Ontario promises to probe 'tragic' situation at Bobcaygeon, Ont., nursing home; at least 25 other facilities have COVID-19 cases - The Globe and Mail | Canada News Media
Only three residents of Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon – visitors seen here on March 30, 2020 – were tested for COVID-19 because of a provincial policy – usually applied in flu outbreaks – that once the virus at the root of an outbreak has been identified, everyone who is symptomatic is presumed to have it.
Fred Thornhill/The Canadian Press
The Ontario government says it will probe a “tragic situation” unfolding at a Bobcaygeon, Ont., nursing home where nine residents have died of COVID-19, but won’t commit to further transparency or testing at seniors’ facilities.
Premier Doug Ford offered condolences and his “heart and prayers” to the families who have lost loved ones at the Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, a cottage-country town about 150 kilometres northeast of Toronto. As of Monday, 24 staff have also tested positive for the virus, with results pending for another 10.
It is difficult to say how many nursing homes across the province are fighting outbreaks of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. Unlike some provinces, Ontario does not collect that data and publish it in one place. It leaves local public-health units and long-term-care homes to make that information public.
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The Globe and Mail surveyed numerous public-health units in Ontario on Monday and learned of 26 long-term-care homes with at least one case of COVID-19. According to The Globe’s reporting, 17 residents have died of the virus.
As the numbers of cases rise, health-care workers have expressed fear that the pandemic threatens Canada’s older population, with those in nursing homes particularly at risk.
Minister of Long-Term Care Merrilee Fullerton, who is also a medical doctor, said the government began to assess the risks of the pandemic to long-term-care homes weeks ago.
“The reality is that this is a virus that is new to the world and it is a threat, and we are doing everything possible to make sure that all measures are taken to address the issue that happened in Bobcaygeon,” she said at Queen’s Park on Monday.
“This is an evolving case … we will do absolutely everything that we can.”
She said the government will look at “shining a light” on the situation through increased screening and stricter isolation for people being admitted to the home, as well as staff. However, her office later clarified that admissions to Pinecrest have stopped amid the outbreak.
Toronto Public Health says it has six outbreaks in long-term-care homes and one in a retirement home. The hardest hit is Seven Oaks, where two residents have died, 12 are sick and nine staff are affected.
In Durham Region, two residents in their 90s at Hillsdale Terraces in Oshawa have died after testing positive for COVID-19. A resident of the Promenade Seniors’ Suites & Retirement Residence in the Ottawa suburb of Orleansalso died. Anson Place Care Centre, a facility in Hagersville southeast of Brantford, has had seven cases – and one death. Public-health officials in Hamilton declared an outbreak at Heritage Green Nursing Home, where one resident has died of COVID-19 and 16 others are sick, including two who also tested positive. In addition, 10 staff members are ill, with one lab-confirmed case. An 88-year-old man at the Markhaven Home for Seniors in Markham also died of COVID-19 on the weekend.
Ms. Fullerton said it is up to David Williams, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, to determine whether outbreaks in long-term-care homes will be reported publicly, and if more than three people in a home will be tested for the virus. Only three residents of Pinecrest were tested for COVID-19 because of a provincial policy – usually applied in flu outbreaks – that once the virus at the root of an outbreak has been identified, everyone who is symptomatic is presumed to have it.
COVID-19 testing kits have been in short supply around the world, but Ms. Fullerton said testing at long-term-care facilities will be a priority.
On Monday, Dr. Williams said it is more challenging to test seniors for COVID-19 because of other medical conditions, which means symptoms are not always as overt.
“We’re looking at more and more finer measures to say, ‘can we detect it earlier,’” he said.
He added that the province will soon release new guidelines for long-term-care homes, including increasing training for staff and improved screening.
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Mary Carr, the administrator of Pinecrest Nursing Home, said in a statement that workers at the home are doing everything they can to keep “our residents, families and team members safe,” including actively monitoring residents for symptoms of COVID-19 and taking “necessary precautions” if they fall ill. “Our residents and staff have shown incredible resilience during this difficult time,” Ms. Carr said.
Sharleen Stewart, president of SEIU Healthcare, which represents 22,000 workers in long-term care, said her union is aware of nine homes where at least one member has tested positive for the coronavirus.
All nine are in the Greater Toronto Area, Ms. Stewart said, including the Markhaven Home for Seniors. York Region’s medical officer of health also said that 43 of the home’s workers were ill, and 12 had tested positive. Another 22 of the home’s residents have symptoms of the virus, five of whom had tested positive.
“We’re pounding our heads against a brick wall. It breaks my heart to be in this situation right now,” Ms. Stewart said.
Candace Rennick, secretary-treasurer of CUPE Ontario, said workers at some homes have not been outfitted with the masks, gowns and gloves they say they need to stop the coronavirus.
“It’s a wildfire spread without the personal protective equipment,” Ms. Rennick said.
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Mr. Ford said on Monday that the government is working to secure more personal protective equipment, but supply will be “seriously challenged” if a massive surge of people enters hospitals over the next two weeks.
Ontario on Monday reported 1,706 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 351 from Sunday. Total deaths in the province rose to 33 people.
Meanwhile, Dr. Williams strongly recommended that people over 70 and those with compromised immune systems self-isolate, leaving their homes for essential reasons only.
Christopher Mio and Meghan Hoople found themselves jobless and wanting to help in the wake of COVID-19 isolation in Toronto. After flyering their neighbourhood with a free-of-charge offer, they received an outpouring of support and requests from people in need.
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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.
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.
