Health information

Dr. Oglaza updates local COVID-19 picture

Breaking: On March 31, Dr. Elizabeth Christie with the Prince Edward Family Health Team announced Prince Edward County has received permission to open its first COVID-19 assessment centre. The drive-through facility will be set-up at the Prince Edward Community Centre and will only accept referrals via public health and health care providers.

Providing an update on COVID-19, Dr. Piotr ‘Peter’ Oglaza, Medical Officer of Health and CEO with Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH) conducted a live Facebook broadcast last Thursday. The following is a summary of Dr. Oglaza’s update on the COVID-19 situation in our area, where he shared valuable information and advice about the pandemic, including latest figures, health and government recommendations, as well as addressing submitted media questions. This is the first in a series of anticipated weekly updates by Dr. Oglaza, where the public can listen in on the live sessions at facebook.com/hpepublichealth, or watch the posted video after the broadcast.

Providing an update on current cases, Dr. Oglaza said in Canada there are 3,385 labconfirmed cases, including 667 cases in Ontario and five in Hastings Prince Edward (HPE) counties. [Update: As of March 30, there are 7,695 lab-confirmed cases in Canada, with 89 deaths. In Ontario, there are 1,966 confirmed cases, with 33 deaths.] The good news is there is currently no evidence in Hastings and Prince Edward counties of any community transmission, said Oglaza. All five local identified cases are in some way linked to international travel, with three of the cases relating to direct international travel, and two of the cases being close contacts of those returning travellers. [Update: As of March 31, there are eight lab-confirmed cases in HPE; four are directly linked to travel, three are close contacts with returning travellers, with one case pending. There are also 234 probable cases in HPE.]

Dr. Oglaza noted HPEPH are frequently asked about specific details of cases in specific communities within HPE. “This is personal health information and in the interests of protecting individuals’ privacy, I am not able to provide any comments on lab-confirmed cases in any individual community,” said Oglaza. “We provide aggregate count for HPE counties, but will not be breaking that down into individual communities to respect individuals’ privacy.” Dr. Oglaza would also not speak to any hospitalized cases within the area, again citing individual privacy.

RETURNING TRAVELLERS
Dr. Oglaza emphasised the importance of anyone returning from travel anywhere outside of Canada must self-isolate for 14 days. “You must immediately contact public health or your local healthcare provider if you develop any symptoms of COVID-19, which include fever and cough,” said Oglaza. While it was previously a recommendation for travellers to self-isolate upon return to Canada, he noted that as of March 25, the federal government have made the isolation mandatory under the Quarantine Act in order to protect the most vulnerable citizens. “Under the Quarantine Act, this is a legal order under that legislation and it carries very strict instructions to what that quarantine self-isolation means and it limits the mobility of individuals who are ordered to quarantine.“ He explained the purpose behind the change means everyone must make the responsible decision to follow the advice of health authorities, and it is in everyone’s best interests to do everything we can to stop the spread of COVID-19 he said.

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Addressing one of the commonly asked questions public health are asked, Dr. Oglaza explained the difference between social distancing, physical distancing, self-isolation, and mandatory quarantine. “Physical distancing is the term we derive from the previously used term ‘social distancing’,” explains Oglaza, who said the reason for amended wording is because they don’t want people becoming socially isolated. “We know that it’s really hard on individuals to be isolated, but what’s critical is to have that physical separation of at least two metres during any necessary face-to-face interactions.” He said virtual meetings, meetings using technology, social interaction through technology are all ways they encourage people to keep up with friends, relatives and meeting social needs while staying safe. Self-isolation is separating yourself from others by staying home and is a form of quarantine. “Self-isolation is mandatory for 14 days for anyone who has travelled outside of Canada, and for anyone who has been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, or is suspected to have COVID-19,” explained Oglaza. “Self-isolation at home does not mean going outside your own property and walking the dog in the park; it means staying within your own property.“ Mandatory quarantine is a very specific term under federal legislation, the Quarantine Act, said Oglaza. “These are orders that are given to all returning Canadians starting March 25, so returning Canadians from any international travels would be receiving these orders which require individuals to self-isolate at home for 14 days.” He emphasised the very serious implications if the orders are not followed.

COMMUNITY SPREAD
“Earlier this week, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, noted that a number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada contracted through community spread has been increasing, but that’s not yet the case in HPE,” said Oglaza, who said he wants to keep it that way. “We do not have any lab-confirmed cases in our community acquired from community spread, but we know that this is the risk that is present in all communities and is something that might be changing in the future.” The best strategy to avoid community spread is exactly follow the physical distancing recommendations, says Oglaza. “Stay home as much as possible, and if you are going out in public, practice distancing by maintaining two metres spaced from others, also make sure you avoid touching your own face, and wash hands frequently, or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer,” he said.

“The general advice given by medical and government authorities is especially important for seniors and older adults because it has been seen from epidemiological data these individuals, if they got COVID-19, they are more likely to be severely sick and they are also at more risk of death from COVID-19.”

COTTAGERS
Dr. Oglaza noted that in our mostly rural community with its large number of cottages, people from larger communities might be choosing to come to their cottages to gain some distance from others. “Anyone who is coming to our community is asked to practise the same physical distancing recommendations, and also consider our own supply of goods in grocery stores and pharmacies.” He recommends anyone planning to stay in the area to get supplies from where they currently reside and bring them to our community for their own use.

GROCERY SHOPPING
Dr. Oglaza says wiping shopping carts with disinfectant is good practice, if the store isn’t already doing so, where he recommends bringing disinfectant wipes and wiping the cart before use. “Also, make sure you are avoiding touching your face when you are out in public, so you don’t bring the pathogen into your face, into your eyes, nose, mouth.” He said a lot of people were asking whether they needed to be wiping the groceries, something Oglaza said is optional and not something they believe to be truly necessary. “This is a theoretical risk, it is not something we think is going to be a huge driver of infections, but I would recommend if you are buying groceries in packaging you can wipe that packaging,” said Oglaza. “What I would also recommend is that you maintain hand hygiene, so when you unload the groceries, wash your hands before, and wash your hands after.”

“It’s also important that while all the essential services and businesses remain open, we want people to plan ahead,” said Oglaza. “If you are planning to go out and get more supplies, try to minimize the number of trips, so don’t go out every day; think ahead and get what you need for say a week or so, and do that all in one trip. That is going to increase the physical distancing, and it’s going to support everyone’s efforts to maintain that physical distancing.”

TESTING
Questions around testing and testing capabilities locally were addressed. “We know that there is a worldwide shortage of test kits, we know that from different sources and jurisdictions, and while there are efforts by our government to increase the capacity, there’s still not going to be an infinite number of tests available and there’s also a capacity issue at the testing facility at the lab,” he said. “We want to make sure that whenever we are offering testing, it’s done to populations that are critical priority to get tested, and that is where we allocate our limited resources.”

Dr. Oglaza reminded people that if symptoms are severe with difficulty breathing to call 911. He said people need to be mindful of their symptoms; if they are mild, consider seeking telephone advice, beginning with your health care provider, or using the online tools. “If you need to seek medical attention, we advise you wear a mask and we strongly recommend calling ahead before you go out and before you seek care,” he said. “Once we start receiving more kits, more and more people will be tested, but again at some point, we have to realize that we might just use the precautions and people have to remain isolated.“

FLATTENING THE CURVE
Oglaza said a small proportion of people, about 15 per cent, will have more severe illness, and five per cent may require hospitalization. “If we have a lot of people sick at the same time in the population, that five per cent will be a pretty high number,” he said. “If we flatten the curve, that five per cent will be more manageable. We want to make sure that whatever spike we see from COVID-19 is not exceeding the capacity the healthcare system is equipped to handle, so that’s really important.”

He said it was critical to avoid community transmission to avoid having a lot of people becoming sick at the same time and asked for a collective effort to prevent community spread. “We want to emphasise that if and when there is that community transmission, we know that a large number of people could potentially get severely ill, and that’s why we go back to all of these preventions of physical distancing, self-isolation and quarantine,” he said. “We are all in this together; it is a community effort and everyone is asked to pitch-in and contribute, and it could be as simple or as difficult as staying home and not going out, and I urge you, follow that advice.” Information and resources on COVID-19 can be found at hpepublichealth.ca and canada.ca.