Strang: Coronavirus likely to hit N.S.

The province’s chief medical officer of health says Nova Scotians have a crucial role in managing the novel coronavirus as it continues to spread around the world.

Although as of last week all 23 people tested in Nova Scotia had turned up negative results for the virus, COVID19, Dr. Robert Strang said it’s likely the province will have a person test positive.

“It’s quite probable that we’re going to get a case,” Strang said at a March 6 news conference in Halifax. “How much that case turns into a spread is somewhat dependent on what we do.”

Strang said he couldn’t give a number or a timeline for when the virus might come to Nova Scotia, but that it’s important Nova Scotians understand how it spreads and take preventive measures.

“It’s a call for us as Nova Scotians to come together to really say, ‘This is much bigger than a health system,’” Strang said.

“We’re doing our work in the health system, but all of us have a role to play in this, starting at a community level.”

Strang said communication is key when it comes to COVID-19. Any confirmed cases will be announced directly by him and he asked that the public “use social media very responsibly.”

Strang said the prevention of community spread, seen recently in British Columbia, is important and will depend on many factors.

COVID-19 can be spread if someone with the virus is within two metres of an uninfected person. It can also last on surfaces for several days, Strang said.

People should frequently wash their hands well, cough or sneeze into a tissue or their sleeve, avoid touching their face and give distance to people when socializing.

If a person is sick with a fever or cough, they should stay home for the duration of their illness or wear a mask if they need to go out in public.

“These sound basic, but they’re really important and they actually work,” Strang said.

“If we get really good practice of those personal protective measures of the virus, we can decrease transmission by 30 to 50 per cent.”

Strang said the provincial Health Department has been in communication with more vulnerable communities, such as seniors and frontline health-care workers, to prepare for COVID-19.

Janet Hazelton, president of the Nova Scotia Nurses’ Union, said nurses across the province are using fitted respiratory masks when they have to and there hasn’t been an issue so far.

“We learned our lesson, or we thought we did, in SARS that when in doubt go to the other extreme,” she said, noting the Government of Canada has recommended paper masks, while nurses' unions across the province has recommended the fitted respiratory masks.

Bethany McCormick, senior director of strategy, planning and performance at the Nova Scotia Health Authority, said she’s comfortable with the amount of supplies that hospitals across the province have and are prepared for.

"But we don’t need to go out and be mass stockpiling toilet paper, etcetera," Strang said of people clearing store shelves of toilet paper and paper towel.

If the virus does spread through Nova Scotia, Strang said people need to be prepared of the potential implications, including pressure on the health-care system, businesses being affected by sick employees or the shutdown of large gatherings and public facilities.

“What we’re doing today may well change in the coming days and weeks ahead,” Strang said.

“We’re likely to get it here, but how much it spreads depends on the virus itself, but also somewhat depends on how quickly we intervene and how well we adhere to what I call the public health measures that will be necessary.”