Q & A: Dr. Catherine Donovan on staying safe as restrictions ease

On Tuesday, Newfoundland and Labrador lifted its mask mandate, and the reaction from both businesses and the public was decidedly mixed.

While some are excited to remove their face covering, others are concerned about the easing of public health restrictions. The delta variant of COVID-19 has led to a spike in cases across Canada, and some places in the United States are reimplementing mask mandates.

Dr. Catherine Donovan is a retired professor of public health and former medical officer with Eastern Health. She spoke with The St. John's Morning Show's Ramraajh Sharvendiran about how people can enjoy the loosened restrictions while keeping themselves safe during this new era of the pandemic.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

Q: What should we be thinking about when it comes to masks? 

A: Certainly the epidemiology in this province right at the moment does support the removal of a legal requirement for wearing a mask. But I do believe there are certainly circumstances where common sense would tell us that a mask is appropriate to wear, considering that we really don't know if and when we may have increasing cases.

The environments that I'd consider to be risky would be ones where there are likely to be crowded spaces where there are people that you don't know and where you wouldn't know what their immunization history would be; places like crowded shopping centres or entertainment events, those kinds of places. 

I would be particularly concerned too if you had somebody who was vulnerable at home. You may be fully immunized, but we do know that people who are fully immunized are capable of picking up the virus and passing it to other people. So if there's someone in your home that's not immunized or whose immune system is not healthy or if you have an elderly person in your home, I'd certainly be considering wearing a mask in indoor crowded spaces for sure. 

Q: As we see the easing of restrictions, should we be staying mindful about things like social distancing and the amount of people we're gathering with? 

A: As long as we have the cues, such as the circles and the arrows, we're inclined to follow them. But as those are removed, people are less mindful of distance. I've certainly noticed when I've been shopping that people aren't conscious of where they're standing and in relation to other people. That would be a circumstance, certainly, where masks would be appropriate to continue wearing. 

I still think that it's wise to consider where you're going and who you're spending your time with. Obviously, if you're spending time with people you know and you know their immunisation status, their travel history, then you certainly can be more comfortable going into people's homes. If you're going into environments where you don't know the people or their history, they may just have gotten off a plane; they may be somebody that has just one vaccine. There are still risks out there. You should be cautious. We don't need a legal mandate to be cautious. 

There are still risks out there. You should be cautious. We don't need a legal mandate to be cautious.- Dr. Catherine Donovan

Q: What information do we know about the impact of variants on children, especially because the under 12 demographic isn't vaccinated right now?

A: One thing we know about the delta variant is that it is more easily transmitted than other variants that we've seen. Because children are not immunized, we are certainly seeing more cases in children, and because we're seeing more cases, we're also seeing more children hospitalized. There isn't any evidence at this point that it is more severe than the other variants in children, but because more children are getting infected, we are certainly seeing more children hospitalized and more children with severe disease just because the numbers are higher. It's something we should be concerned about in children, but not overly concerned. 

Again, just be cautious; try to ensure that you know where your children are going, who they're playing with, and try to ensure that those who can be immunized in the environment where children are are immunized. 

Q: Do you have any sense of when that vaccine could be coming for the under-12 age group? 

A: Even if a vaccine is available in 2022, there's going to be a lot of countries looking for it, so I think we probably will be late getting the vaccine. We're going to have to be cautious with children for certainly the next little while and as they start going to school in the fall. 

Q: What are some of the considerations we should be making as people go back into the office? 

A: I think we still need to think about the environment that we're going in. If the work environment is crowded and their desks are close together, I still think it's advisable for workplaces to think about how they want people to work. 

Maybe it's time to think about working differently. Maybe we can have half of the office in for part of the week and the other half the rest of the week to try and maintain the distances. It may still be wise to be wearing masks. 

These are things that they should be thinking about regardless of COVID-19, but COVID-19 has given us the incentive to think about. There are other added benefits, both social and environmental, from reconsidering how workplaces operate. 

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador