Rachel Aiello Ottawa News Bureau Online Producer
Published Wednesday, October 28, 2020
[Excerpt] OTTAWA — Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam is calling for “structural change” across health, social, and economic sectors in the wake of COVID-19, in a new report highlighting the successes and shortfalls in the country’s pandemic response to date.
“I do see COVID-19 as a catalyst for collaboration between health, social, and economic sectors, and I have observed at the federal level, but also from local levels, and provincial levels,” she told reporters during a press conference discussing the report.
Tam said that while there are examples of decisions taken that begin to address some of these shortcomings—such as increasing affordable housing availability and financial supports for low-income and precarious workers—these policies should be extended past the emergency phase of the pandemic.
“What I’m really, really keen to see is that this continues… The report is calling for this to be a more sustained approach,” she said. “Why can’t we have those governance structures beyond the crisis and into recovery?”
In the Public Health Agency’s annual report made public on Wednesday, Tam offers new insights and statistics related to Canada’s battle against the novel coronavirus over the last several months and the “serious threat” the virus continues to pose.
For example, in Canada:
- 80 per cent of COVID-19-related deaths have been residents of long-term care facilities;
- 19 per cent of national cases are among health-care workers; and
- 92 per cent of hospitalized COVID-19 patients had at least one underlying health condition.
The annual report is entitled “From Risk to Resilience: An Equity Approach to COVID-19,” and it gives an overview of COVID-19’s consequences so far, such as the disproportionate health impacts experienced by workers who provide essential services, racialized populations, people living with disabilities or mental illnesses, and women.
It also includes recommendations on how to improve the country’s pandemic preparedness, response, and recovery.
The report says the “structural change” should include improving employment conditions and conditions inside long-term care homes, increasing access to housing, as well as enhancing Canadians’ ability to access social and health services both in-person and online.
To read more, click on: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/canada-s-top-doctor-calls-for-structural-change-to-address-covid-19-inequities-1.5164415
