Group of BC Doctors Calls on Province to Focus on COVID-19 Aerosol Transmission

Infectious disease physician and medical microbiologist Dr. Victor Leung says the province and public health have taken too long to modify mandates to limit the spread of the virus.

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VANCOUVER – A group of doctors in British Columbia is calling on the province to reevaluate its approach to fighting COVID-19.

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The group, called Protect our Province BC, is made up of a variety of doctors and medical researchers, and on Wednesday it held a panel discussion highlighting how the virus spreads through aerosol transmission.

Infectious disease physician and medical microbiologist Dr. Victor Leung says the province and public health have taken too long to modify mandates to limit the spread of the virus.

He says the province should focus on improving airflow in buildings and continue strong mask mandates.

Health Minister Adrian Dix says the province has made an “enormous” amount of information about the virus available to the public, while he defended provincial health official Dr. Bonnie Henry’s approach to the virus. pandemic.

He says Henry is a world leader in pandemic management and she has always been committed to learning and adapting the province’s COVID-19 response.

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“I encourage people to participate in the debate, ours is a science-led strategy,” said Dix. “We keep adapting, listening and learning and doing better.”

BC reported 696 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, bringing the number of active cases to 4,888.

Six more people have died, bringing the death toll to 2,092.

Leung says that many of the province’s guidelines focus on combating a virus that is transmitted by droplets and contact, but those mandates do not address the primary mode of transmission of COVID-19: aerosols.

“This is too widespread a virus,” he says. “Not everyone will affect 10 people, one person can infect 80 people, while another can infect no one.”

He said knowing how the virus spreads and transmits will also help in future pandemics.