In the United States, it’s 1.8 metres. In Italy and Germany, it’s 1.5 metres. China and France have gone with just one.
The World Health Organization recommends maintaining a minimum of one metre apart from others during the COVID-19 pandemic, but physical-distancing guidelines vary slightly around the world. Numerous studies have found that people standing less than one metre away from an infected person were much more likely to catch the virus than those standing more than one metre away.
Britain is the first to consider reducing that measurement, hinged on the country’s plan to enter the second stage of reopening on July 4 when bars and restaurants can open doors.
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While reducing the two-metre rule to one metre isn’t “totally unscientific or unfounded,” it comes with increased risk, said Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist at the University of Ottawa.
“It appears to be a balancing of the need to keep people safe against the need to have large numbers of people moving through society,” he said.
But, he noted, it’s not all about distance.
“It’s also about duration and intensity,” he said. “I’m much more comfortable passing someone on the street a half metre apart than I am having an extended conversation with someone two metres away.”
2:16 Why 2-metre (6-feet) physical distancing is the absolute minimum
Why 2-metre (6-feet) physical distancing is the absolute minimum
Scientists agree that COVID-19 infections typically happen when a healthy person comes into contact with respiratory droplets from an infected person’s cough, sneeze or breath. The droplets tend to fall to the ground within one to two metres of the person who emits them.
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Two-metre rule not ‘hard science’
That’s why the two-metre rule is the rule of thumb, said Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto, but even then, it’s not “hard science.”
Some research suggests droplets of all sizes can travel seven to eight metres, while others suggest the virus particles can persist in the air in aerosol form. It’s prompted some scientists to argue that staying father than two metres apart would be better.
“Our understanding of transmission dynamics is really weak. Our best understanding is that when someone sneezes or coughs, droplets can go about one metre, but that’s probabilistic. In other words, the sneeze doesn’t know to stop at the one-metre zone, but for the most part, it’s a metre,” Furness said.
“The best evidence we have, overall, says that two metres is good, safe and smart.”
Canada, so far, agrees. At a federal level, Canada is one of only a few countries that has recommended the two-metre physical-distancing rule, along with Spain and the U.K.
Lowering the distance people have to keep from one another isn’t in the cards for Canada at this point.
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1:46 Toronto man wears ‘social distancing machine’ to show local sidewalks are too narrow
Toronto man wears ‘social distancing machine’ to show local sidewalks are too narrow
Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam acknowledged that there’s still much to learn about the virus and that guidelines will be adjusted accordingly as more evidence is reviewed.
The current approach is “multi-faceted,” she said, and is only successful within the context of other recommendations like wearing masks and staying home if you’re sick.
“The bottom line is — one metre can help avoid some of those droplets, but two metres will be better,” she told reporters Monday. “Some of it is about feasibility in certain settings. It’s a matter of a risk assessment approach.”
As more data comes in, Deonandan said he wouldn’t be surprised if Canada revisits the distancing guidelines. He said what happens in Britain could be a lesson.
“A lot of this is ‘the art of the possible.’ What is possible for us to implement in Canada?” he said.
“Three metres is better than two, but keeping people three metres apart is not realistic. Similarly, two metres is better than one, and so far it’s been possible for most of Canada to comply, but there are some denser areas where one metre is simply all we can implement. This might become more the case as more of the economy opens up.”
Combining masks with distancing
The concept of physical distancing is “messy,’ Furness said, and only becomes messier as provinces make their own unique moves to reopen.
Quebec announced it would reduce physical distancing requirements for children 16 and under to 1.5 metres, including places like day camps and schools, starting June 22. Children under 16, however, will still need to keep a two-metre distance from adults, such as their teachers. Other provinces, like Ontario, have expanded limit gatherings from five to 10 in recent weeks.
2:15 Overcrowding in public spaces becoming a problem during Quebec’s COVID-19 outbreak
Overcrowding in public spaces becoming a problem during Quebec’s COVID-19 outbreak
Keeping a fair distance is still a part of all loosening guidelines in Canada.
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“But the two metres, by itself, doesn’t actually make a huge difference,” Furness said. “Actually, what you want is a combination. You want the mask and the distancing.”
Experts, like Tam, agree that the distancing recommendations go along with mask-wearing.
National public health guidelines were updated in May to recommend wearing a mask when it is not possible to “consistently maintain” a two-metre distance from others, particularly in crowded public settings like stores and public transportation. The recommendations are just that — recommendations. Wearing a mask in public has not been mandated in Canada, despite growing calls from doctors, such as a group in Ontario, to do so.
“But it brings up important questions: are the two suitable for each other? Does a mask make up for distance? Does distance make up for a mask?” he asked. “We don’t know. Science doesn’t know yet. But the best understanding is that we want both.”
Tim Sly, an epidemiologist and professor emeritus at Ryerson University’s School of Public Health, said it’s a “sliding scale.”
“There’s no immediate cut-off at two-metres when everything suddenly changes from safe to unsafe,” he said. “One metre is better than hugging a stranger, especially when no masks are used.”
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Peeling back layers of protections — like reducing distancing measures or allowing people back into office spaces, for example — is “inevitable,” Sly said.
“The flattening of the curve in Canada is due to the restrictions first installed being successful, but that doesn’t mean the risk has decreased when we pull back on how far apart people should stay, he said.
“It’s one of those decisions that society has to make,” he said. “How much? And at what cost? The answer is going to be different in different areas.”
— with files from the Canadian Press and the Associated Press
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
