Canada’s chief public health officer now says that wearing a non-medical mask can help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Dr. Theresa Tam, the top doctor at the Public Health Agency of Canada, said today that Canadians can use non-medical masks in tandem with social distancing measures to limit the transmission of the deadly virus when out grocery shopping or at a pharmacy.
The recommendation represents an about-face for the public health officer — who until now has resisted the idea of non-health care professionals wearing masks.
“Wearing a non-medical mask is an additional measure that you can take to protect others around you,” Tam said — while warning that a non-medical mask doesn’t necessarily protect the person wearing it.
“A non-medical mask can reduce the chance of your respiratory droplets coming into contact with others or landing on surfaces,” Tam said. “The science is not certain but we we need to do everything that we can and it seems a sensible thing to do.”
Watch: Dr. Theresa Tam discusses non-medical mask use
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr Theresa Tam spoke with reporters on Parliament Hill on Monday 2:21
Tam has long maintained that masks should be reserved for the sick among us, and for doctors and nurses working in hospitals, in order to preserve diminishing stockpiles of personal protective equipment.
‘Emerging information’
Beyond supply concerns, Tam also has questioned the usefulness of masks for the general population in the past.
“It can sometimes make it worse, if the person puts their finger in their eye or touches their face under their mask,” Tam said in January during a teleconference with reporters.
She has also said wearing a mask could give people a “false sense of security” that could encourage wearers to relax physical distancing.
On March 28, Tam said “most people haven’t learned how to use masks” and “there is no need to use a mask for well people.”
Speaking to reporters on March 30, Tam said that “putting a mask on an asymptomatic person is not beneficial.”
She reiterated her concerns about the “potential negative aspects of wearing masks” — namely that they don’t protect the wearer’s eyes and could encourage people to touch their faces more as they fidget with the mask.
On Monday, however, Tam said wearing a mask is an added layer of protection that can help prevent pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic people from inadvertently infecting others with COVID-19. She said the policy change comes in response to “emerging information” from the science and medical community.
Watch: What you need to know about wearing a mask
Dr. Samir Gupta provides crucial information about wearing a mask during the COVID-19 pandemic and what to think about before putting one on. 2:30
Tam said new research on patients aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship — as many as 712 people who were aboard the vessel contracted the virus — and a recently published report out of Singapore were behind the policy change.
“We are very rapidly trying to integrate that later science,” she said of the new studies that suggest people who have yet to develop symptoms can still have high viral loads that can be transmitted.
She said Canadians shouldn’t wear medical-grade masks like the N95, as those supplies have to be reserved for medical professionals.
She said Canadians could use t-shirts or cotton sheets and elastic bands to create makeshift masks at home.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Protection (CDC) announced a similar policy shift over the weekend, saying that “new evidence” had led it to recommend that people wear cloth face coverings in public areas.
Watch: Dr Tam on making non-medical masks and who should wear them:
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr Theresa Tam spoke with reporters on Parliament Hill, Monday. 2:22
“We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms (“asymptomatic”) and that even those who eventually develop symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”) can transmit the virus to others before showing symptoms,” the agency said in a statement on its website.
“This means that the virus can spread between people interacting in close proximity — for example, speaking, coughing, or sneezing — even if those people are not exhibiting symptoms.”
The CDC is recommending masks in settings where “other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain,” such as grocery stores and pharmacies.
Both the Canada and U.S. health agencies have recommended people avoid crowded places and keep a distance of at least two arms’ lengths — approximately two metres — from others as much as possible.
WATCH | Can cloth masks protect you from COVID-19? Two doctors weigh in:
Doctors answer your questions about the coronavirus, including whether people should be wearing homemade or cloth masks when they are outside. 3:30
The Public Health Agency of Canada warned in a note on its website Monday that wearing a mask alone will not stop COVID-19.
“It is important to understand that non-medical masks have limitations and need to be used safely. You must consistently and strictly adhere to good hygiene and public health measures, including frequent hand washing and physical (social) distancing,” the agency said.
If you choose to use a non-medical face mask, the agency recommends you wash your hands before putting it on and after taking it off.
Face masks can become contaminated on the outside or when they’re touched by hands. The agency recommends that people avoid touching their face masks while wearing them and change their cloth masks as soon as they get damp or soiled.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
