COVID numbers are spiking around the world. They offer a grim lesson: Opening up too soon is a fool's errand. Yesterday, Doug Ford told his daily news conference:
“I want the health officials to come up with a plan that lets business operate safely, because we don’t know how long this virus will be with us, but my friends, what we do know is together, we’re going to get through this.”
But, Bruce Arthur writes, Ontario is in a tight spot:
Does Ford want to emulate Alberta, which has stuck with many voluntary restrictions as their cases rise, or Manitoba, which waited too long to act and is now in crisis? This sounds like the talk of a province that didn’t invest enough in public health or epidemic response — whose testing system crashed, and where contact tracing has been half-abandoned in Toronto and Ottawa, among other places feeling the strain.
Ford could emulate Donald Trump and claim that he has defeated the virus. But Trump is clearly mad -- something Doug Ford is not. There is a simple truth about COVID:
The pandemic isn’t a balance beam so much as it’s a sequence: public health, then the economy.
And, until we truly understand that simple assertive sentence, we'll simply get things wrong. And the numbers will continue to rise.
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8 comments:
I was pleasantly surprised by Ford's reasonably competent handling of the first wave. But his handling of the second wave could be much better and Ontario's CMOH Dr. Williams shares much of the blame for inaction.
The worst part is that they're not alone - leaders around the world, and especially in Europe, have prioritized economic interests over health concerns. The result is a second wave exceeding the first, exactly as the historical data and health experts led us to expect.
As many Asian countries have shown, this was avoidable. But it takes leaders acting quickly and challenging the public to follow the plan. Saving lives is worth the temporary loss of freedom to put personal desires above societal needs. And as Arthur notes above, once public health is addressed, the economy comes back to life.
Cap
I agree, Cap. As is true in so many areas of life, it's a matter of getting your priorities right.
What confounds me is why those most intent on re-opening their economy won't mandate social distancing, mask wearing, handwashing and sanitizing - the very precautions that have been proven to "flatten the curve." Make masks mandatory for every retail establishment, office or indoor gathering place as well as every outdoor space where social distancing is not possible. Big fines and closures for violators. No shoes, no shirt, no mask - no service.
Re-opening an economy increases infections, hospitalizations and death so why would provincial governments not implement commensurate measures to offset those consequences?
Good question, Mound. Apparently, the powers that be think that "re-opening" means going back to the way things were. They don't understand that we'll never be going back to the way things were.
.. Doug Ford is bloviating to beat the band..
Dealing with his bizarre Dr or Rev McVety farce
and using his Divine Premier Majestic hysterical Powers to grant Degree status
to a jerkwater evangel clueless crusader's charitable 'College'
A geek he meets with in his basement rec room weekly or sooner
They're great buds.. talk school curriculum theology deep into the night
One of the most disturbing things about modern conservatives is their connection with evangelicals, sal. It's fine to be an evangelical. The problem is always the blurring of the line between church and state.
.. the problem is when Religion enters Politics and uses that doorway to intrude into Healthcare and Education.. and even Environment as some sort of distorted 'Crusade' on behalf of Wonderment or Dominionism.. slay the heathen and capture the Holy Moly Grail.. return it to.. uh.. well sort that stuff out later eh !!
When religion enters politics, sal, the conviction that "God is on my side" becomes an article of faith. And all kinds of atrocities ensue.
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