I would say that is more or less the case. Our observation today, a few weeks into this pandemic, is that we had the distinct impression that public health guidelines were adjusted based on the availability of personal protective equipment, when public health should be ahead of the game and ensure maximum safety for healthcare professionals and all workers in the health sector.
The guidelines were constantly changing. It was becoming apparent that they were lower than what they should have been under normal, non-pandemic conditions. The guidelines were changing all the time and causing safety to be compromised, or at least sending a message to healthcare workers that it might be compromised. As the guidelines changed, people said that the level of protection was being reduced. For example, the situations for the N95 masks were becoming more and more limited. There were only two situations in which the N95 masks could be used, and the method of transmission has not yet been determined. Over the past few weeks, over the past few days, as time goes by, it's become clearer that there could be airborne transmission. The N95 mask is specifically designed for situations where there is airborne transmission. That is what the big debate is about.
Much like the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, we at the provincial level have asked that healthcare professionals be given N95 masks as soon as there is a suspected case, not just for confirmed cases. The latest data show that many patients are asymptomatic carriers of the virus, which is why it's important to protect healthcare professionals, so that they do not leave to self-isolate and deprive people of their services.
Yes, we have major criticisms of the Agency with respect to public health, especially in terms of communications. Documents were continually being updated. It was difficult to get a real-time picture of the adjustments, and things were not concise. It wasn't easy to share the information with healthcare professionals in the field...