Strang shares tips with families as cold, flu, RSV cases rise in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia’s top doctor is reaching out to families with advice as viruses continue to circulate in the province.
In a letter shared with school boards across the province, Dr. Robert Strang asked Nova Scotians to do their part to ensure fewer people get sick.
He said, while the province is seeing a decrease in COVID-19 cases, influenza, RSV and colds are on the rise.
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.
Strang said that while the viruses are typically mild for most children, they can be “very serious” for infants and toddlers and they could end up in the emergency department or admitted to hospital.
Dr. Andrew Lynk, the head of pediatrics at the IWK Health Centre, joined Strang during a Nov. 17 press conference to discuss high patient numbers.
Lynk said that acute care services for children have been “stretched” across the province.
Monday’s letter from Strang provided five tips people can use to protect themselves and others:
- Children over six months of age should get their influenza vaccine as soon as possible. Everyone in the family should also receive their flu vaccine.
- You and your child should be up-to-date on all vaccines, including tetanus, pertussis, measles and COVID-19.
- Sick children should stay home until they are feeling better. Once a child is able to return to school and activities, they should wear a mask when around others for two to three days, if possible.
- People who have to visit a public indoor space should wear a mask.
- Friends and relatives who are sick should not be around infants, young children and those with other health challenges.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer filled with relief and grief following acquittal in death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
North Bay doctor accused of assaulting patient, threatening another
A North Bay doctor is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a patient with a weapon and threatening another person at the hospital, police say.
Man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Toronto tops list of most wanted fugitives in Canada
A 35-year-old man wanted in connection with the murder of Toronto resident 29-year-old Sharmar Powell-Flowers nine months ago has topped the list of the BOLO program’s 25 most wanted fugitives across Canada, police announced Tuesday.