– Dr. Deena Hinshaw
It’s now almost three months since the COVID-19 lockdown in Alberta and so far we seem to have pulled through with nothing more than a fair amount of inconvenience and minimal deaths.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw and her team are to be commended for their astute management of this pandemic. Dr. Hinshaw has handled this pandemic with confidence, keeping Albertans up to date on a regular basis with a calm yet authoritative tone. Some might say she has been overly cautious, but the results speak for themselves.
I have been monitoring the daily results, and at the time of writing the Alberta statistics are commendable in comparison to Canada, the U.S. and the world. Where the world stats continue to show a steady increase in active cases with 46 per cent active cases versus total cases, Alberta is showing a remarkable decline in active cases and a mere five per cent active vs. total cases. The U.S. is only registering a minor reduction in total cases and an alarming 57 per cent active vs. total. Canada is somewhat better with only 37 per cent active vs. total, but the number of active cases remains steady. No doubt, the accelerated testing of Albertans has been key to our extraordinary results.
It is also interesting to note that hospitalizations and ICU cases are 20 to 25 per cent of what the modelling projected at the end of April.
So, what have we learned from this pandemic? I believe it is safe to say the strong direction from Dr. Hinshaw and her effective messaging has been convincing, and Albertans have taken the necessary steps advocated by her. Albertans, by and large, respect authority and have shown they are prepared to accept self-isolation and social distancing despite the inconvenience.
It is clear we have a major problem in long-term care facilities that will require a detailed analysis and corrective action. This is not unique to Alberta, although our long-term care crisis is not nearly as acute as that in Ontario and Québec.
Hopefully, on another topic, it has made us all aware how rapidly times can change and the need to be prepared. A reasonable supply of food and other essentials is one lesson we all need to adopt as well as the importance of an emergency fund to tide us over in the event of loss of employment or other income sources. We have been fortunate that local merchants have stepped in to provide delivery services and that government has provided financial relief.
On a broader scale, we have seen some difficulties with supply of necessary items like personal protective equipment from other countries, so on a national basis we need to become more self-reliant and either ensure we have sufficient stocks of necessary supplies or be able to produce them ourselves on short notice. It is unreasonable to assume we can obtain these items from other countries that are facing the same challenges we are.
Now is also a good time for us to move forward and support local businesses, ensuring their continued viability. All front-line workers have stood by and performed with excellence, given the trying working conditions.
We don’t know if there will be a second wave, but hopefully we will be more prepared individually, locally and nationally if it should happen.
Ken Allred is a former St. Albert alderman and MLA.
