Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health says he never should have approved a plan to allow three executives from Irving Shipbuilding to travel to America to meet with contractors and then return to work without having to self-isolate for 14 days.
The executives had approval from Dr. Robert Strang’s office ahead of taking the trip. It included strict criteria they had to follow upon their return, including being tested for COVID-19 immediately. But when workers at the Halifax shipyard learned of the exception and complained to Strang’s office, he revisited the situation.
During a COVID-19 briefing on Thursday, Strang said his review didn’t include whether any of the executives from Irving violated the guidelines established as part of their exception. But he said upon reviewing the plan a second time, it was clear he shouldn’t have signed off on it in the first place.
“Even though safety requirements were part of my approval, the meetings could have been done virtually,” Strang said. “Upon return, the individuals can isolate at home and still manage to work.”
Exceptions will continue to be granted
Strang couldn’t say how many exceptions his office has granted, but said he’s approved plans for workers to come into the province to do work that requires specialized skills and will continue to do so as deemed appropriate. Each request is judged on its own merits and Strang said his office has turned down a number of requests.
“I’ve even turned around a planeload of workers who were in the air, about to land in Nova Scotia because I couldn’t approve the plan because it didn’t provide the right level of COVID safety,” he said.
[embedded content]
In evaluating requests for exceptions, Strang said the lens he views things through is “appropriate protection for [the public’s] health and safety. He would only review plans if people raise issues about them. Although it’s not his job to inform employees when a a workplace receives an exception, Strang said employers should.
“The expectation would be that the company [receiving the exception] would have the appropriate communications so people are aware and they can understand what protocols are being put in place to keep them safe on the worksite,” he said.
His office reviews many plans and requests and Strang said the response won’t always be perfect.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang said the meeting the Irving executives travelled to in person could have been done virtually. (CBC)
“I’m not going to get everything I do, of the hundreds of decisions I make every week on this, I will acknowledge that I may not get everything exactly right,” Strang said.
“But I’m always happy to go back and learn from my mistakes and certainly be looking more intensely about how we make sure that we focus only on essential travel into the province where there is no other alternative.”
4 active cases
Nova Scotia reported zero new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, with four active cases remaining in the province.
The microbiology lab at the QEII Health Sciences Centre completed 398 tests on Wednesday and continues to operate 24 hours a day.
To date, Nova Scotia has had 56,227 negative test results, 1,066 positive cases and 63 deaths caused by the coronavirus. One person who previously tested positive for COVID-19 is still in hospital, but the case is now considered resolved.
Proper health and safety protocols
Strang encouraged people to continue washing their hands frequently, keeping surfaces clean and practising proper cough etiquette by coughing into their sleeve or elbow.
He continues to strongly recommend people wear masks when they are in public places where physical distancing isn’t possible and had meetings planned with his federal counterparts Thursday to discuss mask protocol. People should bring a mask with them whenever they leave home, the way they take their keys or wallet, said Strang.
Strang is encouraging people to wear non-medical grade masks in certain settings. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press )
Premier Stephen McNeil said he’s now wearing a mask when he’s indoors in a confined space or someone’s place of work.
“I’ve been out to dinner a couple of times this week [and] I wore a mask into that environment,” he said.
Symptoms list
People with one or more of the following COVID-19 symptoms are asked to visit 811’s website:
Fever (chills, sweats).
Cough or worsening of a previous cough.
Sore throat.
Headache.
Shortness of breath.
Muscle aches.
Sneezing.
Nasal congestion/runny nose.
Hoarse voice.
Diarrhea.
Unusual fatigue.
Loss of sense of smell or taste.
Red, purple or bluish lesions on the feet, toes or fingers that do not have a clear cause.
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.
All orders are protected by SSL encryption – the highest industry standard for online security from trusted vendors.
Bizarre Sunlight Loophole Melts Belly Fat Fast! is backed with a 60 Day No Questions Asked Money Back Guarantee. If within the first 60 days of receipt you are not satisfied with Wake Up Lean™, you can request a refund by sending an email to the address given inside the product and we will immediately refund your entire purchase price, with no questions asked.
