More COVID-19 press briefings coming to B.C. but they won't feature Dr. Bonnie Henry
A group calling themselves non-partisan health professionals are holding their first briefing on B.C.'s COVID-19 response this week, citing a lack of transparency and a "worrisome lack of science-informed pandemic response" from officials in the province.
Protect Our Province BC says its members include scientists, infectious disease experts, policy analysts and community organizers. The organization wants to see the number of COVID-19 cases in British Columbia drastically reduced.
Dr. Karina Zeidler, co-founder of the group and a family physician, says there's a growing disconnect between what the scientific community is learning about COVID-19 and the messaging coming from the province, particularly when it comes to how big a role aerosol transmission plays in the virus' spread. One of the key issues the group hopes to tackle is how to keep the virus at bay and dramatically decrease how much of it is circulating in the community.
"If the B.C. government is saying that the main mode of transmission is droplets and we're putting forward that the main mode of transmission is aerosol, then that's, you know, a criticism ... of the government," she explained to CTV News in an interview.
Zeidler said aerosol transmission means people inhaling smaller droplets that go farther and hang out in the air much longer than larger droplets.
Protect our Province BC says the government should implement several measures to try and reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, including effective ventilation and air purification, expanded use of high-quality masks, easy-to-access rapid testing, improved contact tracing, and better exposure notifications.
At the B.C. legislature, asked how the new briefings might impact how the public views the ones with himself and Dr. Bonnie Henry, Health Minister Adrian Dix said he wasn't worried.
"Dr. Henry is a renowned international expert on her subject matter, she’s an extraordinary public health officer," Dix told reporters.
"There’s a robust debate here in Canada and everywhere on these issues, and Dr Henry, I can tell you, listens to everyone, so she takes all of the evidence presented to her very seriously. We have an outstanding team, it’s why she has led pandemic response, not just on this continent, but on other continents."
The briefings will be modelled on ones being held in Alberta. Outspoken health professionals in that province are largely credited with helping pressure the government to implement enhanced COVID-19 measures that have started bringing down the number of cases.
Asked how the group would ensure the accuracy of its statements given it doesn't have access to the same information as government, Zeidler said the goal isn't to replace the B.C. Centre for Disease Control or public health experts, but to question whether more can be done and if the right measures are in place.
"I think that in every healthy democracy that holding our government to account is an important thing."
The format of the briefings will include commentary on case numbers, assessment of where the pandemic is headed, and will feature experts from a variety of fields to share their experiences and strategies to reduce transmission. Members of the media and public will also be able to ask questions. At this point, the goal is to hold them weekly with past episodes uploaded to the website protectbc.ca.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.