Dear , *It appears there was an error in transmission for some yesterday, please note, the update below is for August 27, 2020
As nurses, often we are so focused on caring for others that we don't prioritize caring for ourselves. As we near the beginning of September, and begin to shift gears towards fall, we want to remind nurses about the range of self care resources available to support you in practice:
Key Provincial Updates and Resources for Health Professionals
Yesterday, the Ontario government released the Operational Guidance: COVID-19 Management in Schools and the COVID-19 Guidance: School Outbreak Management documents, which provide guidelines on managing COVID-19 cases and/or outbreaks in schools. Chief Coroner for Ontario,
Dr. Dirk Huyer, will lead the province’s efforts to prevent and minimize outbreaks in the education sector. The guidance documents delineate the roles of key groups including school boards and schools, local public health units, and parents in minimizing the spread of COVID-19 in the education sector: ·School boards and schools are responsible for keeping communities informed through a COVID-19 advisory section on the board and school websites. ·Local public health units are responsible for leading case and contact tracing, declaring outbreaks, and directing the closure of classrooms or schools where necessary. Protocols are in place for triggering public health responses. One case will trigger a public health response, while two or more linked cases will trigger the declaration of an outbreak. ·Parents and guardians are responsible for screening their children each day before school and keeping children home if they are ill. In addition, new guidance recommends the following actions to detect, isolate, and advise of confirmed COVID-19 cases in schools: ·Following an established protocol to respond to students who become ill while at school, including isolation and providing personal protective equipment (PPE) to the student and staff attending to them. ·Following an established communications process to notify parents of positive COVID-19 cases (inclusive of staff and students) within their child’s school. ·Requiring school boards and public health units to work closely, communicate, and reach decisions on whether a particular class or school must be closed. ·Conducting asymptomatic surveillance testing on students in secondary schools, led by Ontario Public Health. Earlier this week, Ontario announced an investment of $455,000 from the Ontario Together Fund in Almonte-based Dairy Distillery. This investment will enable the local distillery to retool its operations and increase its capacity to manufacture hand sanitizer.
Key Federal Updates Yesterday, the federal government announced up to $2 billion through the Safe Return to Class Fund, which will be provided to provinces and territories in order to support a safe return to school. The funding is flexible so that each recipient province can direct its share towards local and regional priority areas. Of the $2 billion federal fund, $763
million will be provided to Ontario in two installments. The first installment of $381 million will be provided to the province immediately, and will be broken down as follows: ·$200 million to support the implementation of Ontario’s school reopening plan. This includes additional funding to implement health and safety components of the plan, as well as funding for PPE, and for hiring additional educators. ·$70 million for student transportation. ·$12.5 million for additional special education and mental health supports. ·$12.5 million for hiring 125 additional public health nurses in schools, for a total of 625 public health nurses in schools across the province. ·$36 million for remote learning. ·$50 million to support future learning needs related to the pandemic, including responding to a second wave. For more information, we encourage you to visit theGovernment of Canada website.
Daily Reports
As of 10:30AM today, Ontario reported 41,813 confirmed cases (increase of 118), 37,940 resolved cases, 2,803 deaths and 26,179 currently under investigation with lab results pending.
The Ministry is also reporting that 48 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19, 18 are in ICU and 10 are vented. To view these additional details: click here
World Health Organization Situation Reports are also available here
In the News For an interactive map tracking all cases across Canada and internationally, click here
Below are some key stories from today that may be of interest to our members:
We encourage RPNs looking for employment opportunities to sign up on all the platforms noted above.
We will continue to monitor this situation and keep you updated as more information becomes available. Thank you for the important work that you're doing and the sacrifices you're making to keep Ontarians safe. We appreciate everything that you're doing each and every day.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact info@werpn.com
Sincerely,
WeRPN Team
WeRPN 5025 Orbitor Drive Building 5, Suite 200 Mississauga, Ontario L4W 4Y5
