As COVID wastewater data hits significant highs in the Middlesex-London area, more cases of the virus and other respiratory infections can be expected in the new year, says the region’s top doctor.
The start of 2024 will be the midst of respiratory virus season, with continued COVID activity and an increase in influenza infections and other cold and cough viruses, said medical officer of health Dr. Alex Summers.
Comments closedSome hospitals across the United States are reinstating indoor masking rules amid rising cases and hospitalizations of respiratory illnesses including COVID-19 and influenza.
Hospitals in at least six states — California, Illinois, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin — have put masking guidelines in place, according to an ABC News count.
Over the weekend, Mass General Brigham, which is the largest health system in Massachusetts, told ABC News it issued guidelines requiring employee caregivers and those working in patient care areas to wear masks.
Comments closedWhen approving the advertising campaign, the government’s revisions “included the removal of details about vaccine eligibility, immunization locations by age group and the types of vaccines being offered and their efficacy against different strains of COVID-19 and influenza. Two lines that encouraged Albertans to book vaccination appointments were also deleted.”
Comments closedDoes it seem like a lot of people you know are sick?
You’re not alone. Respiratory illness season is in full swing in California and across much of the nation.
In Los Angeles County, about 23% of people participating in a weekly text-message-based survey reported having a cough or shortness of breath for the week that ended Dec. 10, higher than the total reported during a late summer peak in respiratory illnesses, when 21% said they had those symptoms. Early summer brought a lull, with only 10% of survey respondents saying they had a cough or shortness of breath.
Comments closedThe fall in occupancy rates in Quebec’s emergency rooms that began on 19 December ended on Tuesday.
The Index Santé website noted that this average rate had risen to 95% on 26 December, before jumping to 112% on Wednesday morning, shortly before 6 a.m., which was considered very high.
Comments closedStaffing shortages will close a Hamilton urgent care centre for two days at the same time city emergency departments are becoming increasingly congested with flu, COVID-19 and RSV patients.
With just 13 per cent of Hamiltonians getting a COVID shot in the past six months, local hospitals are bracing for the viral surge to continue climbing over the holidays.
Comments closedInfectious diseases expert Dr. Donald Vinh on the high number of viruses circulating in Quebec right now and how people can avoid them.
Comments closedWith winter increasing the spread of three illnesses across the territory, Nunavut’s chief public health officer is urging people to take steps to protect themselves.
There are 75 confirmed cases of flu; 16 cases of RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus; and 12 cases of COVID-19 in Nunavut, Dr. Sean Wachtel said Tuesday.
But the actual number of people sickened is probably higher than that, he said.
Comments closedNew Brunswick reported two more deaths from COVID-19, a week-over-week jump in hospitalizations and nursing home outbreaks because of the virus, and an increase in flu cases and hospitalizations Tuesday.
Comments closedQuebec Health Minister Christian Dubé and his chief public health officer warned Tuesday that the province is facing a major COVID-19 resurgence, coupled with a spike in influenza cases.
“We have a lot of vulnerable people that (are being hospitalized) because of influenza and because of COVID, and they should have been vaccinated,” Dubé said at a news conference.
“I think that the situation over the next few weeks will deteriorate. Let’s be clear about that.”
Comments closedTo reduce pressure on overflowing emergencies, the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, asks people with non-emergency problems to practice self-care, contact their family doctor, family medicine group (GMF) or the 811 phone line instead of going to the hospital. He noted that 28 winter clinics are open and that agreements have recently been reached with residential settings to accommodate seniors trapped in hospital due to the lack of CHSLD spaces.
Emergency rooms are facing a “perfect storm”, says Christian Dubé: a cocktail of seasonal viruses, staff holidays (“earned”), a labour shortage (bigger than last year) and a lack of hospital beds with the aging population as a backdrop.
Comments closedIn the 18 months after a serious COVID-19 or seasonal influenza infection, patients are at a significant increased risk of death, hospital readmission, or health problems affecting a number of organs, though COVID patients are hit harder, according to a study published yesterday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
The study was led by Ziyad Al-Aly, MD, the chief of research and development at the VA St. Louis Health Care System and a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University. Al-Aly has been studying long COVID for the past 3 years, and has been interested in studying the differences between the acute and chronic phases of the disease.
Comments closedHospitals and emergency rooms could be forced to ration care by the end of this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Thursday, saying recent trends in COVID-19 and influenza are now on track to again strain America’s health care system. The new COVID variant JN.1 is making up an increasing share of cases, the CDC’s tracking shows.
“COVID-19 hospitalizations are rising quickly,” the agency said in its weekly update. “Since the summer, public health officials have been tracking a rise in multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), which is caused by COVID-19. Influenza activity is growing in most parts of the country. RSV activity remains high in many areas.”
Comments closedAlberta hospitals are squeezing in extra intensive care unit beds as respiratory virus cases balloon and ICUs fill up.
Alberta Health Services has added 17 adult surge beds since last week — 12 in Edmonton and 5 in Calgary— bringing the total to 240.
Comments closedSince October, only 16% of Quebecers have been vaccinated against COVID-19, and 17.5% against influenza, this year’s flu (H1N1) that Public Health still fears. The main concern of authorities? The fact that just over one in two Quebecers, among those aged 70 and over, was vaccinated.
Comments closedThe Kingston General Hospital says a surge of emergency department inpatients, including a day that had a near record 580 admissions, has the hospital struggling to keep up as the respiratory virus season peaks across the province.
Comments closedWith a surge of patients with respiratory illnesses being cared for in its hallways, the Kingston Health Sciences Centre is reminding people to stay home if they’re feeling sick to cut back the spread — even if it means missing that holiday party.
Comments closedWhen the pandemic started, the province was testing the population and updating the number of COVID cases daily.
But four years on, testing has stalled and the main way to get a snapshot of the COVID picture is through wastewater.
