May 29, 2020 COVID-19 report

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The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) is calling on the government to take immediate and concrete action to address the long-standing shortfalls in long-term care (LTC) homes made blatantly evident in the Canadian Armed Forces’ (CAF) report.

Ending homelessness: Will you join us to build a COVID-19 recovery for all?

Today I am appreciative to Tim Richter, President & CEO, Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, for engaging us all in what promises to be a very effective campaign to end homelessness, once and for all. Tim’s message is so simple and so powerful: Yes, we want to go back to normal, but not a normal where more than a quarter of a million Canadians are homeless. Not a normal where we look the other way as vulnerable people suffer injustice and discrimination. Not a normal where so many people do not have shelter and basic needs.

May 26, 2020 COVID-19 report

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Today I am appreciative to Tim Richter, President & CEO, Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness, for engaging us all in what promises to be a very effective campaign to end homelessness, once and for all. Tim’s message is so simple and so powerful: Yes, we want to go back to normal, but not a normal where more than a quarter of a million Canadians are homeless.

Technology as a solution: Opportunities and pitfalls of COVID contact-tracing apps

One of the most worrisome aspects of the current opening of the economy and increased mobility is that we have not developed sufficiently the infrastructure for surveillance, identification of clusters, containment, testing, case and contact tracing and isolating. Today, I explore one tool being used in many jurisdictions to help with contact tracing -- smartphone apps.

May 24, 2020 COVID-19 report

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One of the most worrisome aspect of the current opening of the economy and increased mobility is that we have not developed sufficiently the infrastructure for surveillance, identification of clusters, containment, testing, case and contact tracing and isolating. The purpose of the lockdown was twofold; 1) to mitigate community transmission and prevent hospitals from crumbling, and 2) to build the public health infrastructure for testing and tracing required to go back to some level of normality.

May 21, 2020 COVID-19 report

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Debunking PPE myths with Dr. Jeff Powis: Which masks should health care workers wear during COVID-19? Dr. Jeff Powis used a black light to demonstrate the potential self-contamination risks when donning and doffing a surgical earloop mask and a mask with horizontal straps (N95 mask). Results found that self-contamination was higher with the use of an N95 mask.

With the pandemic curve flattening, VIANurse program will focus its effort on outbreaks

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As of Tuesday, May 19, 2020, RNAO’s VIANurse program will provide staffing assistance only to health facilities with active COVID-19 outbreaks. Health organizations – in all sectors – not facing a COVID-19 outbreak, but looking to fulfill their ongoing staffing needs in nursing and other health professions, are asked to advertise as always in RNAO’s job board, RNCareers.ca