April Vansnick and her daughter waited about four hours at a walk-in clinic to see a doctor for their flu symptoms.
“It’s just a relentless flu bug,” Vansnick said.
Cases of the flu are multiplying as the virus showed up earlier than usual this year.
Nova Scotia’s latest Respiratory Watch data shows that in the last three weeks of November, lab-confirmed cases more than doubled each week. From Nov. 20 to 26, there were 524 new cases of influenza A and no new cases of influenza B.
The data also showed eight people who tested positive with the flu have died so far this season, although it notes influenza may not have been the major contributing cause of death.
At daycares in the Halifax Regional Municipality, operators are noticing a major drop in attendance.
“We’ve experiencing between 40 and 50 per cent absenteeism with our children,” said Bonnie Minard, Executive Director of Portland Daycare Centre. “With our staff, we’ve 30 to 40 per cent out.”
Minard said it’s been going on for about two to three weeks and many children are out for eight to ten days, which is unusual.
“I think a good portion of it has been the flu, but there has been a few cases of RSV,” she said, noting that other daycares are experiencing similar illness—causing closures of rooms or centres.
“We need a certain number of people to operate,” she said.
Eric Coates, the Clinical Transformation Director for Nova Scotia’s Central Zone and interim position as Director of the Halifax Infirmary Emergency Department, said several hospitals are seeing more patients with flu-like symptoms.
He pointed out that at Dartmouth General Hospital, 10 per cent of patients are showing flu-like symptoms, while at the Cobequid Community Health Centre, that number jumps to 22 per cent.
“That’s absolutely higher than usual,” Coates said. “Probably about double.”
A higher number of patients with respiratory symptoms also translates into longer waits.
“It takes longer to process those people. Registration, triage and actually see them in the department due to infection control practises,” said Kate MacWilliams, a manager of Health Services at Nova Scotia Health.
She described hospitals as being overcapacity and understaffed but wants patients to seek care if they need it.
“If they require emergency care, then they need to come to the emergency department -- and they need to stay,” MacWilliams said.
Pharmacists are also busier than usual.
“I’m currently giving more flu shots this year than I have in previous years,” said Jamie Flynn, pharmacist and the owner of a Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy in Clayton Park.
If you’ve had the flu, but not the flu shot, Flynn is encouraging people to get it.
“Get the flu shot afterwards. Once they’re feeling better,” he said. “To try to keep from getting that again.”
According to Nova Scotia’s Department of Health and Wellness, 255,000 doses of influenza have been administered and at least 26 per cent of the population is vaccinated for the flu.
The province said 54 per cent of people over of people over 65 have got the shot.
“Coverage is low in children and youth, with coverage in children under five at only about 12.5 per cent,” a provincial spokesperson said.
“It’s important to note our numbers for influenza vaccine coverage aren’t updated as frequently as they are for COVID-19 vaccines.”
Nova Scotia Health is also urging people to be patient and kind as they try to seek care.
“There’s more aggression and violence in our waiting rooms and emergency departments than ever before. Alarmingly high,” said Eric Coates.
“These folks who worked to try to keep these departments open and save lives are human beings who’ve been slogging it out for the hardest season of the system. They deserve the patience that everyone else might.”
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.
The federal government has set aside billions of dollars to quickly build affordable housing across the country, but delays in construction suggest many of the projects approved for funding are missing their deadlines.
After years of reports and allegations detailing a 'toxic' workplace, Canada's RCMP says it is trying to evolve, focusing on diversity in its organization and repairing relationships with communities as it marks its 150th anniversary.
The Memphis police chief on Saturday disbanded the unit whose officers beat to death Tyre Nichols as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with video showing police pummelling the Black motorist.
When President Joe Biden signed a bill last year to fight gun violence -- the first such measure to pass Congress in a generation -- a substantial majority supported it. But 78 per cent said they believed it would do little or nothing at all, a survey by the Pew Research Center found.
When 1990s suede fringe jackets started making a comeback last year, a U.K.-based vintage clothing company decided to order four tonnes of suede from a supplier in the United States. Along with that shipment came a once-in-a lifetime discovery.
A new study that analyzes data from more than 50,000 amateur stargazers finds that artificial lighting is making the night sky about 10 per cent brighter each year.
When the cold and snow have people hunkering down, these outdoor enthusiasts find motivation in braving the Canadian winter through community and sport.
According to a new study, showing university students the health risks of vaping through experts and personal testimonies can help deter them from using e-cigarettes.
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.
Late Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion is being remembered for the many ways she contributed to not only to the city she led for 36 years, but also the province.
Anti-poverty activists are praising the Quebec basic income program as a good step toward helping people meet their basic needs — but say strict eligibility criteria exclude many of the province’s lowest-income residents.
Some Indigenous communities in Quebec that are patrolled by provincial police say the established system does not fully meet security needs and needs improvement.
A ceremony will be held this evening to mark the sixth anniversary of Quebec City's deadly mosque shooting. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, several senior federal cabinet ministers and Quebec Premier Francois Legault are among those expected to attend.
An organization helping Ukrainian newcomers settle into their new lives in Edmonton is hosting a furniture donation blitz to help restock their warehouse.
Canadian police chiefs condemned on Friday the death of a Black man who was savagely beaten by police during a traffic stop in the United States, saying the officers involved must be held accountable.
Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos insists the federal government is going to 'work flexibly' with the provinces on the terms of a possible health-care funding deal and avoid 'micromanaging' how they deliver health care to Canadians.
W5 goes deep into the narco heartland to interview a commander with one of Mexico's most brutal cartels. W5's documentary 'Narco Avocados' airs Saturday at 7 pm on CTV.
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.
The supporters outnumbered the protesters more than 20-to-one. As drag queen Amanda Villa prepared to sing and read to children in Sarnia, a small group of protesters marched outside, while more than 100 supporters of the rally “All You Need is Love” spent time chasing them around the parking lot, and having peaceful discussions about acceptance and hate.
Only a few days after a large winter weather system rolled through southern Ontario, Environment Canada has once again issued a special weather statement for the London region, warning of a snow-rain mix expected to begin Saturday night.
As extreme cold weather brings wind chill values nearing -40°C, it's impacting everything from winter recreation to the city's most vulnerable population.
OPS and Ottawa Bylaw officers issued 117 parking tickets and 47 Provincial Offences Notices Saturday, as hundreds of people marked the one-year anniversary of the 'Freedom Convoy'.
Ottawa police are warning the public of the dangers of texting explicit images to people on social media platforms, after seeing a spike in sextortion cases this winter.
BC Emergency Health Services saw a slight decline in 911 calls for overdose and drug toxicity last year, but some areas saw a dramatic increase, and the death rate doesn’t appear to be slowing down.
Advocates are predicting this year's Metro Vancouver Homeless Count will be higher than previous years' due to lingering impacts from the pandemic, job losses and inflation.
Before we can appreciate the important role a plush toy named Monkey Guy has played in Elaine Tanner’s life, we need go back to when people started calling her Mighty Mouse.
