WORKPLACE WORRIES
Even though he was careful with health protocols while on the job as a Regina bartender, Matthew Cardinal contracted COVID and spent 18 days in hospital. Workplace outbreaks are spiking around the province, with more than 40 reported in the past 10 days.
Mask-wearing, frequent cleaning and handwashing between every interaction with customers were all part of Matthew Cardinal's daily work routine — but it still wasn't enough to escape COVID-19.
The 34-year-old works as a bartender and server at a Regina restaurant and bar. He said he and several of his coworkers all tested positive for the virus around the same time in mid-march, despite carefully following the Saskatchewan Health Authority's (SHA) guidelines.
“During work I was always careful — never touched my mask, never fidgeted (with) my mask, never rubbed my mask. Always washing my hands between each customer, cleaning things, wiping things down,” Cardinal said.
“Because people have to take off their mask to eat and drink beer basically, or whatever, it just gets in the air ... There's not much we could have done.”
After first showing symptoms, Cardinal's condition deteriorated rapidly. He was admitted to the hospital on March 22, where he spent a total of 18 days. Some of those days he spent intubated in the ICU, coming in and out of a medically induced coma.
Cardinal is far from the first person to be exposed to COVID -19 in a workplace.
As variants of concern (VOC) spread throughout Saskatchewan, more and more outbreaks have been reported in workplaces. Nearly two-thirds of the active outbreak locations currently listed by the province are workplaces.
More than 40 workplace outbreaks have been posted in the last week-and-a-half alone. That shift toward the majority of outbreaks coming from workplaces instead of household transmission is a change that came with VOCS, said Dr. Cory Neudorf, professor of community health and epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan.
Households and workplaces are “opposite sides of the same coin” though, Neudorf said, because employees who contract COVID -19 at work then bring it home to their families.
Likewise, if someone comes into contact with the virus at home, they bring it with them to work.
That connection is only strengthened as more transmissible variants become increasingly common.
“Some of the things that we've tried up till now, and we've been successful in stemming the spread, aren't working anymore,” he said, noting VOCS can more easily take advantage of any lapse in protocols.
“There's just less margin for error with new variants because they spread easier.”
To combat the rising number of new cases, the provincial government announced on Monday private indoor gatherings are once again limited to immediate households only and worship services are capped at 30 people.
Neudorf said these new measures will undoubtedly bring about a drop in cases, but he doubts that drop will be significant enough for the province to get ahead of VOCS and buy it the time it needs to roll out vaccines to everyone.
While he does not want to see the economy hurt further by the pandemic, Neudorf said studies have shown regions that take more aggressive action for a short period of time suffer less economic damage than those that implement limited restrictions for longer.
“Should we be re-thinking what essential services are? What are the things that still need to be open?” he said.
The province's most recent vaccine delivery timeline has the shots available to everyone over the age of 18 by mid-may — a mere five weeks away.
But in the meantime, Opposition Leader Ryan Meili pushed the provincial government to expand its priority vaccine groups to all frontline workers to offer protection to workers like Cardinal who do not have the option of staying home.
“(In) five weeks, a lot of damage can be done. Doing things as wisely as possible and as effectively as possible is the goal,” Meili told reporters this week.
Cardinal, too, wants to see all front-line workers have priority access to vaccines. But until they can get their shot, he urges them to stay vigilant.
“Just be really careful and don't let your guard down. You're not invincible,” he said.