Rules on opening need clarity, say disease experts
EDMONTON Aggressive testing measures and low hospitalization rates have infectious-disease specialists giving the nod to Alberta’s relaunch plan, but communicating the strategy to keep COVID -19 at bay has been confusing.
Stephanie Smith, director of infection prevention at the University of Alberta Hospital, said overall the government has been successful in controlling the virus while allowing people more freedom.
She grades the response as A-. “Obviously we can’t stay locked out like we have been until there’s a vaccine because it’s difficult to predict exactly when that will be,” said Smith. “I think overall they’ve done a good job and that’s evidenced by the fact that we haven’t had a lot of cases, we haven’t had a lot of deaths or hospitalizations.”
The government began to loosen restrictions on May 14, allowing retail stores, farmers markets and hairdressers to open at a limited capacity. Day cares, day camps, museums and art galleries were also allowed to open in a limited fashion while some non-urgent surgeries began again.
Following the reopening, numbers remained manageable, prompting the government to start phase two on June 12, a week earlier than planned.
Most businesses are allowed to open to maximum capacity as long as physical distancing is still possible and some personal services are now allowed to operate.
Gym and fitness centres were also allowed to open after originally being slotted into phase three.
Smith said the gradual opening has left some owners and operators scratching their heads over what they are actually allowed to do.
“Gyms are kind of a good example of where they’re allowed to open, but there’s so many restrictions that it’s almost difficult for them to probably actually make a living,” she said.
Lynora Saxinger, an associate professor with the University of Alberta’s Division of Infectious Diseases, said that while the government has done a good job at controlling the spread of COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, the communication around restrictions has been patchy.
“I think I’m also struggling with how best to communicate caution and optimism at the same time, and I think that that’s a real challenge right now,” said Saxinger.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro agrees that the government has some lessons to be learned around messaging.
We can’t stay locked out like we have been until there’s a vaccine because it’s difficult to predict ... when that will be.
“I think we did well given the huge amount of info, but we have to be more clear on the difference between advice. So what was voluntary as opposed to the enforceable orders,” he said in an interview last week.
The province has stressed the importance of widespread testing to curtail spread of the virus.
Alberta has steadily increased testing while loosening restrictions. Since June 4, at least 4,000 tests have been conducted daily, peaking at 9,054 on Friday.
That is a marked increase from the early weeks of the pandemic when the number of tests peaked at more than 5,000 on April 17.
There had been 373,724 tests completed in Alberta as of June 19. Currently any Albertan can get tested as many times as they would like.
“I think, when it comes to Canada and the world, we’re a leader in a huge range of areas, testing and the online assessment that we developed, the contact tracing,” added Shandro.
The volume of testing is paying off, Saxinger said.
“At the end of the day, we were testing a lot early. Even though it was imperfect, it was pretty darn good compared to most places,” she said.
“That kind of gave us a bit better assurance that we’re not having a known transmission smouldering around.”
Smith cautions that the public needs to remain vigilant.
“It’s hard for people because when they’re told gyms are opening up, the restaurants are opening up, I think that gives the message that everything’s fine and we can just go back to what we were like before, which I don’t think we’re quite there yet.”
Chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said last week that two-thirds of Edmonton’s recent cases have been linked to social interactions.
Case numbers in Edmonton have been increasing since the beginning of June after the city had seen low numbers throughout the lockdown.
Saxinger said the gathering capacities Alberta is allowing may be a weak spot as the relaunch continues.
Currently, the government is allowing 50 people to gather indoors for social events, such as weddings and funerals, while 100 people can gather outside.
“A lot of reopening success will depend on how people control their own contact numbers,” said Saxinger.
“The accelerated opening might have made people feel more confident than they should; the virus is still around and is a real risk.
“There will be more hospitalizations and deaths, the question is how many.”