Alberta passes ‘sombre milestone’
104 deaths and 70 new cases, as Purolator facility faces outbreak
An outbreak of 30 cases of COVID-19 at Purolator’s facility in Calgary was reported Monday, as the province surpassed 100 recorded deaths related to the novel coronavirus.
Purolator said in a statement Monday that the majority of its cases are inside “sortation” employees who have been away from the building for at least seven days. The employees who tested positive are self-isolating.
While the company works to isolate and contain the risk of further spread, it is instituting a health screening and temperature check for all workers and visitors to the facility. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said Alberta Health Services is working closely with Purolator by offering testing to all employees in order to stop further spread.
“We continue to learn from our experiences and from other jurisdictions to improve our public health response. This includes things such as use of masks when physical distancing is not always possible, promotion of early identification of ill people through health screening and follow-ups to prevent cases from occurring,” said Hinshaw.
An outbreak of nine cases at the Amazon distribution facility north of Calgary was brought to light Saturday.
To be safe, people who receive packages should discard the wrapping and then wash their hands before touching the contents of the package, Hinshaw explained.
She added that early detection of small outbreaks at some workplaces have resulted in quick action and several “success stories” at those companies.
Meanwhile, another nine deaths were reported by Hinshaw during Monday’s press conference, though only four of the deaths had occurred in the last 24 hours. The others had occurred on previous days but it took time to confirm they were related to COVID-19.
“This brings the total number of lives lost to 104. Reaching more than 100 deaths is a sombre milestone … As the number of deaths in our province increases, so does the number of grieving families and loved ones,” said Hinshaw.
Seventy new cases of COVID -19 were recorded Monday, bringing the total to 5,836. Of those cases, 2,942 people have recovered which is 50.4 per cent of all cases since the outbreak began here in early March. There are 89 COVID-19 patients in hospital, including 21 requiring intensive care.
As the province prepares to reopen businesses through a phased strategy, AHS is expanding the criteria for testing to include asymptomatic people in close proximity with someone who’s tested positive; those who are newly admitted to continuing care facilities; and those with a variety of new symptoms. The updated list of symptoms includes new cough, worsening of chronic coughs or shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, painful swallowing, headaches, new fatigue, severe exhaustion, loss of the sense of taste or smell, conjunctivitis and intestinal symptoms, among others. The full list is available on AHS’S website.
“The message as we look towards this relaunch is not that we have eliminated the risk. We have not. We have reduced it by our actions together, by limiting spread, and we will need to continue to take actions such as distancing ourselves,” said Hinshaw.
The province conducted 3,775 tests within the last 24 hours.
“Our aggressive testing approach is helping us identify cases quickly,” said Hinshaw.
“Coupled with improved contact tracing ability … we will enhance our success in preventing further spread.”
Minister of Health Tyler Shandro said non-urgent surgeries that were put on hold when the province first began responding to the COVID -19 outbreak were resuming as early as Monday.
As well, independent allied health professionals — such as chiropractors, psychologists and physiotherapists — were also permitted to resume operations, with careful physical distancing, personal protective equipment and other precautions, according to Shandro. The decision to reopen, however, remains with the operator.
Shandro also announced changes that are being made to nursing home regulations that will allow nurse practitioners to act as primary care providers in nursing homes.
This will allow nurse practitioners to admit and assess residents and offer follow-up care. They will also be enabled to prescribe medication and other treatments in nursing homes, “according
to their scopes of practice.”
“Nurse practitioners’ advanced skills and knowledge are needed now more than ever. Removing barriers so they can fulfil their role as independent primary care providers in nursing homes is part of our commitment to do everything we can to protect Alberta’s most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Shandro.
Typically, nursing home regulations do not permit nurse practitioners and other health care professionals to work to their full scopes in nursing homes, according to the release. The move to grant them the ability to act as primary care providers is expected to increase quality care for the residents of these facilities.
Dr. Verna Yiu, president and CEO of AHS, said that maximizing the roles played by clinicians is critical to providing comprehensive and quality care to continuing care residents during the pandemic.
“These changes support our ongoing commitment to nurse practitioners, enabling them to work to the full scope of advanced practice,” said Yiu.