by: jason herring
the president of a group representing alberta doctors says the province is moving too quickly in nixing its remaining public-health protocols.
the frustrations come as alberta instructs its ems dispatchers not to ask callers about covid-19 symptoms in routine calls.
dr. paul boucher with the alberta medical association outlined his concerns over the province’s plans to end all covid-19 isolation and testing requirements in an open letter to members friday.
“the pace at which public health measures are ending is troubling,” boucher said.
“i do not disagree that moving from pandemic state to endemic state is the future but would strongly advocate for a less precipitous approach.”
it’s been less than a month since alberta did away with nearly all its restrictions on public life related to the pandemic, dropping its mask mandate and allowing gatherings of all sizes. since then, daily covid-19 case counts have risen sharply.
delaying the move away from remaining containment measures would give alberta time to evaluate the results of those changes, as well as the increased spread of the delta variant and the upcoming return to schools, boucher said.
“it would provide more safety for albertans, manageability for the health care system and ease public anxiety during this transition,” he said, adding a call for the province to release evidence for its decision-making.