PPE must guard against airborne transmission of COVID-19, nurses’ union demands – CBC

Ontario Nurses’ Association has applied for judicial review of current equipment standards

Apr 20, 2021

The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) is demanding better personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect its members from the aerosol and asymptomatic spread of COVID-19.

In an application for judicial review filed in February, the ONA said the province hasn’t done enough to protect health-care workers from COVID-19, singling out a directive from Ontario’s chief medical officer of health as inadequate.

At the time of the application, the ONA said nearly 19,000 health-care workers had been infected in the province.

“What we are asking for is the chief medical officer now to step up,” said ONA president Vicki McKenna.

Specifically, the union wants the province to explicitly acknowledge that the virus can be transmitted through the air, that asymptomatic transmission occurs and that nurses need the highest level of precaution available.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-ontario-nurses-union-court-case-1.5989081