CALGARY -- A group of physicians organized a protest outside a Calgary homeless shelter Sunday in an effort to spread the message that the government needs to do more to protect their most vulnerable citizens from COVID-19.
"If the shelter system goes down, we all go down," said Dr. Christine Gibson.
The family physician was one of nine workers who left the Calgary Drop-In Centre for the small protest.
The crux of the group’s argument is that not enough is being done to protect those experiencing homelessness. The group says the provincial and federal response to the global pandemic hasn’t been supportive of the homeless population or those helping them — many of them volunteers.
"We’re very worried that these are the folks that will disproportionately be subject to getting very sick with COVID," physician Dr. Bonnie Larson said. "We have an opportunity right now to impact that curve very significantly."
The group wants more screening measures, better personal protections, and added emergency space. They said the shelters in our city are working overtime to help, but government action could be the only thing to make a dent in the problem.
If next steps don't work, they believe a military response could be necessary.
"We’re talking about hundreds of people sleeping closely together," Larson said. "To me, that is the impending tragedy.
"We could be doing something differently right now. We should be emptying the shelters, disinfecting the entire building, and screening people one by one as we let them back in."
"As soon as we get one case in the shelter system, that will multiply exponentially. It’ll be unlike anything we’ve seen so far," Gibson added.
'A ticking time bomb'
On Friday, Premier Jason Kenney announced some aid. The province is looking to book hotels for surge capacity and handing out added funding for shelters.
But dozens of front-line workers say that's not nearly enough.
An open letter signed by 35 physicians says the route we're heading down is leading to "one of the greatest threats to our hospitals' ability to manage this pandemic."
The letter says "the shelters represent a ticking time bomb."
Larson says her clients want to help slow the spread, but without more from the province and from Ottawa, it could be impossible.
"They want to do their part and they are trying as hard as they can," Larson said. "We could do so much more to help them."
At the provincial COVID-19 briefing on Saturday, Dr. Marcia Johnson, who was filling in for Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said they are monitoring that population closely, and so far they are not aware of any confirmed cases of the virus.
