CCBI Resources for COVID-19 Matters – October 23, 2020 | Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute – Affiliated with the University of St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto

Dear Friends of CCBI,

The medical director of care at a large Toronto hospital is urging a change in strategy in testing for COVID-19. He notes that sociodemographic data show that, apart from the deadly toll in long term care homes, ‘racialized and marginalized communities have been affected the most.’ He points out that online and phone-in appointment-based testing is difficult in areas where English or French are second languages, and some living in those areas do not find it easy to take time off work to go to an appointment, in some cases forgoing testing. Pop up test centres have been put in place, but he strongly recommends that efforts should be deployed to be of maximum efficiency in the areas at risk, making contact tracing more feasible. He suggests test labs should notify patients of results, instead of patients having to call the labs. Calls or texts should give instructions about what to do next when a test is positive, and how to do it. Recovery benefits need to be stronger to allow people in these brackets to quarantine as long as they should. Ideally, we should be able to learn from the first wave and optimize the ‘test, trace, isolate and support’ system. Good advice!

Outdated systems plague the possibility of rapid testing for COVID-19, at any rate in Ontario, according to an article in The Globe and Mail which recounts: “Delays getting testing results are preventing nursing homes from quickly identifying infected residents and staff, and controlling the spread of the virus, just as a growing number of facilities are declaring outbreaks. The number of long-term care homes with outbreaks in Ontario has quadrupled over the past month to 80, and 62 residents have died.” Dr. Tony Mazzulli, microbiologist-in-chief for University Health Network (UHN) and Sinai Health System is quoted as saying: “Labs across the province have been calling on the government to modernize Ontario’s public health laboratory system for 25 years, long before the pandemic began in March. The province needs updated information technology systems for both timely delivery of swabs to labs and quick production of results.”

Ontario’s Long-Term Care COVID-19 Commission opens its interim report to the Minister of Long-Term Care with these stark words: ‘ “Devastating, emotional”… “lonely, depressed”… “muzzled, trapped”… “broken-spirited, boredom”… “terror awakened”- Words used by LTC residents and Board Members, Ontario Association of Residents’ Councils, to describe their lived experiences during the first wave of COVID-19.’ The report says:

“As you know, the Commission was announced on July 29, 2020 with a mandate to investigate among other things, why COVID-19 had such a devastating impact on residents, their families and staff of long-term care homes in Ontario. The investigation will determine the adequacy of measures taken by the province and other parties to prevent, isolate and contain the spread, and provide recommendations on how to better protect the residents and staff in our LTC homes in the future. The work of our Commission differs from traditional commissions where inquiries and recommendations are made after the crisis has occurred. We are conducting our work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and as a second wave of infections is occurring in the province, including in long-term care homes.”

The interim report makes several recommendations which should prove difficult for the Ontario government to ignore, having set up the Commission. Read the report for a full list: the recommendations should be noted by every province, perhaps every country, where similar shortcomings exist.

Return to school has brought added anxiety to many parents once it became clear that testing is not rapid, but can take up to seven days for results, during which a student must stay home and self-isolate. This means the whole family often has doubts as to what they all should do during that period. School boards put lots of effort into setting up protocols in the schools, but virus spread in some schools has led to unease among many parents and teachers. To speed up the process, public-health authorities in cities such as Montreal and Toronto have started allowing school principals to send classes home for isolation when they have suspect cases. Alberta recently started notifying possible contacts in schools by e-mail. One medical officer of health adds: “It’s hard to get all the pieces right, but it’s important to get enough of them right and have them fit together…What underlies all of these things is having a school strategy that is transparent to parents so they understand how things are done, where to go for information. [Officials] must build trust in the process.”

Speaking of trust, if you’ve ever wondered about the pros and cons of the ‘herd immunity’ debate, this article from Nature spells them both out clearly in establishing what it claims in its title: “The False Promise of Herd Immunity for COVID-19.”

The “Supercomputer” short video below informs us about the effects of dry, indoor climates on virus spread. As fall disappears and winter approaches, it serves as a further reminder of why masking and distancing procedures will continue to make a difference.

Congratulations to teachers! It’s good to see some social and physical activities returning in schools. Most parents would love to see their children move away from screens of all kinds for a while, in exchange for exercising in the fresh air or engaging in other supervised social activities. In some fortunate areas, activities such as supervised hockey skills are being organized for kids (no games!) and I know of one Guide troop which is meeting weekly outside and for outside activities only, with plans to do so as long as possible! There are no doubt countless other plans being devised to help keep young people active and socially involved, which for those studying from home right now will be especially beneficial. This, of course, raises the question of how to provide similar activities in neighbourhoods with few outlets for such arrangements, but which are most in need of them.

The Vatican COVID Commission has posted a further interview with another of its expert members, Janet Ranganathan, who makes important points in her answers to this question : “Pope Francis asked the COVID 19 Commission to prepare the future instead of prepare for it. What should be the role of the Catholic Church as an institution in this endeavor?”

Reply: – “Pope Francis should join forces with other religious leaders to create a global to local movement that demands, votes for, and walks the talk on preparing a sustainable future. The Commission can provide the evidence, milestones, and signposts to underpin the movement. Time is of the essence. One concrete first step would be for Pope Francis to convene a summit with other religious leaders and to form a virtuous Circle of Sustainability that keeps expanding until it envelopes the entire planet.”

Mary, Health of the Sick, pray for us!

That women have greater leadership roles in the Church, we pray to the Lord!

(Pope Francis’ intention for the month of October): https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-10/pope-francis-prayer-intention-ocotber-women-leaders-church.html

Moira and Bambi

The Globe and Mail

How to beat the second wave: focus on high-risk communities