Top bureaucrats and health officials in Greater Sudbury have been meeting regularly since January regarding novel coronavirus and COVID-19, and continue to monitor the local situation.
Should the city begin to see community spread (where new cases of COVID-19 begin appearing rapidly with no clear idea of how the virus was transmitted, as you see during the cold and flu season), Greater Sudbury’s flu pandemic emergency response plan can be put into effect to keep people safe.
But we’re not there yet, Joseph Nicholls, chief of fire and paramedic services in Greater Sudbury, told Sudbury.com during a March 12 interview. Right now, the best advice, he said, is for people to remain calm and wash their hands.
“Remain calm, pay attention to credible sources of information (like Public Health), wash your hands, and practise good cough etiquette,” he said, and if you’re sick stay home. “The city continues to be open for business.”
Those January discussions changed once global cases of COVID-19 began rising, Nicholls said, and that’s when the city’s “community control group” (CCG) came together.
With Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, the region’s medical officer of health, as the lead, the CCG is made up of city CAO Ed Archer, general managers from city departments, Police Chief Paul Pedersen and Nicholls himself. The mayor is involved as well.
Based on the CCG planning, he said the city has imposed enhanced cleaning of all high-touch areas in city buildings, and targeted messaging and signage for the public regarding infection control measures they can use to help control the spread of infection (proper hand-washing, use of tissues, cough etiquette).
The message now is simple: “If you have no symptoms and you have no travel history, you are at low risk for infection,” Nicholls said.
If the virus begins to spread in the wild in the community, that’s when health officials will kick things up a notch, he said.
At that point, the focus of the CCG will be to maintain essential services (emergency response, garbage pickup, water-wastewater services etc) by redeploying staff as needed. This would also involve potentially suspending or reducing services deemed non-essential, such as arenas.
The city could also decide to close public buildings at that point to limit the possibility of the virus spreading.
Ward 7 Coun. Mike Jakubo also released a statement today, on Facebook. He reiterated the need for people to practise good infection control.
“We are in a time where much is not within our control other than to be vigilant in handwashing and self and social distancing if symptoms present themselves,” he said.
Jakubo also advised people not to rush to the hospital because you’ve developed a runny nose. It’s important not to bog the local health-care system down for non-essential reasons.
“If you have mild onset of symptoms of COVID-19, you are asked to not attend Health Sciences North’s emergency department for that purpose, you are asked to contact the Health Unit at 705-522-9200 or toll-free at 1-866-522-9200 and mention any symptoms and recent travel. Staff there will walk you through a series of questions to help you with your next steps.”
Jakubo also wanted to relay the message that the city and health officials will be releasing new information as soon as it becomes available.
