Renewed calls for masking in Alberta schools as viral illnesses surge, hospitals struggle
CBC
Alberta pediatricians are calling on the province to bring in temporary school mask mandates, as hospitals struggle to treat all of the province's sick kids.
A trio of viral illnesses — Influenza, RSV and COVID-19 — has driven a dramatic spike in ER visits and hospitalizations at both the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary and the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton.
Members of the pediatrics section of the Alberta Medical Association, which represents over 300 physicians, sent a letter to Alberta's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Mark Joffe, on Wednesday, calling for stronger public health protections to give overwhelmed hospitals a chance to recover.
The letter was also shared with Health Minister Jason Copping, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange and school board chairs.
"We don't feel like there has been any mitigation, any response to an increasingly overwhelming and concerning crisis," said Edmonton pediatrician Dr. Tehseen Ladha. "l absolutely think it's dangerous."
Ladha and her colleagues are calling for a number of measures, including a temporary mask requirement for students and teachers in schools.
"The huge concern is that if there's no action that's taken, that there will be children that fall through the cracks. ... Really what we're trying to do is prevent that," said Ladha.
Red Deer pediatrician Dr. Kyle McKenzie said the best hope now is to try and slow viral transmission rates.
"If we decrease the odds in enough people, we prevent enough infections over a short period of time, that might stop the hospital from being swamped," he said.
"So that if your child goes out and plays hockey and sustains a major facial injury there's going to actually be someone to be able to treat that."
The provincial government recently banned school boards from bringing in their own masking rules. But the chief medical officer of health can issue public health orders that would take precedence.
CBC News asked Alberta Health as well as the offices of both the health minister and education minister for a response but did not hear back before the time of publication.
National data (for the week ending Nov. 26) shows weekly pediatric hospitalizations are already higher than at the peak of a normal flu season. Children under five and seniors have the highest cumulative hospitalization rates so far this flu season.
Alberta is reporting some of the highest rates of flu activity in the country.
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