2023-05-23 20:35:04
Nova Scotia’s top health official says the province will soon treat COVID-19 like any other respiratory disease.
The province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Robert Strang, said in a news release that the change reflects a recent statement by the World Health Organization that COVID-19 no longer requires an urgent global response. .
Effective Tuesday, Nova Scotia lifted orders under its Health Protection Act, which included mandatory vaccination protocols for high-risk settings, including long-term care homes and institutions. correctional.
On Thursday, the province’s weekly COVID-19 dashboard will be updated for the last time as officials move to monthly reports.
Starting in October, data on COVID-19 will be reported along with other respiratory illnesses in the Ministry of Public Health’s Respiratory Surveillance Report.
Nova Scotia’s Public Health Protection Act came into effect on March 15, 2020, the day authorities announced the province’s first suspected cases of the novel coronavirus.
“As we begin planning for the next respiratory season this fall, we are taking a broader approach, integrating COVID-19 into our respiratory disease program,” Dr. Strang said in the statement. The same type of personal measures that protect us once morest COVID-19 will also protect us once morest the flu and other respiratory illnesses. »
The statement said employers and operators in high-risk settings are now responsible for their own COVID-19 policies, including mask wearing and vaccination guidelines for employees, outside service providers and volunteers.
Nova Scotia Public Health advises that hospital employees and on-site medical personnel will still be required to provide proof of primary COVID-19 vaccination and are encouraged to obtain any future recommended boosters.
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