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 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 51,000 emails from all corners of the country.
Lunch bag? Check. Backpack? Check.
Masks? Check, check, check, check?
In most parts of Canada, students are heading back to class for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic started, and parents have a lot of questions about how to properly prepare their kids to wear masks at school.
Dr. Susy Hota, medical director for infection prevention and control at the University Health Network in Toronto, said although masks aren’t a fail-safe way of preventing the spread of COVID-19, it’s not surprising parents have a lot of questions about their use.
“There’s a lot of focus on masks because it feels like something tangible that we can do,” she said. Parents have a lot more control over supplying masks for their kids than they do over how students will physically distance once they get to school, for example.
Here, Hota and other CBC News experts answer your questions on how to manage masks properly when school doors open.
How effective are masks at keeping schools safe from COVID?
Masks are an important piece of the picture, but infectious disease experts warn they’re not enough on their own to manage outbreaks.
Speaking during an Ask The Doctors segment on The National, Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious disease physician at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, said that “we would never want to rely on them over the other measures, like reducing contact numbers, increasing physical distance, washing your hands a lot and having good ventilation in the space.”
Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease physician at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, agreed.
“There is a hierarchy of infection-control measures in hospitals and in health-care settings and similarly in schools,” he said. “Preventing and screening people for COVID-19 and keeping community rates low are probably at the biggest end of that pyramid.”
Once these things are in place, masks work as source control for the virus, Hota told Dr. Brian Goldman, host of CBC Podcast The Dose.
Students in Yukon went back to school on Thursday. Some teachers thought ‘outside the box’ and hung plastic shower curtains between desks at Elijah Smith Elementary School, says principal Jeff Cressman. (Laura Howells/CBC)
“That means if you have a virus infection and you’re wearing a mask, you stop the large droplets that have the virus within them from being released and infecting those around you, at least to some degree,” she said.
“What we’re learning with COVID-19 now is that you might actually have individual protection from those around you as well if you wear a mask in public. We didn’t have that information in the earlier parts of the pandemic. But now we’re seeing, as we put all the data together, that masks can be broadly helpful in reducing transmission from person to person outside of health-care settings and even just in the general community.”
That said, different regions of Canada have made decisions on mask policy based on a number of factors, including the current level of transmission in the area. Elsewhere in the world, “there are school systems that have used them and school systems that haven’t, and they’ve both had successful stories,” Chagla said.
What about kids who have communication difficulties? Are there any studies on the impact of masks on small children and their speech development?
“Certainly we know that kids learn language through lip reading,” said Dr. Nisha Thampi, medical director of infection prevention and control at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa. “And that’s even for kids who are not hard of hearing. So it may be an amplified issue for kids who are hard of hearing.”
Are face shields acceptable alternatives?
Compared to standard masks, not as much is known about how effective face shields are at preventing transmission of COVID-19.
Unfortunately there isn’t robust evidence in favour of using face shields on their own, without the use of a mask at the same time, she said. However, that could change.
A child wears a face mask and shield as a precaution against the novel coronavirus at a community health centre in Tangerang, Indonesia, in May. (Tatan Syuflana/The Associated Press)
“There is some evidence that’s under peer review that suggests that they may be as effective. And there are certain jurisdictions in the U.S. that have gone to recommending face shields universally without face masks for their health-care workers with no clear evidence of infection transmission,” Thampi said.
For now, we have to work with what’s currently recommended by public health officials, she said.
However, other factors can be taken into consideration.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says people who have hearing impairments or work with those who do may consider using a clear mask instead.
Hota said she hopes schools in areas with mask mandates will allow some room for interpretation based on individual needs.
“If there are kids who really can’t tolerate the mask or keep taking it off, face shields might be an option,” she said. “It would be a real pity if it was really rigid.”
How many masks should kids leave home with each day?
There’s no absolute number of masks that’s going to be right for each child every day. “It really does depend on what a child is doing,” Hota said.
“The way that we’re wearing masks right now for sort of a general and broad public protection, you can wear your mask for a prolonged period of time. There actually isn’t really an expiry in terms of how long you can wear your mask before you have to throw it out,” she said.
Ditto for when fabric masks must be thrown in the wash.
Some provinces say they will provide two masks per day for each student, while others have said they will provide masks for students who don’t have them.
Dr. Susy Hota, medical director for infection prevention and control at the University Health Network in Toronto, says face masks play a critical role in helping to control the COVID-19 pandemic. (Tim Fraser)
The key is not to change the mask at a certain time of day, Hota said, but when the mask’s condition requires it — admittedly a trickier call for a younger student to make.
“When your mouth gets moist or wet, if [the mask] feels like it’s getting damaged in any way so that the integrity of it is not maintained, or if you think you’ve been sprayed with something or someone sneezed and you were right there, and it did its job protecting you, at that point you should be changing your mask.”
Hota suggested kids have one backup mask available if a change is needed.
Where should my child put a mask when they take it off for food or drink, for example? Is it safe to wear one on a lanyard?
“I’m not in favour of using a lanyard or having it sort of attached to something that’s going to be dragging around,” Hota said.
Instead, she said, kids can do something as simple as putting a clean paper towel on their desk or lunch-room table and placing the mask there when it’s not being worn. “Put it so that the outside surface of the mask is down and the inside, which is what touches your face, is kind of protected but open to the air.”
Alternatively, the mask can go in a clean plastic or paper bag or a clean reusable container, or it can be hung by the ear loops from a hook on a cubby or the edge of a desk, Hota said.
When taking off a mask for just a short time, holding it like a basket from the ear loops is perfectly fine.
Hota said parents’ “big message” to their children should be about the importance of cleaning their hands, either with hand sanitizer or soap and water, before and after handling their mask.
WATCH | Two infectious disease specialists on the role of masks in schools:
Doctors answer questions about schools reopening during the pandemic including how effective masks are in keeping schools safe from the spread of COVID-19. 6:34
Students in our area are required to wear masks in the hall but not in classrooms. Won’t taking the masks on and off constantly between in the classroom and hallways lead to touching the face over and over?
Hota said she finds this policy confusing given that prolonged exposure to one another in a classroom seems more risky than briefly passing others in the hall.
However, she said she expects authorities in these districts believe the more supervised environment of the classroom will allow teachers to monitor physical distancing better than in the hallways, which can get crowded when students move from class to class.
As for how masks should be handled between these transitions, again Hota stressed that cleaning hands before and after taking a mask on or off. If your child isn’t required to wear a mask during class, they can use one of the ideas mentioned above for storing their mask until they head back into the school’s common areas again.
Pupils in masks file through the hallways at a school in Godley, Texas, on the first day of classes. (LM Otero/The Associated Press)
What if my child refuses to wear one?
“It’s a real challenge,” Hota said. “I have a five-year-old, for example, and I’ve been working on this all summer long, but it’s still not easy. There are some youngsters who don’t really like the way that things feel on their face, for example.”
Seeing older children wear their masks could help persuade reluctant youngsters to wear theirs, as could giving kids a choice about a mask’s style and patterns, or setting up a crafty activity to personalize them.
“My message to everyone has been even if it’s not mandatory, it doesn’t mean you can’t try,” Hota said. “I think we should all be trying very hard to get our kids used to this.”
Skinstitut Holiday Gift Kits take the stress out of gifting
Toronto, October 31, 2024 – Beauty gifts are at the top of holiday wish lists this year, and Laser Clinics Canada, a leader in advanced beauty treatments and skincare, is taking the pressure out of seasonal shopping. Today, Laser Clincs Canada announces the arrival of its 2024 Holiday Gift Kits, courtesy of Skinstitut, the exclusive skincare line of Laser Clinics Group.
In time for the busy shopping season, the limited-edition Holiday Gifts Kits are available in Laser Clinics locations in the GTA and Ottawa. Clinics are conveniently located in popular shopping centers, including Hillcrest Mall, Square One, CF Sherway Gardens, Scarborough Town Centre, Rideau Centre, Union Station and CF Markville. These limited-edition Kits are available on a first come, first served basis.
“These kits combine our best-selling products, bundled to address the most relevant skin concerns we’re seeing among our clients,” says Christina Ho, Senior Brand & LAM Manager at Laser Clinics Canada. “With several price points available, the kits offer excellent value and suit a variety of gift-giving needs, from those new to cosmeceuticals to those looking to level up their skincare routine. What’s more, these kits are priced with a savings of up to 33 per cent so gift givers can save during the holiday season.
There are two kits to select from, each designed to address key skin concerns and each with a unique theme — Brightening Basics and Hydration Heroes.
Brightening Basics is a mix of everyday essentials for glowing skin for all skin types. The bundle comes in a sleek pink, reusable case and includes three full-sized products: 200ml gentle cleanser, 50ml Moisture Defence (normal skin) and 30ml1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum. The Brightening Basics kit is available at $129, a saving of 33 per cent.
Hydration Heroes is a mix of hydration essentials and active heroes that cater to a wide variety of clients. A perfect stocking stuffer, this bundle includes four deluxe products: Moisture 15 15 ml Defence for normal skin, 10 ml 1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum, 10 ml Retinol Serum and 50 ml Expert Squalane Cleansing Oil. The kit retails at $59.
In addition to the 2024 Holiday Gifts Kits, gift givers can easily add a Laser Clinic Canada gift card to the mix. Offering flexibility, recipients can choose from a wide range of treatments offered by Laser Clinics Canada, or they can expand their collection of exclusive Skinstitut products.
Brightening Basics 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut, available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.
Hydration Heroes 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut – available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
The Canadian Paediatric Society says doctors should regularly screen children for reading difficulties and dyslexia, calling low literacy a “serious public health concern” that can increase the risk of other problems including anxiety, low self-esteem and behavioural issues, with lifelong consequences.
New guidance issued Wednesday says family doctors, nurses, pediatricians and other medical professionals who care for school-aged kids are in a unique position to help struggling readers access educational and specialty supports, noting that identifying problems early couldhelp kids sooner — when it’s more effective — as well as reveal other possible learning or developmental issues.
The 10 recommendations include regular screening for kids aged four to seven, especially if they belong to groups at higher risk of low literacy, including newcomers to Canada, racialized Canadians and Indigenous Peoples. The society says this can be done in a two-to-three-minute office-based assessment.
Other tips encourage doctors to look for conditions often seen among poor readers such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; to advocate for early literacy training for pediatric and family medicine residents; to liaise with schools on behalf of families seeking help; and to push provincial and territorial education ministries to integrate evidence-based phonics instruction into curriculums, starting in kindergarten.
Dr. Scott McLeod, one of the authors and chair of the society’s mental health and developmental disabilities committee, said a key goal is to catch kids who may be falling through the cracks and to better connect families to resources, including quicker targeted help from schools.
“Collaboration in this area is so key because we need to move away from the silos of: everything educational must exist within the educational portfolio,” McLeod said in an interview from Calgary, where he is a developmental pediatrician at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
“Reading, yes, it’s education, but it’s also health because we know that literacy impacts health. So I think that a statement like this opens the window to say: Yes, parents can come to their health-care provider to get advice, get recommendations, hopefully start a collaboration with school teachers.”
McLeod noted that pediatricians already look for signs of low literacy in young children by way of a commonly used tool known as the Rourke Baby Record, which offers a checklist of key topics, such as nutrition and developmental benchmarks, to cover in a well-child appointment.
But he said questions about reading could be “a standing item” in checkups and he hoped the society’s statement to medical professionals who care for children “enhances their confidence in being a strong advocate for the child” while spurring partnerships with others involved in a child’s life such as teachers and psychologists.
The guidance said pediatricians also play a key role in detecting and monitoring conditions that often coexist with difficulty reading such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, but McLeod noted that getting such specific diagnoses typically involves a referral to a specialist, during which time a child continues to struggle.
He also acknowledged that some schools can be slow to act without a specific diagnosis from a specialist, and even then a child may end up on a wait list for school interventions.
“Evidence-based reading instruction shouldn’t have to wait for some of that access to specialized assessments to occur,” he said.
“My hope is that (by) having an existing statement or document written by the Canadian Paediatric Society … we’re able to skip a few steps or have some of the early interventions present,” he said.
McLeod added that obtaining specific assessments from medical specialists is “definitely beneficial and advantageous” to know where a child is at, “but having that sort of clear, thorough assessment shouldn’t be a barrier to intervention starting.”
McLeod said the society was partly spurred to act by 2022’s “Right to Read Inquiry Report” from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which made 157 recommendations to address inequities related to reading instruction in that province.
He called the new guidelines “a big reminder” to pediatric providers, family doctors, school teachers and psychologists of the importance of literacy.
“Early identification of reading difficulty can truly change the trajectory of a child’s life.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
