Health care workers in Alberta to be screened before starting shifts

 By Thomas I. LIkness
EBC Edmonton Bureau

EDMONTON (Eagle News) — The western Canadian province of Alberta is taking no chances that workers infected with COVID-19 would come into contact with patients.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Monday steps are being taken to make sure everyone in hospitals, including staff and patients, are safe.

Starting this week, staff, doctors and contractors at clinical health care sites will be screened before starting their shifts.

They will be met at the entrance, given a temperature check and asked to complete a short questionnaire to assess health risk,” said Hinshaw. “Any employee deemed not fit to work will be asked to return home and told to self-isolate.”

This is necessary to keep our patients and health care workers safe,” she explained.

Hinshaw said Alberta Health Services is coming up with a process to help health care workers who had been self-isolating but have no symptoms return to work more quickly.

This will only be done in exceptional and limited circumstances where it is absolutely necessary for that front line care provider to work, and there are no other alternatives for coverage,” she said.

Hinshaw added this process will include more rigorous temperature checks, regular wearing of masks and other measures to ensure the spread of disease is under control.

Patient and staff safety will be the deciding factor in any (expedited return) approval,” Hinshaw added.

In the last 24 hours, 42 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Alberta. There are now 301 cases in Alberta, 11 of them believed to be caused by community transmission. So far, only one death from COVID-19 has been reported in the province.

Across Canada, there are 1, 432 cases.

(Eagle News Service)