/politics’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/sports’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/sports’;
else if (path.indexOf(‘/opinion’) >= 0)
sectionTag = ‘/opinion’;
} catch (ex)
const descriptionUrl = ‘window.location.href’;
const vid = ‘mediainfo.reference_id’;
const cmsId = ‘2665777’;
let url = `https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?iu=/58580620/$domain/video/oovvuu$sectionTag&description_url=$descriptionUrl&vid=$vid&cmsid=$cmsId&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640×480&ad_rule=0&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&correlator=`;
url = url.split(‘ ‘).join(”);
window.oovvuuReplacementAdServerURL = url;
Infected cows were already prohibited from being transported out of state, but that was based on the physical characteristics of the milk, which looks curdled when a cow is infected, or a cow has decreased lactation or low appetite, both symptoms of infection.
function buildUserSwitchAccountsForm()
var form = document.getElementById(‘user-local-logout-form-switch-accounts’);
if (form) return;
// build form with javascript since having a form element here breaks the payment modal.
var switchForm = document.createElement(‘form’);
switchForm.setAttribute(‘id’,’user-local-logout-form-switch-accounts’);
switchForm.setAttribute(‘method’,’post’);
switchForm.setAttribute(‘action’,’https://www.thestar.com/tncms/auth/logout/?return=https://www.thestar.com/users/login/?referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thestar.com%2Fnews%2Fcanada%2Fu-s-tightens-rules-for-dairy-cows-a-day-after-bird-flu-virus-fragments-found%2Farticle_985b0bac-0252-11ef-abc6-eb884d6a1f0c.html’);
switchForm.setAttribute(‘style’,’display:none;’);
var refUrl = document.createElement(‘input’); //input element, text
refUrl.setAttribute(‘type’,’hidden’);
refUrl.setAttribute(‘name’,’referer_url’);
refUrl.setAttribute(‘value’,’https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/u-s-tightens-rules-for-dairy-cows-a-day-after-bird-flu-virus-fragments-found/article_985b0bac-0252-11ef-abc6-eb884d6a1f0c.html’);
var submit = document.createElement(‘input’);
submit.setAttribute(‘type’,’submit’);
submit.setAttribute(‘name’,’logout’);
submit.setAttribute(‘value’,’Logout’);
switchForm.appendChild(refUrl);
switchForm.appendChild(submit);
document.getElementsByTagName(‘body’)[0].appendChild(switchForm);
function handleUserSwitchAccounts()
window.sessionStorage.removeItem(‘bd-viafoura-oidc’); // clear viafoura JWT token
// logout user before sending them to login page via return url
document.getElementById(‘user-local-logout-form-switch-accounts’).submit();
return false;
buildUserSwitchAccountsForm();
console.log(‘=====> bRemoveLastParagraph: ‘,0);
Germans Debate Longer Hours and Later Retirement as Economic Growth Falters – Bloomberg
Meet Shannon Waters, The Narwhal’s B.C. politics and environment reporter – The Narwhal
Deutsche Bank's Investment Bankers Step Up as Rate Boost Fades – Yahoo Canada Finance
Silver investment demand jumped 12% in 2019
12 Bizarre Things People Did Just To Make Social Media Content
Global Media Markets, 2015-2020, 2020-2025F, 2030F – TV and Radio Broadcasting, Film and Music, Information Services, Web Content, Search Portals And Social Media, Print Media, & Cable – GlobeNewswire
-
Art22 hours ago
The unmissable events taking place during London’s Digital Art Week
-
News24 hours ago
What is a halal mortgage? How interest-free home financing works in Canada
-
Politics17 hours agoOpinion: Fear the politicization of pensions, no matter the politician
-
Economy22 hours ago
German Business Outlook Hits One-Year High as Economy Heals
-
Media16 hours ago
B.C. puts online harms bill on hold after agreement with social media companies
-
Politics16 hours ago
Pecker’s Trump Trial Testimony Is a Lesson in Power Politics
-
Business16 hours ago
Oil Firms Doubtful Trans Mountain Pipeline Will Start Full Service by May 1st
-
Science16 hours ago
NASA Celebrates As 1977’s Voyager 1 Phones Home At Last
