Health
Two new COVID-19 cases announced Wednesday and one new UK variant identified – HalifaxToday.ca
NEWS RELEASE
COVID-19/HEALTH/WELLNESS
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Two new cases of COVID-19 are being reported in Nova Scotia today, March 31.
One case is in Central Zone and the other case is in Western Zone. Both cases are related to travel outside of Atlantic Canada. The people are self-isolating, as required.
Unrelated to the cases announced today, one new UK variant case has been identified in Central Zone. The case is related to international travel.
At this time, there is no sign of community spread from the variant case.
This brings the total number of cases of the UK variant in Nova Scotia to 18. The number of South African variant cases remains at 10.
“Passover, Easter and Ramadan are times to celebrate and gather with loved ones,” said Premier Iain Rankin. “As we work to contain the virus, let’s keep our gatherings small and continue to follow the public health protocols that are in place to keep our communities safe.”
As of today, Nova Scotia has 23 active cases of COVID-19.
Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs completed 4,446 Nova Scotia tests on March 30.
As of March 30, 100,832 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 26,599 Nova Scotians have received their second dose.
Since Oct. 1, Nova Scotia has completed 303,341 tests. There have been 627 positive COVID-19 cases and one death. One person is in hospital. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 90. There are 603 resolved cases. Cumulative cases may change as data is updated in Panorama.
“As we approach a holiday weekend, I want to remind Nova Scotians of the importance of celebrating safely,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health. “Do your part by following the gathering limits, keeping a consistent social group, staying home if you are feeling unwell, washing your hands and self-isolating if required.”
Nova Scotians are strongly encouraged to seek asymptomatic COVID-19 testing, particularly if they have a large number of close contacts due to their work or social activities. Appointments can be booked at https://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/, by choosing the asymptomatic option. Rapid testing pop-up sites continue to be set up around the province as well. More information on testing can be found at https://www.nshealth.ca/coronavirustesting .
Visit https://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/ to do a self-assessment if in the past 48 hours you have had or you are currently experiencing:
— fever (i.e. chills/sweats) or cough (new or worsening)
Or:
Two or more of the following symptoms (new or worsening):
— sore throat
— runny nose/nasal congestion
— headache
— shortness of breath/difficulty breathing
Call 811 if you cannot access the online self-assessment or wish to speak with a nurse about your symptoms.
When a new case of COVID-19 is confirmed, the person is directed to self-isolate at home, away from the public, for 14 days. Public health works to identify and test people who may have come in close contact with that person.
Anyone who has travelled from anywhere except New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island must self-isolate for 14 days. As always, anyone who develops symptoms of acute respiratory illness should limit their contact with others until they feel better.
Nova Scotians are asked to avoid non-essential travel to the city of Edmundston and surrounding communities in New Brunswick as a result of increased cases of COVID-19 in that area.
It remains important for Nova Scotians to strictly adhere to the public health order and directives – practise good hand washing and other hygiene steps, maintain a physical distance when and where required. Wearing a non-medical mask is mandatory in most indoor public places.
Nova Scotians can find accurate, up-to-date information, handwashing posters and fact sheets at https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus .
Businesses and other organizations can find information to help them safely reopen and operate at https://novascotia.ca/reopening-nova-scotia .
Quick Facts:
— additional information on COVID-19 case data, testing and vaccines is available at https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/data/
— a state of emergency was declared under the Emergency Management Act on March 22, 2020 and extended to April 4, 2021
— online booking for COVID-19 testing appointments is available at https://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/
Additional Resources:
Government of Canada: https://canada.ca/coronavirus
Government of Canada information line 1-833-784-4397 (toll-free)
The Mental Health Provincial Crisis Line is available 24/7 to anyone experiencing a mental health or addictions crisis, or someone concerned about them, by calling 1-888-429-8167 (toll-free)
If you need help with a non-crisis mental health or addiction concern call Community Mental Health and Addictions at 1-855-922-1122 (toll-free) weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Kids Help Phone is available 24/7 by calling 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free)
For help or information about domestic violence 24/7, call 1-855-225-0220 (toll-free)
For more information about COVID-19 testing and online booking, visit https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/symptoms-and-testing/
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OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada‘s health ministry said on Wednesday it would not restrict use of AstraZeneca Plc’s COVID-19 vaccine after a review showed the benefits outweighed the very rare risk of blood clots.
A separate advisory council had earlier recommended Canada stop offering the vaccine to people under 55. The panel is now reviewing that advice, the health ministry said in a statement.
Denmark on Wednesday became the first country to stop using the vaccine altogether over a potential link to the rare blood clots. Other nations have imposed limits on its use.
But Health Canada, the federal health ministry, said in a statement that a review of data from Europe, Britain and AstraZeneca had not identified specific risk factors.
“Therefore, Health Canada is not restricting the use of the vaccine in any specific populations at this time … The potential risk of these events is very rare, and the benefits of the vaccine in protecting against COVID-19 outweigh its potential risks,” it said.
Canada on Tuesday said it had recorded its first case of blood clotting with low platelets after someone received the AstraZeneca shot. The patient in question, a woman from Quebec, is recovering. (Graphic on vaccines: https://tmsnrt.rs/3tUM8ta)
COVID-19 cases are surging in Canada with the country reporting a near-record number of new cases recently. (Graphic on cases: https://tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)
(Reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Allison Martell in Toronto; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
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(Reuters) -Some countries are restricting use of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to certain age groups or suspending use after European and British regulators confirmed possible links to rare blood clots.
Denmark became the first country to stop using the vaccine altogether, as it said results of investigations showed “real and serious side-effects”.
Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot vaccine has also been hit by concerns over blood clots, with European regulators reviewing such cases and U.S. federal health agencies recommending pausing its use for a few days. J&J noted no clear causal relationship had been established between the clots and its vaccine.
The developments pose a risk to vaccination plans in Europe.
Regulators have said the benefits of the AstraZeneca shot outweigh risks.
Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca said it was working with regulators to list the possible brain blood clots as “an extremely rare potential side effect” on the vaccines labels.
As of April 4, the European Medicines Agency had received reports of 169 cases of a rare brain blood clot known as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), after 34 million doses had been administered in the European Economic Area. Most cases were in women under 60 years of age.
ASTRAZENECA VACCINE BEING USED, WITH OR WITHOUT RESTRICTIONS
AUSTRALIA
Said on April 8 it recommends people under 50 should get Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in preference to AstraZeneca’s shot.
AUSTRIA
Has resumed use.
BRAZIL
Authorities said they would not limit use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, saying benefits outweigh risks.
BRITAIN
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has said an alternative to the vaccine should be given for people under 30 where possible, but people should continue to have a second shot if they have received a first dose.
BULGARIA
Resumed inoculations from March 19.
CYPRUS
Resumed inoculations on March 19.
CANADA
Authorities said in early April they would pause offering the vaccine to people under 55 and require a new analysis of the shot’s benefits and risks based on age and gender. On April 13, the country said it had recorded its first case of blood clotting with low platelets.
ESTONIA
Suspended use of the vaccine for people under 60 on April 7.
FRANCE
Approved resumption of the vaccine on March 19 but said it should be given only to people aged 55 and over. On April 9, recommended that recipients of a first dose of the AstraZeneca shot who are under 55 should receive a second dose with a messenger RNA vaccine.
FINLAND
Resumed using the AstraZeneca vaccine from March 29, but only for people aged 65 and over.
GEORGIA
Has limited use of the vaccine following the death of a nurse from anaphylactic shock, and vaccinations will continue only in full-fledged medical centres, Russian news agency TASS reported on March 19.
GERMANY
Sticking to its guidance from March 31 to limit use of the vaccine to those aged over 60. On April 1, Germany’s vaccine commission recommended people under 60 who have had a first shot of the vaccine should receive a different product for their second dose.
HUNGARY
Continuing the vaccine’s rollout.
ICELAND
Resumed use on March 25 after suspending it on March 11.
INDONESIA
Resumed using the vaccine on March 22 but warned against its use in people with a low blood platelet count.
IRELAND
On April 12, the country said it was restricting use of the vaccine to those over 60.
ITALY
Has recommended the vaccine be used only for people over 60, the country’s top health adviser said.
LATVIA
Announced it was restarting administering the shots from March 19.
LITHUANIA
Restarted use on March 19.
MEXICO
Drug regulator Cofepris said on April 7 it did not “at this time” plan to limit the vaccine’s use but was investigating the information raised by Britain.
NETHERLANDS
Limited use of the vaccine to people over 60, the Dutch government said on April 8.
NORTH MACEDONIA
Health minister said on March 31 the vaccine would be limited to people aged over 60 as a precautionary measure.
PHILIPPINES
Suspended use of the vaccine for people under 60 on April 8.
ROMANIA
Has resumed use of the vaccine after temporarily stopping vaccinating people with one batch of the vaccine on March 11.
SOUTH KOREA
Resumed use of the shot for people aged 30 or older on April 12. On April 7, it had suspended providing the AstraZeneca shot to people under 60.
SPAIN
From April 8, it was giving the vaccine only to people over 60.
SWEDEN
Resumed use of the vaccine on March 25 for people aged 65 and older.
THAILAND
Began use on March 15 after delaying rollout the week before.
COUNTRIES WHERE ASTRAZENECA VACCINE USE SUSPENDED
CAMEROON
Suspended administration of the vaccine it was scheduled to receive on March 20 as part of the global vaccines sharing scheme COVAX, the health ministry said.
DENMARK
In a world first, Denmark decided to stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine altogether after initially suspending use of the shot.
NORWAY
Authorities said on March 26 Norway would delay a decision on use of the vaccine, with a decision expected by April 15.
J&J VACCINE DELAYS AND RESTRICTIONS
UNITED STATES
On April 13, U.S. federal health agencies recommended pausing use of J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine for at least a few days after six women under the age of 50 developed rare blood clots after receiving the shot.
EUROPEAN UNION
The company said it would delay the rollout of the vaccine to Europe, after regulators said they were reviewing rare blood clots.
Widespread use in the EU had not yet started after the company began delivering the doses in the week beginning April 12. The European drug regulator recommended storing doses already received until its safety committee issues an expedited recommendation
SOUTH AFRICA
Suspended use of J&J’s vaccine on April 13.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka, Yadarisa Shabong, Manas Mishra, Vishwadha Chander, Amruta Khandekar and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; editing by Josephine Mason, Alison Williams, Timothy Heritage, Larry King, Barbara Lewis)
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By Allison Martell and Anna Mehler Paperny
TORONTO (Reuters) – Doctors in the Canadian province of Ontario may soon have to decide who can and cannot receive treatment in intensive care as the number of coronavirus infections sets records and patients are packed into hospitals still stretched from a December wave.
Canada‘s most populous province is canceling elective surgeries, admitting adults to a major children’s hospital and preparing field hospitals after the number of COVID-19 patients in ICUs jumped 31% to 612 in the week leading up to Sunday, according to data from the Ontario Hospital Association.
The sharp increase in Ontario hospital admissions is also straining supplies of tocilizumab, a drug often given to people seriously ill with COVID-19.
Hospital care is publicly funded in Canada, generally free at the point of care for residents. But new hospital beds have not kept pace with population growth, and shortages of staff and space often emerge during bad flu seasons.
Ontario’s hospitals fared relatively well during the first wave of the pandemic last year, in part because the province quickly canceled elective surgeries.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario told doctors last Thursday that the province was considering “enacting the critical care triage protocol,” something that was not done during earlier waves of the virus. Triage protocols help doctors decide who to treat in a crisis.
“Everybody’s under extreme stress,” said Eddy Fan, an ICU doctor at Toronto’s University Health Network. He said no doctor wants to contemplate a triage protocol but there are only so many staff.
“There’s going to be a breaking point, a point at which we can’t fill those gaps any longer.”
In a statement, the health ministry said Ontario has not activated the protocol. A September draft suggested doctors could withhold life-sustaining care from patients with a less than 20% chance of surviving 12 months. A final version has not been made public.
Ontario’s Science Advisory Table had been forecasting the surge for months, said member and critical care physician Laveena Munshi. During a recent shift she wanted to call the son of a patient only to discover he was in an ICU across the street.
“The horror stories that we’re seeing in the hospital are like ones out of apocalyptic movies,” she said. “They’re not supposed to be the reality we’re seeing one year into a pandemic.”
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