This is World Antimicrobial Awareness Week. It’s aimed at drawing attention to misuse of antibiotics can lead to more drug-resistant diseases. NTV’s Marykate O’Neill has this story.
We have more tonight on the mission this province’s mission to recruit nurses from India. NTV’s Jodi Cooke spoke with the head of the College of Registered Nurses.
A group of nurses and the Department of Health are now on site in a city in India working towards recruiting more health care professionals to this province.
NTV’s Jodi Cooke with an update tonight on their progress.
Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting three new COVID deaths in the past week.
There are currently 17 people in hospital because of the virus, with five of them in critical care. That’s up from 13 in hospital with three in critical care last week.
A longtime mental health advocate and psychiatrist in the province, Dr. Nizar Ladha, has passed away.
Dr. Ladha died unexpectedly at the age of 80 this week while on vacation in Egypt with his wife. This weekend Premier Andrew Furey and Minister of Health Tom Osborne shared their condolences with the family and friends of the doctor. In a statement, the premier said Dr. Ladha’s contributions to mental health in Newfoundland and Labrador are immense, calling him was an integral part of the psychiatric team at the Waterford Hospital, as well as Eastern Health, having practised forensic and general psychiatry since 1974.
Dr. Ladha also served as-vice chair on the advisory council on mental health and addictions for more than a decade.
The province awarded a multimillion-dollar contract Wednesday to expand the emergency department in the Health Sciences Centre.
It comes at a time when ERs across the province face staff shortages, but there are also questions about which company got the contract.
NTV’s Beth Penney reports.
Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting three new COVID deaths in the past week.
There are currently 13 people in hospital because of the virus, with three of them in critical care. On Tuesday, Public Health announced a plan to mail two boxes of rapid test kits to each household in the province over the next few weeks.
Nurses in Corner Brook staged a demonstration Tuesday, voicing their concerns about working conditions at hospitals and long-term care homes. NTV’s Don Bradshaw reports.
Public Health rolled out a new COVID rapid testing program Tuesday with a promise to send two boxes of test kits to each household in the province.
The tests will be distributed to households via Canada Post in the coming weeks. To ensure widespread community access, rapid antigen tests will also be available in public libraries and MHA constituency offices throughout the province.
Two kits (five tests per kit) will be sent in two different shipments through Canada Post throughout November and December. Rapid antigen testing is recommended for anyone who has symptoms of COVID-19. As rapid antigen tests do not always detect COVID-19 on the first day or two of symptoms, Public Health recommends doing one test on the first day of symptom onset and, if negative, taking a second test 48 hours later.
As per current guidelines, testing is not recommended for anyone who does not have symptoms, including close contacts. PCR testing will remain for outbreak management and within acute care settings. Public health surveillance and predictive modelling will continue as COVID-19 cases remain in the province. Public Health encourages all who have a positive rapid antigen test result to report it, as reporting positive tests provides important information to help guide public health recommendations. To report a positive COVID-19 rapid antigen test, visit the online COVID-19 Assessment and Test Reporting Tool.
More information regarding the distribution of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests can be found on the Department of Health and Community Services website.
Ontario’s top doctor has strongly recommended masking indoors as COVID cases climb. Newfoundland and Labrador’s chief medical officer, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, is expected to provide an update Tuesday, but it’s unknown if there will be new recommendations. NTV’s Jodi Cooke reports.
