coronavirus

Health Advice

March 10, 2024admin

COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) | health.vic.gov.au

Key messages

COVID-19 is a leading cause of death in Australia.
The ongoing and significant burden of disease is driven by continued viral evolution and waning population immunity.
The impacts of COVID-19 can be limited through vaccination, antiviral treatment and non-pharmacological interventions that limit transmission such as testing, case isolation, mask wearing, and ventilation improvements.
It is estimated that 5-10% of people with COVID go on to develop post-acute COVID symptoms and conditions.
Pathology laboratories must notify COVID-19 results.
Residential care facilities, including aged and disability residential care, are at higher risk from COVID-19 outbreaks and should notify outbreaks to enable the provision of support.

This page provides COVID-19 guidance for the health sector. COVID-19 information for the public is available on Better Health Channel. There you will find information on preventing COVID-19, what to do if you are unwell or have tested positive for COVID-19 or have come in contact with a case.

Notification requirement for COVID-19

COVID-19 is a routine notifiable condition under the Public Health and Wellbeing Regulations 2019. Pathology services must notify all cases to the Department of Health within 5 days. Notification is also required weekly for all tests performed in relation to COVID-19, this notification must be in writing within 5 business days of the end of that period. Medical practitioners are not required to notify cases of COVID-19.

Primary school and children’s services centre exclusion for COVID-19

Children diagnosed with COVID-19 are recommended to isolate. They should not attend school or childcare until 5 days after the date of the positive PCR or rapid antigen test result for COVID-19 and until acute symptoms of COVID-19 have resolved.

Acute symptoms include:

runny nose
sore throat
cough
shortness of breath
fever, chills and/or sweats.

Infectious agent of COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 is the infectious

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Health Advice

December 23, 2023admin

COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) – Province of British Columbia

Last updated: October 5, 2023

Orders and notices

You must follow PHO orders.

Orders

Hospital and Community (Health Care and Other Services) Covid-19 Vaccination Status Information and Preventive Measures – October 5, 2023 (PDF, 545 KB)
Residential Care COVID-19 Vaccination Status Information and Preventive Measures – October 5, 2023 (PDF, 502KB)
Regulated and Unregulated Health Professionals SARS-COV-2 Influenza Immunization – November 4, 2022 (PDF, 413KB)
Emergency Medical Assistants Influenza Immunization – November 4, 2022 (PDF, 308KB)
Industrial Camps – July 8, 2022 (PDF, 398KB)
Residential Care COVID-19 Vaccination Status Information – February 28, 2022 (PDF, 412KB)
School Staff Member Vaccination Status Information Reporting – January 17, 2022 (PDF, 401KB)
Regulated and Unregulated Health Professionals SARS-CoV-2 Immunization Order – January 9, 2022 (PDF, 467KB)
Emergency Medical Assistants SARS-CoV-2 Immunization Order – January 9, 2022 (PDF, 295KB)
Agricultural Temporary Foreign Workers – June 20, 2021 (PDF, 286KB)
Coverage of Electoral Area J of the Cariboo Regional District – June 10, 2021 (PDF, 272KB)
Advanced Care Paramedic and Critical Care Paramedic SARS-CoV-2 Swabbing – May 2, 2021 (PDF, 222KB
Delegation: Workplace Closures – April 11, 2021 (PDF, 319KB)
Health Authority Regulated Health Professionals SARS-CoV-2 Swabbing – November 16, 2020 (PDF, 225KB)
Midwives and Certified Practice Speech Language Pathologists SARS-CoV-2 Swabbing – November 16, 2020 (PDF, 269KB)
British Columbia Emergency Health Services SARS-CoV-2 Swabbing – November 16, 2020 (PDF, 265KB)
Registered Nurse and Registered Psychiatric Nurse Public Health Pharmacotherapy – September 16, 2020 (PDF, 227KB)
Licensed Practical Nurse Swabbing – May 7, 2020 (PDF, 172KB)

Notices

Residential Care Facilities Staff Information Collection Order – October 27, 2023 (PDF, 317KB)
Notice of Repeal of Health Professionals COVID-19 Vaccination Status Information Order – July 14, 2023 (PDF, 291KB)
Notice of Repeal of Delegation to Provincial Infection Prevention and Control Officers – July 8,

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Health Advice

December 8, 2023admin

Coronavirus Resource Center – Harvard Health

COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) is a respiratory illness caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is very contagious, and spreads quickly.

Most people with COVID-19 have mild respiratory symptoms that feel much like a cold or flu. But it can be much more serious for older adults, people with underlying medical conditions, and those who haven’t been vaccinated against COVID-19. Some people may go on to suffer from post-COVID conditions, known as “long COVID.” There is also evidence that COVID vaccines protect against long COVID.

Vaccines against COVID-19 are very safe and effective. They are the best defense against the virus, as they protect against serious disease, hospitalization, and death.

Even if you have been vaccinated, you will want to follow public health guidelines. That may mean temporarily wearing masks indoors or avoiding large gatherings if COVID-19 levels are high in your area. The good news is these steps will also reduce your risk of developing other respiratory viruses, like colds or flus, too.

We know a lot more about COVD-19 than we did in 2020, and yet we’re still learning. We will continue to provide important updates.

Terms to know

aerosols: infectious viral particles that can float or drift around in the air. Aerosols are emitted by a person infected with coronavirus — even one with no symptoms — when they talk, breathe, cough, or sneeze. Another person can breathe in these aerosols and become infected with the virus. Aerosolized coronavirus can remain in the air for up to three hours. A mask can help prevent that spread.

antibodies: proteins made by the immune system to fight infections. If the antibodies later encounter the same infection, they help prevent illness by recognizing the microbe and preventing it from entering cells.

antibody test: also known as a serologic test, an antibody

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Health Advice

May 13, 2023admin

Infection Control: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Definitions:

Healthcare Personnel (HCP): HCP refers to all paid and unpaid persons serving in healthcare settings who have the potential for direct or indirect exposure to patients or infectious materials, including body substances (e.g., blood, tissue, and specific body fluids); contaminated medical supplies, devices, and equipment; contaminated environmental surfaces; or contaminated air. HCP include, but are not limited to, emergency medical service personnel, nurses, nursing assistants, home healthcare personnel, physicians, technicians, therapists, phlebotomists, pharmacists, dental healthcare personnel, students and trainees, contractual staff not employed by the healthcare facility, and persons not directly involved in patient care, but who could be exposed to infectious agents that can be transmitted in the healthcare setting (e.g., clerical, dietary, environmental services, laundry, security, engineering and facilities management, administrative, billing, and volunteer personnel).

Healthcare settings refers to places where healthcare is delivered and includes, but is not limited to, acute care facilities, long-term acute-care facilities, nursing homes, home healthcare, vehicles where healthcare is delivered (e.g., mobile clinics), and outpatient facilities, such as dialysis centers, physician offices, dental offices, and others.

Source control: Use of respirators, well-fitting facemasks, or well-fitting cloth masks to cover a person’s mouth and nose to prevent spread of respiratory secretions when they are breathing, talking, sneezing, or coughing. Source control devices should not be placed on children under age 2, anyone who cannot wear one safely, such as someone who has a disability or an underlying medical condition that precludes wearing one safely, or anyone who is unconscious, incapacitated, or otherwise unable to remove their source control device without assistance. Face shields alone are not recommended for source control. At a minimum, source control devices should be changed if they become visibly soiled, damaged, or hard to breathe through. Further information about source control options is available at: Masks and

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Health Information

April 10, 2023admin

WHO main urges China to share details on COVID origins | Coronavirus pandemic Information

World well being company scientists say a new Chinese examine revealed this 7 days offered some ‘clues’ on origins but no responses.

The head of the World Health and fitness Business (WHO) has pressed China to share its details about the origins of COVID-19, stating until eventually that occurred all scenarios remained on the desk.

WHO Director-Common Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus mentioned on Thursday the world wide health system experienced questioned China to cooperate with it to assist trace the origins of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Without whole entry to the info that China has, you can’t say this or that,” explained Tedros Adhanom, in reaction to a question about the origin of the virus.

“All hypotheses are on the desk. Which is WHO’s posture and which is why we have been asking China to be cooperative on this,” he extra.

“If they would do that then we will know what occurred or how it started.”

Much more than 3 yrs following the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020, issues linger about the origins of the illness that closed borders, compelled lockdowns, battered economies and killed tens of millions of people today.

The virus was initial identified in the Chinese metropolis of Wuhan in December 2019, with quite a few suspecting it distribute in a dwell animal industry before fanning out all over the entire world. In the meantime, some others have set ahead theories that the virus may perhaps have accidentally leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which lies less than 1km (.6 miles) from the marketplace and is known to manage perilous pathogens.

Past month, info from the early days of the outbreak was briefly uploaded by Chinese researchers to an intercontinental database.

It provided genetic sequences uncovered in additional than 1,000 environmental and animal samples

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Health Advice

February 14, 2023admin

Australia’s COVID tests for China went towards overall health suggestions | Coronavirus pandemic News

Australia’s main healthcare officer recommended there was not ‘sufficient general public health and fitness rationale’ for new travel policies.

Australia has launched COVID-19 testing for travellers from China inspite of the country’s top rated healthcare official advising against the move, a recently introduced letter displays.

In a letter despatched to Wellness Minister Mark Butler on Saturday, Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly claimed he did not believe there was a community health and fitness justification for introducing new vacation necessities for arrivals from China.

Kelly said Australia’s higher stage of vaccination and prior an infection, and the actuality that the BF.7 Omicron subvariant that appeared to be driving instances in China was by now circulating in the region, amongst other good reasons, meant there was not “sufficient general public well being rationale” for new journey guidelines.

There was a “strong consensus” amid health officers in the Australian states and New Zealand that restrictions on journey from China would be “inconsistent with the current nationwide method to the management of COVID-19 and disproportionate to the hazard,” he claimed.

Kelly proposed that, instead of journey restrictions, the federal government look at expanding wastewater tests, introducing volunteer sampling for worldwide arrivals, and bettering adhere to-up of men and women who take a look at favourable for COVID-19 and have a recent background of abroad journey.

Irrespective of the assistance, Butler introduced the subsequent working day that travellers from China, which include Hong Kong and Macau, would be essential to make a detrimental COVID final result within 48 hrs of vacation.

Butler said he built the choice “out of an abundance of caution, getting into account the dynamic and evolving condition in China and the likely for new variants to emerge in an environment of high transmission”.

Butler reported at the time he experienced

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Health Advice

February 6, 2023admin

Statement on the fourteenth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic

The WHO Director-General has the pleasure of transmitting the Report of the fourteenth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) Emergency Committee regarding the coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID-19) pandemic, held on Friday 27 January 2023, from 14:00 to 17:00 CET.

The WHO Director-General concurs with the advice offered by the Committee regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and determines that the event continues to constitute a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). The Director-General acknowledges the Committee’s views that the COVID-19 pandemic is probably at a transition point and appreciates the advice of the Committee to navigate this transition carefully and mitigate the potential negative consequences.

The WHO Director-General considered the advice provided by the Committee regarding the proposed Temporary Recommendations. The set of Temporary Recommendations issued by the WHO Director-General is presented at the end of this statement.

The WHO Director-General expresses his sincere gratitude to the Chair and Members of the Committee, as well as to the Committee’s Advisors.

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Proceedings of the meeting

The WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, welcomed Members and Advisors of the Emergency Committee, who were convened by videoconference. He noted that this week marks the three-year anniversary of the determination of the COVID-19 PHEIC in January 2020. While the world is in a better position than it was during the peak of the Omicron transmission one year ago, more than 170 000 COVID-19-related deaths have been reported globally within the last eight weeks. In addition, surveillance and genetic sequencing have declined globally, making it more difficult to track known variants and detect new ones. Health systems are currently struggling with COVID-19 and caring for patients with influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), health workforce shortages, and fatigued health workers. Vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics have been and remain critical in preventing severe

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Tag: coronavirus

COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) | health.vic.gov.au

Key messages

Notification requirement for COVID-19

Primary school and children’s services centre exclusion for COVID-19

Infectious agent of COVID-19

COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus) – Province of British Columbia

On this page:

Orders and notices

Orders

Notices

Coronavirus Resource Center – Harvard Health

Terms to know

Infection Control: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Definitions:

Australia’s COVID tests for China went towards overall health suggestions | Coronavirus pandemic News

Statement on the fourteenth meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic