CCBI Resources for COVID-19 Matters – May 20, 2020
Dear Friends of CCBI, Many of us are delighted that some more restrictions are being…
CCBI Resources: School; Early Warning-Early Response; Improvements in Care for Older Adults
Dear Friends of CCBI,
The last day of July! Amazing!
Big news for parents in Ontario: full time school in the fall! Students in Grades 4 to 12 will wear non-medical masks, with “reasonable exceptions” in place, the government said. Children in kindergarten to Grade 3 will be encouraged to wear them, but not required. High school students in higher volume areas will attend every other day, compensating with remote learning. Parents will have the option to keep students home, but pursuing online education.
This is good news for some, but there are question marks. A senior educator in another article points out possible hazards in returning too quickly, saying: “Beyond the above, the calls to reopen schools for all students five days a week are on a collision course with reality. At full capacity, schools and classrooms are not physically big enough to accommodate the physical-distancing measures that are key to preventing the spread of the coronavirus. And the ambitious plans that are being proposed to expand school sites to empty community buildings will take time to implement safely.” If this opinion is correct about lack of space for physical distancing measures to be implemented, then the move to re-open does seem premature. Time will tell, but I wouldn’t want my children to be ‘tested’ in this way.
Last weekend’s news reported on the failure of the pandemic alerts system in Canada, and the facts seem to show an appalling lack of attention to warning signs that were raised as far back as December, but ignored or at least played down by senior officials. Such lack of alertness and concern at those levels resulted in many measures being taken much later than they should have been, and it is not surprising that media reported on July 30 that there will be an enquiry into this failure by Canada’s Auditor-General. The article concludes, (although by the time the article is over, the reader already intuits this sad fact): “Not to be overdramatic, but Canadians have died because of this.” Hardly ‘overly dramatic,’ when so many people were not just affected, but met their death! Heads should roll….
Following this and on a more forward-moving note, a report from the Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement and the Canadian Patient Safety Institute focuses on promising practices in long term care ‘in six key areas that have the potential to reduce the risk of future COVID-19 outbreaks or mitigate their effects: preparation; prevention; people in the workforce; pandemic response and surge capacity; planning for COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 care; and presence of family.’ It can only be hoped that these practices are implemented, or we will have learned nothing from the tragic and mostly avoidable deaths of so many elderly Canadians.
Our Lady, Health of the Sick, pray for us!
That families be loved, respected and guided, let us pray to the Lord! (Pope Francis’ intention for July)
Moira McQueen, LLB, MDiv, PhD
Executive Director, Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute
Lecturer, Faculty of Theology
University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto
The Globe and Mail _ About the Return to School
| Ontario students to return to school full time in the fall, with masks mandatory for older kids – The Globe and Mail Ontario becomes the first jurisdiction in Canada to mandate masks in the classroom, with students in Grades 4 to 12 expected to wear non-medical masks with ‘reasonable exceptions’ in place, the … www.theglobeandmail.com |
| Opinion: Calls to fully reopen schools in September are on a collision course with reality – The Globe and Mail David Hutchison is a project management professional and 3M National Teaching Fellow cross-appointed to Brock University’s Department of Educational Studies and the Centre for Digital Humanities … www.theglobeandmail.com |
Failure of Canada’s Early Warning System Affected Response to COVID-19
| ‘Without early warning you can’t have early response’: How Canada’s world-class pandemic alert system failed – The Globe and Mail Months before the COVID-19 outbreak, the federal government’s early warning system went silent, just as it was needed most. The change left Canada poorly prepared as the virus began to spread … www.theglobeandmail.com |
Canadian Foundation for Healthcare Improvement
Reimagining Care for Older Adults: Next Steps in COVID-19 Response in Long-Term Care and Retirement Homes