{"id":250079,"date":"2020-03-26T20:22:50","date_gmt":"2020-03-27T00:22:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=250079"},"modified":"2020-03-26T20:23:03","modified_gmt":"2020-03-27T00:23:03","slug":"as-front-line-workers-infected-by-virus-atlantic-canada-unions-seek-protections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/03\/26\/as-front-line-workers-infected-by-virus-atlantic-canada-unions-seek-protections\/","title":{"rendered":"As front line workers infected by virus, Atlantic Canada unions seek protections"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In Newfoundland and Labrador, nine of the 15 new positive cases announced were health-care workers. (Shutterstock Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

HALIFAX \u2014 As test results emerged Thursday showing Atlantic Canadian health and transit employees are testing positive for COVID-19, union leaders called for stepped-up safety precautions to protect their members.<\/p>\n

In Newfoundland and Labrador, nine of the 15 new positive cases announced were health-care workers.<\/p>\n

Debbie Forward, the president of the Registered Nurses’ Union Newfoundland and Labrador, said she and other health unions told the province’s public health officials in a conference call Wednesday evening that workers need more protection.<\/p>\n

At a daily news conference in St. John’s, public health officials didn’t indicate how the infections occurred or whether they included registered nurses.<\/p>\n

However, Forward said the province must allow health professionals to choose whether they need more advanced personal protection equipment.<\/p>\n

Forward said registered nurses should be able to make the decision on whether they feel safe using a surgical mask or would prefer a more closely fitted mask with filters to prevent airborne particles from contacting their face.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe decision-making should be left with the health-care professional,\u201d she said, adding that fitted respirators should be standard in emergency care units treating COVID-19 patients with procedures such as intubation, suctioning and CPR.<\/p>\n

She said discussions are continuing with the province on the issue.<\/p>\n

In Halifax, the union representing transit workers confirmed one of its garage mechanics was among those who’ve tested positive.<\/p>\n

Halifax Transit said in a release that maintenance staff were sent home and the building was thoroughly cleaned.<\/p>\n

However, Ken Wilson, president of Local 508 of the Amalgamated Transit Union, called for a 24-hour pause on service so the transit agency can carry out a deep cleaning of all of its buses and facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first issue is to get the equipment off the road to do a clean from top to bottom,\u201d said Wilson, who’s advocating for a shift in policy where the bus service is limited to retail, health and other essential workers.<\/p>\n

Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, said appropriate steps were taken with Halifax Transit and the source of exposure did not involve riding on a bus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is nothing at all about this case to suggest it would represent a signal of an increased risk for the public or bus drivers,\u201d said Strang.<\/p>\n

He said the province hadn’t gotten to the point yet where it would mandate that only essential service employees could work or use transit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we need to prevent the spread of this virus … the second objective is always to minimize social disruption,\u201d Strang said. \u201cFor many people, buses are essential.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the general public’s uneven adoption of government recommendations on social distancing and reporting of illness drew concerns from professional groups and health officials Thursday.<\/p>\n

Strang said while most of the province’s COVID-19 cases are travel-related or connected to earlier cases, one of the new cases can’t currently be linked to travel or an earlier case.<\/p>\n

Health officials say that potential public exposure is related to a March 14 St. Patrick’s Day event at the Lake Echo Community Centre near Halifax, with nearly 50 people in attendance.<\/p>\n

The head of the 950-member Paramedic Association of Newfoundland and Labrador said in an interview that eight medics are in quarantine because people who called for an ambulance had misinformed operators about their COVID-19 symptoms.<\/p>\n

Rodney Gaudet said, \u201cWe’ve had medics going into someone’s house without their personal protection equipment on … and it means they’re now exposed and after the call they are in self-isolation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat’s our biggest issue we’re coming across.\u201d<\/p>\n

New Brunswick reported seven new cases of COVID-19 in the province Thursday, bringing the provincial total to 33.<\/p>\n

The province also announced it is making $50 million in assistance available to help keep workers employed and help businesses continue to operate.<\/p>\n

Small business owners will be eligible for loans up to $200,000. They will not be required to pay principal on their loan for up to 12 months.<\/p>\n

WorkSafeNB is deferring the collection of assessment premiums for three months.<\/p>\n

Prince Edward Island had four new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, bringing the total number of cases to nine.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HALIFAX \u2014 As test results emerged Thursday showing Atlantic Canadian health and transit employees are testing positive for COVID-19, union …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":47027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-250079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news-ca","category-news","mauthors-the-canadian-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250079"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":250080,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250079\/revisions\/250080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}