Saturday marked three years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.
A day ahead of the anniversary, Friends of Medicare said this is a time for Alberta to commit to structural changes and meaningful supports as people continue to be impacted.
“Throughout the pandemic our government has consistently ignored or hidden the evidence and dragged their feet on actions that would keep Albertans safe and healthy,” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare.
“This year’s anniversary should be a time to commit to collecting good data and making structural changes that will keep Albertans safe over the long-term.”
More than 5,600 people have died of COVID-19 in Alberta.
The Office of the Auditor General recently released new reports looking at long-term care in Alberta, and evaluating the initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Friends of Medicare note these reports lay out how the province failed seniors in long-term care, especially during the early days of the pandemic.
“The Auditor General’s Reports highlighted the systemic issues we’ve been raising in seniors care in Alberta for many years,” said Gallaway.
“Issues like infrastructure challenges, chronic understaffing, and reliance on a precarious workforce without job security, benefits or paid sick days. Ultimately, it all comes back to Alberta’s approach to long-term care, which treats seniors as commodities, prioritizing profits over providing quality care.”
Gallaway said workers still don’t have paid sick days three years into a pandemic.
“It’s totally unacceptable. All workers need to know they have the option to be away from work when they are ill or need to care for sick children. This is good for workers, good for the workplace, good for their families and communities, and it’s long overdue,” he said.
An increasing number of Albertans are experiencing long COVID and post-COVID syndrome, Friends of Medicare said, adding that living with long COVID impacts people’s quality of life and many struggle to find the proper care or access the treatment and supports they need.
“Albertans have suffered for the past three years as a direct result of government inaction that allowed COVID to tear through their workplaces, schools, and care homes without the necessary public health protections to keep them safe,” said Gallaway.
“Now, too many Albertans are struggling with long COVID with no support. Our government has a responsibility to act to ensure that everyone in this province has access to the care they need.”
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