Image Credit: CFJC Today / Kent Simmonds

By Jill Sperling

COVID-19

What local experts now know about the transmission and prevention of COVID-19

Nov 9, 2020 | 5:07 PM

KAMLOOPS — COVID-19 is slowly becoming less of a mystery. Scientists and healthcare professionals are constantly gathering new information from the millions of cases of the virus reported globally.

Transmission has been of significant interest as the world races to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“Droplet transmission still remains the main root of transmission,” said Dr. Elizabeth Parfitt, a Kamloops physician who specializes in infectious diseases. “Contact might be a little bit less important but that doesn’t mean that we don’t have to still wash our hands and be careful, but I think the point is we’re much more likely to acquire this virus in the same space, breathing the same air as another person than we are touching the same stuff that they touched.”

It’s for this reason masks are considered a good defense against the virus.

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“There are very few reasons not to wear a mask,” Parfitt said. “But it’s not just about masks, right? If we have a large social bubble or we go to a setting where we can go to one of these super spreading events and we wear a mask, we haven’t prevented that chain of transmission. That’s why we talk about all those layers of protection. Masks are important, they are safe and more and more we’re seeing that they probably do work.”

Interior Health echoes Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s recommendations that people keep their social circles small during the pandemic.

“One of the most important things we can do to prevent the spread of COVID is keeping our social bubbles small,” said Medical Health Officer Dr. Carol Fenton. “Dr. Bonnie Henry recommends the ‘safe six.’ So, your own household plus only six people and those six people are not interchangeable.”

The entire province is seeing a surge of new cases of COVID-19. Kamloops recorded its first outbreak at the worksite for the RIH Patient Care tower last Friday and on Sunday, the McDonald’s at Walmart closed for cleaning after an employee tested positive.

According to Parfitt, transmission through food is not something to fear. “I think we feel a lot more confident saying this is not an important mode of transmission,” she said. “I don’t know if there’s a case report of one case or something like that but by far and away that is just a very improbable mode of transmission.”

Over the weekend, Dr. Henry announced a slate of new restrictions for the Lower Mainland regarding social gatherings, travel group indoor physical activities and workplace safety.

“The new restrictions are limited to the Lower Mainland, but we will definitely consider expanding those restrictions across the province if it’s necessary,” said Fenton. “It’s important to remember that this infection is preventable, so we need to adhere to the recommendations that we know prevents COVID.”