Lambton Public Health and Bluewater Health have confirmed the first cases of COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) in Sarnia-Lambton.
In a joint media release at noon Wednesday, the health unit and hospital reported that the five affected individuals are currently in hospital and are all persons over the age of 60.
“Each person presented at Bluewater Health’s emergency department, where they were safely screened and tested for the illness,” the statement said. “The patients are isolated in the hospital safely and all hospital infection control protocols were followed and well managed by the healthcare team. Bluewater Health’s infection prevention and control protocols are in place at all times and are currently heightened with screening points for all patients, visitors, staff and physicians. Individuals are reminded to please continue to monitor their own health, practice proper hand hygiene often, avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth and to practice social distancing.”
Lambton County Medical Officer of Health Doctor Sudit Ranade said in a follow-up media teleconference that there’s a range of severity of symptoms in the five patients.
“My understanding is that some of them might be very severe in the ICU but others of them are on normal floors,” said Ranade. “That range is also consistent with what we know about this illness, you would expect to see that.”
He said they’re now investigating each case.
“The public health side of it is really going to be about identifying the potential exposure from those cases to the rest of the community. What I mean by that is that we now will engage in an understanding of when each of their symptoms started, where were they during the course of their symptomatic or incubation period, had they had any travel, where were the other places that they had been to try and get a handle on other people who might have been exposed.”
Doctor Ranade said from there they move into contact tracing and management, identifying people who might have been in close contact with the cases and advising them to follow procedures related to isolation or monitoring depending on the level of contact.
With the news of the first positive cases he expressed hope that everyone in Sarnia-Lambton will now take the pandemic seriously.
“I’m actually hoping that the fact that we can prove it now will be a bit of a kick-in-the-pants for people who haven’t been doing the things that they’re supposed to do or haven’t been taking it seriously. But having said that, we’re treating this just as confirmation of something that we were fairly certain was going on anyways, so I’m happy that a lot of preparations had already started.”
Doctor Ranade conceded that testing has been an issue.
“We definitely don’t have enough tests and also the lab is working on building its capacity to process tests. The combination of those two things have led to both a delay in our ability to conduct the tests and our ability to get the results of the tests.”
Bluewater Health would not comment more specifically on the conditions of those hospitalized as a result of the virus, citing privacy issues. Communications Chief Julia Oosterman did say the five are residents of both Sarnia and Lambton County, and that the hospital is establishing a COVID-19 unit.
-With files from Colin Gowdy
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What you need to know and do
To reduce the community spread of COVID-19:
• Limit the number of people you come into close contact with
• Avoid crowds and change the time that you go if you find a store to be very crowded.
• Discuss work from home or modified shift arrangements with your employer.
• Avoid non-essential trips and interactions in the community.
• Frequently practice good personal hygiene – wash your hands, cover your cough and sneeze, and avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth unless you have just cleaned your hands. Disinfect surfaces you frequently touch.
• Stay home if you are sick.
For those who are concerned that they may be experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, considerations
include:
• If you develop mild symptoms such as a fever or cough, move to self-isolation at home and rest.
• If your symptoms become more severe and you need to seek medical attention call your healthcare provider for assessment, or call Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000.
• For extremely severe symptoms call 911 or visit the Emergency Department.
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The guidance for COVID-19 testing no longer considers country of travel; instead it focuses on prioritization of those at highest risk.
COVID-19 testing is only available under limited circumstances, due to limited supply of tests. Therefore, COVID-19 testing is no longer appropriate for the general population, and testing will be prioritized based on critical illness and business continuity needs for essential service providers.
An initial COVID-19 Self-Assessment Tool has been posted to the Ministry of Health website. Individuals who suspect they have COVID-19 can consult this tool to determine whether and how to seek further care.
LambtonPublicHealth.ca provides local access to information about COVID-19 including the current situation and resources to support the community.
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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