<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji";
panose-1:2 11 5 2 4 2 4 2 2 3;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
span.EmailStyle19
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-CA link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Hi all:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>This comes from my niece who is an Emergency Department doctor in the GTA.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Let’s keep our neighbourhood safe.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Take care,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Glen<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Notes from the front lines...<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So it’s been a week since the SHTF, but the ED had been gearing up for this for much longer. There is a crazy amount of misinformation out there, particularly on social media. Things are changing rapidly, we are learning more about this virus and the disease it causes every day. Most of the ED physicians I know are spending much of their off-shift time reading and learning about this disease... this week I’ve probably averaged two hours a day.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>I’ve realized that what we know on the front lines is very different sometimes from what is understood by the public, so I’m going to try to make a few public posts when I have a chance to try to put to rest some of the rumors and misinformation floating around.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So here’s your pearl of the day:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>This thing is SO much more widespread than we realize. Our ability to test is extremely limited due in part to a shortage of swabs and in part to a ridiculously long turn around time (average 4-5 days). Basically, right now we’re only swabbing symptomatic people who need to be admitted to hospital. So if you’re not sick enough to have to be admitted, even if your symptoms scream “COVID-19” you’re not going to be tested.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>This isn’t quite a crazy as it sounds. There is NO treatment for this. No puffer, no antibiotic, no antiviral... so whether your fever/cough/chest pain are caused by coronavirus or another virus, the recommendation is the same: Quarantine for 14 days. Which isn’t much different from what we should all be doing now. Plus, our test for COVID only has a sensitivity of about 80%... so could potentially miss 20% of cases (these numbers also change as we gather more data).<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>So whether you test positive or not changes nothing for you. Stay home, isolate, and don’t spread your germs around. Help us help you. <span style='font-family:"Segoe UI Emoji",sans-serif'>😷</span><o:p></o:p></p></div></body></html>