Health
What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Thursday, Oct. 8 – CBC.ca
Recent developments:
What’s the latest?
Ottawa has 183 more confirmed COVID-19 cases, setting a new daily record.
École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité is suspending in-class learning because of a COVID-19 outbreak.
OPH is using another real world example of what can happen when people don’t follow public health rules: Accoring to OPH, one person with mild symptoms attended a wedding in September, infecting 12 other guests and causing the virus to spread to schools and a group home.
Another Ottawa example of community transmission. In September, an individual with mild symptoms attended a wedding. 15 days later, 207 people were self-isolating & needed testing. Kids missed school, their parents couldn’t work & testing lines were longer. Our. Actions. Matter. <a href=”https://t.co/QUgqAL7C8O”>pic.twitter.com/QUgqAL7C8O</a>
—@ottawahealth
How many cases are there?
As of the most recent OPH update on Thursday, 5,153 Ottawa residents have tested positive for COVID-19.
That includes 879 known active cases, 3,978 resolved cases and 296 deaths.
Note: Data changed from the five-day average to the seven-day average of newly confirmed cases to reflect epidemiological best practices: a seven-day average smooths out the impact of less testing on weekends.
Overall, public health officials have reported more than 7,700 cases of COVID-19 across eastern Ontario and western Quebec, with more than 6,100 of those cases considered resolved.
COVID-19 has killed 104 people in the region outside Ottawa: 52 people have died in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties, 34 in the Outaouais and 18 in other parts of eastern Ontario.
What’s open and closed?
Health officials are telling people to see fewer people in person, or stricter rules will force them to.
Ontario is telling people to limit close contact only to those they live with or one other home if people live alone.
To reduce the spread of COVID-19, Public Health is asking residents to restrict Thanksgiving gatherings to their own household, to consider having celebrations outdoors and find new ways to connect with friends and family. See our Thanksgiving statement: <a href=”https://t.co/pGvQBw0Wrj”>https://t.co/pGvQBw0Wrj</a> <a href=”https://t.co/aphCgSay5J”>pic.twitter.com/aphCgSay5J</a>
—@LGLHealthUnit
Ottawa’s medical officer of health said late last week the entire health-care system is on the verge of collapse and is advising people to celebrate Thanksgiving only with members of their immediate household.
Other health units with different COVID-19 situations may have different Thanksgiving advice.
Western Quebec’s health authority says residents need to stop gathering until the end of October or, like Montreal and Quebec, people won’t be allowed to see anyone they don’t live with.
The region is currently on orange alert, which means private and organized gathering limits, earlier closing hours for restaurants and recommendations against travelling to other regions.
WATCH | Weighing the risks of sports:
What about schools?
There have been more than 150 schools in the wider Ottawa-Gatineau region with a confirmed case of COVID-19:
Few have had outbreaks, which are declared by a health unit in Ontario when there’s a reasonable chance someone who has tested positive caught COVID-19 during a school activity.
Ontario updated its COVID-19 school symptom rules last week.
Distancing and isolating
The novel coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, breathes or speaks onto someone or something.
People can be contagious without symptoms.
This means people should take precautions like staying home when sick, keeping hands and frequently touched surfaces clean, socializing outdoors as much as possible and maintaining distance from anyone you don’t live with — even when you have a mask on.
Masks are mandatory in indoor public settings in Ontario and Quebec and recommended outdoors when people can’t stay the proper distance from others.
Anyone with symptoms should self-isolate, so should anyone told to by a public health unit. If Ottawans don’t, they face a fine of up to $5,000 per day in court.
Kingston’s medical officer of health said people living with someone waiting for a test result now do not need to self-isolate and someone with COVID-19 now has to isolate for at least 10 days from the day they first experience symptoms.
Most people with a confirmed COVID-19 case in Quebec can end their self-isolation after 10 days under certain conditions.
Health Canada recommends older adults and people with underlying medical conditions and/or weakened immune systems stay home as much as possible.
Anyone who has travelled recently outside Canada must go straight home and stay there for 14 days.
WATCH | What getting a flu shot is like this season:
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
COVID-19 can range from a cold-like illness to a severe lung infection, with common symptoms including fever, a cough, vomiting and the loss of taste or smell.
Less common symptoms include chills, headaches and pink eye. Children can develop a rash.
Getting tested any sooner than five days after potential exposure may not be useful since the virus may not yet be detectable, says OPH.
If you have severe symptoms, call 911.
Where to get tested
In eastern Ontario:
Ontario recommends only getting tested if you have symptoms, or if you’ve been told to by your health unit or the province. Anyone seeking a test should now book an appointment.
People without symptoms, but who are part of the province’s targeted testing strategy, can make an appointment at select Ottawa pharmacies.
Most of Ottawa’s testing happens at four permanent sites, with additional mobile sites wherever demand is particularly high.
There is limited walk-up capacity and telephone booking for some sites for people without internet access and priority groups such as health-care workers.
Its Coventry Road clinic will be closed on Monday.
In the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, the Limoges drive-thru centre isn’t ready to take appointments until tomorrow so it’s working on a drive-up model.
The health unit also has sites in Alexandria, Cornwall, Hawkesbury, Rockland and Winchester. All are closed on Monday.
In Kingston, the test site is at the Beechgrove Complex and online booking isn’t available yet. For now, people are asked to go to the complex to make an appointment.
Napanee’s test centre is open daily for people who call ahead.
People can arrange a test in Bancroft and Picton by calling the centre or Belleville and Trenton online.
The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark health unit has permanent sites in Almonte, Brockville, Kemptville and Smiths Falls, plus a pop-up site in Gananoque today.
Renfrew County residents should call their family doctor or 1-844-727-6404 for a test or with COVID-19-related or not. Test clinic locations are posted weekly.
In western Quebec:
Outaouais residents can make an appointment in Gatineau seven days a week at 135 blvd. Saint-Raymond or 617 avenue Buckingham.
They can now check the approximate wait time for the Saint-Raymond site.
There are recurring clinics by appointment in communities such as Gracefield, Val-des-Monts and Fort-Coulonge.
Call 1-877-644-4545 with questions, including if walk-in testing is available nearby.
Tests are strongly recommended for people with symptoms or who have been in contact with someone with symptoms. People without symptoms can also get a test.
First Nations, Inuit and Métis:
Akwesasne has a mobile COVID-19 test site available by appointment only.
Anyone returning to the community on the Canadian side of the international border who’s been farther than 160 kilometres away — or visited Montreal — for non-essential reasons is asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
Inuit in Ottawa can call the Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team at 613-740-0999 for service, including testing, in Inuktitut or English on weekdays.
People in Pikwakanagan can book a COVID-19 test by calling 613-625-2259.
Anyone in Tyendinaga who’s interested in a test can call 613-967-3603.
For more information
Health
New technology to advance women’s cancer care at Southlake
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NEWS RELEASE
SOUTHLAKE REGIONAL HEALTH CENTRE
**************************
This Cancer Awareness Month, Southlake is adding advanced technologies to detect and treat breast cancer and other women’s cancers thanks to generous community donor support, most recently through the HERE is Where Cancer Meets its Match campaign. New cancer care technology, including new mammography machines, the MyoSure System and the MOLLI 2® System will make a measurable impact in diagnosing and treating women’s cancers in the communities Southlake serves.
Southlake is installing three new mammography machines to expand its breast cancer screening program to 1,500 more women each year. Two of these machines have new biopsy capabilities that will reduce the number of cancelled exams due to equipment failure, ensuring timely care for women. Women ages 40 to 49 years old will be able to self-refer for publicly funded mammograms through the Ontario Breast Screening Program starting this fall.
“Early detection is critical when treating breast cancer and other women’s cancers,” said Lorrie Reynolds, Director, Regional Cancer Program at Southlake. “We treat more than 1,700 breast cancer patients at Southlake every year. By adding advanced technology, like the new mammography machines, we’re ensuring women have the best experience at Southlake.”
Southlake is also introducing the MyoSure System, an innovative technology that can help detect female reproductive cancers. Damaged tissue in a woman’s uterus such as fibroids and polyps can now be removed in a precise, minimally invasive procedure that leaves the rest of the uterus intact. This will improve the overall patient experience by supporting faster recovery, reducing the risk of infection and giving more women the option to have children. An estimated 200 women per year will benefit from the MyoSure System.
The new mammography machines and the MyoSure System build on Southlake’s recent investment in the MOLLI 2® System, a made-in-Canada wire-free breast localization technology. This technology is considerably less invasive and more accurate when compared to wire-guided localization, resulting in a better patient experience and improved cosmetic outcomes. More than 200 women each year will benefit from this innovative medical device as they are treated for breast cancer at Southlake.
“As a clinician caring for women with cancer in our community, I’m incredibly proud of the work Southlake is doing to advance women’s health and improve patient experiences,” said Sara Temple, MD, Surgical Oncologist and Chief of Surgery at Southlake. “Women who visit Southlake can be confident that they are receiving leading edge care, close to home when they need it most.”
The World Health Organization anticipates a 77 per cent increase in cancer diagnoses by 2050. Southlake serves some of the fastest growing communities in Canada and anticipates that the number of patients requiring cancer care will grow. By investing in new technology, Southlake is ensuring that women in the communities it serves have access to leading edge cancer care. All of these investments were funded with support from community donors who generously gave to Southlake to support investments into women’s health at the hospital.
“The generosity of our donor community and the impact they have made for women receiving cancer diagnosis and treatment at Southlake is something we can all take great pride in,” said Jennifer Ritter, President and CEO of Southlake Foundation. “From our Women’s Health Initiative donors supporting new mammography machines, to the Ladies in Philanthropy for Southlake funding the MOLLI 2 System, to our long-standing partners The Edge Benefits and Pheasant Run Golf Club enabling the introduction of MyoSure System through their joint annual charity golf tournament, we are incredibly lucky to share a vision of access to exceptional care for everyone who depends on Southlake when they need us most. Thank you, to every donor who contributed to these important upgrades to care for women.”
Southlake Foundation’s HERE is Where Cancer Meets its Match campaign supports the Stronach Regional Cancer Centre at Southlake. For more information or to make a donation, visit: southlake.ca/HERE.
Health
Pasteurized milk includes remnants of H5N1 bird flu, U.S. officials say
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says that samples of pasteurized milk have tested positive for remnants of the bird flu virus that has infected dairy cows.
The agency stressed that the material is inactivated and that the findings “do not represent actual virus that may be a risk to consumers.” Officials added that they’re continuing to study the issue.
“To date, we have seen nothing that would change our assessment that the commercial milk supply is safe,” the FDA said in a statement on Tuesday.
The announcement comes nearly a month after an avian influenza virus that has sickened millions of wild and commercial birds in recent years was detected in dairy cows in at least eight states. The Agriculture Department (USDA) says 33 herds have been affected to date.
FDA officials didn’t indicate how many samples they tested or where they were obtained. The agency has been evaluating milk during processing and from grocery stores, officials said. Results of additional tests are expected in “the next few days to weeks.”
WATCH | Bird flu spread in U.S. cows:
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) lab test the FDA used would have detected viral genetic material even after live virus was killed by pasteurization, or heat treatment, said Lee-Ann Jaykus, an emeritus food microbiologist and virologist at North Carolina State University
“There is no evidence to date that this is infectious virus, and the FDA is following up on that,” Jaykus said.
Officials with the FDA and the USDA had previously said milk from affected cattle did not enter the commercial supply. Milk from sick animals is supposed to be diverted and destroyed. Federal regulations require milk that enters interstate commerce to be pasteurized.
Tests for viable virus underway, agency says
Because the detection of the bird flu virus known as Type A H5N1 in dairy cattle is new and the situation is evolving, no studies on the effects of pasteurization on the virus have been completed, FDA officials said. But past research shows that pasteurization is “very likely” to inactivate heat-sensitive viruses like H5N1, the agency added.
The agency said it has been evaluating milk from affected animals, in the processing system and on the shelves. It said it is completing a large, representative national sample to understand the extent of the findings.
Matt Herrick, a spokesperson for the International Dairy Foods Association, said that time and temperature regulations for pasteurization ensure that the commercial U.S. milk supply is safe. Remnants of the virus “have zero impact on human health,” he wrote in an email.
Scientists confirmed the H5N1 virus in dairy cows in March after weeks of reports that cows in Texas were suffering from a mysterious malady. The cows were lethargic and saw a dramatic reduction in milk production. Although the H5N1 virus is lethal to commercial poultry, most infected cattle seem to recover within two weeks, experts said.
To date, two people in the U.S. have been infected with bird flu. A Texas dairy worker who was in close contact with an infected cow recently developed a mild eye infection and has recovered. In 2022, a prison inmate in a work program caught it while killing infected birds at a Colorado poultry farm. His only symptom was fatigue, and he recovered.
Health
Remnants of bird flu virus found in pasteurized milk, FDA says
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that samples of pasteurized milk had tested positive for remnants of the bird flu virus that has infected dairy cows.
The agency stressed that the material is inactivated and that the findings “do not represent actual virus that may be a risk to consumers.” Officials added that they’re continuing to study the issue.
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