Ottawa’s medical officer of health says she wants to see mask mandates remain in effect across Ontario even after the province moves out of Step 3 of its reopening plan.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Dr. Vera Etches said she has spoken with Ontario’s chief medical officer of health. Dr. Kieran Moore, about maintaining a province-wide mask mandate come fall.

“What I expect, going into the fall, is that (Ottawa) will continue to operate under provincial regulations and I’m speaking with our chief medical officer of health about continuing to include mask requirements for crowds,” she said.

“My recommendation would be to have a province-wide approach,” she added. “We’re all connected and travel is increasing as people have that protection (from vaccines). It’s one of those things that is under active conversation and consideration for the next step.”

On Thursday, Ontario hit one of its benchmarks for moving beyond Step 3, but Health Minister Christine Elliott said there is still work to be done. The earliest Ontario can move past Step 3 is Aug. 6.

Ottawa has a local mandatory mask bylaw that covers mask use in public places, but city staff say it will expire on Aug. 26, as local authorities have been following the provincial guidelines. The temporary mandatory mask bylaw was first enacted when there were no provincial regulations regarding mask use as a public health measure.

Etches says that although the Public Health Agency of Canada says small groups of fully vaccinated people do not require masks, they are still a helpful tool in larger groups or when the vaccination status of others is unknown.

“Often, we don’t know the vaccination status of others in the workplace or others in a crowd,” she said. “Masks, in particular, are a very useful tool to continue to keep transmission lower when you’re indoors and in crowded places.”

Aside from masks, however, Etches was unsure about what other restrictions she would want to see continue.

“I think this is part of what we need to monitor and assess: which of the measures are going to be the most effective and strike the right balance as we go into the fall,” she said. “I’m not part of the public health measures table, but I know they have been looking at the evidence and the international experience around what is worth maintaining and, clearly, masks stand out as one of the practices that is helpful.”

Etches said she is confident vaccine uptake combined with continued public health measures will help keep the worst effects of a possible fall resurgence in cases at bay. Moore has previously said he expects a rise in cases in the fall but Etches said she believes schools can remain open.

“Our way of handling exposure to COVID-19 in schools is changing because of vaccination. If you’re vaccinated, even if you’re exposed to somebody who is positive in the school environment, you won’t have to go home to isolate for two weeks,” she said. “I hope that can encourage people to head out this week, if you haven’t already had your first dose or haven’t had your second dose. You can walk in to any clinic.”

Etches said Ottawa Public Health is also piloting a project that would allow someone who develops symptoms at school to return home with a take-home COVID-19 test if accessing testing is a challenge.

A full back-to-school plan from the provincial government is expected to be announced next week.

 

Source: https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-s-top-doctor-wants-to-see-provincial-mask-mandates-remain-in-place-this-fall-1.5528192

Written by: Ted Raymond

The CDC advised Americans on Tuesday to wear masks in public indoor settings, even if fully immunized, just two months after recommending that vaccinated people can avoid donning masks indoors, and only weeks after four Canadian provinces relaxed their own rules around mask wearing.

The reversal by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was prompted by the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant and rising COVID-19 case numbers across the country.

British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and PEI stopped requiring masks in most indoor settings earlier this month in response to a surge in Canadian vaccination rates. Those provinces say they have no plans to tighten indoor mask mandates, despite the urging of health experts who say mask wearing will help curb the spread of the Delta variant. New Brunswick is set to remove its mask mandate on Friday.

Meanwhile, case numbers in Canada are rising. Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam said in a statement Tuesday that Canada saw a 36-per-cent increase in pandemic cases between July 20-26 compared with the previous week, while severe illness resulting from COVID-19 has continued to decline.

She said the Delta variant, which has infected vaccinated people on rare occasions, is one of the most prevalent strands in the country. The spread of Delta forced Israel to reimplement a mask mandate in late June, just 10 days after lifting it, when daily cases rose from zero to triple digits.

Dr. Tam encouraged people to continue wearing masks to help reduce the spread. Public Health Agency of Canada spokeswoman Tammy Jarbeau said in an e-mail that the agency does not expect that guidance to change any time soon.

However, Alberta Health spokeswoman Lisa Glover said in an e-mail that the province’s mask mandate will remain lifted for most public indoor settings, as it has been since July 1, but that the province will continue to monitor and adapt its approach as needed. Masking is now only compulsory for those who work or visit continuing-care facilities, hospitals and other acute-care facilities; and when using public transit or rideshares and taxis.

“While masking is currently required in certain settings, we encourage all Albertans to assess their individual situation and risk factors when making decisions about whether they wish to wear a mask in other locations,” Ms. Glover said in the e-mail.

B.C. Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry said Tuesday that although the province lifted its mask mandate, residents are still encouraged to wear masks to protect themselves and others.

“We are getting there, but we’re not yet at the place where we can let up these measures and our recommendations to everybody will continue to be wearing masks in indoor public spaces, particularly when they’re crowded spaces,” Dr. Henry said.

PEI Chief Public Health Officer Heather Morrison said that the province, which only has two active cases, plans to continue living mask-free. Dr. Morrison attributes PEI’s success to strong vaccination rates and testing of most who enter PEI’s boundaries.

“Masking is an additional layer of protection but not our first layer of protection,” Dr. Morrison said. “If we need to change things at any point, we will.”

Like PEI, Saskatchewan also plans to continue to do without masks, and to rely on vaccines to keep case numbers low.

“Vaccination continues to offer residents the best protection against COVID-19 and its variants, and the province continues to focus on increasing vaccination rates,” said Colleen Book, director of communications at the Saskatchewan Ministry of Health.

Guidelines around mask wearing have evolved since the start of the pandemic. After being deemed unnecessary for healthy individuals by some Canadian public-health officials in March, 2020, Dr. Tam soon recommended their use in light of new research.

Shannon Majowicz, an epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of Waterloo, said she expects provincial mask mandates to come back into place, given the virality of the Delta variant. She thinks it would be the right move.

“I’m not in a rush to see masking lifted because I do think it is one of the things that will let us have a lot more of activities possible,” she said. “Vaccines work best when they have less work to do, and masking is the way to do that.”

Dr. Majowicz said Canada’s high inoculation rate made it possible to consider removing mask mandates. According to recent data, almost 65 per cent of residents older than 12 were fully vaccinated.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday that Canada has enough doses to fully inoculate everybody eligible, a milestone hit two months ahead of schedule. Dr. Majowicz said, however, that it could take a vaccination percentage in the high nineties to really get rid of masks without fear of seeing more case surges.

For that to happen, she said, children 12 and under must receive their doses. That age group is still waiting for vaccines to become available. Until that happens, she calls it a no-brainer to continue wearing masks.

“Why wouldn’t you put a protective measure over your face? It’s a relatively easy measure we can take that really does make a substantial difference,” Dr. Majowicz said. “We are so close to near normalcy.”

 

Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-provinces-wont-tighten-indoor-mask-rules-despite-rising-covid-19-cases/

Written by: ALEX CYR AND CHANTELLE LEE

The American Academy of Pediatrics issued recommendations Monday for the 2021-22 school year that include everyone older than age 2 wearing masks, regardless of vaccination status.

The academy also “strongly recommends” in-person learning and urges all who are eligible be vaccinated to protect against COVID-19. AAP said it amplifies the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for building ventilation, testing, quarantining, cleaning and disinfection in the updated guidance.

Dr. Sonja O’Leary, chair of the AAP Council on School Health, said the pandemic has taken a “heartbreaking toll” on children.

“We need to prioritize getting children back into schools alongside their friends and their teachers — and we all play a role in making sure it happens safely,” O’Leary said.

The announcement comes as new coronavirus cases are rising across the nation. Infections rose in all 50 states on Sunday for the fourth day in a row on a rolling seven-day average, an ominous run not seen since the spring 2020 surge.

The weekly rolling average for cases in the United States has nearly tripled in the last month. The pace of deaths also is up sharply – 24.7% from its low point two weeks ago. It also comes as Canada is planning to reopen its borders to vaccinated Americans and guidance from both the CDC and State Department advising against traveling to the United Kingdom due to the growth of the contagious Delta variant.

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/07/19/covid-vaccine-variant-mask-restrictions-hospitalizations/8008947002/

Written by: John Bacon, Elinor Aspegren, Christal Hayes