At this point in the pandemic, we all know the two-metre rule of socially distancing.
What I didn’t know was the origins of what has become the gold standard governing efforts to control the spread of COVID-19. And thanks to a new article from The BMJ (originally the British Medical Journal) published this week, I’ve learned that so-called golden rule has a bit of tin ring to it.
But that’s what happens when a rule is based on outdated science. As in science that predates the Spanish Flu.
In fact, you have to go all the way back to 1897 when studies of droplets from speech, coughing and sneezing led to a proposed safe distance of one to two metres.
The BMJ article outlines how problematic that rule is given more recent research that shows how the aerosols we can’t see — those tiny droplets of body fluids believed key to spreading the virus — can travel far further than two metres. For instance, there’s the example of a U.S. choir practice in which one asymptomatic person infected at least 32 others despite social distancing.
So what are we to make of this research?
The BMJ recommends social distancing be seen as only one part of the public health approach to containing the pandemic. In other words, the two-metre figure is not a magical number that guarantees safety.
At the same time, the research recommends a more nuanced approach to social distancing. For instance, we need to look at factors such as risk, ventilation and exposure time. We need to recognize the importance of masks and other protective equipment in various settings.
And if we don’t want to end up six feet under, we need to keep washing our hands.
— Paul Samyn, Winnipeg Free Press editor
THE LATEST NUMBERS
Note: Manitoba and Canada figures may not match due to differences in data sources.
THE LATEST IN MANITOBA
• Health officials reported 32 new cases of COVID-19 in the province on Friday, including seven in the Winnipeg health region. Eighteen of the new cases are located in the hard-hit Prairie Mountain Health region, which includes the city of Brandon. While the number of lab-confirmed cases continues to climb — the total to date is 1,096 with 418 active cases — the number of hospitalizations fell. There are now five people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Manitoba (with one one in ICU), compared with six on Thursday. The current five-day test positivity rate in Manitoba is now at 2.3 per cent compared with three per cent on Thursday. An additional 1,252 laboratory tests were completed on Thursday, bringing the total number of tests completed to 132,085.
• Starting Saturday, anyone visiting a City of Winnipeg facility or boarding a Winnipeg Transit vehicle must wear a non-medical face mask. The requirement will apply to Winnipeg Transit and accessible Winnipeg Transit Plus vehicles, as well as city hall, city-operated recreation facilities, libraries and administrative buildings, according to a press release. Transit riders who fail to comply with the new rule could face a $100 fine.
THE LATEST ELSEWHERE
• Canada’s chief public health officer says families should expect to see cases of COVID-19 in schools as children head back to class. It is important that each school have a plan and that everyone knows what to do when there’s an outbreak of the novel coronavirus, Dr. Theresa Tam told a news briefing Friday.
• The Canadian economy suffered its worst three-month stretch on record in the second quarter as the economy came to a near halt in April before starting to recover in May and June. Statistics Canada said Friday real gross domestic product contracted at an annualized rate of 38.7 per cent for the quarter, the worst posting for the economy dating back to when comparable data was first recorded in 1961. Almost every single component of the economy used to calculate GDP was at its lowest point during the three-month stretch — driven largely by widespread lockdowns in April meant to slow the spread of COVID-19. However, economic output rebounded in May by 4.8 per cent, and the agency said June saw an increase of 6.5 per cent, a monthly record.
• The federal government is extending travel restrictions by one month to limit the spread of COVID-19. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Friday on Twitter that existing restrictions on international travel to Canada would be extended to Sept. 30. Blair says Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are returning home to Canada will continue to be subjected to strict quarantine measures.
• WestJet passengers in Vancouver may soon be taking COVID-19 tests before takeoff. WestJet Airlines Ltd. and Vancouver International Airport announced on Friday plans for a pilot project to test passengers for the coronavirus on some departing flights. The announcement comes alongside a strict new policy at the airline to ensure passengers wear masks on board with potential consequences for non-compliers that include a yearlong travel ban. The airline is also requiring that flyers provide their contact information during check-in to help provincial and federal health agencies with contact tracing if an infected passenger is on the same flight.
• Four people at the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., have tested positive for the coronavirus, health officials in North Carolina’s Mecklenburg County say. The two attendees and two people supporting the convention tested positive among the nearly 800 people tested, according to health officials. County leaders say those four individuals were isolated and any known close contacts were notified and issued quarantine instructions. The Charlotte Observer reports the disclosures come after county health officials raised concerns about a lack of social distancing and mask wearing.
• Nevada officials are reporting what may be the first documented case of coronavirus reinfection in the United States, following similar reports earlier this week from Hong Kong and Europe. A 25-year-old Reno man with mild COVID-19 symptoms initially was found to have the virus in April, recovered and tested negative twice, and then tested positive again in June. He was much sicker the second time, with pneumonia that required hospitalization and oxygen treatment. Genetic tests from each episode showed that viruses were similar in major ways but differed in at least 12 spots that would be highly unlikely from natural evolution of the bug if the man had it continuously rather than being infected a second time, said Mark Pandori, director of the Nevada State Public Health Laboratory. The findings have not yet been published or reviewed by other scientists, but were posted on a research site.
QUOTE, UNQUOTE
“I think that people should not have a massive knee-jerk reaction and just close everything but have local public health examine that situation and provide the advice of what to do in that instance.”
— Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, urging careful consideration when reacting to a school COVID-19 case
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.
