Hajdu pens letter to Alberta, asks for science behind plan to lift COVID-19 rules

OTTAWA —
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu has sent a letter to her Alberta counterpart saying she shares concerns about the province’s plan to lift all of its COVID-19 health restrictions.

In the letter, addressed to Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro, Hajdu says she agrees with the Canadian Paediatric Society’s description of the move as an “unnecessary and risky gamble.”

She says recent modelling for Alberta forecasts a more serious resurgence in cases fuelled by the Delta variant, and all governments need to take reasonable steps to protect Canadians.

Hajdu says she wants to better understand the rationale and science behind Alberta’s decision.

Last week, the province ended contract tracing and said close contacts of people who test positive for COVID-19 are not required to isolate.

And starting Aug. 16, those infected will no longer need to quarantine.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2021.