Commentary: The COVID-19 Pandemic Is Not a Good Time to Weaken Restrictions on Alcohol Availability.

Alcohol use is well established globally as one of the major risk factors for burden of disease and mortality. Although it is not yet clear how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the overall level of alcohol use in Canada, we do know that various levels of government have promoted its use - either by designating it essential or by increasing its availability. Such actions may have both an immediate and sustained impact on alcohol-related harm in Canada. We encourage all levels of government to support and prioritize the development and implementation of an evidence-informed framework for both alcohol policy and service delivery to reduce alcohol-related harms during the current pandemic and beyond.