The number of COVID-19 infections among Canadian healthcare workers has tripled in the past six months.
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia sit at the highest infection rate of workers, according to new data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
In Canada, between mid-January 2020 until nearly the end of July, there were just over 21,000 cases reported among healthcare workers in the country. Between July 23, 2020, and Jan. 15, 2021, that number increased to nearly 66,000 healthcare workers.
CIHI says that of the infections, the numbers don’t show whether the virus was contracted at a hospital or healthcare facility or not.
Total number of COVID-19 cases in healthcare workers between Jan. 15, 2020, and July 23, 2020
Total number of COVID-19 cases in healthcare workers between Jan. 15, 2020, and Jan. 15, 2021
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 24 health care workers have died from COVID-19 — including 12 in the last six months in Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta.
According to a questionnaire by Statistics Canada, 81 per cent of Canadian participants said that they had received formal training on infection prevention and control (IPC) protocols for their job.
The survey also showed that 60 per cent of workers who required respirators like N95 masks for their jobs reported that they were always available when needed during the second wave.
Meanwhile, 57 per cent of people said they believed their employers put sufficient emphasis on staying home when sick and made supports available to do so.
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