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N.B COVID-19 roundup: Campbellton ER to reopen this week – CBC.ca

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Campbellton Regional Hospital will soon reopen its emergency department, which it shut down for a week in another  closure related to the COVID-19 outbreak in the region. 

In a news release Monday, the Vitalité Health Network said the emergency department will reopen at 8 a.m. on Wednesday. 

Elective surgeries and non-urgent outpatient care and services will resume June 29.

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If the Campbellton region moves into the next phase of the province’s COVID-19 recovery plan, patient visits might also be permitted by next Monday.

“Temporary service closures and interruptions are necessary to ensure the safety of Campbellton Regional Hospital personnel and patients due to an outbreak of COVID-19 in the facility,” the news release said. “The Network is making every effort to be able to restore a more normal operation at the Campbellton Regional Hospital.”

There are currently 25 active cases of COVID-19 in the Campbellton region, some involving health-care workers.

In a status report, Vitalité said mass testing of employees has been underway since June 13.

“Strict infection prevention and control measures” have also been in place.

The report repeated Vitalité’s earlier assertion that staff have enough personal protective equipment, including N95 masks, for their work while COVID patients are in the hospital.

This comes after three front-line care-givers who have worked on the COVID-19 unit told CBC News last week that they didn’t feel save under current PPE protocols, especially one that only allows the use of N95 masks for procedures that produce airborne droplets.

Masks, but not N95 masks, are to be worn at all times at the hospital. 

Flights resume at Saint John Airport

Saint John Airport officials are worried passengers from outside New Brunswick will be turned away by border patrols as Air Canada resumes flights from Montreal to the Port City.

One daily flight arrived at the Saint John Airport shortly before 3:30 p.m. and was to depart at 4:30 p.m. Border patrol officers with the province are questioning travellers arriving at the airport. 

“Obviously, you have to have a legitimate reason … on why you’re coming into New Brunswick, and if those are met, than you should be OK to come in,” said Jacques Fournier, director of commercial development at the Saint John Airport. 

“If they’re not, there’s always a chance they could get turned away.” 

He said the plane is a 78-seat aircraft, which has been upgraded from the 50-seat commercial aircraft originally planned. 

An Air Canada flight from Montreal has arrived at the Saint John Airport on Monday afternoon. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

“Obviously, the demand is a little more than we thought.”

But Fournier said some seats won’t be used, so passengers can keep their distance from each other on the plane.

“I would have to say the aircraft will be pretty busy today.”

Flights at all three of New Brunswick’s largest airports have been reduced since the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March, and service in Saint John was suspended altogether.

Saint John Airport staff have also taken steps to make sure passengers can physically distance themselves from one another, including when they’re lining up to get on a plane.

People permitted to come into the province are still required to self-isolate for two weeks, with the exception of New Brunswick residents working who have been working outside the province.

Geoffrey Downey, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Safety, said there are two peace officers and two screeners at each airport during hours of operation.

“Some people still need to travel and want to travel,” said Fournier. “I believe we will still see people with cottages here in New Brunswick coming in.”

Additional flights to Toronto and Montreal from Saint John will start on July 1.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen commercial traffic coming back into the Saint John Airport,” Fournier said. “So it is very exciting.”

More flights added to Moncton offerings

Toronto and Montreal flights that were previously suspended to and from the Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport, also resumed Monday. They include one daily flight to Toronto and Montreal until June 30.

In July, flights to each city will operate twice a day, but exceptions could apply, said Julie Pondant, a spokesperson for the airport.  

Halifax and Ottawa flights are suspended until Sept. 7.

WestJet currently operates three days a week to Toronto from the Moncton airport.

Swoop Airlines has postponed service to the Moncton airport. 

The Fredericton International Airport has two daily Air Canada flights to Montreal and three WestJet flights per week to Toronto. 

 “The airport has been open continuously, with both Air Canada and WestJet continuing to serve YFC, although on a reduced schedule,” said Kate O’Rourke, a spokesperson for the Fredericton International Airport. 

Porter and Sunwing have both suspended operations until the end of July at New Brunswick airports.

No new cases of COVID-19 Monday

Public Health announced no new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. 

There are currently 27 active cases of the respiratory virus in the province, according to the province. 

Out of the 164 cases of COVID-19 in the province, 135 people have recovered.

There have been two deaths at the Manoir de la Vallée this month, a long–term care home in Zone 5, the Campbellton region.

Two patients are currently hospitalized and one is in an intensive care unit at the Campbellton Regional Hospital.

As of today, 40,663 tests have been conducted.

Horizon Health patients allowed to have visitors 

Patients at Horizon Health Network can welcome one healthy visitor at a time, the health network said in a news release Monday.

Visitors can see patients between 2 and 8 p.m. each day for a maximum of one hour. Visitors must be 12 or older and cannot bring pets into the hospital.

Under the new guidelines, all visitors to Horizon centres must:

  • Be screened for symptoms of COVID-19 upon entry.
  • Always wear a community mask during their visit.
  • Maintain physical distancing and clean their hands frequently during visits.
  • Limit their interactions with staff, and other patients and visitors.
  • Leave the patient’s room when staff are conducting procedures.

At any time, staff can restrict the number of visitors in an area or the length of visits to ensure guidelines are adhered to.

Critical care, intensive care and neonatal intensive care patients can have one visitor at a time. Visitors are limited to close family members only. The length of these visits is determined by staff on the unit and how busy things are. 

Palliative care patients can have two visitors at a time and visiting hours can be adjusted. Palliative care patients receiving end-of-life care may also have one additional visitor for pastoral or spiritual care, to provide comfort to the patient, family and loved ones.

Patients visiting emergency departments and ambulatory care who require assistance may have one support person only. No other visitors permitted. Pediatric patients may have one support person, who must be a parent or caregiver.

“Visitors who expect their loved ones to be discharged from hospital in the near future — within one week — are asked to consider waiting for their loved one to be discharged to visit,” the news release said. 

Fredericton’s Beaverbrook Art Gallery to stay closed 

The Beaverbrook Art Gallery is staying closed because of COVID-19, but it won’t be quiet for long.

The gallery in Fredericton is set to start renovations and the building of a new pavilion soon, with the aim of reopening sometime late next year.

The work wasn’t meant to close the gallery down, but the COVID-19 pandemic has changed that plan.

Although art galleries and museums are allowed to open under the province’s recovery plan, Tom Smart, the gallery’s director, said the accessible entrance could not work with physical distancing.

There were concerns about the safety of visitors and staff, he said.

“You might think that with the big galleries that there would be room but there isn’t,” said Smart.

“So we are taking the opportunity of this COVID to accelerate a construction schedule to build a fully accessible pavilion entrance in our front door.”

In February, the city approved the gallery’s plan to build an addition to the front of its Queen Street building.

The $6 million upgrade will see the gallery move closer to the road, more exhibition space and an upgraded entrance.

Saint John Airport staff have taken steps to make sure passengers can physically distance themselves from one another. (Roger Cosman/CBC)

But Smart said now that visitors aren’t an issue, the gallery will look to do even more renovations, including doing work on the roof and back wall.

“We want to take the opportunity to really refresh the facility, make it safe, make it sound so that the collection doesn’t have water pouring in on it,” said Smart. 

“We hope that when this is all over there’ll be a vastly improved new gallery that will really help with developing and stimulating and growing the city and province.”

While the summer closure will certainly affect tourists and local art lovers, Smart said, the gallery plans to still offer some programming online, which it has done throughout the pandemic, and outdoors at the gallery site.

“The sculpture park is going to be opening in a few weeks and that will also really create a cultural area down in that part of the city for people to enjoy,” said Smart.

Campbellton region could enter yellow phase by Friday

New Brunswick moved into the next phase of its COVID-19 recovery plan Friday, with the exception of Zone 5.

The Campbellton region, the site of an outbreak provincial officials have linked to a medical professional who travelled to Quebec and didn’t self-isolate, remains at the stricter orange level.

Premier Blaine Higgs announced New Brunswick’s next steps in the COVID-19 recovery plan. 3:20

Only two-household bubbles are permitted under the orange level.

In addition, non-regulated health professionals and businesses, such as acupuncturists and naturopaths, and personal services businesses, such as hair stylists and spas, can’t operate.

A rendering of the Beaverbrook Art Gallery’s exterior after its expansion. (Beaverbrook Art Gallery)

As long as there isn’t an increase in COVID-19 cases, Premier Blaine Higgs said the Campbellton region will be allowed to move into the yellow phase by Friday. 

For the rest of New Brunswick, all remaining businesses can open with appropriate distancing and sanitizing, and operational plans respecting Public Health guidelines. This includes casinos and amusement parks.

What to do if you have a symptom

People concerned they might have COVID-19 symptom can take a self-assessment test on the government website at gnb.ca. 

People with one of those symptoms are asked to:

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Measles case reported locally turns out to be negative: health unit

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NEWS RELEASE
SIMCOE MUSKOKA DISTRICT HEALTH UNIT
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On March 26, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) was notified by Public Health Ontario’s (PHO) laboratory that due to laboratory error, the case of measles that had been lab-confirmed positive on March 12, based on symptoms and a positive urine measles laboratory result by PHO’s laboratory, is in fact negative for the measles virus.

“With this new information of the negative lab result, we believe that that individual was not infected with measles and that there has not been any public exposure to measles resulting from this individual’s illness,” said Dr. Charles Gardner, medical officer of health. “We recognize that notifying the public of what we believed to be a positive measles case in our area created worry, anxiety and disruption for some, and we regret this.

“We do know that, despite best efforts, on rare occasions laboratory errors can occur. We are working closely with the PHO’s laboratory to do all that we can to ensure that such an incident does not occur again.”

Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that spreads very easily through airborne transmission. The measles virus can live in the air or on surfaces for up to two hours.

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Symptoms of measles begin seven to 21 days after exposure and include fever, runny nose, cough, drowsiness, and red eyes. Small white spots appear on the inside of the mouth and throat but are not always present. Three to seven days after symptoms begin, a red, blotchy rash appears on the face and then progresses down the body.

The risk of transmission to those vaccinated with two doses is low, and when it does occur tends to show a reduction in the severity of these symptoms.

“Although we are relieved for the individual involved, and for all Simcoe-Muskoka residents, that this case has now been confirmed as negative, we know that measles is still active in Ontario at this time and the potential remains for new cases to arise, especially given the increase in Ontarians travelling to areas in the world that have higher numbers of measles cases,” said Dr. Gardner. “This is why we continue to advise individuals to keep up to date with their routine immunizations, including measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination.”

The risk of measles is low for people who have been fully immunized with two doses of measles vaccine or those born before 1970; however, many children have been delayed in receiving their routine childhood immunizations and people who have not had two doses of measles vaccine are at higher risk of contracting the disease.

People who do get sick usually recover without treatment, but measles can be more severe for infants, pregnant women, and those with compromised immune systems. Possible complications include middle-ear infections, pneumonia, diarrhea, or encephalitis (swelling of the brain) and occasionally death in the very young. Even individuals who are up to date with the measles vaccine should watch for symptoms of measles for 21 days after exposure.

For more information about measles, please visit smdhu.org or call Health Connection at 705-721-7520 or 1-877-721-7520, Monday to Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to speak with a public health professional.

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Kate Middleton Not Alone. Cancer On Rise For People Under 50, Say Experts

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Kate Middleton revealed on Friday that her cancer was discovered after she received abdominal surgery

London:

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When Catherine, Princess of Wales, revealed she was being treated for cancer last week, part of the shock was that an otherwise healthy 42-year-old has a disease that mostly plagues older people.

However, researchers have been increasingly sounding the alarm that more and more people under 50 are getting cancer — and no one knows why.

Across the world, the rate of under-50s diagnosed with 29 common cancers surged by nearly 80 percent between 1990 and 2019, a large study in BMJ Oncology found last year.

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The researchers predicted the number of new cancer cases among younger adults will rise another 30 percent by the end of this decade, with wealthy countries particularly affected.

The increase in cases — and soaring global population — means that the number of deaths among under 50s from cancer has risen by nearly 28 percent over the last 30 years.

This occurred even as the odds of people of all ages surviving cancer have roughly doubled over the last half century.

Shivan Sivakumar, a cancer researcher at the UK’s University of Birmingham, called it an “epidemic” of young adult cancer.

Since Kate Middleton revealed on Friday that her cancer was discovered after she received abdominal surgery earlier this year, Sivakumar and other doctors have spoken out about the uptick in younger cancer patients they have been seeing at their clinics.

While breast cancer remains the most common for people under 50, the researchers expressed particular concern about the rise of gastrointestinal cancers — such as of the colon, pancreas, liver and oesophagus — in younger adults.

Colon cancer is now the leading cause of cancer deaths in men under 50 in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society. For women, it is number two — behind only breast cancer.

One high profile case of colorectal cancer was “Black Panther” actor Chadwick Boseman, who died at the age of 43 in 2020.

Why is this happening?

“We just don’t have the evidence yet” to say exactly what is causing this rise, Sivakumar told AFP, adding it was likely a combination of factors.

Helen Coleman, a cancer epidemiology professor at Queen’s University Belfast who has studied early onset cancer in Northern Ireland, told AFP there were two potential explanations.

One is that people in their 40s were exposed to factors known to cause cancer — such tobacco smoke, alcohol or being obese — at an earlier age than previous generations.

She pointed out that the “obesity epidemic” did not start until the 1980s.

Sivakumar felt that at least part of the puzzle could be explained by obesity.

However, there is “another wave” of under-50 patients who are neither obese nor genetically predisposed still getting cancer, he emphasised, adding that this could not be put down to “statistical chance”.

The other theory, Coleman said, is that “something different” has been going on with her generation.

Fingers have been pointed out a range of possible culprits — including chemicals, new drugs and microplastics — but none have been proven.

Some have suggested that so-called ultra-processed foods could be to blame. “But there’s very little data to back any of that up,” Coleman said.

Another theory is that the food we eat could be changing our gut microbiome.

While there is nothing conclusive yet, Coleman said her own research suggested that cancer causes changes to the microbiome, not the other way around.

Anti-vaxx conspiracy theorists have even tried to blame Covid-19 vaccines.

This is easily disproven, because the rise in young adult cancer has taken place over decades, but the vaccines have only been around for a few years.

What can be done?

To address the rise in younger colorectal cancer, in 2021 the US lowered the recommended age for screening to 45. Other countries have yet to follow suit.

But the researchers hoped that Catherine’s experience would remind people at home that they should consult their doctor if they sense anything is wrong.

“People know their bodies really well,” Sivakumar said.

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“If you really feel that something isn’t right, don’t delay — just get yourself checked out.”

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Almost 3,000 students suspended in Waterloo Region over immunization issues

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Close to 3,000 children attending elementary school across Waterloo Region were suspended from school on Wednesday morning for not having up-to-date immunization records.

The region says Waterloo Public Health suspended 2,969 students under the Immunization of School Pupils Act (ISPA).

For several months, the region has been campaigning for people to get their children’s vaccinations up to date, including sending letters home to parents on a couple of occasions, warning that students’ records needed to be up to date or they would be suspended.

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It announced in January that 32,000 students did not have up-to-date records: 22,000 elementary students and 10,000 high school students.


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“We have made remarkable progress from the original 27,567 immunization notices we sent to parents in November and December 2023,” Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, medical officer of health, stated.

“Since that time, we have resolved more than 24,500 outdated vaccination records, providing students with valuable protection against these serious and preventable diseases.”

The high school students still have a few weeks to get their records up to date or else face suspension.

The ISPA requires students to have proof-of-vaccination records for diphtheria, polio, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (chickenpox) and meningitis, which must be on file with public health.

Public health says caregivers whose children are suspended will need to book an appointment at regionofwaterloo.ca/vaccines for clinics, which will be held in Cambridge and Waterloo on weekdays.

“Given the high number of suspensions, it may take several days before you can be seen at an appointment and return your child to school,” a release from the region warns.

“Record submission and questions must be done in person to ensure immediate resolution.”

The last time suspensions over immunizations were issued was in 2019, when 1,032 students were suspended.

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