OTTAWA —
The Public Health Agency of Canada won’t be following in the footsteps of U.S. health officials and changing the recommended distance between students in classrooms until potentially “early summer 2021,” when the agency expects to update its COVID-19 guidance for kindergarten to Grade 12 based on the latest transmission and epidemiology data.
PHAC told CTVNews.ca that while it continues to communicate with international partners, “the epidemiology of COVID-19 is different in each jurisdiction” and for that reason, narrowing the distance between students wearing masks from at least six feet to at least three feet, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended last Friday, won’t be applied to Canada at this time.
The CDC said the new guidance was based on data from schools in Utah, Missouri and Florida that suggests transmission of COVID-19 in schools is relatively low when precautions such as mask-wearing are employed, including in cases where students do not maintain six feet of distance.
“I want to emphasize that today’s recommendations are specific to students in classrooms with universal mask wearing. These updates provide the evidence-based roadmap to help schools reopen safely, and remain open, for in-person instruction,” CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky tweeted on Friday following the announcement.
PHAC currently advises that, when possible, students remain at least two metres apart while masked. Some individual provinces have taken their own approach, including B.C., where the province’s health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said in September that one metre of distance was acceptable in controlled environments.
“Given the circulation of variants of concern across Canada, some of which are more transmissible, it is important individuals continue to practise physical distancing along with multiple other personal preventive practices in a layered approach,” reads the statement from PHAC.
CTV News’ Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Abdu Sharkawy said he believes maintaining the current guidance regarding physical distancing in schools is prudent.
“We are not in a position to follow the CDC’s lead on this right now,” he said in an email to CTVNews.ca. “We are very much in the throes of a third wave that is still gaining momentum. There are simply too many outbreaks in schools, communal work environments and nowhere near enough Canadians vaccinated.”
Sharkawy added that shrinking physical distancing guidelines in schools adds risk without any tangible benefits.
“It’s not the right time,” he said. “Maybe when we’re well beyond a third wave, herd immunity is on the horizon and fully attended classrooms can be maintained safely, but that’s not happening anytime soon.”
Sharkawy also argued that investing in improved ventilation systems and prioritizing teachers and essential workers for vaccines are more important issues to consider.
With files from CTVNews.ca Writer Ben Cousins and a file from Reuters
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.
