Some have jitters about lifting mask mandate; APH doctor says too early to tell if cases will spike

As the province of Ontario continues to lift COVID-19 restrictions - most recently the lifting of the mask mandate in most settings as of March 21 - not all are comfortable with abandoning their masks yet.

“It’s one that I think is a bit uncomfortable for a lot of people because we haven’t gone without masking,” said Dr. John Tuinema, Algoma Public Health acting medical officer of health, speaking to the APH board at its virtual meeting held Wednesday.

Tuinema was responding to a question from board member Deborah Graystone as to how APH will manage COVID as the masks come off.

“We’ve increased capacity within businesses and that type of thing, brought it back down when needed, but masking has been a constant so I certainly understand that it’s uncomfortable for many. I know for myself that I’m most comfortable wearing masks in most situations and will continue for the time being,” Tuinema said. 

“We’ll have to see what the effect is. So far with each of the provincial measures coming off what we’ve noticed is that basically since January there's been a very slow decline in the high risk cases that we’ve seen and there hasn’t been a large spike yet from any of the measures that have come off.”

“It’s very early to tell. We’re only a few days into it but it looks like that’s the case. Most importantly if hospitalizations and deaths stay at that very low level that they are then I think we’re fine to stay the course.”

“The tools are there” if cases spike, Tuinema said.

“Most excitingly, recently, treatments for mild COVID have been developed that help significantly reduce the number of patients who end up in the hospital.”

COVID-19 treatments and therapies include Sotrovimab.

Authorized by Health Canada July 30, 2021, it is a one time intravenous (IV) therapy.

“Patients tend to feel better very quickly and avoid more serious disease,” Tuinema said.

There is also Paxlovid.

Authorized by Health Canada Jan. 17, 2022, it is an oral antiviral treatment.

“It’s a combination of pills taken by mouth for five days for people who are at higher risk and early studies show that it might reduce hospitalizations by up to 90 per cent. That’s very encouraging,” Tuinema said.

There are some drawbacks.

There isn’t a great quantity of the drugs available in Algoma, but Tuinema said that’s improving every week.

With Sotrovimab, a patient has to travel to and from a dedicated medical facility to receive it.

“Also Paxlovid has a lot of drug interactions and sometimes it even requires a consultation with a pharmacist in order to make sure it’s right for particular patients,” Tuinema said.

“Currently we’re in a much better place but we still need to stay vigilant…we still need to be vigilant when you have symptoms and not come to work or visit others when you're sick in order to help prevent the spread.” 

In a review of APH’s management of the pandemic, the APH board of health saw that from Jan. 27, 2021 to March 17, 2022, 258,339 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered across Algoma.

84 per cent of the eligible population five years of age and over have received two doses while 61 per cent 18 and over have received three doses.

During the ‘booster dose blitz’ from Dec. 13, 2021 to Feb. 2, 2022, APH’s health partners administered over 47,000 doses.

Board member Louise Caicco Tett, on behalf of the Algoma Vaccination Council, told the board “we are slowing down because the clinics are slowing down. Our next meeting is on Friday and I predict if it’s not our last, the next one will be our last.”  

There is now a focus on high risk settings when it comes to COVID management, Tuinema said, adding that APH is bringing its employees back to the office to work on core public health areas after working from home.

“There’s a lot of excitement around that. I think people are really looking to get back to their previous passions and making Algoma a healthier place for everyone.”