Shandro accuses federal health minister of 'playing politics' after letter expressing concern over Alberta’s end to health measures
Federal health minister Patty Hajdu is adding her name to the growing list of health officials around the world concerned with health measures, meant to curb the spread of COVID-19, coming to an end in Alberta on August 16th.
In a letter addressed to Alberta health minister Tyler Shandro, Hadju asked for more clarification to better understand the rationale behind the decision.
That prompted a reaction from Alberta health minister Tyler Shandro via social media Thursday where he defended Dr. Hinshaw and questioned Hadju's motivations for writing the letter.
In a series of tweets, Shandro said “Dr Hinshaw and her team’s sensible recommendations on moving to the next phase of COVID-19 adaptation are in line with the science”. He also criticized Hajdu for playing politics and failing to send a letter to Saskatchewan when both provinces have similar approaches to the COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID-19 TESTING SET TO END
In less than two weeks, most testing, tracing and isolating will end. Masks will also no longer be required on public transit and in schools.
Hajdu said she agrees with the Canadian Paediatric Society, calling the decision an “unnecessary and risky gamble” that could “worsen the spread of the virus and put children at risk."
Furthermore, she said the most recent modelling for Alberta shows “a potentially more serious resurgence in cases in the coming weeks and months fuelled by the highly transmissible Delta variant”.
Alberta announced around 400 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, the highest total since the start of June.
DOCTORS SOUND ALARMS
Doctors have been sounding the alarm over the province’s decision, wanting it repealed as Alberta enters a fourth wave.
“We are setting ourselves up for a very significant outbreak in September into October and none of this needs to happen,” said Dr. Noel Gibney, Co-chair on the Strategic COVID-19 Pandemic Committee.
Its members also wrote a letter to Premier Jason Kenney, calling for public health measures to stay in place until vaccines are available for children under 12, at least 85 per cent of the province has been fully vaccinated and when Health Canada declares the pandemic to be over.
TRAVELLERS MIXED ON LIFTING RESTRICTIONS
Cases continue to surge in Alberta, doubling in the last week, but travellers CTV News spoke to Thursday were mixed on the lifting of restrictions.
“I’ve had my second shot,” said Rusty Robinson.
“It’s time to start living. We can’t stretch this out much longer. It’s time to start living.”
Reuben Sweeney from Cold Lake also said he’s not concerned.
“I don’t have a whole lot of thoughts on that but to me I’m not worried about it," Sweeney said.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw already apologized in an op-ed for causing confusion but continues to defend the province’s decision.
“Again, as I said earlier, we know that case, identification, contact tracing, has only identified a small proportion of our overall cases,” she said.
“We're not eliminating COVID-19, we're not going to get rid of it. So how do we continue to respect it to mitigate the worst outcomes, and again, to make sure that people have access to vaccines and who know that this is our best path forward?”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks beat Oilers 5-4 in comeback to take Game 1
The Vancouver Canucks won the first game of their NHL playoffs series with the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 on Wednesday night coming back from a three-goal deficit.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.