Workplace Essentials

A professor of pharmacy at U of Toronto sent this clearly worded update to his family. For this pandemic, there’s a greater chance of survival for those getting... infected 3 months later like June 2020 than those who got infected 3 months earlier say February 2020. The reason for this is that Doctors and scientists know more about Covid-19 now than 3 months ago and hence are able to treat patients better. I will list *5 important things* that we know now that we didn’t know in February 2020 for your understanding. 1. COVID-19 was initially thought to cause deaths due to *pneumonia- a lung infection*- and so Ventilators were thought to be the best way to treat sick patients who couldn’t breathe. *Now we are realizing that the virus causes blood clots in the blood vessels of the lungs* and other parts of the body and this causes reduced oxygenation. Now we know that just providing oxygen by ventilators will not help but we have to prevent and dissolve the micro clots in the lungs. This is why we are using drugs like *Aspirin and Heparin ( blood thinners that prevents clotting) as protocol in treatment regimens in June 2020. * 2. Previously patients used to drop dead on the road or even before reaching a hospital due to reduced oxygen in their blood- OXYGEN SATURATION. This was because of *HAPPY HYPOXIA*- where even though the oxygen saturation was gradually reducing the COVID-19 patients did not have symptoms until it became critically less, like sometimes even 70%. **Normally we become breathless if oxygen saturation reduces below 90%. **This breathlessness is not triggered in COVID patients and so we were getting the sick patients very late to the hospitals in February 2020. Now since knowing about happy hypoxia we are monitoring oxygen saturation of all COVID patients *with a simple home use pulse oximeter and getting them to the hospital if their oxygen saturation drops to 93% or less*. This gives more time for doctors to correct the oxygen deficiency in the blood and a better survival chance in June 2020. 3. We did not have drugs to fight the coronavirus in February 2020. We were only treating the complications caused by it... hypoxia. Hence most patients became severely infected. ```**Now we have 2 important medicines FAVIPIRAVIR & REMDESIVIR**``` These are ANTIVIRALS that can kill the coronavirus. By using these two medicines we can prevent patients from becoming severely infected and therefore cure them BEFORE THEY GO TO HYPOXIA. This knowledge we have in JUNE 2020... not in February 2020. 4. Many Covid-19 patients die not just because of the virus but also due the patient’s own immune system responding In an exaggerated manner called *CYTOKINE STORM*. This stormy strong immune response not only kills the virus but also kills the patients. In February 2020 we didn’t know how to prevent it from happening. Now in June 2020, we know that *easily available medicines called Steroids,* that doctors around the world have been using for almost 80 years *can be used to prevent the cytokine storm in some patients*. 5. Now we also know that people with hypoxia became better just by making them lie down on their belly- known as prone position. Apart from this a few days ago Israeli scientists have discovered that a a chemical known as Alpha Defensin produced by the patients White blood cells can cause the micro clots in blood vessels of the lungs and this could possibly be prevented by a drug called Colchicine used over many decades in the treatment of Gout. So now we know for sure that patients have a better chance at surviving the COVID-19 infection in June 2020 than in February 2020, for sure. Going forward there’s nothing to panic about Covid-19 if we remember that a person who gets infected later has a better chance at survival than one who got infected early. Let’s continue to follow precautions, wear masks and practice social distancing Please distribute this message, as we all need some positive news...

Help us welcome our newest team member for HRM, Robert Rankin, welcome to the team!

Help us congratulate Dale Eaton on his 1st Anniversary with our Workplace Essentials team!

As of today, June 23, there are no new cases of COVID-19 in the province to report, marking 14 straight days with no new cases. I want to thank Nova Scotians fo...r their efforts, but we can't get complacent. Please continue to follow the public health measures and stay safe. For more information, visit https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20200623003.

As of today, June 21, Nova Scotia has one active case of COVID-19. The last new case was identified on June 9. I hope Nova Scotians were able to reconnect with... their loved ones and enjoy the outdoors this weekend. Thank you to all Nova Scotians for their hard work - it has not been easy, but our efforts are paying off. Please continue to be safe and follow public health advice. See more

Nova Scotians have been working hard to follow the public health protocols put in place, and it’s paying off it’s been well over a week with no new cases of C...OVID-19 and we are continuing to flatten the curve. Dr. Strang and I are proud of you. So, effective today, June 18, we’re ‘bursting the bubble.’ Nova Scotians can now gather in groups of 10 without physical distancing. Your group of 10 is not required to be exclusive but we encourage you to maintain a consistent group as much as possible. Gatherings of up to 50 people can now take place, but physical distancing is required. Remember to wash your hands, practice good hygiene and wear a mask when you can’t keep your distance or it’s necessary. Go get your hug. You deserve it. For more information about other restrictions eased today, visit: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20200618004

Friday Inspiration! Martins Industries beautiful and inspiring office space integrating biophilia and the company colors. Design: VAD. Photo credit: Phil Bernard Photographe