Wednesday, August 25, 2021

REPUBLICAN WANNABE PROVINCES
Alberta, Saskatchewan not planning to follow B.C. and Manitoba on broad mask mandates

EDMONTON — Alberta reported more than 1,000 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesdaybut, along with Saskatchewan, is not planning to follow broad mask mandates announced this week by neighbouring western provinces.

TYLER SHANDRO

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Health Minister Tyler Shandro have both said that vaccinations are the best, most effective way to get the province through the pandemic. Neither has addressed the surging numbers.

Both Alberta and Saskatchewan continue to urge residents who have not done so to get the two-dose protection.


Manitoba and British Columbia are reintroducing mask requirements in indoor public spaces to try to arrest a rise in case numbers.

Alberta reported 1,076 new cases Wednesday and had close to 8,500 active infections. Some 284 people were in hospital with COVID-19, 59 of them in intensive care. It's the highest daily case count since mid-May.

In Edmonton, Alberta Health spokesman Steve Buick said there is no plan to pursue a rule on face coverings. He added: "Our current mask rules remain in place, including mandatory masks in health-care settings and public transit."


In Saskatchewan, where there were 1,500 active cases and 108 people hospitalized, Health Minister Paul Merriman said provinces have the prerogative to choose what they want to do.

"But we feel right now that the vaccine is the best path through this," he told reporters in Regina.

"Public health measures are a stopgap," added Merriman, who stressed that the onus is on individuals to get vaccinated to protect themselves and to get the province through the pandemic.


Asked about mandatory vaccinations, he said: "You're infringing on people's personal rights if you're mandating things."

There is now a patchwork of masking and mandatory vaccination rules in both provinces for businesses, schools and events.

In Edmonton, fans over age 12 attending Oilers hockey games this fall will have to show proof of vaccination while, at this point, those attending Elks football games do not.

The Alberta Medical Association this week openly urged the province to institute mandatory vaccinations for health-care workers. Dr. Paul Boucher, the association's president, said that while he understands the issue is polarizing, vaccination "remains our most effective tool to keep our vulnerable patients safe."

David Shepherd, health critic for Alberta's NDP Opposition, said not following the lead of B.C. and Manitoba is yet another example of failed leadership from a United Conservative government that is seeking to off-load controversial or unpopular decisions.

"This government is devolving the responsibility to make important public health decisions onto school boards, onto businesses, onto individuals and, indeed, causing them to have to deal with the tension, the blowback, (and) the issues that come with having to enforce this," said Shepherd.

The rule changes in other provinces come as they address a rise in COVID cases, tied mainly to the more transmissible Delta variant.

Along with requiring masks again, including in schools, Manitoba is mandating vaccinations for front-line provincial employees who work with vulnerable populations. Workers affected included doctors, nurses, teachers and prison guards. Manitoba is still seeing a low number of new cases, but Premier Brian Pallister said precautions must be taken to prevent a spike.

B.C.'s mask rule extends to malls, grocery stores and public transit, as well as to students in Grade 4 and higher.

Also on Wednesday, the Northwest Territories, which is experiencing it's worst outbreak of the pandemic, reinstated its mask mandate.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 25, 2021.

Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press


ALBERTA WITH 3 MIL POP HAD 1000 COVID CASES  
New Australian virus cases soar over 1,000 for first time

Issued on: 26/08/2021 -
More than half of Australia's 25 million people are stuck in lockdown as a fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak continues to surge 
DAVID GRAY AFP

Sydney (AFP)

Australia on Thursday reported more than 1,000 new local coronavirus cases for the first time during the pandemic, as a Delta variant outbreak surged in Sydney.

New South Wales state, which includes the country's most populous city Sydney, announced a record 1,029 cases of Covid-19 for the previous 24 hours.

An outbreak that began in the city in mid-June has reached over 15,000 cases and spread to smaller towns and cities, prompting the return of lockdowns and travel restrictions across Australia's populated southeast.

Despite the soaring figures and growing pressure on hospitals, state premier Gladys Berejiklian announced a modest easing of restrictions for vaccinated people from mid-September.

Up to five fully vaccinated people will be allowed to gather outdoors in non-hotspot areas after New South Wales hit a target of six million jabs in a population of about eight million.

"That was the option that met the mental health and wellbeing of our community but also provided the lowest risk setting," Berejiklian said.

She said the health system was able to cope with the added strain after capacity was boosted, pledging that "everybody who needs help will get that help".

It came as authorities extended stay-at-home orders for the rest of New South Wales to September 10, as concerns grew over rising cases in regional areas that deputy premier John Barilaro described as "a tinderbox ready to explode".

Meanwhile, Victoria state -- which is grappling with a smaller outbreak that emerged in Melbourne -- announced a further 80 new cases Thursday.

More than half of Australia's 25 million people are stuck in lockdown, including in Sydney where residents have been under stay-at-home orders for more than two months.

Australia's sluggish vaccine rollout has picked up in recent weeks as more supplies reached the country, with almost one-third of adults now fully vaccinated.

The nation has recorded almost 48,000 cases and nearly 1,000 deaths during the pandemic to date.

© 2021 AFP

BUT NOT IN ALBERTA 
Return of mask mandates the right move amid COVID-19 4th wave: experts


Experts are in agreement that bringing back mask mandates is the right move amid rising COVID-19 cases and a return to school this fall.

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz Grade one students wear masks as they attend class at Honore Mercier elementary school, Tuesday, March 9, 2021 in Montreal.

B.C. and Manitoba announced Tuesday that masks will again be mandatory for indoor spaces.

B.C. had only removed the policy two months ago but it will return on Wednesday, August 25, while Manitoba lifted the rules at the beginning of August and did not specify when the order will come into place.

Read more: B.C. brings back mandatory masks in public indoor spaces for entire province

Meanwhile, Quebec on Tuesday as well ordered mandatory masks at elementary and high schools in nine regions, including Montreal, after previously saying in June that masks wouldn't be necessary in classrooms.

The onslaught of returning public health policies comes as the provinces are seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases during the early stages of a fourth wave of the virus.

"It makes sense," said infectious diseases specialist at University Health Network and the University of Toronto Alon Vaisman, referring to the return of masks.

Vaisman said that other places, such as Texas, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee, that removed their mask mandates initially did well but eventually the virus caught up to them with an increase in severe cases of COVID-19 and deaths.

Video: Concern for back-to-school as COVID-19 case count rises in Ontario

"In Canada, it's not likely to be as severe as in Texas, because our vaccination rates are much higher. But even a small slice of even a portion of what they're experiencing would still be significant for us," he said.

"It makes sense to pull back on things when you can, but right now, there would definitely be benefits from having mask mandates in indoor settings."

Zaisman said there is a general consensus that masking does reduce transmission of the virus.

"There is no doubt that it is helpful," he said.

"It's one of the least invasive things you can do to try to prevent transmission."

Read more: COVID-19: Manitoba brings back mask mandate, requires vaccination for some government employees

Despite Canada having one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, it is still unclear whether the vaccines are effective in limiting transmission of the Delta variant, according to University of Toronto Biomedical Engineering Assistant Professor Omar Khan.

"If we were just dealing with Alpha and Beta, we would have been fine. But with Delta, that's where you have to look at the tools we have now," he said.

"Those tools are masks and distancing."

While being vaccinated should prevent severe illness and hospitalization, transmissions are still important to prevent to avoid further mutations of the virus and spreading COVID-19 to the unvaccinated, such as children under 12, according to Khan.

"We're still in the middle of this, let's be honest, it never ended," he said, referring as well to high global cases of the virus.

"We're always at risk of what will be evolving out there."

Video: Quebec children heading back to school to wear masks

Both Khan and Zaisman predict a rise in cases in the fall as the school year begins, making masks important in classrooms so youth are not carriers of the disease to others — an especially high risk for those not vaccinated.

"Children can become the reservoir for various viral infections that can spread to adults," Zaisman said. "If you can do whatever you can on the children, then you'll go a long way to protecting society as well."

While there have been some studies that suggest masks negatively impact children's socialization, Zaisman ultimately thinks the benefits outweigh the risks.

"If you can protect them with masking, if you can avoid a wave, then you should do whatever you can short of closing schools to protect them."

— with files from Richard Zussman, Shane Gibson and Kalina Laframboise

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