A former president and CEO of Alberta Health Services is criticizing how Alberta has approached the COVID-19 pandemic, saying what is good for health is what is good for the economy.
Dr. Stephen Duckett, who ran AHS from 2009 to 2010, is the health program director for the Grattan Institute in Melbourne, Australia.
He was one of the authors of a report called Go for zero, which argues bringing case numbers down to zero will save lives and allow the economy to recover more quickly.
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The state of Victoria, where Melbourne is located, imposed a strict lockdown for 110 days as a way to eliminate the virus; during that time, Duckett said he worked from home, was only allowed outside for one hour a day for exercise and shopping centres were closed.
“It was tough. It was not an easy thing to happen,” he said.
But Duckett said it worked, stating while there are still some density restrictions and logs are required at restaurants, life is essentially close to normal.
READ MORE: Australia COVID-19 hotspot goes 28 days infection-free after long lockdown
On Tuesday, the province of Alberta introduced its strictest measures yet, which will close entertainment facilities, shut down indoor dining at restaurant and bars and close personal and wellness services as of midnight on Sunday. A province-wide mask mandate and a ban on outdoor gatherings took effective immediately.
READ MORE: Alberta’s new COVID-19 measures ban in-person dining, outdoor gatherings; retail to remain open
However, retail stores will be allowed to stay open, with a 15 per cent capacity limit, which is down from the 25 per cent capacity limit imposed in late November.
“We’re not chasing zero,” Premier Jason Kenney said on Tuesday.
“What we are seeking to do is to maintain the capacity of the healthcare system and at the same time, minimize the damage to our broader society of restrictions. That continues to be our balanced goal.”
In an interview before the new restrictions were announced, Duckett said the evidence is clear that tough restrictions are effective.
“He hasn’t looked at the evidence,” Duckett said.
“The right thing for the economy and the right thing for health is exactly the same thing. Those countries which controlled mortality also had the best economic outcomes and again, it’s logical — dead people don’t go out shopping.
“The economy wants live people out there doing things and unless you actually manage this pandemic, that’s not what’s going to happen.”
Kenney rejected criticism he waited too long to bring in tighter COVID-19 measures, labelling such talk as “Alberta bashing.”
The comment came in a radio interview Wednesday with radio station 630 CHED. Kenney lauded Alberta’s pandemic response in the spring, including when Edmonton hosted the National Hockey League playoffs in an isolation “bubble.”
That prompted host Shaye Ganam to interject: “Premier Kenney, with all due respect, you’re talking about things that happened several months ago, and we’re in a drastically different situation now.
“Things are far, far worse when you talk about our record in terms of pandemic response. It’s among the worst, especially in Canada.”
Kenney countered: “I don’t accept the Alberta bashing that is going on here.”
The premier said Alberta’s high COVID-19 case counts don’t reflect the number of people who are sick. He said comparable jurisdictions are facing similar rates and the key metric is death rates.
“The truth is Alberta’s fatality rate of COVID cases, which is the most important statistic, is … significantly below that of Ontario, of Quebec, of Manitoba and only slightly ahead of British Columbia,” Kenney said.
Duckett said Victoria was successful in controlling spread because it followed the science.
Duckett said there are three strategies to manage the virus: eliminating the virus, suppressing the virus so the health care system can cope or neither of those two options.
He said Alberta sits somewhere between the second and third option.
–with files from the Canadian Press
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