Almost half of participants in B.C. COVID-19 self-isolation study broke the rules
A B.C. study looking into self-isolation through the COVID-19 pandemic has found almost half the participants broke the rules.
The research was conducted by scientists with the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences (CHEOS), along with representatives from UBC, St. Paul’s Hospital, and Vancouver General Hospital.
The team surveyed symptomatic people discharged from the emergency departments at St. Paul’s, Lions Gate and Mount St. Joseph’s hospitals from May to June of 2020, to see how well they adhered to self-isolation instructions.
They found only 56 per cent of patients stuck to the rules.
The team’s senior investigator, Dr. Andrew Kestler, described the results as “fairly surprising,” given the type of people involved in the study.
“Most participants were middle class and about 20 per cent of them were health-care workers,” Kestler said.
The most common reasons for breaking the rules were people leaving their homes to get food, medication and fresh air. There were also challenges with isolating at home.
“A lot of people shared their homes with others,” Kestler said. “Two-thirds of people lived with other people and a lot of those places were small, so they had trouble in their own homes self-isolating from others. Most people don’t have a mansion with multiple wings where most people can have their own wing.”
The research team reached out to 342 patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 during the study period, but only 65 people met the criteria and completed the survey. Kestler admits it was a small group, but believes “it’s still good information” to apply to any future pandemics.
“The public health system needs to find ways to support people in self-isolation, or community organizations need do so, whether it’s food delivery, medication delivery,” he said.
OUTREACH WORK
One organization that conducted outreach work during the pandemic is United Way British Columbia. The group’s president and CEO Michael McKnight said more than 46,000 people signed up to volunteer.
“The community response was amazing,” McKnight said. “(People were) picking up food, picking up prescriptions or in some cases just checking on the well being of some people.”
McKnight said one challenge his organization found was being able to respond quickly enough to the fast-moving crisis, but he added the processes in place now helped with the wildfire response.
“We learned a lot and I think United Way would be ready to respond when the next kind of crisis comes along,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'He's in our hearts': Family and friends still seek answers one year after Nathan Wise’s disappearance
It’s been a year since Nathan Wise went missing and his family is no closer to finding out what happened to him.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Canada Post cracks down on Nunavut loophole to get free Amazon Prime shipping
Amazon's paid subscription service provides free delivery for online shopping across Canada except for remote locations, the company said in an email. While customers in Iqaluit qualify for the offer, all other communities in Nunavut are excluded.
Wildfire near Fort McMurray more than triples overnight, several evacuation alerts remain in place
The fire burning near Fort McMurray grew from 25 hectares to 5,500 hectares over the weekend.
Putin replaces Russian defence minister in rare cabinet shakeup
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin began a Cabinet shakeup on Sunday, proposing the replacement of Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as he begins his fifth term in office.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.
WATCH Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Edibles, armchairs and adapters: Here are the recalls for this week
Health Canada announced various product recalls this week, including electric adapters, armchairs, cannabis edibles and vehicle components.