{"id":14946,"date":"2020-06-12T15:03:08","date_gmt":"2020-06-12T22:03:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/?p=14946"},"modified":"2021-11-05T19:04:27","modified_gmt":"2021-11-05T19:04:27","slug":"as-your-community-re-opens-your-public-health-authorities-issue-reminders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/?p=14946","title":{"rendered":"As your community re-opens, your public health authorities issue reminders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It seems like such a long time ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In March 2020 as COVID-19 activity was\nbeginning to escalate in parts of Canada, governments put a wide variety of public\nhealth measures to prevent the spread of the outbreak. Only essential workers\nwent to their jobs. We learned to work from home. Doctors\u2019 clinics, schools and\nday cares, restaurants, gyms and hair salons closed. We adapted to enforced\nphysical distancing and limitations on travel. The measures used varied\nsomewhat across Canada owing to differences in the timing and intensity of\nCOVID-19 activity and jurisdictional considerations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now communities are re-opening and we are\nwondering what to do. Again, we are faced with making decisions without a\nplaybook. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-src=\"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Open-Sign-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15704 lazyload\"\/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Open-Sign-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15704 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Open-Sign-1024x768.png 1024w, https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Open-Sign-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Open-Sign-768x576.png 768w, https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Open-Sign-1536x1152.png 1536w, https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Open-Sign.png 1736w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Prolonged close contact is felt to be the source for most\nCOVID-19 infections, suggesting that physical distancing combined with emphasis\non hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette and environmental cleaning continue to\nbe the most effective mitigation approaches. Outbreaks have been attributed to\nlarge family gatherings, religious services, funerals, and choir practice, and\nhave also occurred in occupational settings including health care facilities\nand meat processing plants. Settings such as remote and isolated and First\nNations, Inuit and M\u00e9tis communities have additional risks and considerations\nand require tailored approaches based on geography, culture and living\ncircumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As we re-open our communities, our public\nhealth authorities are providing guidelines to help you navigate the new normal:\navoid contact, confinement and crowds. And make realistic choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Contact<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You need to\ncontinue to practice physical distancing to minimize close contact with others\nin the community, including maintaining a two-metre separation from others when\noutside of the household (i.e. from\nnon-household members) and avoiding common greetings, such as hugs and handshakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You also need to continue\nto practice other social distancing precautions. That means wearing\nmasks and washing hands well and often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Confinement<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Generally, our health authorities are recommending we\ncontinue to avoid non-essential travel. In particular, people at high risk for severe illness from COVID-19\nshould still stay home unless necessary. High risk people are older adults and\npatients with autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus or\nother serious underlying medical conditions (e.g., heart disease, high blood\npressure, lung disease, diabetes, cancer). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, you should be staying at home and away from\nothers if symptomatic\/feeling ill \u2013 e.g. not going to school\/work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Crowds<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As restrictions are lifted, some businesses and\nother public places will reopen and the size of gatherings that is allowed may\nbe increased in stages. However, individuals should continue to practice\nphysical distancing when they are outside the home and avoid crowded places. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Try to make sure that public spaces you\nfrequent are maintaining mitigation measures: spreading out tables at a\nrestaurant, limiting or spacing out patrons in shops and parks, and conducting\nfrequent cleaning and disinfection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Choices<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the saying goes these days, we are in this \u2013\ntogether. All of us \u2013 government, health care providers, employers and the\ngeneral public \u2013 must continue to make decisions that are science-based and\napply them to settings where the public\ngathers, like businesses, retail stores and workplaces, child and youth\nsettings, community gathering spaces or settings, outdoor spaces and public\ntransportation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every individual ultimately must make a\npersonal decision about the level of risk he or she is comfortable with,\nweighing their own age and health status, life circumstances and general level\nof risk aversion or tolerance. We are in this together. And that means young,\nhealthy adults and children should also consider the protection of people\naround them, including family members, colleagues or friends who are vulnerable\nbecause of chronic disease or other life circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Final\nSay<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the\nrestrictions that have been in place are lifted, even gradually, the risk of\nCOVID-19 transmission will increase. It is important to balance that risk\nagainst the individual, societal and economic benefits that are anticipated\nfrom re-opening. It is also necessary to reduce the risk of transmission in all\nsettings as much as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Go Deeper<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ACE\u2019s <strong>Arthritis At Home<\/strong>&nbsp;is the newest addition to&nbsp;JointHealth\u2122&nbsp;Education programming and makes it possible for people living with arthritis to watch or listen to video interviews with Canadian experts in clinical rheumatology, arthritis scientists, physio and occupational therapists, psychologists and health economists. To find episodes on what COVID-19 means to people living with arthritis, go to <a href=\"https:\/\/arthritisathome.jointhealth.org\/\">Arthritis at Home<\/a>.<br> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Where to get the latest COVID-19 information\nspecific to your province or territory.<\/strong><strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Public Health Agency of Canada provides a\nvaluable listing of provincial and territorial resources for COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/public-health\/services\/diseases\/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection\/symptoms\/provincial-territorial-resources-covid-19.html\">https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/public-health\/services\/diseases\/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection\/symptoms\/provincial-territorial-resources-covid-19.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As we re-open our communities, our public health authorities are providing guidelines to help you navigate the new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic: avoid contact, confinement and crowds. And make realistic choices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,6,9],"tags":[91,74,139,23,79,144,145],"class_list":["post-14946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-en","category-most-popular","category-news","category-whats-on-abn-en","tag-arthritisathome","tag-crushcovid19","tag-arthritis-at-home","tag-arthritis-consumer-experts","tag-covid-19","tag-economy","tag-social-distancing"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14946"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15804,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14946\/revisions\/15804"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arthritisbroadcastnetwork.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}