'That’s a hell of a gamble to make with a generation's life': COVID-19 long-haulers warn against lifting Alberta restrictions

CALGARY -

With just days to go before Alberta lifts its remaining COVID-19 restrictions, so called long-haulers and those who treat them are speaking out in concern about the potentially devastating long-term impacts of the virus, especially for kids.

Sarah Bara and her two kids tested positive for COVID-19 in December and she has been living with the long-term effects ever since.

Bara is chronically fatigued, has been diagnosed with POTS (an unusual heart rate increase experienced when someone is in an upright position) and has post-exertion as well as malaise - all of which are among the many conditions experienced by long-haulers.

“It’s basically like a gas tank that never gets full,” she said. “I cannot manage to get through the basics in my day to day life without having the spare capacity for anything. I can’t clean and cook on the same day. There was a point in the spring where bringing a load of laundry upstairs caused me to be sick for three days.”

Beginning Aug. 16, people in Alberta who test positive for COVID-19 will not be mandated to quarantine anymore, though it is recommended.

Masks will also no longer be mandatory for public transit, rideshares and taxis.

LEAD TO A NEW WAVE?

Bara fears the changes combined with the highly contagious Delta variant and what federal health officials call a current fourth wave, will lead to a whole new wave of long-haulers in Alberta but especially among kids heading back to school in just a few weeks.

“I can’t imagine the impact that’s going to have on children because we truly don’t know yet and that’s a hell of gamble to make with a generation's lives,” she said.

While there are many studies into long-haulers underway around the world, the data still isn’t there.

That’s according to Jason Weatherald, a respirologist and assistant professor at the University of Calgary who runs a clinic treating patients with long-term effects from COVID-19 at the Peter Lougheed Center.

Weatherald said there is a huge spectrum of symptoms from more mild and inconvenient to debilitating including lung damage and neurological disorders.

“We’ve seen people in their 20s, 30s and 40s who have had their lives destroyed by this condition," he said.

Jason Weatherald, a respirologist and assistant professor at the University of Calgary who runs a clinic treating patients with long-term effects from COVID-19 at the Peter Lougheed Center says there is a huge spectrum of symptoms, from more mild and inconvenient to debilitating, including lung damage and neurological disorders.

"They can’t work, they can’t participate in their families, (or) in their social roles," he added. "It’s a big problem and one that I think has been largely overlooked and it’s going to continue to be a problem, as you know, as we allow COVID to run rampant in the community.”

Dr. Weatherald said roughly 10 per cent of people who’ve had COVID-19 have long-term symptoms and there is still a lot unknown, including if conditions improve, when and the long-term impacts of contracting the virus, including on kids.

“I think we have to ask ourselves whether any kids suffering with long COVID is acceptable,” he said. “I can’t give you a number but it’s certainly known that it does exist and it’s worth avoiding at all costs.”

Alberta Health Services responded to a question from CTV News about long-haulers Thursday with the following statement.

"The number of ‘Long COVID-19’patients is not currently being tracked," it said. "AHS is developing a process to track patients who present with post-COVID symptoms through its Post COVID Task Force Response Group, but because it is a collection of very different symptoms, the definition remains a challenge."

"AHS is also working with Alberta Health to send a survey to all Albertans who have had COVID-19 to help us understand the type and duration of symptoms that people are experiencing."

TOO SOON TO LIFT RESTRICTIONS

Dr. Weatherald thinks it’s too early to lift all COVID restrictions, given how little we know about long-haulers and because children under 12 don’t yet qualify for a vaccine.

“Until we have vaccines available to all of the population, I think it’s premature and we should do something to help protect the vulnerable people in our society including children. So, I think it’s premature until we have vaccines available for our kids.”

Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and the Premier have defended its decision to lift COVID-19 restrictions in Alberta saying it’s time to rely on the protection of vaccines and live with COVID-19.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw has said that testing every runny nose or sore throat is an extraordinary measure that is unsustainable during the fall and that isolation mandates were necessary before vaccines but unjustifiable after.