York Region public health line flooded with 800 COVID-19 calls a day

Top 4 reasons why residents have called include personal risk assessment, asking if they should go to work

Newmarkettoday.ca
March 18, 2020
Kim Champion

Each day for the past week, up to 800 residents have called York Region public health’s Health Connection line seeking answers to their questions about the COVID-19 pandemic that has so far infected 22 local residents, nearly all of whom have contracted the new respiratory disease through travel to affected countries.

Just under half, or 45 per cent of the calls received to date are from residents wondering about their personal risk for acquiring the illness, York Region spokesperson Ben Mulholland said.

“Health Connection continues to receive a large volume of calls about personal risk level, travel, and residents asking if they can go to work,” Mulholland said. “And the call topics are evolving based on the news cycle.”

The top four reasons residents have called the local public health unit from March 9 to 15 include questions related to possible exposures or vulnerabilities, to request COVID-19 testing and disease information, and returning travellers who have no symptoms.

The daily load of anywhere between 150 and 800 calls to the public health phone lines represents a sharp increase, prompting officials to post a notice to residents about wait times given the significant call volumes.

“We currently have 19 staff answering the Health Connection phone line on a daily basis and we are in the process of redeploying staff to increase capacity,” Mulholland said.

The risk of community, or person-to-person, transmission of coronavirus remains low to York Region residents, and health officials say it is important that those who may be at risk can call the public health line and speak with a representative.

You should contact the York Region public health unit directly at 1-877-464-9675, ext. 73588 and immediately self-isolate if you have:

• Recently returned from travel to an impacted area, including Hubei province, in China, Iran or Italy;
• Recently returned from travel outside of Canada within the past 14 days and are experiencing fever over 38C and/or have a new or worsening cough;
• Been in close contact with someone who has recently travelled to an impacted area and is experiencing fever over 38C and/or have a new or worsening cough and;
• Have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

If you need information about COVID-19, you can contact York Region’s Health Connection line at 1-800-361-5653 and the Access York information line at 1-877-464-9675 (TTY: 1-866-512-6228).

Visit York Region public health’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage here.

If you have concerns about symptoms, you should contact your primary care provider or call Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000 to speak with a registered nurse 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you’re having difficulty breathing or experiencing other severe symptoms, call 911.