COVID-19

COVID-19 is an illness caused by a coronavirus. Human coronaviruses are common and are typically associated with mild illnesses, similar to the common cold. Symptoms, which may take up to 14 days to appear after exposure to the virus, may be very mild or more serious, such as:

• Fever
• Cough
• Difficulty breathing

Coronaviruses are most commonly spread from an infected person through:

• respiratory droplets when you cough or sneeze
• close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands
• touching something with the virus on it, then touching your eyes, nose or mouth before washing your hands

These viruses are not known to spread through ventilation systems or through water.

The best way to prevent the spread of infections is to:

• wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds;
• avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, especially with unwashed hands;
• avoid close contact with people who are sick;
• cough and sneeze into your sleeve and not your hands; and
• stay home if you are sick to avoid spreading illness to others.[1]

In it’s mandate of regulating in the public interest, the College has been actively monitoring this unprecedented public health crisis.  Stemming from this, was the College’s mandatory suspension of non-essential services on March 17 which was quickly followed by the College’s guidelines for essential services.  In this document, Council communicated its decision to the pubic and the membership to note only those services that stem from complications with a fixed denture are considered essential. Both Council and staff received phone calls and other communication from concerned members and the public, but Council stayed firm in their resolve to uphold their decision with their public interest mandate front and center.

This decision was supported by the directive from the Government of Alberta that was announced on March 27, 2020.  In this directive, restrictions were announced on close contact businesses. Please visit the government website for more information on this announcement: https://www.alberta.ca/restrictions-on-gatherings-and-businesses.aspx

These close contact businesses include hair salons and barbershops, tattoo and piercing studios, aesthetic services, as well as wellness studios and clinics and also all non-emergency and non-critical health services provided by regulated health professionals.

In this time, please know that health professions can continue to provide urgent, critical and emergency care to patients; however, these businesses are not permitted to provide any other service to their patient if it does not constitute urgent, critical or emergency care.

In this time, it is imperative that we take care of each others and ourselves.  The College encourages members to be informed of our current public health crisis and aware of the supports available to them both from a personal and business perspective.  Should you have any questions regarding your regulatory requirements during this time, please do not hesitate to contact the College.

[1] https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/diseases-conditions/know-facts-about-coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html