September 13, 2020
Continued from Part 1

 
Public Health Ontario Test Information Index: Just making a note of other relevant documents and Ontario government resources: Public Health Ontario: Laboratory Services -> Test Information Index: https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/laboratory-services/test-information-index. Many different health-related tests are listed, from aluminum to West Nile Virus. A relevant page is “Respiratory Viruses (including influenza)” https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/laboratory-services/test-information-index/virus-respiratory. It refers to the turnaround times for “Direct Antigen Test for Influenza,” the “multiplex respiratory virus PCR (MRVP)” and “traditional virus culture.” One of the test collection kit links is described here (“Virus Respiratory Kit (Nasopharyngeal) Kit Order #: 390082”) and it illustrates the same invasive nasal swab procedure the media has shown to us for COVID. I have never had any interest in making this a part of my life and I don’t want to spend every day seeing it being demonstrated when we should know that the death rate from this disease is very low and the cause of death has been conflated with other causes.

 
 
COVID-19 Guidance for the Health Sector There are many COVID-19 documents and policies related to how seniors have been treated and also to COVID-19 health-related policies on this page: “COVID-19 Guidance for the Health Sector” Last Updated September 9, 2020 http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/publichealth/coronavirus/2019_guidance.aspx. Some of these documents (some from months ago and othersfrom August/September) are of interest, including: “Guidance for Hospice Care,” “Guidance for Labour, Delivery and Newborn Care,” “Management of Cases and Contacts of COVID-19 in Ontario,” “Appendix 5: Close Contact Tracing Worksheet,” “Appendix 7: Self-Isolation for COVID-19 Cases or Other Individuals in the Household,” “Resources for Ontarians Experiencing Mental Health and Addictions Issues During the Pandemic,” “COVID-19 Advice: Religious Services, Rites or Ceremonies.” These are just some examples. And I noticed this also: “Health Canada is moving forward with regulatory exemptions to improve pharmacological and therapeutic options for allowing patients to access controlled medications during the COVID-19. ‘Health Canada Exemption and Interpretive Guide for Controlled Substances’.” Also the daily WHO situation report is linked along with other resources. Please look over the list of documents.

 
 
COVID-19: Orders, Directives, Memorandums Another set of important documents is COVID-19: Orders, Directives, Memorandums and Other Resources (http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/publichealth/coronavirus/dir_mem_res.aspx). Many of these relate directly to this subject of LTC homes and what happened to seniors. Readers should go through the list. Here are some examples: “Memo – Emergency Order authorizing Public Health Unit (PHU) access to the Electronic Health Record (EHR),” “Memo – Transfer of Hospital Patients and Community Clients to Long – Term Care Homes,” “Memo – Transfer of Hospital Patients to Retirement Homes,” “Memo – Ontario Regulation 257/00 Amendments under the Ambulance Act: Reducing Barriers to Ensure Sufficient Ambulance Service Personnel During Provincial Declarations of Emergency,” “Memo – Temporary Pause on Transitioning Hospital Patients to Long – Term Care and Retirement Homes,” “Memo: Use of Hotels and Retirement Homes,” “Assistant Deputy Minister Memo: General approval under subsection 4(2) of the Public Hospitals Act for COVID-19 capacity expansion,” and there are others like that. Also “Memo – Ramping Down Elective Surgeries and Other Non – Emergent Activities.”

 
 
Continued: Part 3