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News Ottawa and Region
Right call to keep schools open: Doc
Health officials brace for 2nd wave of swine flu
By DONNA CASEY, Sun Media
Ottawa public health officials won?t close schools to deal with any widespread outbreak of the H1N1 virus this fall.
Dr. Isra Levy, Ottawa?s medical officer of health, said Thursday that local public health experts have learned from last spring?s first wave of infections that keeping schools open helps contain the spread of the swine flu virus.
?What we?ve learned so far from the first wave is that not closing schools was probably the right decision,? said Levy at the city?s weekly H1N1 media conference.
Inconsistent policies from school boards has sown ?confusion and anxiety? among the public, adding that it ?undermines public confidence in that decision? to either keep schools open or closed.
Levy said there?s been important lessons learned from U.S. schools where administrators shut down schools when large groups of students came down with the respiratory virus.
Stay home
?Instead of staying at home, youth congregated in malls and other social venues,? said Levy of the unintended social gatherings.
Closing schools also indirectly caused a health-care worker shortage in some areas, with parents of healthy children forced to stay home with their healthy children.
The Ottawa Catholic School Board is currently the only local school board that has a publicly available emergency pandemic plan, which includes the contingency plans to potentially move students and staff to an alternate site.
The local number of H1N1 cases remains stable, with no new reported cases during the past week.
Since the spring, Ottawa has seen 361 lab-confirmed cases, with 69 hospitalized and four people dying from complications related to the virus. One person remains in hospital.
Vaccine on way
Children and teenagers make up more than half of the people affected, with most having mild or moderate symptoms. Health experts are anticipating the second wave of the virus to come this fall.
Levy said his department is grappling with how to deliver the H1N1 vaccine once it becomes available by late October.
Levy said he expects public health officials to ?be challenged logistically? to figure out the best way to deliver the vaccine.
The city is training about 300 public health nurses to deliver the large volume of swine flu vaccine and plans to ramp up a call centre staffed by nurses.
The call centre number is 613-580-6744 and it can be reached by dialing 311, which is the city?s main call centre.
http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2009/08/13/10456336.html
Right call to keep schools open: Doc
Health officials brace for 2nd wave of swine flu
By DONNA CASEY, Sun Media
Ottawa public health officials won?t close schools to deal with any widespread outbreak of the H1N1 virus this fall.
Dr. Isra Levy, Ottawa?s medical officer of health, said Thursday that local public health experts have learned from last spring?s first wave of infections that keeping schools open helps contain the spread of the swine flu virus.
?What we?ve learned so far from the first wave is that not closing schools was probably the right decision,? said Levy at the city?s weekly H1N1 media conference.
Inconsistent policies from school boards has sown ?confusion and anxiety? among the public, adding that it ?undermines public confidence in that decision? to either keep schools open or closed.
Levy said there?s been important lessons learned from U.S. schools where administrators shut down schools when large groups of students came down with the respiratory virus.
Stay home
?Instead of staying at home, youth congregated in malls and other social venues,? said Levy of the unintended social gatherings.
Closing schools also indirectly caused a health-care worker shortage in some areas, with parents of healthy children forced to stay home with their healthy children.
The Ottawa Catholic School Board is currently the only local school board that has a publicly available emergency pandemic plan, which includes the contingency plans to potentially move students and staff to an alternate site.
The local number of H1N1 cases remains stable, with no new reported cases during the past week.
Since the spring, Ottawa has seen 361 lab-confirmed cases, with 69 hospitalized and four people dying from complications related to the virus. One person remains in hospital.
Vaccine on way
Children and teenagers make up more than half of the people affected, with most having mild or moderate symptoms. Health experts are anticipating the second wave of the virus to come this fall.
Levy said his department is grappling with how to deliver the H1N1 vaccine once it becomes available by late October.
Levy said he expects public health officials to ?be challenged logistically? to figure out the best way to deliver the vaccine.
The city is training about 300 public health nurses to deliver the large volume of swine flu vaccine and plans to ramp up a call centre staffed by nurses.
The call centre number is 613-580-6744 and it can be reached by dialing 311, which is the city?s main call centre.
http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2009/08/13/10456336.html