'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
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Hulk Hogan, hurricanes and a blockbuster recording: A week in review of the Trump hush money trial
Crucial witnesses took the stand in the second week of testimony in Donald Trump's hush money trial, including a California lawyer who negotiated deals at the center of the case and a longtime adviser to the former president.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
‘We made them safer and more fun’: Here’s what’s new about e-scooters
Electric scooters (e-scooters) have been gaining popularity in the capital and this season comes with some changes and updates.
What a U.S. farmworker’s case of bird flu tells us about tracking the infection
A U.S. farmworker who caught bird flu after working with dairy cattle in Texas appears to be the first known case of mammal-to-human transmission of the virus, a new study shows.