BATTLE PLANS FOR OUTBREAK
Local officials get prepared for coronavirus
Windsor-essex will be ready if — or more likely, when — the novel coronavirus outbreak reaches here, say local health officials.
On Friday, leaders of the region’s municipalities and emergency services gathered at the City of Windsor’s emergency operations centre to discuss local preparedness for COVID -19.
It’s inevitable that there will be cases of the infectious respiratory disease in our area, said Dr. Wajid Ahmed, medical officer of health with the Windsor-essex County Health Unit.
“It’s just a matter of someone coming in contact,” Ahmed said.
Ahmed said that while the number of cases seems to have stabilized in mainland China — where the virus originated — significant numbers are now appearing around the globe.
Italy, Iran, Japan, Singapore and South Korea have joined China and Hong Kong on the list of medium-risk areas. Local residents who have travelled to any of those places within the past 14 days are asked to contact the local health unit at 519-258-2146, ext. 1420.
Travellers who have been to the Chinese province of Hubei — and especially the capital city of Wuhan — remain the highest risk of carrying the virus.
“So far, it’s not here,” said Ahmed, adding early diagnosis and isolation are of the greatest importance at this stage.
Anyone experiencing illness with fever, cough, and difficulty breathing should self-quarantine.
“The virus survives in the body,” Ahmed said. “It is not airborne. It has to be spread by droplet (sneezing and coughing) ... it cannot travel on its own.”
According to Ahmed, the disease has an incubation period of five to 10 days. Someone who shows no symptoms beyond 14 days is very unlikely to be carrying the virus.
As of Friday, 14 cases of COVID -19 had been diagnosed in Canada — seven of them in Ontario.
Ahmed said 12 people in Windsor-essex have been tested for the disease so far, all of them negative.
Dr. Wassim Saad, chief of staff at Windsor Regional Hospital, emphasized the need for “personal responsibility” to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Those with symptoms should stay at home.
“We do not want patients to present to clinics if they have symptoms. We don’t want them to go to their family doctor. We do not want them coming to the hospital or the emergency room,” Saad said.
“The symptoms are usually self-resolving. This is a viral infection. There is no cure for the virus. There is no treatment that you’re going to get specifically at a hospital, a clinic, or your family doctor that is going to help you.
“You are more likely than not to get over it on your own.”
If symptoms are severe and persistent, Saad advises calling the health unit or the province’s Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000.
He encouraged anyone who has questions to visit the local health unit’s online webpage on the issue at wechu.org/coronavirus.
“We recognize that there is a lot of panic and concern in the community,” Ahmed said.
He assured that the health unit will provide “the scientific facts.”
Ahmed also pointed to the need for perspective on COVID-19. The fatality rate of the disease thus far is about two per cent, with the elderly being most at risk of dying.
Influenza is already in our community, and has caused many more deaths, health officials point out.
Ahmed noted that the preventive measures against influenza — such as handwashing and respiratory etiquette — are similar to the recommendations to protect yourself from the novel coronavirus.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens stressed that “the entire region is working together in preparation of this. There’s no need to panic.”
But Dilkens also asked the public to be vigilant.
“Make sure you wash your hands and take appropriate precautions,” he said.