COVID-19 has raised concerns over safety in the personal care service industry in regards to disease transmission and infection control. The industry has suffered under new orders and directives issued by public health officials. Personal service establishments (PSEs) rely on clients going to establishments to receive services that often involve close proximity between the client and service provider, something that is recommended against to prevent COVID-19 transmission. PSEs have since adjusted their operations to accommodate for the pandemic, however its impacts on the perceptions of hygiene and sanitation in these establishments remained to be assessed.

Across Canada, restaurant inspections are conducted to ensure that the food served to the public in almost all public eating facilities, is safe to consume and sell. The ratings and infractions correspond with the standards a restaurant is operating in compliance with legislation. There have been indications in the past of restaurants in different regions or serving specific types of food, receiving lower ratings than others. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge and research on the difference between major cities in Canada, regarding restaurant infractions. By focussing on Vancouver and Toronto restaurants, this research may provide insight into the different legislation of the two regions, highlight different Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) practices and ultimately provide information for knowledge translation into policies that these regions follow.

The COVID-19 global pandemic has demanded many individuals remain indoors and isolate from friends and family to keep safe. These long periods of isolation have led to loneliness and an overall shift in the way individuals communicate with each other. Digital media sources have become predominant forms of interaction and entertainment – but how are different age groups, specifically older adults managing this major digital media shift? Keywords older adult(s)

The purpose of this research was to determine, via an on-line survey, whether the general public in Canada, is aware of why certain ingredients, such as alcohol content is important to prevent transmission of disease-causing pathogens. The literature demonstrates the importance of hand sanitizers, the efficacy between different types of sand sanitizers, ingredient lists, and the public’s knowledge regarding the effectiveness of hand sanitizers.

BackgroundIn Canada, recent data shows that Lyme diseases (LD) have increased in many different regions of the country. British Columbia (BC), with its natural beauty and suitable terrain for outdoor activities, has drawn thousands of hikers to the established hiking trails, as well as off–trail wilderness. Consequently, more people are expected to be exposed to Lyme disease every year. For better understanding of the risk, study of their knowledge and awareness, and also their preventative behavior against Lyme disease is necessary. The purpose of our study is to evaluate hiker awareness about LD and assess type and frequency of preventive measures they take against the disease.MethodsA self-administered electronic survey was created and disseminated online among hikers in British Columbia, Canada. The online survey distributed via the social platform, Reddit, and took approximately five minutes to complete. The results were collected and organized in Microsoft Excel and analyzed with NCSS statistical software (NCSS, 2021).ResultsThe results of this study indicated that general awareness of LD among hikers in British Columbia is high. Ninety-eight percent of participants in the study have heard about the LD before the study was conducted. Hikers are generally aware of the prevalence of the disease (83%) in BC and know that ticks are problematic for them (74%). Majority of hikers (92%) have taken at least one measure to protect themselves against the disease. Avoiding tall grasses and bushwalking while hiking was the most popular method as 46% of the hikers frequently (more than half the time) took this measure. In contrast, wearing protective cloths or tucking pants into socks were the least frequent methods taken by them. Also, 68% of the hikers never used chemical insect repellent to deter ticks. This result suggests that avoiding ticks and tick bites by avoiding grassy areas, where ticks might be present, is the preferred method over the usage of chemical insect repellants, or physical barriers against tick bites such as wearing protective cloths or tucking pants into the socks; however, further data is needed to precisely conclude this result.Our study found that there are no significant statistical associations between hiker's knowledge and their level of education (P= 0.77), hiker's education level and preventive method taken (P=0.91), level of hiking experience and preventive method taken (P=0.86) or gender of the hikers and preventive methods taken (P=0.068) against the Lyme disease.ConclusionsAs Lyme disease has been recognized as a potentially increasing infectious disease in British Columbia, assessment of hiker's knowledge and preventive behavior towards LD through an online survey concluded that BC hikers have high level of awareness about the disease, and they protect themselves against the tick bites. As predictive models show that climate change and warmer weather cause an expansion in tick habitat in North America, probability of hikers being exposed to ticks is higher. As the risk increases, LD prevention campaigns could be designed considering what prevention methods are the most popular; and more effective or innovative prevention methods could be introduced to the population. Health authorities may introduce LD prevention initiatives and educational plans that are adaptable and suitable to the geographical region based on prevalence of the disease. Similarly hiking groups may educate their new members regarding the disease, how to prevent it and what methods are suitable based on the region they are active in.