sa国际传媒’s Health Ministry has announced that masks must once again be worn in health-care facilities and long-term care homes. The requirement is expected to last until spring, to combat rising respiratory ailments that are common in the winter season.
The current concerns are flu and RSV — respiratory syncytial virus — but COVID is still active, though at levels well below its peak.
More ominously, a 13-year-old Vancouver girl recently infected with avian flu required three months of hospital care, including significant time in intensive care. Although the girl has been discharged, this was clearly a serious illness.
So far, this virus has spread mainly among birds and farm animals. However, there are growing signs of humans becoming infected.
A total of 66 people in the U.S. have contracted the disease since the beginning of 2024, one of whom died. Almost all the cases occurred in people who work with dairy cattle or poultry.
And worldwide around 1,000 cases have been reported, with half of those infected overseas dying.
However, even if avian flu does not become a serious pandemic, it is only a matter of time before a new and dangerous virus arrives.
And as the COVID outbreak showed, the unintended consequences of fighting a pandemic are readily apparent: Declines in children’s academic achievement, heightened levels of anxiety and depression in adolescents, anger at governments for what are seen as freedom-limiting rules and declining trust in science.
The broad question is how can we be better prepared for the next outbreak, whenever it occurs.
How can we improve supply chains, integrate the work of scientists internationally so that we have cures faster and improve long-term care facilities so seniors are better protected?
The sa国际传媒 government’s 2022 report, The COVID-19 Lessons Learned Review, emphasizes that above all else, an adequate response requires the trust of the population.
As the authors say, “where there is a high level of uncertainty, where events are moving very rapidly, where the stakes in terms of individual health and welfare are extreme, and where the measures required to reduce the effects of the pandemic … limit what people and organizations are free to do, people will only be willing … to accept limitations imposed by government if they trust what government is asking of them.”
Regrettably, the political situation in sa国际传媒 and the United States is not conducive to building trust in governments.
Over the next few months, we will see federal and provincial leaders bringing out the big guns to criticize each other. We will see leaders in sa国际传媒 and the United States exchange vitriol about trade, borders, responsibilities and much more.
In thinking about their aspirations, it would be useful for these politicians to envision themselves as leader when the new pandemic emerges. How will they reassure the public that the government has looked ahead and prepared more sustainable approaches to the pandemic?
How will they regenerate trust in the workings of government so the public understands what is asked of them, and is willing to do what is needed?
Most important, how will they strike the right balance between fighting the pandemic, yet maintaining a healthy social life for the community?
In retrospect, some of the measures taken to combat the COVID outbreak went too far, like shuttering churches and denying relatives the right to visit dying loved ones in long-term care homes.
We need to hear from our public health officials that these lessons have been learned, and that next time, whenever that may be, a better balance will be found.
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