A plain-language summary of this research can be found as a Twitter thread here.
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#Abstract
Scientific evidence suggests that COVID-19 is transmitted through the air, and can be mitigated using indoor air quality measures such as ventilation and filtration. We set out to explore how Public Health Ontario (PHO) responded to this evidence. PHO is mandated by legislation to share “scientific and technical advice and support” and “contribute to efforts to reduce health inequities” in Ontario, Canada, a jurisdiction of more than 14 million people (Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion Act, 2007). We were particularly interested in how PHO addressed indoor air quality measures in the context of guidance developed for communal facilities such as long-term care homes and congregate settings (e.g. shelters, group homes, detention centres). We reviewed PHO’s public, written COVID-19 guidance specifically designed for long-term care and congregate settings, and published or revised between January, 2021 and October, 2021. We also compared PHO’s COVID-19 checklists for long-term care and congregate settings to PHO’s COVID-19 checklists for schools, camps and doctor’s offices. We found no references to indoor air quality measures in any guidance documents specifically designed for long-term care and congregate settings, including COVID-19 checklists. We did, however, find references to indoor air quality measures in COVID-19 checklists for schools, summer camps and doctor’s offices. We conclude that PHO has provided sub-standard COVID-19 guidance to long-term care and congregate settings, putting workers and residents at greater risk of illness and death, and exacerbating health inequities in Ontario.