RSV outbreaks in 3 Ottawa long-term care homes
There's another health threat officials are tracking in Ottawa and across the province—RSV outbreaks in long-term care homes.
In Ottawa the Hillel Lodge, Centre d'Accueil Champlain and Peter D. Clark Centre are listed as long-term care homes having outbreaks, according to Ottawa Public Health.
The OPH dashboard also reflects retirement homes, schools and childcare centres dealing with an outbreak classified as "respiratory infection unspecified."
"We are seeing RSV get into long-term care homes and some real concerns about it taking over the home," said Laura Tamblyn Watts, the CEO of CanAge, Canada's national seniors' advocacy organization.
The respiratory virus with symptoms that typically mimic the common cold can cause severe infection in babies, but also seniors and anyone with a weak immune system.
"It is highly contagious and we're seeing in some cases a doubling and tripling in this area now," said Watts. "It's still early days, it's only been for the last couple of weeks, but we are seeing it trend up sharply."
When it comes to COVID-19, Ontario pharmacists will be allowed to prescribe Paxlovid, a medication for those who have a positive COVID-19 test, and are primarily over 60 or immunocompromised. Previously, patients would need a prescription from a doctor to access the drug.
"We know that by using Paxlovid within five days from the onset of symptoms that we can prevent severe symptoms and our ultimate goal is to prevent hospitalizations," said Justin Bates, the CEO of the Canadian Association of Pharmacists.
About 4,000 pharmacies have been dispensing the drug but it's unclear how many will opt-in to have their pharmacists prescribe it.
New data released Thursday reveals hospital wait times hit a new historic high in October. The average time to be admitted was 22.9 hours, up from 21.3 in September. Only 21 per cent of patients were admitted within the provincial standard of eight hours.
Tamblyn Watts says the Ontario government needs to track RSV like it does the number of COVID-19 cases.
"That means families need to look at their local health regions and look online to see if there's an outbreak in the long-term care home of their loved one," said Watts. "Unfortunately, however, it's not always listed as RSV. We're seeing a lot of 'unknown' or 'other' or 'undefined."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.
Toronto family doctor who called patient's body 'perfect' suspended for 3 months: tribunal
A family doctor in Toronto has been suspended for three months after a disciplinary tribunal found that he failed to follow proper protocols while examining a patient's breasts and made inappropriate comments about her body.
Freddie Mercury's home is on the market for first time since 1980 minus his 'exquisite clutter'
Freddie Mercury's sanctuary in London, where he lived the last decade of his life, is on sale for the first time in nearly half a century -- minus his "exquisite clutter."
'The lost season': Winter comes to a close as Canada's warmest on record
The warmest winter on record could have far-reaching effects on everything from wildfire season to erosion, climatologists say, while offering a preview of what the season could resemble in the not-so-distant future unless steps are taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.