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Canadian hospitals take drastic measures amid COVID-19 crisis – CTV News

Published

5 years ago

March 16, 2020

TORONTO —
Hospitals across Canada have begun taking drastic measures as a way of limiting the spread of COVID-19 inside their doors.

At the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, security guards have been stationed near the entrances to ensure people clean their hands before entering. Those entering must also identify if they have a cough or fever.

The measures may seem extreme, but they are meant to protect hospital staff and patients from the spread of viruses.

“The fewer people around, the less likely we’re going to have transmission,” Dr. Avery Nathens, head of surgery at the Sunnybrook Hospital, told CTV News. “We also don’t want people to be bringing COVIFD-19 it in the hospital if they don’t require care in the hospital.”

As of Monday evening, there were 441 confirmed and presumptive cases of COVID-19 in Canada, spanning every province. Health officials in British Columbia announced three additional deaths on Monday as well, bringing the total Canadian deaths to four.

To help treat those with the virus, hospitals in British Columbia and Ontario have already begun cancelling elective surgeries.

“We’re expecting such an influx of patients that patients who do not require the ICU, will require an inpatient bed, perhaps on a surgical ward,” Dr. Michael Warner, Medical director of critical care at Michael Garron Hospital. “By cancelling elective surgeries we’re creating capacity for those patients.”

Warner said purely elective surgeries, such as cataract surgery and cosmetic surgeries, have all be cancelled at his hospital. Doctors have even had to cancel some cancer surgeries.

Cancelling these operations not only frees up hospital beds for patients, but it also frees up the medical staff if any of them need to be quarantined as well.

“Some number of our own staff will either be quarantined or get sick and that will reduce the people available to provide surgical care,” said Nathens.

Several hospitals across the country have already set up screening facilities offsite to help test patients who think they may have the virus.

To help with a potential influx of patients in the next few days, some nurses and physicians in other departments are being trained for roles in intensive care, if they become needed.

“We’re also starting to cross-train nurses who don’t normally work in the intensive care unit, but also have those skills,” Warner said. “Today I’m working on a program to help train non-intensive physicians to fill my role, if I become unable to work.”

Treating COVID-19 has already shown to be a labour-intensive process. It takes two people to put a gown on a doctor, while it takes three to someone on a breathing machine.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has also sent out a job posting for additional nurses needed to handle the COVID-19 outbreak.

The agency is looking to hire nurses in nearly all major Canadian cities “to support effective co-ordination of federal, provincial and territorial preparedness and response to the emergence of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in China,” according to the posting.

Meanwhile the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario is also stepping up.

On Thursday, the organization put out a call for additional registered nurses and nurse practitioners to potentially make themselves available to help with Ontario’s telehealth program. To date, they’ve received more than 3,000 responses.

A spokesperson for RNAO said late Sunday that 59 of these nurses are already working in Ottawa.

WHAT CAN THE PUBLIC DO TO HELP?

The public can also ease the strain on hospital facilities, Warner said, by following government and medical experts’ advice to practise social distancing.

“As a frontline physician who will be taking care of life-threateningly ill patients with this disease, I want to limit the number of patients who face this and also make sure that the healthcare system’s able to accommodate patients with other illnesses,” he said.

Social distancing involves avoiding large gatherings and maintaining a space of about two metres between yourself and someone else.

Otther recommendations include self-isolating if neccessary and frequently washing your hands.

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Christian McCaffrey is placed on injured reserve for the 49ers and will miss at least 4 more games

Published

3 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Anne Joseph

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers placed All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve because of his lingering calf and Achilles tendon injuries.

The move made Saturday means McCaffrey will miss at least four more games after already sitting out the season opener. He is eligible to return for a Thursday night game in Seattle on Oct. 10.

McCaffrey got hurt early in training camp and missed four weeks of practice before returning to the field on a limited basis last week. He was a late scratch for the opener on Monday night against the Jets and now is sidelined again after experiencing pain following practice on Thursday.

McCaffrey led the NFL last season with 2,023 yards from scrimmage and was tied for the league lead with 21 touchdowns, winning AP Offensive Player of the Year.

The Niners made up for McCaffrey’s absence thanks to a strong performance from backup Jordan Mason, who had 28 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown in San Francisco’s 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Mason is set to start again Sunday at Minnesota.

After missing 23 games because of injuries in his final two full seasons with Carolina, McCaffrey had been healthy the past two seasons.

He missed only one game combined in 2022-23 — a meaningless Week 18 game last season for San Francisco when he had a sore calf. His 798 combined touches from scrimmage in the regular season and playoffs were the third most for any player in a two-year span in the past 10 years.

Now San Francisco will likely rely heavily on Mason, a former undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech who had 83 carries his first two seasons. He had at least 10 touches just twice before the season opener, when his 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player in a regular-season game since Frank Gore had 31 against Seattle on Oct. 30, 2011.

The Niners also have fourth-round rookie Isaac Guerendo and Patrick Taylor Jr. on the active roster. Guerendo played three offensive snaps with no touches in the opener. Taylor had 65 carries for Green Bay from 2021-23.

San Francisco also elevated safety Tracy Walker III from the practice squad for Sunday’s game against Minnesota.

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Canada’s Newman, Arop secure third-place finishes at Diamond League track event

Published

3 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Anne Joseph

BRUSSELS – Canada walked away with some hardware at the Diamond League track and field competition Saturday.

Alysha Newman finished third in women’s pole vault, while Marco Arop did the same in the men’s 800-metre race.

Newman won a bronze medal in her event at the recent Paris Olympics. Arop grabbed silver at the same distance in France last month.

Australia’s Nina Kennedy, who captured gold at the Summer Games, again finished atop the podium. Sandi Morris of the United States was second.

Newman set a national record when she secured Canada’s first-ever pole vault medal with a bronze at the Olympics with a height of 4.85 metres. The 30-year-old from London, Ont., cleared 4.80 metres in her second attempt Saturday, but was unable conquer 4.88 metres on three attempts.

Arop, a 25-year-old from Edmonton, finished the men’s 800 metres with a time of one minute 43.25 seconds. Olympic gold medallist Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya was first with a time of 1:42.70.

Djamel Sedjati, edged out by Arop for silver in Paris last month, was second 1:42.87

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.

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Bologna prepares for Champions League debut with draw at Como while Juventus held

Published

4 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Anne Joseph

MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.

Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.

Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.

AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.

Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.

Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.

Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.

Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.

Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.

Unbeaten sides

Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.

Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.

On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.

Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.

The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.

Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.

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