'We are at a crossroads': Edmontonians continue calling on province to rethink pandemic response
Crowds gathered outside the legislature for the third straight day to protest Alberta’s latest COVID-19 response plans.
Rallies have been held since Friday in Edmonton and Calgary as the province announced it would scale back contact tracing, limit testing for COVID-19, and lift mandatory isolation rules this month.
Approximately 200 people attended the rally Sunday.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro said last week that the shift from a pandemic to endemic response in Alberta with regards to COVID-19 is due in part to the increasing amount of fully immunized Albertans.
"The data shows that what the vaccines are doing is making it less infectious and less deadly,” he said. “That's a good thing that allows us to move to that endemic response."
- No quarantine for COVID-19 after Aug. 16: Alberta set to end restrictions
- 'The inevitable next step': Alberta health minister defends COVID-19 policy changes
Dr. Sue Reed, physician at the Grey Nuns hospital, said she attended Sunday’s rally because of concern that cases of COVID-19 would continue to spread in the community under the new pandemic policy direction Alberta is set to take later this month.
“I think the most concerning aspect is that we,” Reed shared, “are about to witness the dismantling of the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic which is not over. Stopping testing, tracing, and isolating puts many people at risk.
“I am double vaccinated,” she added. “Many people are not. We have many people who – for a variety of reasons are not vaccinated in this province, including all children under 12.
“Without basic public health measures we cannot protect those people. It’s a frightening prospect.”
- 'Throwing caution to the wind': Experts react to Alberta’s changing quarantine policy
- Doctors express outrage over Alberta's plan to eliminate COVID-19 quarantine rules
- Alberta Medical Association head concerned over government lifting COVID restrictions
Karlee Hren, a teacher, said she attended the rally to lend a voice to students who will be returning to classrooms in the fall.
“They need to feel safe in these schools and know they have people advocating for them,” Hren said.
“The children in this province deserve so much better than what the government is doing.”
Dr. Joe Vipond circulated an internal Alberta Health Services (AHS) email on social media this weekend that said the health authority would cease COVID-19 related screening by 911 dispatchers in mid-July.
“It means the government has prioritized pretending COVID is over, over the health of it’s employees,” Vipond said on Sunday. “It means a lot of sick paramedics and EMTS.”
In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, AHS said EMS is shifting to “readiness and recovery operations” and that “the majority” of paramedics have received both doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
“We are very grateful that our paramedics have this level of protection,” AHS said.
“If our paramedics stop working because they feel unsafe; if our teachers stop working because they feel unsafe; how does this help Alberta?,” Vipond asked.
“We are at a crossroads for this province and if we don’t stand up, we are heading into a very dark period.”
Further rallies are scheduled to continue in both Edmonton and Calgary every day until Aug. 16.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Ryan Harding
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
WATCH LIVE As GC Strategies partner is admonished by MPs, RCMP confirms search warrant executed
The RCMP confirmed Wednesday it had executed a search warrant at an address registered to GC Strategies. This development comes as MPs are enacting an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power, summoning one of its contractors to appear before the House of Commons to be admonished publicly for failing to answer questions related to the ArriveCan app.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.