Even after 18 months of evidence, COVID-19 experts in an Ontario Superior Court case couldn’t agree on how the virus is spread, says Blacklock’s Reporter..“It is enough to note they are different,” wrote the court..“Both of these experts have impressive credentials and make persuasive arguments in support of their opinions We are not required to have to choose the opinion of one over the other.”.The court’s comments came on an application by the Ontario Nurses’ Association to compel hospitals and nursing homes to equip staff with high-grade N95 masks..Current orders require only that staff wear lesser-grade surgical masks though “directives permit nurses to have an N95 whenever they believe one is required.”.Dr. David Fisman, a professor at the University of Toronto’s School of Public Health, testified N95s should be mandated due to “overwhelming scientific evidence that COVID-19 is predominantly transmitted via aerosol particles.”.But Dr. Jerome Leis, medical director at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital, testified surgical masks were sufficient since aerosols play “a minor role” in the spread of COVID-19..“According to the expert evidence introduced in this case, the term ‘aerosols’ refers to particles that are less than 100 microns in diameter” – the equivalent of three-thousands of an inch – “and are suspended in the air,” wrote the court..“Aerosols that are less than 10 microns in diameter are considered buoyant..“Buoyant aerosols are capable of overcoming gravity and remaining suspended in the air for longer periods of time than other larger particles. Generally speaking, the smaller the aerosolized particle, the further it is able to travel.”.Experts testified surgical masks do not prevent aerosols invisible to the human eye but the costlier N95 masks do prevent aerosols..The court was also told a large number of Canadians could become infected with the coronavirus and never know it..“Forty percent of infections are asymptomatic,” according to one expert witness..Judges dismissed the Nurses’ Association claim for mandatory N95s..“We are not satisfied on the evidence that the directives based on the contact-droplet theory have caused employers to deny or discourage the use of N95s,” wrote judges..The Association said of 68,000 members a total 611 tested positive for COVID-19 last year with one nurse dying from it.
