{"id":13606,"date":"2020-03-21T23:28:20","date_gmt":"2020-03-22T02:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=13606"},"modified":"2020-03-21T23:28:20","modified_gmt":"2020-03-22T02:28:20","slug":"mps-column-news-views-with-mp-darrell-samson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=13606","title":{"rendered":"MP’s COLUMN: News & Views with MP Darrell Samson"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Preventative measures for COVID-19<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

An update from your\nMember of Parliament, Darrell Samson<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2020 continues to be an\nextraordinary year for government. While the regular business of departmental\nissues goes on and preparations are made for Budget 2020, our main priority has\nshifted to the containment of C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19 and mitigating its impact on\nall Canadians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to the unprecedented\nsignificance of this global pandemic, this message will deal exclusively with C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19:\nthe facts you need to know, how you can protect you and your loved ones, and\nhow you<\/strong> can personally help minimize\nthe overall impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As\nwe know, the effects of C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19 and responses from our national and provincial\ngovernments are changing day-to-day, with crucial decisions being made based on\nthe best information available at the time. We are listening to the advice of\nour top health officials who are providing us with best practices to curb this\npandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

ABOUT\nCOVID-19:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19 is an illness caused by a new coronavirus. Human\ncoronaviruses are common and are typically associated with mild illnesses,\nsimilar to the common cold. There is no vaccine for C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19 at this time, so prevention is the only way to combat the\nspread. Symptoms may be very mild or more serious, and include a fever,\ncough, and difficulty breathing. These may take up to 14 days to appear after\nexposure to the virus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coronaviruses\nare most commonly spread from an infected person through respiratory droplets\nwhen you cough or sneeze, close personal contact (such as touching or shaking\nhands), and\/or touching something with the virus on it, then touching your\neyes, nose or mouth before washing your hands. These viruses are not\nknown to spread through ventilation systems or through water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FLATTENING THE CURVE<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the virus is already out there,\nand most people who get it have mild symptoms, why does it matter if it spreads\nslowly or quickly?<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because\nslowing it down buys time, and that time is critical to minimizing the effects\nof the disease. \u201cFlattening the curve<\/strong>\u201d is a\nterm is being used by public health officials around the world and is ourbest chance to limit the affects of C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19.With no\nvaccine to stop it, this will inevitably spread throughout the population. While\nwe cannot STOP it, we can collectively CONTROL the rate of the spread. If allowed\nto spread too quickly, any health care system would be overwhelmed beyond its\ncapacity to handle the sudden increase in cases. By slowing it down spread, our\nhealthcare providers will be in a better position to do what they do best:\nprotect us all and minimize the casualties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s absolutely imperative that EVERYONE, regardless of age or physical health<\/strong>,\ndo their part to slow the spread of C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19 as much as possible. Even if you think you\u2019re not at\nrisk of contracting the virus, we must all<\/strong> respect the preventative measures we\u2019ve been asked to follow,\nsuch as social distancing (keeping a distance of at least 6 feet or 2.0 metres\nfrom other people), washing our hands more frequently, self-isolation when\nadvised, etc. The closures and cancellations imposed by governments are not an\noverreaction to scare people, but a part of well-reasoned overall public health\nstrategy.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

EI CLAIMS RELATED TO COVID<\/strong>-19:<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of\ncourse, the many closures and cancellations we\u2019ve endured are more than just an\ninconvenience to many people.  For some,\nthey mean a loss of income, inability to pay rent, or provide for their families.\nOur government has already made provisions to waive the waiting period for EI\nbenefits in these cases. Furthermore, in order to support Canadians with questions\nregarding EI claims related to C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19, a dedicated phone line\n1-833-381-2725<\/strong> has been established\nfor those who:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • have had to self-isolate\nand cannot work<\/li>
  • are an employee or\nemployer looking to apply for financial support through the EI Work-sharing\nprogram, or<\/li>
  • have been laid off due to C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    BE\nPREPARED: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    There are simple, practical things you can do to\nprepare in case you or someone in your household becomes ill or if C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19  becomes common in your community.  Make a plan that includes: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      • (a few weeks\u2019 worth) on hand so you will not need to leave\nyour home if you become ill. Avoid panic buying. Add a few extra items to your\ncart every time you shop. This places less of a burden on suppliers and can\nhelp ease financial burden on you as well. Remember to renew and refill your\nprescription medications. <\/li><\/ul>
        • in case you become ill or if you need to care for a sick\nfamily member. For example: Have backup childcare in case you or your usual\ncare provider become ill. If you care for dependents, have a backup caregiver\nin place. Talk to your employer about working from home if possible. <\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Communicate:<\/strong>  Share your plan with your family, friends and\nneighbours. Set up a buddy system to check in on each other by phone, email or\ntext during times of need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Stay informed:  Get your information from reliable sources such as\nthe Public Health Agency of Canada and the Nova Scotia Health Authority. For general information on C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19, please visit\nCanada.ca\/coronavisrus and\/or  novascotia.ca\/coronavirus, or call the\ntoll free line at 1-833-784-4397. <\/strong>If the news media is making you feel anxious, take a\nbreak from it. We will regularly post up-to-date information on my Facebook\npage as it is available, so we encourage you to follow it, especially over the\nnext month or two.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          WE ARE HERE TO HELP<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          We\nhave made arrangements to have the constituency office staffed Monday\u2013Friday\nfrom 8:30 am to 4:30 pm throughout this pandemic. In the interest of public\nsafety, we encourage people to contact us by phone (902-861-2311) or preferably\nby email (darrell.samson@parl.gc.ca). We discourage people from walking in\nwithout an appointment, but can make arrangements for face-to-face meetings if absolutely\nnecessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Hopefully, months\nfrom now, the extreme measures being taken by government, as well as the\nshort-term sacrifices made by all<\/strong> Canadians<\/strong>, will have limited the spread\nof C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Our government\nhas made significant financial commitments to assist Canadians get through this\npandemic on several fronts\u2014EI accommodation for those affected, financial\nassistance to provinces for offsetting costs in dealing with this event,\netc.\u2014and will continue to do so as necessary over the coming weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          For those who are\ninterested in additional measures relating to international travel, or economic\nmeasures we are implementing to respond to the challenges Canada may face as a\nresult of this outbreak, I invite you to contact our office or follow our\nFacebook page, where we will provide further updates as they arise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          THANK YOU!<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          In closing, I\nwant to thank my colleagues and our public health care workers that are facing\na challenging set of circumstances. In particular, I want to thank my colleague\nand Canada\u2019s Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu, for her work in leading\nCanada\u2019s response to the C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19 outbreak, as well as our Minister of Finance,\nBill Morneau, who has been leading the financial measures to assist Canadians\nthroughout this event, including the $82B\nAid Package<\/strong> announced on March 18. Our government will provide whatever\nsupport is required to offer a world-class response to this challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

          We will get through this, together<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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          Preventative measures for COVID-19 An update from your Member of Parliament, Darrell Samson 2020 continues to be an extraordinary year for government. While the regular business of departmental issues goes on and preparations are made for Budget 2020, our main priority has shifted to the containment of C\u1d0f\u1d20\u026a\u1d05-19 and mitigating its impact on all Canadians. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12631,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[975,93,2,116,94],"class_list":["post-13606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-column","tag-covid19","tag-darrell-samson","tag-fall-river","tag-justin-trudeau","tag-liberals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}