After the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention recently announced its findings in support of mask-wearing in the fight against COVID-19, BC Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry – who has thus far said BC has no plans for a province-wide mandatory mask policy – was asked if these latest findings have altered her stance on the subject.
“We’ve been watching that very carefully, and we’ve had some discussion about what type of mask to wear, and it is more important as one of the measures, as we’re seeing increasing transmission in our communities,” Henry said during a press conference on Thursday. “We have said the expectation is that people wear masks at indoor public places… and I know people are hearing that message. People are recognizing that mask wearing is an additional layer of protection.”
She stressed, though, that mask wearing alone isn’t the be-all, end-all solution but rather an “additional measure” to help keep one safe, and that there are still no plans for a provincial mandatory mask policy.
“We have always said that these individual measures are ones that we expect people to do, and we’ve seen that that is the way people have responded,” she said. “We know there are some people who are not able to wear masks, and we need to respect that, but most people can – and do.”
However, wearing a mask “doesn’t mean that you don’t need to do those other things, and that’s what’s so important,” she continued. “We’ve never mandated that you have to keep the [two-metre] physical distance [rule], but we know people understand that, and the masking is the same concept, an additional measure which is very important right now. It protects you, but more importantly it protects others around you and shows that you’re part of this.”
Henry’s comments come as a professor at Simon Fraser University (SFU) has started a petition calling for a temporary mask mandate – at least in the Greater Vancouver region.
Scott Lear is a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences. He told Daily Hive that his expertise is “in population in public health” and that much of his current work is “focused on public health messaging during the pandemic.”
And with British Columbia setting new record highs in case numbers, he’s started a petition to grow support for mandatory mask usage.
“There are now more active cases in the province than at any other time during the pandemic,” Lear writes in an online petition. “Along with that are thousands more who are self-isolating.”
“The majority of current and new cases arise within the Greater Vancouver area, yet Vancouver and Surrey are the only major cities in Canada without a mask mandate.”
He adds that a temporary mask mandate wouldn’t replace other health measures such as physical distancing; however, he stresses that “physical distancing is not foolproof.”
And while there is currently no provincial mask mandate, both TransLink and BC Ferries have made masks mandatory, along with a number of retail companies, such as Real Canadian Superstore and IKEA, among others.
The petition and Henry’s latest comments on masks come as the province announced 617 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total number of known cases in BC to 20,985.
Henry said that broken down by health region, the new cases amount to 130 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 424 in the Fraser Health region, 16 in the Island Health region, 42 in the Interior Health region, and five in the Northern Health region.
As it stands, there are 5,579 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 167 individuals who are hospitalized with COVID-19, 50 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.
Currently, 12,016 people are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases, and there have been two new COVID-19-related deaths, for a total of 290 deaths in British Columbia.
There are three new healthcare facility outbreaks at Sun Pointe Village, Capilano Care Centre and Fraserview Intermediate Care Lodge. The outbreaks at Queens Park Hospital, Lakeview Care Centre, Yaletown House, and St. Michael’s Centre are now over. In total, 35 long-term care or assisted-living facilities and six acute-care facilities have active outbreaks.
A total of 14,901 people who tested positive have now recovered.
“As yesterday’s modelling update clearly showed, this is a critical time for everyone in our province,” said Henry. “We need to act now to protect our loved ones, our elders and our communities.”
When faced with a resurgence of COVID-19, “it can be difficult to muster the strength to keep moving forward, yet British Columbians continue to show unwavering resilience and fortitude to support friends and neighbours in our communities and take care of those who are most at risk, by following the orders and using our layers of protection,” she added.
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.
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