Province warns of new symptoms in children
London seniors home worker first nurse lost to COVID-19 in Ontario
Ontario has lost its first nurse to COVID-19 and is alerting doctors to watch for symptoms of a potentially fatal inflammatory syndrome that causes persistent fever and abdominal pain in children.
The registered nurse, Brian Beattie, worked at the Kensington Village long-term-care home in London, which declared an outbreak in early April and has lost five of its 78 residents to the highly contagious virus.
It’s not known how Beattie contracted the illness, which has also infected a handful of other staff members at the home. He was known for his help at a local dog rescue and had been off work.
“He was the definition of dedication and he considered his colleagues and residents to be his ‘other family,’ ” Ontario Nurses’ Association president
Vicki McKenna said Wednesday.
More than 3,500 health-care workers, the majority of them in nursing homes, have contracted COVID-19. Beattie is the fifth long-term-care staffer to die, with the others being personal support workers. As of Wednesday, 180 nursing homes across the province were dealing with outbreaks.
A Star compilation of data from public health units as of 5 p.m. Wednesday found 343 confirmed and presumed new cases of COVID-19 in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total to 22,648 since the first infection in late January.
There were 32 more deaths in the same time period, bringing the tally to 1,870.
As the medical community continues to learn more about COVID-19, Health Minister Christine Elliott said the definition has been changed to include symptoms that are similar to Kawasaki syndrome in children.
“Recent reports in Canada and internationally indicate that there may be an increase in multi-system inflammatory vasculitis, a rare but serious … illness that impacts children who have been diagnosed with COVID-19,” she said in a statement.
U.S. media have been reporting on this as an atypical presentation of the illness in children. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week the state is investigating more than 100 cases, including three deaths.
Aside from the persistent fever and abdominal pain, symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and a rash.
“It can happen several weeks or months after the original infection,” said Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s associate medical officer of health.
“It can be treated … if it’s not treated they can end up with cardiac issues.”
Elliott said parents should seek medical attention for their children “immediately” if they have the symptoms.