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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 6, 20 20 | 14 Halton Healthcare in- fectious disease specialist, Dr. Neil Rau, gave George- town's The Independent some valuable information on the notorious coronavi- rus and how Georgetown Hospital manages poten- tial outbreaks. 1. First of all, Halton Healthcare has no suspect- ed or confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV at this time, re- ported Rau. 2. Halton Healthcare's Infection Prevention & Control program, screen- ing processes and hospital design have improved sig- nificantly since SARS (2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), so hospitals are much better prepared to respond imme- diately through improved diagnostics, surveillance measures and communica- tions, which help prevent the spread of infection and identify it quickly. 3. Halton Healthcare is following the Ministry of Health's direction for screening for suspected cases of novel coronavirus. 4. In addition to corona- virus surveillance ques- tions, all patients who ar- rive at the emergency de- partment are screened for a new cough, shortness of breath and/or fever, asked a thorough travel history and asked if they have re- ceived health care inside or outside of Canada. 5. In the event someone comes to emergency exhib- iting signs of a fever and acute respiratory illness or pneumonia and has either travelled to the province of Hubei, China (including Wuhan) in the 14 days be- fore onset of illness, has been in close contact with a confirmed or probable case of the virus, or has been in close contact with a person with acute respiratory ill- ness who has been to Hubei within 14 days prior to their illness onset, they will im- mediately be isolated and managed in a negative pressure isolation room with "airborne-droplet- contact precautions." Dr. Rau's team would be con- sulted regarding the need for testing for 2019-nCoV in collaboration with Halton Region public health. 6. These patients will then be managed in a nega- tive pressure isolation room with "airborne-droplet-con- tact precautions." Dr. Rau's team would be consulted re- garding the need for testing for 2019-nCoV in collabora- tion with Halton Region public health.7.) Emergency departments always have signage with screening questions regarding all sea- sonal illness and travel-re- lated infections. 8. Halton Healthcare has robust processes in place for any infection con- trol emergency involving a novel organism. 9. Although medical pro- fessionals are still learning about this coronavirus, from what is known so far, the infection that it causes does not appear to be as se- vere as the SARS virus and all imported cases are mild. 10. Halton Healthcare hospitals are safe for pa- tients, visitors and staff and are operating as usual. NEWS HERE ARE 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CORONAVIRUS A major grocery store chain is saying goodbye to plastic bags. As of Friday (Jan. 31), all Sobeys grocery stores - in- cluding those in Burling- ton, Milton, Oakville and Halton Hills - no longer of- fer plastic grocery bags for shoppers at checkout. They encourage people to bring their own reusable bags. Those who forget to bring one when shopping can purchase reusable bags at the store. Paper bags will also be available. According to the compa- ny, the initiative - first an- nounced in July of last year - will help remove 225 mil- lion plastic grocery bags, which mostly end up in landfills, out of circulation every year. "It's an insane number," said Laura Newtown, owner of a sustainable gift store, The Kind Matter, in Milton and a soon-to-be-opened branch in Oakville, who calls removing plastic bags from stores "a great move." "When people get to hear the number, I think it will help open their eyes and be- come more aware what all these convenience items are creating every day... just how much waste we're un- knowingly creating." Newtown says such changes might be hard for some people initially, but "that little bit of discomfort will make people seek out a better alternative." "Once people get used to it, then we'll look back and think: 'Oh my gosh, why did we need those for so many years?' " she said. Sobeys states in a press release that it plans to quickly phase out plastic bags and introduce paper replacements across its brands, including Safeway, FreshCo, Foodland and others. SOBEYS ELIMINATES PLASTIC BAGS FROM HALTON STORES BAMBANG SADEWO bsadewo@metroland.com