FREDERICTON —
The Campbellton Regional Hospital has been effectively closed until further notice, as an outbreak of COVID-19 continues to spread in the health care system of the northern New Brunswick community.
“As of last night, our Campbellton Regional Hospital is on lockdown. Nobody’s in, nobody’s out,” says Campbellton mayor Stephanie Anglehart-Paulin.
Vitalité Health Network, which oversees the Campbellton Regional Hospital, says visits are now prohibited.
“The network has no choice but to take these measures immediately, given the evolution of the spread of COVID-19 in region five,” wrote Gilles Lanteigne, CEO of Vitalité Health Network in a statement.
The emergency room is closed and all-non emergency services are cancelled until further notice.
Campbellton’s mayor says the outbreak in her community is only getting worse.
“This is serious, like I don’t see this under control whatsoever,” says Anglehart-Paulin.
Outbreak centred around health care workers
What began as a small COVID-19 outbreak in the region has grown to infect dozens, and its latest victims are mostly health care workers.
On Sunday, New Brunswick reported no new cases of COVID-19 for the first time since June 6.
In a one week span between June 6 and June 13, 19 of 20 reported cases occurred in the Campbellton region.
The outbreak has mostly centred around the hospital and Manoir de la Vallée, a special care home in Atholville.
Three new cases were also reported on Saturday, involving two Campbellton Regional Hospital employees and one employee at Manoir de la Vallee.
Over the course of the outbreak, at least fourteen residents and six staff of Manoir de la Vallee have been infected.
Five staff at Campbellton Regional Hospital have tested positive in the last four days.
Second death reported
On Saturday, COVID-19 claimed its second victim in the province, a resident of the Manoir de la Vallée in Atholville who died at the Campbellton Regional Hospital.
“I was deeply saddened to learn of a death related to COVID-19 in our province,” said Premier Blaine Higgs in a statement issued Saturday. “I extend my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of the individual, as well as to all of those in the Campbellton-Restigouche region. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.”
The individual was between the ages of 80 and 89 and had underlying health issues.
“I ask all New Brunswick to join me in extending our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of the deceased,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health.
Both of New Brunswick’s COVID-19 deaths were residents at Manoir de la Vallee in Atholville, N.B. Daniel Ouellette, 84, died on June 4 at the Campbellton Regional Hospital.
Mayor asking for more support
Anglehart-Paulin says she doesn’t feel much support has been provided to the staff walking into the Campbellton Regional Hospital every day.
“I’m really concerned that the PPE isn’t being provided to all staff. I know hairnets and little booties aren’t being provided,” says Anglehart-Paulin.
She says staff haven’t been allowed access to some personal protective equipment like N95 masks.
For its part, Vitalité says the wearing of PPE has been reinforced and disinfection procedures have increased.
Vitalité Health Network also says there is a new screening plan in place for employees and some patients.
Zone 5 remains in Orange phase
All areas of New Brunswick except Zone 5 are currently in the Yellow level of the COVID-19 recovery plan, aimed at the gradual reopening of businesses and activities while working to prevent a resurgence of transmission. Zone 5 remains at the Orange level of the recovery plan.
The following rules apply to Zone 5:
A two-household bubble is permitted.
Non-regulated health professionals and businesses such as acupuncturists and naturopaths cannot operate at this time.
Personal services businesses such as barbers, hair stylists, spas, estheticians, manicurists, pedicurists, and tattoo artists cannot operate at this time.
VANCOUVER – Mayors and other leaders from several British Columbia communities say the provincial and federal governments need to take “immediate action” to tackle mental health and public safety issues that have reached crisis levels.
Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says it’s become “abundantly clear” that mental health and addiction issues and public safety have caused crises that are “gripping” Vancouver, and he and other politicians, First Nations leaders and law enforcement officials are pleading for federal and provincial help.
In a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier David Eby, mayors say there are “three critical fronts” that require action including “mandatory care” for people with severe mental health and addiction issues.
The letter says senior governments also need to bring in “meaningful bail reform” for repeat offenders, and the federal government must improve policing at Metro Vancouver ports to stop illicit drugs from coming in and stolen vehicles from being exported.
Sim says the “current system” has failed British Columbians, and the number of people dealing with severe mental health and addiction issues due to lack of proper care has “reached a critical point.”
Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer says repeat violent offenders are too often released on bail due to a “revolving door of justice,” and a new approach is needed to deal with mentally ill people who “pose a serious and immediate danger to themselves and others.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024
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.
