Education Minister Darin King (left) joined Health Minister Jerome Kennedy at the daily briefing on the H1N1 pandemic Friday at Confederation Building. - Photo by Gary Hebbard/The Telegram

With 23 people admitted to hospital overnight Thursday and a travel ban for school groups now extended until Nov. 30, Newfoundland and Labrador is not yet free of the so-called "second wave" of H1N1 influenza.

On Friday, Health Minister Jerome Kennedy, side by side with the chief medical officer of health for the province, Dr. Faith Stratton, and Education Minister Darin King marched into what has become a daily briefing by the provincial government at Confederation Building, providing updates and answering H1N1-related questions.

As of 8 a.m. Friday, Stratton said, looking at the 24 hours prior, the province had recorded 23 new cases of influenza-like illness.

In the same period, three people were placed in intensive care and two of those were put on ventilators. The three most severe cases were all recorded in the Eastern region, she said.

In total, said Stratton, as of Friday morning, 138 people were hospitalized with influenza-like illness provincewide; 28 of those are in intensive care and 18 are on ventilators.

So far, H1N1 has been linked to six deaths in the province.

Immunization program expands again

Kennedy said the province's immunization program is expanding to include all post-transplant patients. As well, on Monday, students in Grade 4 to Grade 6 across the province will begin getting their shot (St. John's metro schools are scheduled to start Tuesday).

As for progress, Kennedy said, 2,000 people were vaccinated in the Eastern region Thursday.

"We have 86,000 people in the (provincial vaccination) registry right now, so I can safely say that we're well above 100,000 in terms of the number of people we've had vaccinated (provincewide)."

While pockets of flu flare-ups continue to occur community-to-community, Kennedy said indicators of illness, such as absenteeism and hospital admissions, are down in Western and Central Newfoundland.

While the Public Health Agency of Canada has stated vaccine will be available for all Canadians by Christmas, Kennedy - who said he spoke with the federal health minister Thursday - said the province may better that Christmas deadline.

"It should take place a lot sooner in his province. If, again, we get the vaccine because everything is dependent on the amount of vaccine that we receive," Kennedy said.

Mass immunization clinics will be open today.

Full schedules and locations are available at the health authority websites, or by phone at:

Eastern Health 1-877-752-4358;

Central Health 1-877-311-2613;

Western Health 1-877-632-H1N1(4161);

Labrador-Grenfell Health 1-877-896-0422.

H1N1 and schools

Meanwhile, the education minister announced an extension of the travel ban for student groups.

For example, it is this ban that kept students in the Cupids and Brigus area from getting the chance to see Prince Charles during the royal visit.

"Today, I confirmed for our school districts that we are going to extend that (ban) to Nov. 30, which is a Monday," King said. "Hopefully at that time we'll be in a situation where circumstances will be somewhat different and perhaps be in a more favourable position to lift that."

As for mass immunization clinics in the schools, King said there has been some disruption, but teachers are adapting.

"It's very stressful, as you can imagine, for teachers and those at the school level, but things are going very smoothly," King said.

A neighbourly agreement

The adaptation by teachers and other workers can be seen in a new H1N1-related agreement between public-sector unions and the province.

The agreement addresses the impact of H1N1 on employee attendance. It allows employers to shuffle employees, to "redeploy" them to alternate assignments and cover for missing staff when necessary.

In a statement released by the province, Finance Minister Tom Marshall said a collaborative effort between unions and government allowed for the accord, dubbed by government as the "Good Neighbour Agreement," to come together.

"This agreement will provide for a planned response to any emergency or disruption without undue delays and restrictions," Kennedy stated in the release.

Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers' Association president Lily Cole said the agreement was important in the midst of the pandemic.

"We recognize this is certainly not business as usual, especially in those schools that are most greatly impacted by the pandemic," Cole said.

Discussions regarding the agreement started in September, said Debbie Forward of the Newfoundland and Labrador Nurses' Union.

"One of the big things for us in this is the relaxation of the requirement for a sick note," Forward said.

"This agreement gives you seven days on top of the three (already provided to nurses) - it's seven days on top of your collective agreement period (before you have to get a sick note)," she said.

Forward said, overall, the agreement should help "ease the pressure on the system."

Growing costs

On Friday, the issue of costs from H1N1 was also raised, as Eastern Health CEO Vickie Kaminski reported the health authority has spent $300,000 on overtime since Oct. 20, due to demands on staff related to the H1N1 virus.

That's on top of routine overtime, she said.

"We don't normally work people 17 days in a row without a day off," Kaminski said.

In addition to overtime, supply costs for the province for masks, vaccines and needles is at around $5.5 million, including the costs of security and bringing in security personnel from other provinces, Kaminski said,

Asked about costs during the daily briefing, Kennedy said no one could have foreseen the level of financial impact from H1N1.

"I've indicated on a number of occasions, and I've discussed this with the premier, that money is not a major concern, is not a concern, and we will certainly do what we can to work with the regional health authorities," Kennedy said. "My instructions to them have been whatever resources you need will be provided. I realize that they are working with a tight budget and that they are trying to avoid significant deficits, but this is not the time now to cut resources or measures."

As for provincewide costs, Kennedy said no estimates were yet available.

afitzpatrick@thetelegram.com

MASS IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM

The full list of individuals eligible for the H1N1 vaccination currently includes:
Children six months to 59 months (to fifth birthday)
People with chronic conditions five years of age to, and including, 24 years of age;
Pregnant women;
Parents or other primary care providers (up to two per child) of children under the age of six months and of immunocompromised children and young adults (up to and including 24 years of age) who can not themselves be vaccinated;
Hospital in-patients less than 65 years of age with one or more chronic health conditions;
Individuals undergoing active cancer treatment (chemotherapy or radiation);
Transplant patients (including pre-transplant patients on a wait list and directed by their physician to receive the vaccine and post-transplant patients in the last two years);
School-aged children from kindergarten to Grade 6;
Individuals under 65 years of age with chronic respiratory disease such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or cystic fibrosis. Eligibility will require proof of active treatment of the disease (e.g. prescription, labelled medication, insurance forms);
Individuals under 65 years of age with compromised respiratory function due to a physical, neurological or muscular disorder (e.g. ALS, multiple sclerosis, quadriplegia, paraplegia).
Source: Department of Health