Alberta plan to phase out all COVID-19 restrictions 'reckless': Public health faculty

Faculty from the University of Alberta School of Public Health are voicing strong opposition to what they call the rapid relaxation of COVID-19 health measures in the province, saying it could prolong the pandemic.

In an open letter sent to Premier Jason Kenney and top-ranking United Conservative officials, about 25 experts with varied experience in public health, infectious diseases and social epidemiology say the government is using selective data to support its policies.

“We know and agree that restrictions have had deleterious effects on our society. However, this extreme back and forth of on-again, off-again restrictions only serves to prolong the course of this pandemic,” the letter reads.

“We cannot tell what the future will hold, but the history of other pandemics, our immediate experience with Omicron and the fourth wave, and the wealth of evidence should teach us that a cautious, slow easing of restrictions would be the prudent way to proceed.”

The letter comes after an announcement Tuesday from Premier Jason Kenney of a phased approach to drop all COVID-19 public health measures in the province. Kenney said the threat of COVID-19 to public health no longer outweighs the damaging impact of restrictions.

Alberta's vaccine passport program has ended and masking requirements for children 12 and under are to end Monday, with most remaining measures to be lifted in March should pressure on hospitals continue to ease.

The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the public health group's letter.

“The pressure on hospitals is easing. New admissions are going down, and total hospitalizations are in line with non-COVID years,” Kenney said on social media Friday. “Alberta is getting back to normal.”

The letter says the province's plan is “reckless,” considering waning immunity after two vaccine doses, slow uptake for third doses and lagging vaccination of Alberta children.

It says it's time to expand vaccine mandates to third doses, rather than ditch them all together.

It also says it's concerned the government is removing freedoms from municipalities, post-secondary institutions and school boards to make their own decisions.

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange told school boards Tuesday they will not be able to bring in their own mask mandates.

Advanced Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides similarly informed post-secondary schools that he expects them to return to pre-pandemic rules with the next phase of easing measures, expected March 1.

This phase would see an end to cohorting in schools, capacity limits and the provincial mask mandate.

Letter co-author Dr. Simon Otto, who specializes in epidemiology and infectious diseases, said in an interview Thursday that he is concerned government decisions are being driven by politics rather than all available evidence-based data.

“We speak from a position of expertise,” he said. “We're training the next generation of public health professionals and we train them to think in this way, so we really feel it's important for the government to hear from us.”

Otto said the government should release the data it is using to guide decision making and be more transparent with the public when it comes to crafting COVID-19 policies.

“Ignoring the evidence and dismissing the concerns and fears of parents, students and educators is a dangerous and irresponsible overstep by the government,” the letter says.

“Now is absolutely not the time to make these drastic changes.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2022.