Thread by @KwadCast

1/#COVID19 the path forward:
Last week @sdbaral @HeidiTworek @zchagla @kwadwo777 put together recommendations on how we get through this pandemic with the least collateral damage. We focused on:
Essential workers
Rapid testing
Schools
LTC
Communication
Vaccine hesitancy

2/ Essential workers:
-Invest in infection control and prevention (IPAC) in settings like plants, factories and warehouses.
-Use occupational health specialists in these settings to help navigate this.

3/ Essential workers cont.
-Introduce Paid Leave when there are outbreaks in LTC, hospitals, homeless shelters, and offer housing supports.
-Must have a plan for everyone we test (ie. provide an isolation site).
theglobeandmail.com/opinion/articl…

4/Rapid tests
-Introduce In Clinics:
-Identify people at the testing centers and link them directly with public health to avoid not being able to reach them if they have a positive test.
-Offer isolation centers if needed for the vulnerable or those in multigenerational homes.

5/Rt cont
Introduce in LTC:
-Implement rapid tests into every LTC facility.
- Identify positive cases at the door before someone enters the facility.
-Recruit volunteers from the community and add new hires into LTC so that everyone has a resolved test by the time they come in

6/ Introduce in Factories/Warehouses:
-Must tie in rapid tests in these settings with social supports to provide an incentive to take the test and to take time off if required through Paid Leave.

7/Integrate a simple assessment using the following questions: “Do you have a place in your household to isolate?” (ie. no) and “Do you live in a multigenerational household?” (ie. yes).
-Provide an isolation site (ie. a hotel)for the employee to wait before getting their results

8/SCHOOL REOPENINGS :
Childhood development is incredibly important, and closing all of our schools to solve all of our problems is an oversimplification.

9/we suggest:
-Use our public health resources to re-open schools and consider Rapid Testing to track transmission in schools.
-Put public health in charge: use public health resources to track schools effectively and look at what happens to community transmission.

10/Other provinces have managed a balanced approach, with schools remaining open despite hard lockdown measures (ie. BC, Manitoba).

*Areas in Europe have prioritized schools reopening and have performed much more testing (ie. random testing weekly in schools).

11/Communication:
- Connect public health officials with civil society by choosing 1 main communicator in Ontario. This person must be an excellent communicator that people can trust, and who speaks in a clear manner that people can understand.

12/
-Meet people where they’re at: use social media platforms (ie. Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter) for efficient and effective communication and use interactive materials (ie. graphics, videos).
-Use diverse languages and cultures in messaging.

13/
-Advocate for approaches that lower risk but allow us to be human.
*In the middle of a Canadian winter why aren’t we talking about ways to do things safely outside?

14/ADDRESSING VACCINE HESITANCY:
-Communication must be proactive. In countries where governments released good guidelines rapidly, less of the public bought into misinformation.
-Provide simple messaging.

15/
-Better explain the meta-narrative of science in an accessible way (ie. what are mRNA vaccines, clinical trials, address concerns about allergies).
-Avoid vilification and welcome questions.

16/ Here's the podcast episode where the summary came from.
podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/cov…

17/These principles apply to the new variants.
The main thing is to focus on the major sources of spread. This will allow for more focused/strategic interventions with less collateral damage.

18/ @anthonyfurey @CTV_AvisFavaro @grahamctv @MrLeslieRoberts @MarciaMacMillan @CTVNationalNews @CTVNews @MercedesGlobal @CBCOttawa @CBCNews @globalnews @globeandmail @Ginella_M @CBCAdrianH @CFRAOttawa @AlexpiersonAMP @picardonhealth

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