A look at the numbers … locally
Provincial health officials will be releasing two days of COVID-19 numbers later today, after taking Thanksgiving Monday off.
Their last report, on Sunday, showed 649 new coronavirus cases, down for the second day after Friday’s record high of 979.
An outbreak has been declared at London’s Western University after four students in a residence tested positive.
All four have been put into quarantine.
Closer to home, Algoma Public Health announced two new cases over the weekend.
One is believed to be community spread, the other due to travel.
Algoma Public Health is looking for contacts on an Ontario Northland bus.
Anyone who travelled on the Ontario Northland bus on October 7th, 2020: 11:30 am bus from Sault Ste. Marie to Sudbury rows 3-8 and 4:30 pm bus from Sudbury to Toronto (Yorkdale), rows 3-8 should contact Algoma Public Health at 705-759-5404 (toll-free 1-866-892-0172, ext. 5404) or their local public health unit
Public Health Sudbury & Districts is in the process of updating its website.
The Red Cross assists in Ottawa
The federal government has approved a request from the Ontario government to have Canadian Red Cross personnel assist at seven Ottawa-area long-term care homes.
They’ll be providing essential personal care services and help with the daily living activities of residents, as well as delivering personal protective equipment and training on how to prevent the spread of the virus.
There are 14 long-term care homes in the Ottawa region currently suffering from COVID-19 outbreaks.
Provincial measures led to long-term deaths
Testimony from the inquiry into long-term care facilities shows provincial measures meant to keep hospitals from becoming overwhelmed may have led to the high number of coronavirus deaths in the facilities.
Dr. Rhonda Collins, the chief medical officer at Revera which owns many long-term care facilities, told the inquiry two weeks ago that many homes were told to keep their residents in place, even if they tested positive, to ensure hospital space would be kept available.
Doctors from the Ontario Long-Term Care Clinicians organization testified that homes lacked personal protective equipment at the height of the pandemic because it was being sent to hospitals instead.
The inquiry is closed to the public, but transcripts of the testimony were recently released online.
The virus survives 28 days
An Australian study shows the coronavirus can live for up to 28 days on plastic banknotes, steel, and glass.
That’s much longer than the influenza virus.
Observers say the amount of virus remaining after the four-week period would be relatively low.
But they add the study reinforces the importance of proper hand-washing to help stem the spread of COVID-19.