It was mid-December when some of Ontario’s top doctors publicly told reporters that COVID-19 is airborne.
For nearly two years public health officials in Canada have shied away from using that term to describe how the novel coronavirus is spread. Instead, the focus has been on preventing the spread of the virus via droplets.
Throughout 2021, numerous health agencies and practitioners have called on public health officials to acknowledge that COVID-19 is also spread by aerosols, which can remain in the air and travel a short distance in unventilated areas. One by one, provinces and local public health units began to publicly acknowledge that, in light of the highly transmissible Omicron variant, that aerosols are likely playing a part in how the disease spreads.
This fact led to Ontario’s Science Advisory Table advising people to ditch single layer cloth masks for higher-grade personal protective equipment.
In Life Unmasked’s first episode of 2022, the team speaks with two experts to find out what it actually means for a disease to be airborne.
Raymond Tellier, a medical microbiologist and associate professor at McGill University, joins the team to run through the science behind droplets versus aerosols while Colleen Derkatch, an associate professor of rhetoric at Ryerson University, discusses why officials may have been hesitant to use the term “airborne” earlier than necessary.
Life Unmasked airs first on the iHeart app every Tuesday morning before becoming available on other streaming platforms. If you have questions for the podcast team, or an idea for an episode, please email lifeunmasked@bellmedia.ca.
In the wake of a horrific mass shooting at an elementary school in Texas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has signalled that the Canadian government will be moving ahead on new gun-control measures 'in the coming weeks.' In previous Parliaments, the Liberals have made changes to Canada's gun laws, but in the 2021 federal election, Trudeau promised to go further.
Quebec says it is ready to vaccinate people who have come into close contact with monkeypox as soon as Friday.
Ray Liotta, the actor known for his roles in 'Field of Dreams' and the Martin Scorcese mob classic 'Goodfellas,' has died.
By now it's as predictable as the calls for thoughts and prayers: A mass shooting leaves many dead, and wild conspiracy theories and misinformation about the carnage soon follow. Within hours of Tuesday's school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, another rash began as internet users spread baseless claims about the man named as the gunman and his possible motives.
Families are sharing photos and stories of their loved ones, who lost their lives in a mass shooting in Texas that killed at least 19 children and two adults on Tuesday afternoon.
Mattel is honouring Laverne Cox with a Barbie doll in her likeness to celebrate the Emmy-winning actress and trans rights advocate’s 50th birthday.
Meta Platforms Inc's image-sharing platform Instagram was down for thousands of users on Thursday, according to outage-tracking website Downdetector.com.
'Aquaman' actor Amber Heard delivered the final testimony in the multimillion-dollar defamation battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp on Thursday, telling jurors she faces daily harassment and death threats since she accused the Hollywood star of abuse.
Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey has been charged with sex offenses including assaults on three men following an investigation by police in London, Britain's Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Thursday.
Quebec says it is ready to vaccinate people who have come into close contact with monkeypox as soon as Friday.
A minke whale carcass was spotted in the St. Lawrence River about 45 kilometres northeast of Montreal Thursday afternoon. Researchers believe it is one of the two whales spotted in Montreal earlier in May.
Montreal police were on-site at John-Rennie High School Thursday after threatening images were posted to social media, which may have featured a firearm, near the school.
An attempt to run across the 401 and a struggle with police has resulted in multiple charges for a London, Ont. man.
Multiple people are facing a slew of weapons charges Thursday after an investigation by the London police Guns and Gangs Section.
Multiple Toronto schools are in lockdown after a male was shot near an elementary school in Scarborough’s Port Union area on Thursday afternoon, first responders and an eyewitness said.
The driver of a tractor trailer is facing multiple charges after the vehicle struck a concrete barrier on the Conestoga Parkway in Kitchener.
Crews are working to clean up two Kitchener cemeteries that were hit hard Saturday during the storm.
A new suspension program at the Wellington Catholic District School Board pairs students with a youth worker who offers tailored supports to meet their specific needs.
Ontario Provincial Police have identified the two victims who drowned in the Montreal River on Tuesday morning after their boat capsized.
An impaired driver tried to cross the swing bridge in Little Current this week while it was closed for repairs, injuring one person who was working on the bridge.
Police in Elliot Lake are investigating after the driver of an e-bike was injured Wednesday afternoon.
Hydro Ottawa is hoping to energize hydro lines in the Merivale Road area today as the cleanup continues following last Saturday's devastating storm.
The public will hear from Ottawa's former police chief next week for the first time since he resigned at the height of the 'Freedom Convoy' occupation of downtown Ottawa.
A water main break has closed a section of George Street in the ByWard Market.
The Liberal candidate in Chatham-Kent-Leamington is withdrawing from the provincial election.
The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit is reporting two new deaths and 35 new high-risk COVID-19 cases over the past two days.
Across the province, carpenters and joiners are back on the job day as negotiators have reached a tentative agreement.
A transport truck driver faces charges after being stopped along Highway 400 south of Barrie following a concerned call to police.
Provincial police report laying more than 9,000 traffic charges during a six-day campaign.
A 16-year-old Barrie girl will appear in bail court Thursday, one day after police arrested her in connection with an alleged stabbing last month.
The inquiry into the 2020 mass shooting in Nova Scotia is hearing Thursday from a retired senior Mountie who has been granted special accommodations to ensure he is not re-traumatized by having to relive the tragic, 13-hour event.
Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting a decrease in new deaths, cases and hospitalizations in the province's weekly COVID-19 update.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada says its search mission has failed to locate an endangered North Atlantic right whale that was spotted last week entangled in some type of gear east of Gaspe, Que.
Fire officials and police are investigating the cause of a blaze in a mobile home park in southeast Calgary that resulted in the death of a senior.
A man who admitted to terrorism-related acts with the militant group Islamic State has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Ray Liotta, the actor known for his roles in 'Field of Dreams' and the Martin Scorcese mob classic 'Goodfellas,' has died.
A man told court Thursday he was ready to accept punishment after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of his three-year-old daughter.
Winnipeg police say a man driving an SUV tried to grab a child off the street, and are now searching for information to identify him.
One man was taken to the hospital on Thursday morning following a shooting on St. Mary’s Road.
Emergency crews are responding to an ammonia leak that was reported in an industrial park in Kamloops, B.C., Thursday morning.
Winners of awards that highlight the worst government spending of the year have been unveiled, and a British Columbia bureaucrat was among those called out.
The Pacific National Exhibition has announced its Summer Nights concert series lineup, which includes pop, rock, country and R&B performances.
A 31-year-old man is dead after he crashed his SUV on Thursday morning.
A 40-year-old-man who was airlifted to hospital after he was shot by an RCMP officer in central Alberta has been charged in the incident.
For the Calgary Flames to continue stoking the Battle of Alberta in the NHL playoffs, they need to take their game from good to great.
