📣 The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario has initiated a consultation on infection prevention and control (IPAC). Do you want healthcare workers to wear N95 respirators? Would it be safer with HEPA filters in healthcare settings? Let them know!
Comments closedComments closedWhen SARS-CoV-2 enters our cells, it disrupts the process of making proteins, which are essential for our cells to work correctly. A particular SARS-CoV-2 protein called Nsp1 has a crucial role in this process. It stops ribosomes, the machinery that makes proteins, from doing their job effectively. The virus is like a clever saboteur inside our cells, making sure its own needs are met while disrupting our cells’ ability to defend themselves.
This story is a collaboration between the Investigative Journalism Foundation and CBC Saskatchewan.
Newly obtained internal data shows the Saskatchewan government knew COVID-19 was spreading at an “exponential” rate in the fall of 2021, providing new insight into what officials knew before a devastating COVID-19 wave hit the province.
The Investigative Journalism Foundation (IJF) and the CBC have obtained a six-page briefing presented to top officials at Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Health in September 2021, days before the provincial government publicly declined to re-introduce measures doctors said were urgently needed to stop the spread of the virus.
The presentation, dated Sept. 3, 2021, came before a wave of COVID-19 infections that killed hundreds and nearly overwhelmed the province’s health system.
The government would later have to airlift roughly a quarter of its most critically sick patients to Ontario because there were not enough doctors and medical staff to care for them in Saskatchewan.
Comments closedHastings Prince Edward Public Health officials reported eight new high-risk cases as of April 17 in the region, the same as in the previous reporting period.
The health unit also reported eight active high-risk cases, the same as in the last health unit report.
There were no new deaths attributed to COVID-19 leaving the number of deaths since the pandemic to 150 in the region.
Comments closedHamiltonians at high risk of severe illness from COVID-19 infection are eligible for vaccination this spring.
In an April 19 news release, Hamilton public health services announced it’s joining forces with the Ontario Ministry of Health to administer vaccine doses to high-risk community members.
Comments closedMpox cases in Ontario are on the rise, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is warning local doctors and nurses.
The province has reported 26 cases so far in 2024, with OPH noting in its Wednesday statement that four had been confirmed in Ottawa.
Formerly known as monkeypox, mpox is a rare viral disease that is typically endemic in some central and west African countries.
Comments closedTORONTO, April 17, 2024 – OPSEU/SEFPO President JP Hornick and members working at Public Health Ontario (PHO) Labs were at Queen’s Park today to sound the alarm about the potential closure of six (6) out of 11 PHO labs in Ontario, and the risk it poses for all Ontarians – especially rural families and communities.
“If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that public health should never be taken for granted,” said Hornick. “Like many choices made by this government, if Premier Ford decides to shutter the doors of these 6 labs it will be short-sighted and dangerous.”
Comments closedOttawa is back in high-risk respiratory territory because of an increase in new hospitalizations.
COVID-19 and RSV trends are generally seen as low in the weekly respiratory update from Ottawa Public Health (OPH).
Flu wastewater readings and hospitalizations remain very high as this flu season stretches into spring.
OPH said there were 17 new COVID, flu and RSV hospitalizations the week starting March 24, and 27 the week starting March 31.
Comments closedLast summer’s smoky skies could make a return this year, as officials say Canada is on track for a repeat of the 2023 wildfire season – the worst on record.
In Ottawa, wildfire smoke blanketed the capital several times last summer and there were multiple open air fire bans and even concerns Canada Day fireworks could trigger a blaze.
Comments closedThe Durham Region Health Department is investigating a confirmed case of measles in the region after an adult was exposed during a recent trip abroad.
In a news release on Wednesday, the health department confirmed that “a local adult” is currently isolating at home after acquiring the illness, but it is not mentioned where in Durham region the adult resides.
Durham health has determined that individuals who travelled on the Royal Jordanian Airlines RJ271 flight on Thursday, March 28 departing from Jordan at 10:43 a.m. and arriving to Pearson airport on the same day at 5:24 p.m. local time — may have been exposed to the virus.
Comments closedNew guidelines suggest certain high-risk groups could benefit from having another dose of a COVID-19 vaccine this spring — and more frequent shots in general — while the broader population could be entering once-a-year territory, much like an annual flu shot.
Medical experts told CBC News that falling behind on the latest shots can come with health risks, particularly for individuals who are older or immunocompromised.
“Even when the risk of infection starts to increase, the vaccines still do a really good job at decreasing risk of severe disease,” said McMaster University researcher and immunologist Matthew Miller.
Comments closedThe Ottawa Public Library will be providing free solar eclipse glasses to residents in anticipation of a partial solar eclipse on April 8.
While supplies last, the glasses that provide proper protection for eclipse viewing will include a printed handout with safety instructions.
The City of Ottawa says it will launch the initiative on Thursday, March 28. All library branches will have total solar eclipse glasses available for the public, starting when branches open on Thursday.
Officials say quantities of glasses are limited, so branches will run out before April 8.
Comments closedHuron Perth Healthcare Alliance (HPHA) is updating its masking policy.
“Based upon the most recent Public Health Ontario guidance, updates will be made…” read a release from the organization.
Effective immediately, masking will be “welcomed but no longer required,” in many clinical areas of HPHA hospital sites with the exception of emergency departments where masking is still required.
Masking will also still be required for anybody who has symptoms of respiratory infection such as cough, fever and sore throat. If you’re accompanying somebody with symptoms, you must also wear a mask.
Comments closedPublic health officials say they were able to notify all individuals with direct exposure to the third confirmed case of measles in Toronto.
Comments closedA woman in her 90s has died of COVID-19, raising the pandemic toll to 12 deaths this year.
The regional public health unit reported the latest death Friday in a weekly update of indicators. The health unit counts cases where the pandemic disease is a main or contributing cause of death.
Hospitalizations are stable at a relatively low level. There are currently six patients with COVID-19 in three local hospitals on an average day. A typical day during the four-year pandemic is 26 patients hospitalized.
Comments closedCanada is seeing a resurgence of measles, with cases in the first quarter of 2024 already far surpassing the total for all of 2023. There were 12 cases last year, and more than three times that number so far in 2024, with 38 reported as of March 19.
Most of these cases (28) are in Québec, and eight are in Ontario, while Saskatchewan and British Columbia have each reported one case.
As an immunologist with a focus on host-microbe interactions and antiviral immunity, I have been following recent measles outbreaks.
Comments closedRespiratory disease levels have remained mostly steady in the past week, Ottawa Public Health says in its latest update.
Influenza remains a major concern with 13 more patients hospitalized in the seven days ended March 16. There were 14 new hospitalizations for COVID-19, which OPH described as “low and decreasing since last week.”
There were 45 more confirmed COVID-19 cases, about half of them in patients 65 years of age and older.
