Doctor calls for increased COVID-19 measures in Alberta to avoid past mistakes
Premier Jason Kenney says he is supporting the federal government’s decision to ban all foreign nationals from entering Canada from several southern African countries but a prominent emergency room doctor says Alberta should take additional steps.
In a tweet, the premier says he agrees with the new restrictions and that Canada must not repeat the "mistake of its open border policy at the start of the pandemic."
Dr. Joe Vipond, a Calgary emergency room doctor, says that more needs to be done at a provincial level as the variant has already spread outside of South Africa. He's encouraging the provincial government to put its own travel restrictions in place.
"Certainly what was done in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and P.E.I. in the past, works," said Vipond.
During previous waves of the pandemic, travellers to Atlantic Canada were required to quarantine for two weeks and take rapid tests.
Vipond adds that he doesn't believe Alberta's government "has the stomach" to enforce interprovincial travel restrictions, but that they would help prevent the new variant from spreading into the province.
The announcement of the new variant comes as the province's COVID-19 case counts have started to rise.
Vipond says the restrictions that have been in place since mid-September have done a good job at preventing spread, but the return of colder weather has more people gathering indoors and case numbers are increasing week-over-week.
"That’s worrisome, because it means the policies that we have in place are not currently working," explained Vipond. "It’s not that the government is doing anything wrong, it’s just that we aren’t doing enough for the situation we’re in now."
Vipond says to get our current situation under control, more measures should be brought into place. He suggests making masks mandatory in schools at all times, and making rapid testing readily available to the general public.
"All those mitigation measures that work for old things, including ventilation and masks, have worked in the past and should work for the new variant. Until we know more about Omicron, we should continue to try and vaccinate as many people as possible, and increase public health measures to try and reduce virus spread."
Correction
The original headline of this story indicated that Dr. Joe Vipond had called for the introduction of travel restrictions between provinces. Dr. Vipond did not make such a claim and the headline has since been corrected.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Boeing is on the verge of launching astronauts aboard new capsule, the newest entry to space travel
It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.