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CCBI Resources: Safety in pandemics; First Nations’ health; mental health factors – October 16, 2020
Dear Friends of CCBI,
An article from the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) on safety during the pandemic and afterwards reiterates most of the points already raised in our bulletins and elsewhere, but lists them with the intention of showing needed changes, as indicated in its provocative title: Reimagining safety in a pandemic: the imperative to dismantle structural oppression in Canada. It says: “Accepting state-defined pandemic safety measures that do not consider multiple real threats to safety can insidiously lead us to accept systems of patriarchal, racist and economic oppression, exacerbating socioeconomic inequities in Canada.”
According to an article in The Globe and Mail (also claimed in earlier reports), there were warnings given to government about serious gaps in the monitoring of viruses at Canada’s main public health agency leading up to the pandemic. Heads should roll, given the numbers of Canadians who have died or incurred serious illness because of the initial spread of COVID-19 caused by the agency’s delayed action. The Prime minister blames the previous government, which clearly seems to have been at fault, but the current government did nothing to change the situation. More heads should roll, and at higher levels! Cutting budgets (false economy, as it happens)and allowing Ottawa-appointed bureaucrats to head up such agencies, instead of qualified experts in public health, make no sense and show the need for systemic change in the way such appointments are made.
There are further concerns about the number of cases in several indigenous communities across the country, and Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Arlen Dumas speaks out about his concern for his communities, saying:
“Community members need to take a boat to get to the nearest airport. Those who have tested positive and are considered vulnerable are being flown to Winnipeg, because there’s no quick access to care if their health declines further. Come winter, the airport will only be accessible by ice road.” A doctor working in these communities is quoted as saying, “…more than 50 per cent of people in hospital with COVID-19 in Manitoba are First Nations. And they make up one-third of those in intensive care. It means First Nations people have 10 times the rate of hospitalizations, compared to the rest of Manitoba.” This is explained as being partly due to previous underlying causes, and once again the cultural and socio-economic factors exposed in dealing with COVID-19 come to the fore: major, ongoing problem that beg to be remedied.
Chief Dumas makes a point relevant to our whole society. He acknowledged that at the beginning of the pandemic, when leaders imposed travel restrictions and lockdowns, matters were held at bay and it looked as though the curve was flattened. But that initial success “allowed for a bit of apathy to creep in.” Too true in so many places, and a reckless disregard by some people for their own and other people’s safety has only contributed to and prolonged the effects of the virus, hence, presumably, the climbing numbers of cases. There is also the possibility that the virus will mutate, but I think we’ve raised enough concerns for one day! Not that there aren’t more, including, according to another article below, serious effects on mental health because of social isolation, job loss, anxieties over finances and countless other reasons for despondency.
Thank heavens we can look to our faith to help sustain us during these strange times! We know that the supporters of CCBI believe in the power of prayer, as well as being willing to continue to make necessary sacrifices for the common good during the pandemic. In the video and Q and A (below) from the new Vatican COVID-19 Commission, Msgr Robert Vitillo tells us:
The most successful man who ever walked this earth was our Emmanuel, God-with-us, Jesus Christ who laid down His life for His friends and thereby saved us from the evils of sin and death forevermore. We must avail ourselves of His love and mercy, in addition to the scientific evidence that we continue to acquire, in order to develop together the best strategies and action against COVID-19 and many more public health and other emergencies.
Agreed!
Our Lady, Health of the Sick, pray for us!
We pray that by the virtue of baptism, the laity, especially women, may participate more in areas of responsibility in the Church! (Pope Francis’ intention for the month of October.)
Moira and Bambi
Moira McQueen, LLB, MDiv, PhD
Executive Director, Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute
Lecturer, Faculty of Theology
University of St. Michael’s College in the University of Toronto
Canadian Medical Association Journal
https://www.cmaj.ca/content/192/41/E1218
| Coronavirus Update: Ottawa was warned of Public Health Agency’s resource shortfalls years ago, experts sayOct. 13: Europe hesitant to declare a second wave while deaths remain stable; Unrelenting stress of COVID-19 has pushed some Canadian couples to counselling and divorce www.theglobeandmail.com |
The Globe and Mail
| Trudeau blames cuts under Harper for Public Health Agency’s illsPrime Minister Justin Trudeau said structural changes and funding cuts implemented by the Conservatives prior to 2015 hindered the Public Health Agency’s ability to confront the COVID-19 pandemic www.theglobeandmail.com |
The Globe and Mail
| Manitoba chief concerned about increasing number of COVID-19 cases in First Nations communitiesThe First Nations population in Manitoba was largely spared of infections during the first wave of COVID-19, as leaders imposed travel restrictions and lockdowns. But Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Arlen Dumas said the initial success ‘allowed for a bit of apathy to creep in’ www.theglobeandmail.com |
Journal of the American Medical Association
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/12/health/mental-health-second-wave-coronavirus-wellness/index.html
| A ‘second wave’ of mental health devastation due to Covid-19 is imminent, experts sayThere is mounting evidence accumulating that the pandemic could lead to rising rates of mental health and substance use disorders, according to a Monday article in the medical journal JAMA. edition.cnn.com |
Vatican News