As the novel coronavirus continues to spread to new regions, the Alberta government said Wednesday afternoon it is expanding its testing protocol to six additional countries.
While there are currently no cases COVID19 in Alberta, as of Wednesday there are 11 confirmed cases between British Columbia and Ontario.
Alberta chief medical officer of health Deena Hinshaw said testing protocols will now also include Albertans travelling from Hong Kong, Singapore, Iran, South Korea, Japan and Italy.
Hinshaw advised anyone travelling from these countries to monitor their symptoms, and if they experience a fever or cough to immediately call Health Link at 811 and self-isolate for two weeks.
She emphasized only those returning from China’s Hubei province – the epicentre of the outbreak – should immediately self-isolate.
“While there could be a future disruption, at the moment we're really encouraging more employers, businesses to be prepared,” Hinshaw said. She added people should build hygiene practices into their daily lives, including regular hand washing and staying home when experiencing symptoms.
It is unnecessary for businesses and schools to require people to bring sick notes in order to return to school or work after an illness, Hinshaw said, adding it is “not a good use” of resources.
In case COVID19 does spread to Alberta, the government is working on emergency preparedness, including expanding existing pandemic protocol.
Hinshaw said masks above the typical pandemic stockpile are being ordered, and Alberta Health Services is identifying locations for potential treatment centres.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said it is too early to name the outbreak a pandemic – meaning an epidemic that has spread across multiple regions of the world – but encouraged countries to be in a “state of preparedness.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, WHO reported there are now 2,790 cases outside of China in 37 countries, and 44 deaths. China has reported 78,190 cases to WHO, including 2,718 deaths.
The Centre for Disease and Control reported 14 confirmed cases in the United States as of Wednesday.
