Collingwood General and Marine Hospital is enhancing screening measures and taking precautions with patients who have travelled to China and are now unwell after the discovery of a new coronavirus that has already infected two people in Toronto.
Lisa van Kolfschoten, communications officer for the hospital, said patients are already screened at entry points like the emergency department and outpatient clinics. The screening includes questions about flu-like symptoms, cough, and travel within the past two weeks.
Anyone with a travel history to high-risk areas in China, or who have had contact with anyone who has travelled to China, and is unwell, will get additional screening as well as protection and care in a negative pressure room, according to van Kolfschoten.
Patients with symptoms and travel history will be masked and placed in isolation. Hospital employees providing care to such patients will be wearing personal protective equipment for contact, droplet and airborne precautions.
The hospital is also assessing supply levels to make sure they are well-stocked, and are asking patients and visitors to wear a mask if they have travelled from China recently.
The coronavirus is a new respiratory virus with pneumonia-like symptoms that emerged in Wuhan City, China late last year.
According to van Kolfschoten, the new coronavirus is a reportable illness, and the hospital would notify public health if a potential case was identified.
Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that cause illness from the common cold to more severe diseases, such as SARS.
Many people are comparing the new virus outbreak to SARS, but Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit officials are confident that Canada is more prepared than it was 17 years ago.
Dr. Colin Lee, associate medical officer with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, said while there are similarities between the two viruses, there are also key differences from a prevention point of view.
“The coronavirus itself has many qualities that are similar to SARS,” Lee said. “From the symptoms to the fact it likely originated from animals, there are some things we see that we did when SARS was prevalent.
“That said, a very key difference here is from a preventive and control aspect," he added. "We are months ahead with this latest outbreak than we were for SARS. Many steps we use now, like screening at a medical facility and identifying anyone with symptoms of an outbreak, did not exist pre-SARS. We are a lot more prepared because of SARS.”
In 2003, SARS made its way to Toronto and ended up infecting 438 patient and killing 44.
While the risk of the new coronavirus remains low for our region, Lee says the potential is always there and the area isn’t immune to these international outbreaks.
Lee also said that, so far, it appears that this new virus is not as strong as the SARS virus.
In Collingwood, van Kolfschoten agrees the health care system is more prepared for this coronavirus.
She said reviews completed on the health care system during and post-SARS have improved best practices.
For instance, she said, questions about travel history were added to patient triage assessment post-SARS.
Respiratory screening that occurs for every person entering the emergency department now includes coronavirus symptoms and patient travel history.
She said the response rate for this coronavirus was far more advanced by the Ministry of Health, Public Health Canada, Public Health Ontario, and acute care hospitals. There have been regular meetings and updates on the new virus.
At Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Barrie, officials say safety is the top priority.
“We have robust and effective infection prevention and control policies in place,” Dr. Chris Tebbutt, vice-president of academic and medical affairs, said. "We learned many lessons during SARS 17 years ago and H1N1 in 2009, and RVH is well-prepared to handle the situation.”
Orillia's hospital isn't in panic mode, either.
Cheryl Harrison, executive vice-president of Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital, also said a lot was learned from the 2003 SARS outbreak. Hospitals have since taken further steps to ensure they have an adequate stock of equipment needed to screen and treat patients in the event of another outbreak.
Communication among governments and health-care providers has also improved.
“With SARS, because of the uncertainty, things changed often,” Harrison said, adding that led to some communication issues.
With the coronavirus, “people know what it is and they know how to identify it, which is very different from some other outbreaks,” she said.
Human coronaviruses most commonly spread from an infected person to others, just like influenza or a cold, by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands, or touching an object or surface with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes.
Symptoms are usually mild to moderate and can include runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, and a general feeling of being unwell.
If you have a fever and symptoms of lower respiratory illness (cough and feeling unwell) and have travelled from Wuhan, China in the 14 days before your symptoms started, or have been in close contact with a person who may have this infection, officials say you should be assessed by a health-care provider. If possible, call ahead to let them know you’re coming so infection control measures can be put in place.
You can protect yourself by washing your hands often with soap and water, or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if your hands are not visibly dirty. You can help to reduce the spread of respiratory infections such as coronavirus by covering your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing and by staying home when you are sick.
— With files from Nathan Taylor and Shawn Gibson
