One of the things people are worried about is the implications COVID-19 has on travel. This is one of the busiest times of year for family vacations and many of those trips were planned for warm, sunny destinations. So what if you’re there right now? What’s going to happen when you come back? Do you have to self-isolate? The official word can be found at travel.gc.ca
I have family members in the southern states right now for a wedding and my advice to them is to get in touch with their employer and find out what their company policy is regarding self-isolation. So what does self-isolation mean? Here’s the scoop on that from Public Health Sudbury and District.

I also wanted to talk about hoarding, and Chris and I will be talking more about this Monday morning on our show, but HOLY HECK! Get a grip everyone! My usual grocery shopping trip today was interrupted by aisles of empty shelves…no toilet paper, paper towels or tissues of course, but also no pasta or rice, no canned soup or saltine crackers, no pancake mix, very few cans of tuna and canned veggies, very limited baking supplies, and very limited cleaning supplies. The employees can’t work fast enough to keep the stock on the shelves and in many cases, there’s no stock to shelve. I’m not mad at the stores…they are not the ones who started this panic-buying frenzy. All I want is to be able to do my normal weekly grocery order. Jeez. Normal Shopping Habits.

Not even one square of toilet paper to be found in this Sudbury grocery store on Sunday, March 15, 2020.

Also, yesterday and today the police were up at the entrance to Costco directing traffic. IS IT FRIGGIN CHRISTMAS???? And 15 minutes after Costco opened, they were sold out of toilet paper. Sigh.

Sudbury Police on standby to direct traffic in and out of Costco, Sunday, March 15, 2020.

More to come…check previous posts here for more information ans links to health care professionals. I expect an update from Health Sciences North today regarding visitors, and a bit more on this COVID-19 assessment centre that’s been set up on Walford Road. (behind the Travelodge) It’s by appointment only so don’t just show up. The clinic’s purpose is to assess and, only where appropriate, swab people who may be infected with COVID-19 with a goal of minimizing the significant number of patients presenting themselves to the Emergency Department at HSN. This COVID-19 Assessment Centre is by appointment only.
Individuals meeting the criteria below must call HSN’s assessment centre at 705-671-7373 between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm, 7 days per week, instead of presenting themselves to HSN’s Emergency Department. The patient will give their basic intake information and will receive a call back from a clinician for next steps.
. Symptoms:

Fever (over 38 degrees Celsius) and/or cough (new or worsening)

AND

2. Exposure History within the last 14 days prior to onset of symptoms:

Travel outside of Canada
Until March 18th, this includes attendance at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) 2020 conference in Toronto
Had close interactions with a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19
Had close interactions with someone who has symptoms of COVID-19 who recently travelled outside of Canada

Filed under: #mellandchris, coronavirus, COVID19, HealthSciencesNorth, PublicHealthSudburyandDistrict, toiletpaper