Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Online Bulletin for Health Care Providers

March 12, 2020

From:
Dr. Piotr Oglaza
Medical Officer of Health & CEO
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

In this Issue:

  1. Important COVID-19 Updates for Health Care Providers
  2. Requirements for Health Care Providers

On March 10, an individual repatriated from the Grand Princess cruise ship off California tested positive for COVID-19. This person developed mild symptoms during the flight that arrived March 9th, was closely monitored during the flight, and remains in isolation at CFB Trenton under assessment by Public Health Agency of Canada. There are currently no additional cases of COVID-19 in our area and the risk for local transmission of COVID-19 within our communities remains low.

The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 to be a global pandemic on March 10, 2020. Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPEPH) will continue to collaborate with partners at all levels of government, as well as our local health care providers and community members, to ensure all possible infection control precautions and protocols are implemented to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Important Updates

  • We continue to work with our partners to coordinate COVID-19 community testing.
  • Ontario Ministry of Health COVID-19 Case Definitions are current as of February 26, 2020
  • Ministry of Health Risk Levels and Precautions for COVID-19 chart has been developed to assist health care providers to assess a patient’s risk of exposure and advise regarding self isolation and/or self monitoring requirements.
  • Public Health’s list of global areas affected by COVID-19 with recommendations, is available on our COVID-19 website and will be regularly updated as new information becomes available. We are strongly encouraging health care providers to use clinical judgment and consider testing symptomatic patients with exposure to any of these areas.
  • Testing supplies are currently available in limited quantities. Ensure testing is completed only on symptomatic patients with appropriate risk level and/or exposure history.
  • Public Health Laboratory has updated COVID-19 testing guidelines:
    • Ambulatry patients require single Nasopharyngeal swab only.
    • In-patients shuld have a minimum of two specimens collected from two separate sites.
    • Respiratry virus multiplex PCR (MRVP) is no longer performed on all COVID-19 testing specimens. MRVP is nly performed by request for patients that meet PHO Laboratory’s acceptance criteria for this testing (hospitalized, outbreaks, institutionalized).
  • Testing of persons under investigation for COVID-19 no longer requires approval from Public Health Laboratory. Appropriate requisition forms can be accessed on the Public Health Ontario website – publichealthontario.ca

Requirements for Health Care Providers

  • Health care providers are required to immediately report all persons under investigation, probable and confirmed cases of COVID-19 to HPEPH at 613-966-5500.
  • Health care providers should ensure that COVID-19 screening protocols and signage are in place and include expanded travel history to all affected areas.
  • Health care providers are to advise patients meeting the following criteria to contact HPEPH at 613-966-5500 for direction:
    • persons returning form high risk areas (Hubei province, Iran, Italy),
    • persons with symptoms of COVID-19 and recent travel to affected areas,
    • known or suspected contact with a PUI, to contact HPEPH at 613-966-5500.
  • Health care providers should provide their patients with recommendations regarding self-isolation and/or self-monitoring requirements as per the MOH Risk Levels and Precautions for COVID-19
  • If sending a patient to hospital or to a testing facility please provide advance notice, advise the patient to avoid public transportation and supply the patient with a surgical mask to be worn in the presence of other people.

Planning and Preparedness

HPEPH is in a position of preparedness in response to the worldwide spread of COVID-19. Infection control measures in Canada have been very effective at minimizing the spread of COVID-19 and we will continue to base our response on evidence as the situation evolves. Information to help our community prepare for a local outbreak can be found on our Outbreak Preparedness webpage.

 

In this critical time, HPEPH is committed to providing local HCPs and our community with new information as it becomes available. Current information on COVID-19 specifically for health care providers can be found at

For more information, please contact the HPEPH Infectious and Communicable Diseases Intake Line at 613-966-5500 x 349.

Back to Summary

Contact Information: 

To give us your comments: socialmedia@hpeph.ca

To report communicable diseases:613-966-5500 x349

To report AEFI or DOPHS: Online / Fax - 613-966-1813 or CDCFAX1@hpeph.ca

Health Bulletin Editors: Kamran Khani

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