Sask.'s reporting on COVID-19 recoveries is deceptive, says long-hauler

Aj Thakker can't smell, can't taste, can't concentrate. The Lumsden, Sask., man says he has a new symptom of COVID-19 every day. 

And as he goes through his list of symptoms (joint pain, blurry vision, confusion), it would be hard for one to tell he's gotten the good news that he's "recovered."

Thakker, who tested positive for COVID-19 in early January, was told he could leave quarantine 10 days after testing positive. Despite still having symptoms, and never getting a negative test result, he was once again free to go to public places. 

"They didn't recommend it," Thakker said of getting another test. 

How recoveries are reported

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said a negative test is no longer a requirement for a person to be labelled "recovered." 

"In Saskatchewan, you are publicly reported as recovered 10 days after a positive test result." 

This is a change from previous criteria, which was receiving a negative test result with no symptoms for 48 hours or completing 14 days of self-isolation. 

On Jan. 26, the government quietly changed how it reported recoveries. 

This new method is in line with other provinces and came into effect after Health Canada found people are not likely contagious 10 days after being infected. 

Kyle Anderson, a University of Saskatchewan biomedical professor, says the 10-day system is a valid one because it becomes easier to maintain, plus it puts less strain on public health because less resources are used to follow up on infected people.

Being labelled as recovered when sick 

But for people like Thakker, who are having ongoing health concerns due to COVID-19, the word "recovered" can be a troubling term to come to grips with. 

Thakker is calling on the government to report recoveries more transparently and to clarify that a recovery does not mean people are symptom-free. 

"Recovering is when people can say 'I'm back to my life again, and back to work, and back to functioning.'"

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Thakker is not sure when his life will return to normal as a functioning member of society. 

"I feel like I've aged a whole bunch of years in a really short window. 2021, it's been a tough one," Thakker said. His symptoms persist a month after being diagnosed.

"I've lost a bunch of weight. I can't do stuff I'd normally do. And that's OK, that's reality now. You wait, you wait and you wait. And you try to reassure the people in your life [who] are concerned."

More transparency around recoveries 

Though Anderson supports the protocol, he feels the lack of communication to the public is "deceptive and dishonest." 

"Especially when we're not telling the public we've switched the methods. That's really sort of problematic because it could be perceived as being a way to make our numbers look better than they actually are."

Anderson is calling on the government to clearly label what recoveries and active cases mean in Saskatchewan. This is something Thakker also thinks is necessary.

"There are ramifications we're not seeing," Thakker said. "I think people take it lightly when they say 20 people got sick today and 50 people recovered. And you think, 'That's not actually how it works.' A good portion won't recover for months."

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