[Info updated: 25 July 2020 4:00 pm EST]
A novel coronavirus, now referred to as 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), has been identified as causing an outbreak of respiratory illness, including pneumonia in Wuhan, China in late 2019 and early 2020.
Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which infect only animals, and others that can infect humans. Seven strains of coronavirus are now known to cause illness in humans.
The strain of coronavirus found in Wuhan, now identified as 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization (WHO), is the most recent of seven known strains. Of the six others, four cause only minor respiratory symptoms similar to those of a cold and two, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS CoV) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS CoV), have been associated with more serious and life-threatening diseases.
Our friends at FirstWatch provide up-to-date, paramedic services-specific information on emerging infectious diseases on their Health Intelligence webpage and also sign up for automatic notifications . Click here to access.
Additional information related to 9-1-1 call-taking can be found at the International Academies of Emergency Dispatch. Click here to access.
Official Canadian information for Health Professionals can be found on the Government of Canada website. Click here to access.
Webinars
COVID-19 WebCast Recordings & Handouts:
- Sep-24-20 (click for resources)
- Aug-20-20 (click for resources)
- July-23-20 (click for resources)
- June-11-20 (click for resources)
- May-28-20 (click for resources)
- May-14-20 (click for resources)
- Apr-30-20 (click for resources)
- Apr-24-20 (click for resources)
- Apr-16-20 (click for resources)
- Apr-9-20 (click for resources)
- Apr-2-20 (click for resources)
- Mar-30-20 (click for resources)
- Mar-13-20 (click for resources)
- Feb-26-20 (click for resources)
- Feb-13-20 (click for resources)
- Feb-3-20 (click for resources)
PCC COVID-19 Town Hall meeting | Thursday, April 23, 2020
Click here to download PDF.
Click here to download recording.
EMS One-stop
with Rob Lawrence
OTTAWA, Ontario — The Paramedic Chiefs of Canada (PCC) hosted an informational webinar on the 2019-nCoV (Wuhan coronavirus) in conjunction with FirstWatch. The PCC began holding similar discussions during the SARS outbreak and worked with FirstWatch during the subsequent H1N1 and Ebola outbreaks. During the webinar, participants received an update on the Coronavirus and, benefited from a briefing from the team from Snohomish County, Washington, where the first North American patient (known as Patient One) was confirmed and transported by EMS. Click here to access entire article…