The second COVID wave has arrived in Ontario. And things are not going well. Bruce McArthur writes:
On Monday, Ontario recorded a pandemic-record 700 new COVID-19 cases, and the premier said the second wave had arrived, and he announced a plan to hire 3,700 new front-line health-care workers, from, personal support workers to nurses, to deal with a surge.
It's not easy, waiting to be saved in Ontario. The alarm bells have been blaring for weeks, and Ontario’s hapless chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, is still calling 700 cases a “wake-up call” as if it wasn’t widely anticipated, and the government doesn’t appear to be listening anyway. Last week, many Ontario leading health-care figures signed a letter asking for increased restrictions on high-risk commercial spaces. Monday, the Ontario Hospital Association called on the province to immediately put high-COVID areas back to Stage 2 of reopening, from the current Stage 3.
So far, the Ford government has been working around the edges:
Provincial interventions thus far have been low-cost and minor: lowering private gathering sizes, closing strip clubs, earlier closing hours for bars and restaurants. Toronto, similarly, dropped bar and restaurant limits from 100 to 75, and maximum table sizes from 10 to six. Mayor John Tory raised concerns about banquet halls, which are closed in B.C., but not here.
Ontario’s welcome narrowing of testing eligibility last week will help alleviate unacceptable lab turnaround times. But while the 700 may be a one-day bulge, it’s part of a pattern. And it reflects new cases from 10-14 days ago, so it doesn’t include what schools might do to transmission, with a few already shutting down. Is pruning around the regulatory edges going to turn the tide?
The heart of the problem is the government's confused messaging:
Premier Doug Ford keeps pleading with people who aren’t listening to follow confusing and contradictory regulations. After all, it’s 10 indoors and 20 outdoors, but you can also fit 30 in a classroom, 75 in a bar, plenty more in houses of worship and banquet halls and stores. Besides, social circles of 10 were in ashes as soon as people sent their kids back to school in a province unwilling to adequately fund small class sizes.
It's become clear that's it's now up to individuals. And recent massive gatherings -- in places like Wasaga Beach -- suggest that large numbers of individuals don't give a damn.
Image: barrie.ctvnews.ca
10 comments:
When this pandemic actually started to become a reality to most people, Ford gave some speeches that surprised me in that he sounded quite sensible and ready to listen and communicate what all must do. It was like, ah, he has finally had a "New York minute" as the old saying goes.
Now he looks more like the old Doug Ford, waffling, making changes that look suspiciously like he was trending back to what his budget was intended to address: privatization of all and sundry when it came to our long accepted social norms.
That's the Ford I'm more familiar with: one of those old leopards that will never change its spots, no matter what the cost. Poor Ontarians: they didn't bite the bullet - they have received it and it sure isn't the magic one!
We will end up back in Stage 2, the only question is when. Do we follow the medical experts and do it now, or do we wait until cases really explode and our hospitals are overwhelmed? As one infectious disease specialist said early on in the pandemic, "if we get this right, people will look back and say we overreacted." Of course, if we get it wrong, many won't be looking back at all.
Cap
At the beginning of the pandemic, Lulymay, Ford surprised me. But lately, he's begun to look like the man I knew too well.
The ongoing tragedy is made worse by our inability to act collectively, Cap.
I think Ford is trying to get people to co operate, much like Dr. Henry did in B.C. When they don't "co operate" you get sent to your room--close the bars at 10 p.m. Expect Ford to come down hard if the rates continue to climb.
People just don't seem to get it. Ford may have to send a message and lock down the province for a couple of weeks so the virus can stabilize and leave.
My suggestion would be, require people to wear masks once they are outside their homes and vehicles. If you don't: fines. If that doesn't work have a special COVID jail. Don't want them in regular jails.
Last evening's news reported a man beating another when confronted for not wearing a mask. Non Mask wearer started beating the other man. How stupid is that.
Some of the people I know and myself, if we get COVID, we could well die. Unlike AIDS there is no condom. We still don't have a cure for that, so I dont' expect one for COVID either. Better treatment yes. medication which will save lives, but a real thing which prevents us from catching it, not so much. Just look at AIDS. they have medication, but no cure and you can still catch it. Oh, well there were people who refused to use condoms and they caught the disease. On the upside, with COVID you usually die more quickly. You don't want to linger with it for years.
@ lulymay & Owen
I really thought that Doug had, at least, risen to basic competence in listening to his real experts, not his kitchen cabinet. He really seemed to understand the problem.
Sadly I seem to be wrong. I still think that Rob was the better of the two.
Chances are low that we'll catch the virus, e.a.f. -- if we follow a few simple rules. What's frustrating is that so many of us don't care about following the rules.
Like you, jrk, I was impressed with Doug's early response to the pandemic. Lately, though, he appears to be reverting to his previous approach to problems.
.. It seems we have experimental places like Florida that will provide ongoing case studies re what can go very wrong. It is surprising though, the levels of denial. In Alberta we see an ideologue with a majority - Jason Kenney, who seems to hate educators and healthcare workers, Ontario is really like a medium sized country.. though population mainly runs in a narrow band along the Great Lakes.. again in Doug Ford we see a majority government, his to screw up with.. and the laugh of the day was a Tweet 'Doug Ford who says his heart is breaking wants people in Ontario to wash their hands, use masks, practice social distancing and go to the casinos he's reopening' .. Humour aside, experimenting with school children and educators seems a disaster either waiting to happen.. or in the process of already happening.. and there are parents locked into the dangerous equation as well.
There are all kinds of victims, sal. And their numbers keep growing.
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