Hajdu pens warning letter to Alberta while its top doctor defends ending COVID-19 orders
Alberta's top doctor is defending the province's plan to lift all its COVID-19 public health restrictions despite mounting concerns from physicians and political leaders across Canada, including federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu.
In a letter to Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro, Hajdu said she agrees with the Canadian Paediatric Society's description of the province's move as an “unnecessary and risky gamble.”
Hajdu said recent modelling for Alberta forecasts a more serious resurgence in cases fuelled by the Delta variant, and all governments need to take reasonable steps to protect Canadians.
“The vaccination campaign in Canada, one of the best in the world, has significantly changed the overall context of COVID-19 here,” wrote Hajdu. “However, it is still too early to declare victory.
“Many remain unvaccinated, creating the potential for outbreaks, and we need to increase first and second dose coverage in order to protect against a Delta-driven resurgence that could seriously impact our citizens and our health system capacity.”
Hajdu said she wants to better understand the rationale and science behind Alberta's decision.
Last week, the province ended contract tracing and said close contacts of people who test positive for COVID-19 are not required to isolate. And starting Aug. 16, those infected will no longer need to quarantine.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, told The Canadian Press on Thursday that the decision was made after her team reviewed data on age-specific outcomes related to COVID-19, vaccine effectiveness and modelling on transmission of the Delta variant and related health outcomes.
Hinshaw said they also studied other jurisdictions, like the United Kingdom, which saw an uptick in the Delta variant before Alberta, to determine risks related to eliminating restrictions.
“We expect that we'll see a rise in cases and they will continue to rise for about a month. But the impact on severe outcomes and on acute care will be greatly mitigated by vaccines,” said Hinshaw.
While Hinshaw acknowledged concerns from Albertans about the “hard and rapid shift,” she said timing is the most important question.
“What I think has not been a part of the conversation is the risk of maintaining the status quo,” she said.
If Alberta continues to treat COVID-19 as its biggest risk and focuses all of its resources on it, the province will accumulate a backlog of other problems, Hinshaw explained.
Dropping isolation, testing and contact tracing measures before the fall will help Alberta prepare for an expected spike in other respiratory illnesses, she said, and it will free up acute care and public health resources.
Hinshaw stressed, however, that people who get sick with COVID-19 or any other transmissible illnesses should isolate despite not being legally required to.
If Alberta's acute care system is again overwhelmed or a new variant poses a significant threat, Hinshaw said the province will reconsider reinstating public health measures.
Shandro declined to comment on Hajdu's letter Thursday, but criticized the federal minister on social media.
“Minister Hajdu noticeably neglected to write a letter to Saskatchewan despite (us) having similar approaches to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Ms. Hajdu chose to target Alberta - the Trudeau Liberals' favourite punching bag,” he wrote, before condemning the federal government's track record on addressing COVID-19.
Shandro said Hinshaw and her team's recommendations to lift health measures are “in line with the science.”
In a recent editorial, Hinshaw apologized for causing some people “confusion, fear or anger” but said the changes will help support the whole health of Albertans.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.