Letter to Premier Kenney about lack of Covid response - Sat Dec 5 2020

 Saturday December 5, 2020

Dear Honourable Jason Kenney, Premier of Alberta.

In your Facebook video chat as well as at the Covid-19 daily briefing which occurred last week, both yourself and Honourable Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health clarified that Dr Hinshaw, our Chief Medical Officer, provides her advice and recommendations on actions to flatten the curve of the Covid-19 virus so that it is more manageable to control moving forward. Then it’s up to you, Premier Kenney as well as your Cabinet members, who will make the final decision in actions to take in the way of restrictions. The CBC news article of the leaked audio tapings was disturbing to hear about. In these times of Albertans facing daily life and death situations, hearing you are bullying people and ignoring sound advice from the medical community and your other experts which you say are following their recommendations, was disappointing to hear. 

I understand we are all suffering from Covid fatigue and just want this to end. I know you want to just move on forward to improve our provincial economics, to create much needed jobs to bring our provincial unemployment rate lower and to continue to care for the health and well-being of all Alberta citizens. But you are the leader to our province; you need to lead us through this pandemic, no matter how long it lasts. It feels to me these few weeks, you have lifted your hands up in defeat and basically are telling Albertans, it’s all their fault, so it’s their responsibility to flatten the curve, not yours. That statement is only partially correct Premier Kenney. I agree with you 100%. We all need to take personal responsibility in our daily actions to limit the spread of the virus, but Premier Kenney you are responsible for providing the guidance and communication in how to follow the restrictions you set forth that are needed to control this virus. I agree with you when you say we can’t eradicate this virus, but we can begin living our lives with virus control. Just like we do with our annual flu season when we take the flu shot every fall. You are also responsible to follow through with the penalties if we break the mandatory restrictions you have set. So, it was good to see that organizers of the recent anti-mask protests were fined for having an outdoor gathering greater than 10 people. It was an example of their actions having consequences if restrictions are broken. No one will follow, if there are no consequences for their actions. 

The restrictions you put into place during the week of November 24 are; I believe are “too little, too late”. Your relaxed approach in fighting the second wave of Covid has been quite disappointing to say the least. I want to share my experience during this second wave of Covid-19. A few weeks after school started and people were going back to work in September, we started to see the rise of new Covid cases. Beginning in October, Dr. Hinshaw in her Covid briefings, expressed her concern about the rising number of cases. Before going into the Thanksgiving weekend, again Dr Hinshaw advised us to limit our social gatherings indoors for the long weekend. People obviously didn’t listen to her as we saw the results within 10 days of Thanksgiving with rising cases, rising hospitalizations and rising ICU admissions. I live at AgeCare-Skypointe on one of their long term care floors. On Sunday, October 11, we were notified before lunch we would be quarantined to our rooms for the next 14 days as one of our residents has tested positive; in addition I had been in contact with this person. We were given the Covid test swab, which showed other residents and staff were also positive with coronavirus. This impacted our staff levels for the next 2 months as staff had to be quarantined and/or isolated due to contract tracing and the facility had to find replacements for those missing healthcare workers. The facility’s staff went above and beyond in ensuring sufficient staff were onsite for each shift. One of my HCAs worked their shift 24 days in a row without a break; while others worked multiple 12 or 16 hour shifts in a row so the unit would not be short-staffed. As of December 4, myself and the other 350 residents in my facility had been quarantined in our 350 sq ft room for 51 days! We finally had our quarantine lifted on Wednesday December 2, though our facility outbreak protocols continue until the Medical Officers of Health deems it safe to lift those restrictions for my facility. We had 73 positive cases so far - 37 residents (7 of who died due to Covid complications) and 36 staff members. Throughout our 51 days our staff were in full PPE every time they entered my room (gown, face shield, gloves and mask. Before leaving my room, they stripped off their PPE and put in the garbage. Then repeat this routine every time they entered any residents room. Every week or if Covid symptoms surfaced, the residents were given a Covid swab test due to the long incubation period. Can you imagine the cost to AgeCare-Skypointe to purchase a sufficient amount of PPE and Covid swab tests for 350 residents? I am sure other community care facilities are facing the same situation. Many of the staff who tested positive were asymptomatic, showing no symptoms of the Covid-19 virus. Unfortunately, I can’t say I am surprised due to the out of control community spread in Calgary. Regarding this issue of out of control community spread, I am putting that on your plate Premier Kenney. You have been “passing the buck” onto the citizens of Alberta that it’s their personal responsibility not yours. That is false Premier Kenney - BOTH groups (you and Alberta citizens) are responsible to flatten the curve. 

Question - Premier Kenney why did you find the need to apologize because of putting in place a total shutdown in the Spring and therefore won’t even think of doing another total lockdown for Alberta to gain control of this virus because it violates a person’s charter rights and freedoms. Were you apologizing to your UCP supporters for doing the responsible action even though it saved the lives of Albertans? We didn’t know much about this virus in March. I feel you made the correct decision as we were able to determine the impact of this virus. No need to apologize to us. Thank you Premier Kenney for the actions you took in the Springtime. 

Now, Covid cases are rising which is putting our provincial healthcare system pass the point of breaking, you are doing nothing. Doctors and your medical experts have been going public with what they are facing in their local hospitals. There are high hospital capacity which means fewer beds for the patients who are sick with Covid or other health issues requiring admissions as well as canceling or postponing important surgeries. Hundreds of physicians have signed multiple letters to you asking for a total lockdown, similarly what we did in March, due to the strain on our healthcare system. Calgary hospitals recently have directed their ICUs to conserve oxygen resources due to limited supply in stock. Just so you know Premier Kenney, that is the same oxygen supplies needed to keep Albertans with Covid alive as well as other citizens with cardiorespiratory diseases . With your lack of leadership in dealing with our second wave of Covid cases, community spread continues impacting my daily quality of life as well as every citizen who lives in a community care facility in Alberta. For the residents in my facility, we have not had an in-person visit with a loved one for almost 2 months. Many residents do not have the technology to stay in touch with loved ones virtually. Operators of community care homes, are doing their best setting up virtual Zoom chats so residents can see their loved ones, put it is not the same. The lack of personal contact impacts the residents of these facilities mentally and emotionally which I can see by their physically appearance. Currently, there are 45 Community care facilities just in Calgary alone that are listed on your provincial outbreak list online. If your reasoning for doing weak restrictions is that you don’t want to put restrictions on people’s lives, and that it’s not your place to violate their charter rights and freedoms. Consider what about my rights and my freedoms. Don’t you care about the charter rights and freedoms of your Alberta citizens who live in community care facilities? With the out of control community spread and your inaction, it has only increased the risk of these facilities having an outbreak and people will inevitably die. Don’t our lives matter to you? I question it some times; that those lives in these facilities, their voices and their feelings do not matter. Guess what Premier Kenney - our voices and feelings do matter. I am writing this letter to you today for myself but also for my fellow residents of community care facilities in Alberta who do not have a voice to bring their concerns forward. I hope you start listening to these people as well as the rest of Alberta’s citizens as that was what you were elected and served to do. 

Premier Kenney, last week in the legislative assembly, both you and Minister Shandro told Provincial Opposition Leader Rachel Notley not to politicalize the Covid virus. Really? And you and the UCP government haven’t done the same? When I watched the videos of the Oral Question Period last couple of weeks, your UCP government kept telling Honourable Notley stop make the Covid virus political. All I saw was Minister Shandro and yourself not answering any of the questions she asked and Alberta citizens deserve to know the answers. Be transparent, like you say you do. Hear is a chance to prove it to me. One of the questions which she asked you both in the legislative assembly, “Where was Premier Kenney from Nov 12 to Nov 23, 2020?”. Yes, I know you were in isolation, but that doesn’t mean you should have been silent during your isolation or couldn’t communicate new restrictions which were needed to decrease the rising Covid-19 cases, the hospitalizations, ICU bed capacity and deaths of Albertans of ALL ages. To me your silence during your isolation, says so much and how irresponsible it is looking back. During your isolation period as well as afterwards, we have seen records being broken daily (not the good kind). The most alarming was hearing we had 20 deaths in one 24 hour period! The most since the pandemic started in March. We are beating Ontario and Quebec in basic Covid case counts and greatly surpassing them when we look at number cases per capita (per 100,000). Aren’t you embarrassed Premier Kenney? Now adding that you have one of the lowest approval rating in Canada for your Covid response, doesn’t that tell you, you need to do more for your citizens? Throughout this pandemic, Dr Hinshaw has given her Covid briefing from her office at home via video as she was in isolation; Minister Shandro couldn’t get to the briefing room so he made his announcement via video. The day after you made those weak mandatory restrictions, Saskatchewan Premier Moe, who had to be isolated, had called into his provincial briefing via video to speak to his citizens about Covid restrictions and response. So Premier Kenney, why couldn’t you use this technology to speak to your citizens earlier especially when our Covid situation was obviously getting out of control? On the day you went into isolation, you called into the Covid briefing. Why didn’t you do that the following week making more mandatory restrictions? Why did you wait until after your isolation period was over to implement stricter restrictions . Despite these weak mandatory restrictions, we continue to record breaking numbers, and you are expecting us to wait until December 15, 2020 after you have reviewed the stats to make stronger restrictions are needed. How many more Albertans will get sick, how many more will need hospitalizations or ICU beds. How many more Albertans will die due to Covid—related complications? Fine and dandy you are asking Ottawa for field hospitals, but pray tell where are you going to find physicians, specialists, nursing staff and healthcare workers to work these field hospitals as we barely have enough staff to work in our hospitals and community care facilities. Your actions have been irresponsible - you are putting all Albertan lives at risk. 

In closing, I was happy to hear you are looking forward in determining the most efficient way to distribute the Covid-19 vaccine when they become available in early 2021. Having a military personnel to lead this charge shows the continuity as the federal government is using the military in devising the vaccine rollout for Canada. Unfortunately you have put a date on when we are to receive our first batch of vaccines - January 4, 2021. Not the smartest move, being it contradicts what Ottawa is telling Canadians. I hope you didn’t do that, to increase the divide between Alberta and Ottawa. 

Sincerely yours, 

Laura Jean Rutherford 

Cc’d: 

Honourable Erin O’Toole, Federal leader of Conservatives Party of Canada, Leader of Oppositon

Honourable Rachel Notley, NDP Leader of Alberta, Provincial Leader of the Oppositon

Honourable Tyler Shandro, Alberta’s Minister of Health

Honourable Josephine Pon, Alberta Minister for Seniors and Housing 

Honourable Prasad Panda, Alberta Minister of infrastructure, MLA Calgary-Skyview

Dr. Deanna Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer 

Honourable David Shepherd, Alberta’s NDP Health Critic

Honourable Lori Sigurdson, Alberta’s NDP Senior and Housing Critic 

Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, Minister of Finance

Honourable Jagmeet Singh, Federal Leader of New Democratic Party

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Medical Officer 

Honourable Patty Harju, Federal Minister of Health 

Honourable Heather McPherson, MP NDP Edmonton - Strathcona

Honourable Don Davies, Federal NDP critic for Health

Honourable Michelle Rempel Garner, Federal CPC critic for Health

Honourable Travis Toews, Alberta’s Minister of Finance & President of Treasury Board

Honourable Jason Nixon, Minister of Environment and Parks, House Leader

Mr. Naheed Nenshi, Mayor of Calgary

Counsellor George Chahal, Ward 5  - Counsellor for City of Calgary 

Dr. Christine P. Molnar, MD, FRCPC, President, Alberta Medical Association  

Dr. Vishal Bhella, President, Alberta College of Family Physicians

Dr. Scott McLeod, Registrar, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta 

Ms. Shirley Schipper, President, College of Family Physicians of Canada 

Dr. Hasmukh Patel, CEO, Interim President & COO, AgeCare Corporate 

Dr. Kabir Jivraj, Managing Director, AgeCare Corporate 

Dr. Simon Dawes, Medical Director of AgeCare-Skypointe 

Mr. David Weyant, Chair for Alberta Health Services Board

Dr. Verna Yiu - President/CEO of AHS  

Dr. Sid Viner - Calgary Zone Chief Medical Director 

Dr. Nicholas Etches, Interim Calgary Zone Lead Medical Officer 

Dr. Peter Jamieson, Medical Director of Foothills Medical Centre 

Dr. Luc Berthiaume, Medical Director of Peter Lougheed Hospital Critical Care Team 

Ms. Janice  Harrington,  Alberta Health Advocates, Health Advocate