Calgary doctor to challenge AHS mask policy change in court

a crowdfunding campaign to raise $20,000 to file a court injunction against AHS lifting its facility mask mandate on June 19.

That gofundme hit its goal in less than 24 hours.Keegan said he’s trying to look out for patients, staff and members of the public.“Anybody who’s on AHS premises, we need to be able to rely upon the air, to have reasonable things in place to keep it safe,” he told Global News.“We know that COVID is airborne.

It spreads just like cigarette smoke, and if people are not masking anymore, then that’s going to infect or contaminate the air.”The concern is especially high for people who are immune-compromised, like infants or cancer patients, for whom a COVID infection puts them at a much higher likelihood of severe outcomes.AHS said “patients are encouraged to have conversations with their care providers regarding masking, hand hygiene, or other factors that patients feel are important to their care.”But Keegan said it’s unrealistic to ask someone sick on a stretcher to ask their nurse or doctor to mask up.“I don’t know if people really understand the power differential that’s there between health care providers who are well and patients who are sick,” Keegan said. “And I’ve lived that and walked that path.“You can’t be putting the responsibility for basic measures to protect people with disabilities and chronic disease… on them when a very minor, reasonable, easy-to-do accommodation can be just kept in place.”According to the latest AHS infection prevention and control annual report, patients hospitalized with COVID-19 primarily were infected in the community.