Some doctors in the province are concerned that certain actions from the province are sending conflicting messages to residents, which may be contributing to COVID-19 fatigue and failure to follow public health measures.
For weeks, Albertans have been urged to follow public health guidance, such as physical distancing and frequent handwashing.
But, at the same time, hockey players will be coming to Edmonton in droves for NHL playoffs, students are going back to school in the fall and gathering limits have increased.
All this is happening as cases rise in the province — there have been more than 100 new cases in Alberta almost every day since last Thursday. There are concerns public health is being sacrificed to reopen the economy.
Dr. Hakique Virani, a public health professor at the University of Alberta, said there’s inconsistency in the public health messaging.
“Do this, this and this to protect yourself and each other but in the meantime, we’re going to do this, this and this, which is pretty obviously a risk we’re undertaking because we’re really not that serious about containing COVID. And that inconsistency, I think, is being responded to in ways normal people will respond to them,” he said.
On Tuesday, Premier Jason Kenney used some blunt messaging surrounding the jump in cases in the province.
“If you think you can socialize with large groups of people in close quarters, knock it off. If you’re young and healthy, remember you can still carry and transmit the virus that ends up killing someone who is old or vulnerable,” Kenney said.
Chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw also stressed her concern Thursday over the recent surge.
“This needs to be a wake-up call,” Hinshaw said. “I am very concerned by these numbers.”
When it comes to the arrival of the NHL players and staff, Hinshaw said they have had many conversations with the league, as well as the Oilers Entertainment Group, to ensure the public’s health and safety is protected.
“The key metrics are going to be making sure that that guidance is followed, that we have the ability to ensure that there’s the monitoring, that those who are coming in are staying within that bubble zone – which is a key part of the success of this particular event,” Hinshaw said Thursday.
“Ultimately, I believe that this can be a very safe event and a way of making sure that we’re utilizing the infrastructure that we have in Edmonton. But the primary goal is, of course, to keep the public’s health safe and protected, and I believe that we will be able to do that.”
However, the province is not mandating the use of masks in public places or, at this point, in schools; that debate has been downloaded to the municipal level and cities have had to introduce their own bylaws.
Calgary city council decided to make masks mandatory in public indoor spaces and vehicles effective Aug. 1. Edmonton city council, meanwhile, decided Thursday to require masks in city-operated facilities and public transit.
READ MORE: COVID-19: Edmonton to make masks mandatory in city-operated facilities, on public transit
“There’s been a lot of talk about, people are fatiguing of public health messaging, of public health measures. I don’t think it’s just that. I think we’re being very inconsistent about ‘take this seriously in this way’ but we’re not going to take it seriously in this way,” Virani said.
Dr. Kirsten Fiest, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Calgary, said the recent jump in cases is discouraging.
“Every individual put in the effort and time early on when we were in the earliest phases of COVID – being at home, not really having much contact with people – and it’s really disheartening for a lot of people to see those gains lost,” she said.
Fiest said it would be ideal if there the messaging was consistent.
“One of the downsides to inconsistent messaging is that people don’t know what to do so therefore they do what’s easiest or what’s modeled by other people,” she said.
“If other people are saying, we’re bringing all these people to our city, if they’re allowed to come and they’re allowed to travel then why can’t I? I don’t see many public officials wearing a mask in public – why should I have to wear a mask in public?”
Virani said Albertans should think long-term about their actions if they want to get the situation under control.
“If we do this right and go all in for the coming three, four months then we don’t have to be dealing with this in six, seven months in ways that are more severe and more restrictive,” he said.
“If COVID does not go away, if we’re not yet at the halfway point, then I think the impacts on our lives will be far more significant than we’ve already seen.”
Hinshaw was asked Thursday whether a new approach is required to the province’s public health messaging. She said they are looking at where there may be more challenges with people following public health guidance and what options there are to remind businesses and other operators to follow health measures.
She said, ultimately, that all Albertans are collectively responsible.
“Really, is it up to all of us to follow that guidance and that is the only way we are going to be able to get our numbers down.”
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