There are officially four smallpox cases in the province. During a press conference on Thursday, the chief health doctor Dr. Dina Hinshaw voiced concerns about the LGBTQ2S + community’s stigma following a series of tweets stating that the majority of confirmed cases so far were in men who reported having sex with other men. “This means that there may be an increased risk in this community right now,” he said Thursday, adding that the province has contacted organizations that support members of the LGBTQ2S + community and, after collecting comments, has provided information to be distributed to members. Hinshaw said this approach does not show that only one community has the potential to be affected. “We are working with these organizations and sharing this current information on risk factors to ensure that people have accurate, timely data on the epidemic,” he said. “This is not done to embarrass or stigmatize anyone and does not mean that anyone who has been infected with monkey pox or has had close contact has done something wrong.” The virus is transmitted through close skin-to-skin contact with a person with symptoms or close contact with contaminated objects such as clothing or bedding. Symptoms include fever, swollen glands, new sores and rash. Although these symptoms may be related to a variety of conditions, those with new or worsening symptoms of this nature are encouraged to call the Health Link at 811 for additional information. According to Hinshaw, the overall risk of smallpox in the province is low, all positive cases are currently isolated and cooperate with the contact process. During a June 9 press conference, a reporter said Hinshaw’s teams expressed dissatisfaction with a “monkey pox newsletter” distributed by the county, explaining that they felt it was a shame and stigma for the community, similar to what happened during the AIDS crisis. “I’m sorry that this newsletter caused it, it certainly was not the intention,” Hinshaw said in response. “We tried to get feedback from various organizations on wording, language and we did everything we could to balance the need for timely dissemination of accurate information,” he said. “But I fully understand that groups that have not had the opportunity to comment on the content may feel that we wish we had framed things differently.” COVID-19 was also reported during the press conference, with Health Secretary Jason Copping virtually attending Hinshaw to present the figures released Wednesday. All top indicators, including hospital and intensive care referrals and wastewater data, continue to decline. Currently, 816 are being treated for the virus and 24 in the ICU. From May 17 to May 23. 42 COVID-related deaths were reported to Alberta Health. Also, in that time period, 33 previously reported COVID-19 deaths were reclassified and subtracted from the total number of deaths, which means that there was a nine increase in this week’s numbers.
