Dr. Deena Hinshaw (Photo: Government of Alberta)

By Shaun Penner

"the implications are grim"

“It is COVID-19 that is the problem, not each other”: Hinshaw calls for collective action to halt COVID-19

Nov 18, 2020 | 6:29 PM

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health is calling on Albertans to come together to tackle a steep rise in COVID-19 cases in the province together, or Albertans will not be seeing the COVID-19 situation improve anytime soon.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw made the remarks during Wednesday’s COVID-19 update in Alberta, where she made the announcement of 11 more deaths linked to COVID-19 and another 732 new cases on Wednesday.

That brings the provincial death toll related to COVID-19 to 443 as of November 17. A total of 111 of those have come since November 1.

“We have lost Albertans to other causes in this time as well, and they are also mourned and missed. But the difference is that we did not have the collective power to prevent all of those other deaths. With COVID-19, we do have that power.”

“If we do not change our trajectory, the implications are grim.”

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She says if recent public measures, implemented last week, do not help stem the tide of COVID-19 in the province, further public health measures may be required.

“The real human costs of unemployment, bankrupt businesses and isolation are costs of social restrictions that we would all like to avoid,” said Hinshaw. “The real human costs of increased deaths, strains on the health-care system, exhausted health-care workers and care for things other than COVID are also costs that none of us want to pay.

“We are in a terrible situation, and it is COVID-19 that is the problem, not each other,” added Hinshaw. “Please, be kind to each other, and also remember that the only way forward is to work together, across differences, listening to each other and minimizing both sides of those human costs to the best of our ability.”

Those measures announced last Thursday include a ban on team sports and group fitness activities from November 13-27 in the province’s most COVID-affected municipalities, including the City of Grande Prairie.

Dr. Hinshaw expressed disappointment at reports of businesses and organizations, not necessarily in Grande Prairie, trying to find loopholes in those measures. She said she has heard of team sport practices continuing by moving to a neighbouring community’s rinks and group fitness classes being run by video instead of an instructor on-site.

She said these decisions put everyone at risk.

“The intent of these measures is to facilitate a two-week hard stop of all activity that can provide opportunity for large-scale COVID spread,” she said.

To those who have decided they will not comply because they believe the measures will last longer than two weeks, Hinshaw said we cannot create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

“Any individual, group or business that chooses to continue is putting at risk the time-limited nature of these restrictions,” she said. “These actions risk not just further restrictions on their own businesses and activities, but further restrictions for all those who are choosing to comply and going above and beyond as well.

“This is deadly serious. I have asked for kindness but I also ask for firmness. We need to control our spread and protect our health system.”

Hinshaw says that overall, as of November 15, about 40 per cent of cases in Alberta are linked to a household or social gathering or private event. Ten per cent are linked to continuing care, four per cent to child care or K-12 schools and three per cent to acute care outbreaks.

“But for 30 per cent, the source remains unknown,” Hinshaw said, adding that number is rising as the province faces challenges in timely contact tracing.

With 287 Albertans now in hospital, 157 of whom are in the Edmonton Zone, AHS has initiated surge capacity measures in Edmonton Zone and will do so in other areas as needed. Other measures being taken by AHS are to create hospital spaces for patients with COVID by reducing the spaces for those requiring non-COVID care.

As well, Hinshaw said hospital sites are increasing space by opening units not currently in operation and equipping and maximizing other spaces in a safe manner. She said that includes temporary ICU spaces in spaces that would otherwise be used to care for patients with other conditions requiring specialized care.