“The nurses’unions warned the national guidelines to protect nurses, doctors and other
hospital staff from exposure to the highly contagious virus are less stringent than those in other
jurisdictions.”
Dr. BonnieHenry, British Columbia’s provincial health officer, said after announcing the death this week that an infected care
aide from the same facility is believed to have worked at two other facilities.
“It’s a
challenge with our system, with care homes,” she said. “We know that whether
it’s care workers or nurses, even physicians, we work in many different health
authorities, many different facilities sometimes. That is part of the ongoing investigation at the Lynn Valley care home,
to find out exactly where everybody worked and make sure that the other
facilities are investigated.” (Bains, 2020).
Fact #1:
The two highest risk groups for being exposed, getting infected, and for
transmitting and spreading a virus to others are family
members, and health care workers.
A great
deal of epidemiological research is done to examine who is most at-risk when
new infectious outbreaks and epidemics occur in Canada, and abroad. Thousands
of health care workers in China have been infected by COVID-19 on the job. Many
have lost their lives.
Many of those workers unintentionally transmitted the
virus to others, including other patients they were caring for, their families,
and within their local communities. This is now happening across Canada
according to the latest media reports that are now reporting on health care
workers who are testing positive for COVID-19.
The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions is warning that the federal public health agency's guidelines to protect front-line health-care workers from outbreaks of diseases like the novel coronavirus don't go far enough, and might be putting them and patients at risk.
Fact #2:
The Public Health Agency of Canada, the agency taking the lead on managing the
coronavirus/COVID-19 in Canada has:
Restricted the exposure criteria in a way that does not allow for testing of those who do not fit Canada’s narrow exposure and testing criteria. This has not changed as the epidemiological research has come out, as the virus has spread and scaled up internationally, and more health care workers are being confirmed to have COVID-19 in Canada.
- Continues to exclude ALL Canadian health care workers (doctors, nurses, residential care aides, and all others) from the exposure and testing criteria.
- Continues to exclude ALL individuals who may have been exposed to COVID-19 through health care exposures (their doctors, nurses, care aides etc.).
- Continues to exclude ALL family members, work colleagues, or others who may who may have been exposed to COVID-19 from health care exposures, or ANY other community exposures.
- Continues to exclude ALL first responders, including police officers, paramedics, and fire fighters.
- Continues to exclude ALL front-line workers working with medium to high-risk patients exposed to/having undiagnosed COVID-19.
Not responded adequately to changes in the reported epidemiological risk factors, dynamics, and research coming out about health care, and community exposures.
Outcome:
There are
potentially thousands of individuals across Canada who have been exposed to
COVID-19, are carriers/transmitters, and who are contributing to community
transmission and spread in Canada.
Public
health authorities in Canada continue to state that risks of contracting
COVID-19 remain low as of this week. That is not accurate, evidence-based, credible, or
reliable information for Canadians/others.
Risk
Level: Canada should be seen as medium to high
risk for COVID-19. People who are at higher risk of complications
that could lead to more severe, or critical cases and/or those at higher risk
of mortality from COVID-19 should do all they can to prevent becoming infected,
such as social distancing and improved personal hygiene.
As of
March 10 2020 the Public Health Agency of Canada Exposure Criteria is:
In the 14 days before
onset of illness, a person who:
Traveled to an “affected area”: China (mainland); Hong Kong; Iran; Italy;
Japan; Singapore; South Korea; OR
Had close contact with a confirmed or probable case
of COVID-19;
Definition: A close contact is
defined as a person who provided
care for the patient, including health care workers, family members or other
caregivers, or who had other similar close physical contact or who lived
with or otherwise had close
prolonged contact with a probable or confirmed case while the case was ill. OR
Had close contact with a person with acute
respiratory illness who has been
to an affected area within 14 days prior to their illness onset. OR
Had laboratory exposure to biological material (e.g. primary clinical specimens, virus culture isolates) known to contain COVID-19.
Factors that raise the index of suspicion
should also be considered:
Other exposure scenarios not specifically mentioned
here may arise and may be considered at jurisdictional discretion (e.g.
history of being a patient in the same ward of facility during a nosocomial
outbreak of COVID-19).
Note: PHAC/the Federal government have not added the
United States to the list of “affected countries.”
As of March 10th,
2020, Washington State reported 267
total cases reported statewide, with 24 deaths.
References
What Can You Do About This Situation
Email, or contact your MP (Member of Parliament): Tell them you want them to advocate for the exposure criteria
to be changed and updated in BC and that more testing for COVID-19 can occur in
Canada.
Report local test refusals to MP’s and senators: Advise them if you, anyone in your family, or in your
community has been refused testing for COVID-19. BC’s elected officials have
been completely silent while community transmission is spreading, including in
their own ridings.
Find out your MP’s
contact information here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/Members/en
Find Canadian Senators contact information here: sencanada.ca/en/contact-information
Bains, C. (2020). Better protections needed
for health-care workers during COVID-19: advocates. Canadian Press/Medicine Hat
News. Retrieved from: https://medicinehatnews.com/news/national-news/2020/03/11/better-protections-needed-for-healthcare-workers-during-covid19-advocates/.
Canadian Press. (2020). Nurses' unions warn national
standards for coronavirus protection too low. Retrieved from: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/nurses-unions-warn-federal-standards-120004579.html.
Government of Canada/Public
Health Agency of Canada. B. Case Surveillance and C. Exposure criteria. Retrieved from: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/health-professionals/national-case-definition.html#exposure.
King 5 News. (2020). Here are the deaths
and cases of coronavirus in Washington state. Retrieved from: https://www.king5.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/coronavirus-covid-19-deaths-cases-washington-state/281-68179a8d-9ea9-461a-9077-1f32675b802b.
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