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Important updates on Ontario's response to COVID-19
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Member Update:
COVID-19 Situation- April 28th
Dear ,

Today is the National Day of Mourning, when when we remember, honour and pay tribute to the colleagues we have lost or who have been injured in the workplace. We know that so many of our colleagues make personal sacrifices to do the important work they do each and every day. Today, we want to take a moment to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives or suffered from illness or injury to keep the rest of us safe.

Nurses have an extremely tough job always, but especially in this pandemic environment. We know that you go to work every day not knowing what you'll see and that takes a tremendous amount of courage and commitment. We thank you so much for everything that you're doing to care for and keep your patients, clients and residents safe.

Facebook Live: Today at 8pm
We're looking forward engaging with many of you on Facebook live TONIGHT. Tune in at facebook.com/wearepracticalnurses to connect with other RPNs and ask your questions.

WeRPN Webinars & Practice Resources
Over the past several weeks, we've shared a variety of webinar links focused on key topics to support nurses during the pandemic. From stress and coping, to de-escalation, our resources for nurses by nurses were created to help you in your practice. You can now access all our webinars and additional resources on our Resource Hub. Create a free account to check them out.

Key Provincial Updates and Resources for Health Professionals
Today Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction Prabmeet Sarkaria, announced the launch of the COVID-19: Tackling the Barriers website. This website will accept proposals for temporary changes to rules and regulations in order to help businesses overcome challenges created as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following this afternoon’s announcement, Premier Ford and Minister Elliott responded to questions from media. In response to questions about surgery backlogs created as a result of postponements, Minister Elliott confirmed that cardiac and cancer care procedures will be top priorities when non-urgent and scheduled surgeries are able to resume. However, these procedures will not be able to resume until Ontario health officials observe a trend toward a lower number of cases in order to maintain precautionary capacity in the health care system.

The Government has also
amended the Primary Care Provider Guidance document to reference the ‘COVID-19 Patient Screening Guidance Document’ under active screening, and clarify that the case definition is primarily meant for public health surveillance purposes.

The Government has also
updated the Screening tool for Long-Term Care Homes and Retirement Homes

The latest Command Table summary is available here

For more information, we encourage you to visit the Ministry of Health and Public Health Ontario website

Key Federal Updates
Today the Federal Government released new modelling for COVID-19. The full briefing is available to watch here. The modelling highlights that caseload growth is slowing across the country and Canada has experienced slower growth than many other countries. Previously, the number of new cases of COVID-19 was doubling every three days previously, and is now doubling every 16 days. Short-term projections predict between 53,191 and 66,835 cases by May 5, and between 3,277 and 3,883 deaths by that date.

The Prime Minister also released a joint statement with provincial, and territorial governments outlining a set of common principles for restarting the Canadian economy, based on shared understanding and appreciation of existing science and public health advice. The statement included the following criteria and measures that need to be in place in order to begin to take steps to restart the economy:
  • COVID-19 transmission is controlled, so new cases are contained at a level that our health care system can manage.
  • Sufficient public health capacity is in place to test, trace, isolate, and control the spread of the virus.
  • Expanded health care capacity exists to support all needs, including COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients.
  • Supports are in place for vulnerable groups, communities, and key populations. This includes the protection of seniors, residents of group living facilities, workers in close quarters, homeless people, and Indigenous people and those living in remote locations, health care workers and other essential workers, and inmates.
  • Support and monitoring of workplace protocols are in place to keep Canadians safe at their jobs, and prevent the introduction and spread of COVID-19.
  • Restrictions on non-essential travel are eased and managed in a coordinated manner.
  • Communities are supported in managing local disease activity, including in child care, schools, and public transportation, and industry and economic sectors are engaged to support the health of Canadians, reduced viral activity, and protection of the economy as it restarts.

For more information, we encourage you to visit the Government of Canada website.

Daily Reports
As of 10:30AM today, Ontario reported 15,381 confirmed cases (increase of 525), 8,964 resolved cases, 951 deaths and 6,282 currently under investigation with lab results pending.

The Ministry is also reporting that 957 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19, 239 are in ICU and 187 are vented. To view these additional details: click here

Click Here
to read the latest Ministry of Health Daily Report
**Please note, these reports are intended for health professionals only and we request that you not share this with the public.

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:


Urgent Jobs During COVID-19
RPNs seeking opportunities to support COVID efforts can find postings on the following sites:

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 Tiff Blair at tblair@werpn.com

Sincerely,

WeRPN Team


 
 
WeRPN
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Mississauga, Ontario
L4W 4Y5

905.602.4664
info@werpn.com


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