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Photo: The Canadian Press
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney makes an announcement at a press conference in Calgary on Tuesday, September 15, 2020. Prairies have become the epicenter of Canada’s second wave of COVID-19 with exponential growth in cases linked to pandemic fatigue and reluctance to impose stricter health measures in the fall, infectious disease experts say. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Todd Korol
The three Prairie provinces became the epicenter of the second wave of COVID-19 in Canada, surpassing Ontario and Quebec, the two most populous provinces initially most affected.
Some infectious disease experts say the exponential growth of cases in the prairies may be linked to pandemic fatigue and the reluctance of politicians to impose tougher health measures in the fall.
“Ten infections in Manitoba mean something completely different than 10 infections in Toronto or New York City,” said Dr. Kelly MacDonald, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Manitoba.
“Our rates didn’t seem like an issue for quite a long time when they probably were,” said MacDonald, who added there was “a complete lack of appreciation for the case per unit of population.”
Since the fall, the spread of COVID-19 has increased everywhere, but the number of daily cases in the prairies has coincided with areas with around double the population.
The three provinces have approximately 6.7 million residents combined and reported a total of 2,480 new cases on Thursday. Alberta alone reported 1,854 new infections.
Ontario, with a population of approximately 14.5 million, has reported 1,824 cases. Quebec, which has nearly two million more people than all three Prairie provinces, has had 1,470 new infections.
When the first wave of the pandemic hit Canada in the spring, Ontario and Quebec were particularly hard hit. Now, the per capita infection rate is highest in Alberta, followed by Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
On Wednesday, the Ontario minister of health spotted Alberta.
“You want to talk about who is in crisis. Did you take a look at Alberta, where patients are doubling in intensive care units? We are not doing this in Ontario,” Christine Elliot said.
A spokesperson for Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu said she spoke Wednesday evening with Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro about the increase in cases and offered federal resources.
It’s a major turning point since April when Premier Jason Kenney, standing in front of a wall of personal protective equipment, touted his province’s successful COVID-19 response and announced that Alberta was sending supplies to Quebec. Ontario and British Columbia.
Last week, Kenney announced tighter restrictions after mounting pressure from public health experts. The measures ban indoor social gatherings, and some students have returned home to learn online. Bars, restaurants and places of worship remain open.
Dr James Talbot, a professor of public health at the University of Alberta, said there is a reluctance on the part of the conservative US government to impose another blockade, even as contact tracing has become impossible with the increased infections.
“There are a number of things that interfere with our ability to keep everything under control,” said Talbot, who is also a former provincial chief health officer.
Fatigue from COVID-19 decreased along with colder weather that prevented people from meeting outdoors, he said.
“Another part is that we have inconsistent regulations,” Talbot said, indicating that bars and restaurants are open while people can’t have guests.
“When people think something is unfair or illogical, then they just make decisions not to follow the rules that are out there,” he said. “Until you regain their trust, the situation will continue to worsen.”
In Saskatchewan, team sports are suspended and home matches are limited to five people.
Manitoba was the first prairie province to impose stricter health measures two weeks ago, when it had the highest per capita infection rate in the country. Businesses cannot sell non-essential items, and house gatherings are prohibited.
MacDonald said these restrictions were introduced when case rates were expanding exponentially, so “you can level them off a bit, but you won’t lower the infection rate very quickly.”
Talbot suggested that it’s not too late to change the numbers and save as many lives as possible. But he added that the restrictions must remain in place until Canada rolls out a COVID-19 vaccine in the new year.
“This isn’t personal. It’s not about criticizing anyone,” he said.
“If we all do our part and if we are effective, the virus will let us know by infecting fewer people in two weeks.”
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