Calls grow for Alberta to recognize aerosol transmission of COVID-19
Alberta’s healthcare system still believes it is "not clear" what role aerosol transmission plays in the spread of the COVID-19 virus for distances greater than two metres.
Alberta Health says aerosol transmission is not a predominant mode of transmission except for health care settings, when performing aerosol generating medical procedures (AGMPs) and during specific circumstances in community settings.
That is information the province has relied on since November 2020.
However, the World Health Organization said in July – and the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said in November – that COVID-19 can be transmitted through small airborne droplets.
One Calgary doctor believes the province is falling behind and not changing its mitigation measures with time.
"We have this difficulty acknowledging that in our scientific community. I don’t understand it," said emergency room physician Joe Vipond.
"I feel that if we could successfully acknowledge that and put in airborne mitigation measures, we would be way further ahead not only in our hospitals – that are continuing to suffer under outbreak after outbreak – but also with the public and other workers in non-healthcare fields.”
Vipond says the personal protective equipment Albertans is just not adequate enough when recognizing aerosol transmission. He believes the common surgical mask does not work as well as an N95 respirator, something he believes all Albertans should have.
"We are putting people with symptoms in special places and with special equipment and yet your healthcare colleague or a patient with a shoulder dislocation could just as easily be infected with COVID and you don’t know it,” he said.
The Dandy Brewing Company says it does not want to see another shutdown and would accept any help from the province if airborne transmission is acknowledged.
"There’s a light at the end of the tunnel for a lot of us in this industry, so anything we can do to prepare and protect to stay open and keep everyone safe, that’s top of mind for us," said co-owner Ben Leon.
Alberta Health says the predominant mode of transmission of COVID-19 is via large respiratory droplets during close unprotected contact.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
DEVELOPING Live updates from the Trump hush money trial: Stormy Daniels, bookkeeper testify
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
Man accused of killing two children at Quebec daycare to stand trial in April 2025
The man accused of murdering two children and injuring six others after a city bus crashed into a Montreal-area daycare is scheduled to stand trial over five weeks beginning in April 2025.