We’re breaking down what you need to know about the pandemic. Send us your questions via email at COVID@cbc.ca, and we’ll answer as many as we can. We’ll publish a selection of answers every weekday on our website, and we’re also putting some of your questions to the experts on the air during The National and on CBC News Network. So far we’ve received more than 47,000 emails from all corners of the country.
Is it safe to play hockey? Would a full-face visor protect me?
The NHL is planning to resume its pandemic-delayed season, despite players testing positive for COVID-19. But pro sports leagues aren’t the only ones itching to get back onto the ice.
We’ve received messages from rec players like Bob P. in Edmonton, who are asking whether wearing a full face visor would protect them and allow them to return to playing the sport.
The first thing to remember is that every province is in a different stage of reopening and has different rules for the number of people who can gather together. So it’s important to check your local health guidelines before playing.
Now if your region does allow it, is it actually safe?
Our experts say the answer is complicated, because hockey is a high-contact sport.
“Hockey is still tough, as there’s a lot of contact and heavy breathing,” said Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease physician at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and an associate professor of medicine at McMaster University.
Wearing a full-face visor is likely not a fool-proof way to contain droplets either.
“Even with a full visor, unless it wrapped completely around your face and neck, almost like a scuba mask, you’d still have breath coming out,” explains Chagla.
And if droplets are able to escape, it means the risk of transmission increases.
However, wearing a full-face visor is more effective in reducing the risk than half-face visors or cages, says Dr. Dominik Mertz, an associate professor at McMaster University and an infectious diseases physician and hospital epidemiologist at Hamilton Health Sciences.
An infectious disease specialist answers viewer questions about the COVID-19 pandemic, including whether masks should be made mandatory in public and if NHL hub cities would be safe. 3:59
“The full-face visor will stop the vast majority of droplets expelled by the person wearing it, as well as stop most of the droplets from others heading into the direction of the person wearing the full-face visor,” he said.
While it doesn’t provide perfect protection, Mertz says playing hockey with a full-face shield “seems much lower risk” than other sports with similarly close contact.
Does the cooler air temperature in ice rinks preserve the virus?
Canadians like Jonathan P. are also wondering if the virus is more likely to persist in colder temperatures as opposed to warmer ones.
The answer is yes, according to our experts.
“SARS-CoV-2 appears to transmit somewhat better in a colder, drier environment,” says Dr. Gerald Evans, chair of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Queen’s University and attending physician at Kingston General Hospital. “It is quite likely that infectious viral particles will remain viable in a colder environment.”
That means surfaces in the arenas will need to be cleaned more frequently.
“It could last longer on surfaces, which reinforces the need to ensure surfaces are cleaned regularly,” said Allyson Shephard, manager or Infection Prevention and Control at CHEO, a pediatric hospital and research centre in Ottawa. “We live in Canada, so this will be important both inside and outside of ice rinks.”
But Chagla says we should keep in mind the virus typically passes from person to person through respiratory spread from our mouths, and not from the actual ice.
“If you’re still close to people’s mouths that are shedding, the temperature doesn’t matter and you’re still at risk.”
Is it safe to practise with my band if we’re two metres apart?
This question comes from Mary S., who is wondering whether it’s safe for a band to play brass and woodwind instruments together if they maintain physical distancing.
Band practice may be a bit tricky.
One of the superspreader events in the early days of the pandemic was a choir rehearsal, after which 45 members of the 56-person ensemble became infected with COVID-19. Two choir members later died.
The experts we spoke to offer some tips on how to make band practice safer if you’re going to get together to play.
Mertz says band practice is “most likely safe,” as long as you make adjustments to adhere to the provincial health guidelines.
He recommends “keeping your physical distance and avoid being in front of the source of droplets, in particular from the singer.”
Chagla echoes a similar idea.
“We know singing may fling droplets a bit further and with a bit of force,” he says. “So perhaps keep the vocalist out of the room, or with a mask.”
The wind and brass instruments may be less of a concern, despite the amount of spitting that is often involved in playing them.
“Most of those droplets may be trapped within the instrument rather than necessarily being a vehicle for dispersal,” says Evans, who plays in a band himself.
“However, those instruments could act as fomites for transmission and so should never be shared.”
The Ontario Music Educators’ Association has recently released a Framework for the Return to Music Classes, which includes recommendations like hand hygiene and instrument cleaning for performance-based classrooms.
“This is something Ontario schools need to consider carefully before allowing music classes or school bands to resume, and local/provincial public health guidance needs to be followed,” said Dr. Jason Brophy, pediatric infectious disease physician at CHEO.
All of the experts suggest playing outdoors if possible and staying the recommended two metres apart.
Again, the rules for gatherings also vary across the country, so it’s important to check your local guidelines.
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
