Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw. (Government of Alberta)

By David Opinko

Dr. Hinshaw on COVID shame: “We need to fight shame with compassion”

Aug 20, 2020 | 3:52 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Government of Alberta has released Thursday’s report on COVID-19, detailing the numbers over the past 24 hours.

103 cases were confirmed across the province, bringing the total to 12,604. Of those, 1,084 cases are active while 11,292 people have recovered.

This includes just three additional infections in the South Health Zone, all of which were in the County of Warner.

Active infections in the region fell from 33 to 31.

43 patients in Alberta are currently hospitalized and 12 have been admitted to intensive care units.

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855,968 tests have been completed among 690,643 different Albertans.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw opened today’s press conference by talking about shame.

She claims that many of the province’s contact tracers have said several people who have tested positive for COVID-19 or show symptoms appear to be shameful about their condition.

“This worries me. Shame is an emotion that drives people to hide or to cover up what they are ashamed of. it can be triggered by anger and judgment from others, or by an individual’s own beliefs about what happened.”

Dr. Hinshaw believes much of this comes from people not wanting to be part of the problem or the reason that a larger outbreak might have started.

“The more COVID drives shame, the harder it will be to prevent as people will be less willing to be forthcoming about their symptoms, less willing to be tested, and less willing to be honest with contact tracers about their activities.”

The chief medical officer of health admitted that even she sometimes forgets to use hand sanitizer or practice proper health protocols, so she is urging people not to shame others. Instead, a simple reminder given in a friendly manner will do the trick.

The regional breakdown for COVID-19 in Alberta is a follows:

• Calgary zone – 6,988 cases, 294 active
  • 117 deaths
  • 285,173 tests
• Edmonton zone – 2,551 cases, 622 active
  • 56 deaths
  • 226,870 tests
• South zone – 1,720 cases, 31 active
  • 23 deaths
  • 49,454 tests
• North zone – 751 cases, 100 active
  • 25 deaths (one new)
  • 58,612 tests
• Central zone – 565 cases, 33 active
  • Seven deaths
  • 57,959 tests

The breakdown for the South Health Zone by community is as follows:

• Brooks – 1,127 cases, four active, nine deaths
• Lethbridge – 143 cases, six active, two deaths
  • South Lethbridge – 54 cases, three active
  • West Lethbridge – 51 cases, two active, one death
  • North Lethbridge – 38 cases, one active, one death
• Cardston County – 102 cases, two active, five deaths
• Medicine Hat – 67 cases, three active, two deaths
• County of Warner – 59 cases (three new), five active, one death
• M.D. of Taber – 37 cases, two active, one death
• Fort Macleod – 33 cases, one active, two deaths
• Cypress County – 31 cases, zero active
• County of Newell – 30 cases, three active, one death
• Lethbridge County – 30 cases, two active
• M.D. of Pincher Creek – 26 cases, one active, one death
• County of Forty Mile – 20 cases, one active
• Crowsnest Pass – Two cases, zero active