Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 (nCoV-2019)

[AlbertC]

Canadian flight crews demand protective suits as more than a dozen fall ill with COVID-19

Death of U.S. flight attendant sparks fear, frustration among Canadian crews

Dave Seglins, Linda Guerriero, Laura Clementson · CBC News · Posted: Mar 28, 2020 4:00 AM ET

More than a dozen Canadian flight attendants are sick with COVID-19, with one recently released from an intensive care unit in Calgary, CBC News has learned.

Many airline crews remain on the job as international and domestic flights continue to take thousands of Canadians home during the global pandemic.

But flight crews and their unions are becoming increasingly vocal in demanding better protective equipment, including protective suits or gowns, and mandatory testing for COVID-19.

"I've asked several times, 'Why are we not wearing hazmat suits?' Other airlines are wearing hazmat suits," a flight attendant who works for a major Canadian airline told CBC News.

"We are on the front line and we are exposed to people from all around the world. We have connections from all over the world."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/flight-attendants-protective-suits-1.5513439

 

[smably]

Now, these are the nitwits that need to be clamped down on................

View attachment 238433

While I agree 100% that travellers returning abroad should not be going out to the grocery store while in isolation (this is my situation right now), guidance has been much less clear for people sharing a household with recently returned travellers. One of my roommates was asked to report to work the day after my return. After calling Toronto Public Health and the federal coronavirus hotline and getting conflicting information, she eventually received a callback from Telehealth who confirmed that she should not be at work. (She had already decided that she would be staying home, fortunately.) Telehealth also told her that we should choose one person from the household to buy groceries, limiting the number of trips as much as possible. (The telehealth nurse also said that it was fine for anyone in the household, including me, to go outside for a walk as long as distance was maintained, which conflicts with the information I received from Toronto Public Health. I've been erring on the side of caution and will remain inside until my 14 days are up, but it is definitely confusing.)

 

[Northern Light]

Good article here looking at epidemiological models, and whether the currents ones are appropriate in light of changing technology and social patterns.

It also addresses the likelihood of infection spread in outdoor spaces, as identified in a CDC study.

On that.....

"While we are at it, we need to stop wasting resources on pointless measures such as closing remote parks and natural reserves, where few people come close to one another anyway. In an especially important section of the aforementioned CDC report, the authors note that even COVID-19 super-spreaders can’t seem to infect people effectively in open spaces: “Rapid person-to-person transmission of COVID-19 appears likely to have occurred in healthcare settings, on a cruise ship, and in a church. In a study of 110 case-patients from 11 clusters in Japan, all clusters were associated with closed environments, including fitness centers, shared eating environments, and hospitals, [where] the odds for transmission from a primary case-patient were 18.7 times higher than in open-air environments.” These closed environments represent the sort of scenario we need to target—not British couples out on a jaunt to Sugar Loaf, Pen-y-Fan and other rustic destinations."

COVID-19 Science Update for March 27th: Super-Spreaders and the Need for New Prediction Models

This article constitutes the March 27th, 2020 entry in the daily Quillette series COVID-19 UPDATES. Please report needed corrections or suggestions to jon@quillette.com. According to statistics compiled by Our World in Data (OWD), the number of newly reported COVID-19 deaths increased...

quillette.com

Took me a moment, underlying CDC study is here:

Identifying and Interrupting Superspreading Events—Implications for Control of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2

Superspreading Events and Control of SARS-CoV-2

wwwnc.cdc.gov

 

[PinkLucy]

Walking and even going for a ride while maintaining physical distance is included in the federal guidelines for self-isolation after travel with no symptoms. Not so easy to do downtown, particularly if you live in a condo or apartment.

 

[smably]

Walking and even going for a ride while maintaining physical distance is included in the federal guidelines for self-isolation after travel with no symptoms. Not so easy to do downtown, particularly if you live in a condo or apartment.

I'm guessing that the prevalence of apartment/condo dwellers is the reason for the more strict guidance from Toronto Public Health.

 

[Northern Light]

I'm guessing that the prevalence of apartment/condo dwellers is the reason for the more strict guidance from Toronto Public Health.

Of course, if we would get on with closing some roads to make room for pedestrians; and opening the golf courses for walking (not golf) we could mitigate that risk substantially.

The residual risk in apartments/condos is the elevators, where 2M spacing is near-impossible to achieve w/any stranger, and capacity is constrained if one asks people to ride elevators alone or only with people you live with.

Gets into a sub-discussion about how we tend to discourage stair use in hi-rise buildings (admittedly, in taller buildings not that feasible at least for in/out from the 40th floor); as well as intrinsic elevator capacity (number of elevators per resident/unit; as well as the physical design of elevators in general, many of which are very small for someone using a mobility aid.

Something to come back to when the crisis has subsided.

 

[Northern Light]

This, by the way, is the link where CDC is publishing new research.

Coronavirus Spotlight - Emerging Infectious Diseases journal - CDC

Find peer-reviewed research articles on COVID-19 and other Coronavirus articles

wwwnc.cdc.gov

 

[Admiral Beez]

Another cruise ship catastrophe

4 passengers die on stranded cruise ship carrying 247 Canadians

Sophia Harris · CBC News · Posted: Mar 27, 2020 1:48 PM ET

Many passengers on board have flu-like symptoms and 2 have tested positive for COVID-19

Four passengers have died on board a Holland America Line cruise ship currently sailing off the coast of Panama. Many other passengers on the ship have flu-like symptoms and two have tested positive for COVID-19.

A total of 247 Canadians are among the 1,243 passengers on the Zaandam, which is also carrying 586 crew members — one of whom is Canadian, according to Global Affairs Canada.

"Holland America Line can confirm that four older guests have passed away on Zaandam," the cruise line said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with their families and we are doing everything we can to support them during this difficult time."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/zaandam-cruise-ship-passengers-holland-america-deaths-1.5512490

I’ve taken four cruises and on at least two of them people have died. On the last one, in August from Seattle or Alaska one embarked person died before we even left port, as I saw them face covered being carted off the ship into an ambulance. Apparently cruise ships have morgues as they expect to lose a few blue hairs while at sea.

Speaking of elderly care, these images of seniors homes terrify me. I refuse to end up in one, mentally addled and bedridden due to dementia, surrounded by increasingly frightening sounds, fearful of being attacked or robbed by other residents or abused and neglected by the staff, all while stinking of piss, sitting in my own excrement whilst my family wait for me to die like the Stone Angel’s Hagar Shipley. No way..... if I ever get dementia or otherwise appear to be headed to Sunset Villa or whatever these warehouses are called, I’ll be going to the doctor for a voluntary exit. Those places scare the hell out of me. Why do we treat our elderly so? Hopefully one benefit of Covid19 and its decimation of Canada’s warehoused elders is a review and changes to senior care.

 

[Jonny5]

Speaking of elderly care, these images of seniors homes terrify me. Why do we treat our elderly so? Hopefully one benefit of Covid19 and its decimation of Canada’s warehoused elders is a review and changes to senior care.

Those are not images of Seniors Homes. They are images of people in long-term fully assisted care homes who wound up there because they already could not care for themselves. If you don't want to end up like that, that's fine, but I'm sure the people in those facilities all said the exact same thing.

The reality is you don't have a choice over it. If you cannot take care of yourself at all, you are just going to simply going to end up "mentally addled and bedridden due to dementia, surrounded by increasingly frightening sounds, fearful of being attacked or robbed by other residents or abused and neglected by the staff, all while stinking of piss, sitting in my own excrement whilst my family wait for me to die like the Stone Angel’s Hagar Shipley," but it will be inside your own home. The "other residents" will be your own family members. That's how it goes. I've seen it happen. I've seen an elderly relative extracted from a dilapidated home after months of denying anyone access, including family, and then finally get modestly after settling in to a long-term care home.

Now I'm sure many of those homes could be improved. I know bedbugs are a problem, but the conditions are usually better for people who have no other choice.

 

[Towered]

I’ve taken four cruises and on at least two of them people have died. On the last one, in August from Seattle or Alaska one embarked person died before we even left port, as I saw them face covered being carted off the ship into an ambulance. Apparently cruise ships have morgues as they expect to lose a few blue hairs while at sea.

Speaking of elderly care, these images of seniors homes terrify me. I refuse to end up in one, mentally addled and bedridden due to dementia, surrounded by increasingly frightening sounds, fearful of being attacked or robbed by other residents or abused and neglected by the staff, all while stinking of piss, sitting in my own excrement whilst my family wait for me to die like the Stone Angel’s Hagar Shipley. No way..... if I ever get dementia or otherwise appear to be headed to Sunset Villa or whatever these warehouses are called, I’ll be going to the doctor for a voluntary exit. Those places scare the hell out of me. Why do we treat our elderly so? Hopefully one benefit of Covid19 and its decimation of Canada’s warehoused elders is a review and changes to senior care.

Classic Admiral post - you have a very dark sense of humour that I can appreciate. That being said, I fully agree. If at a relatively advanced age I start to exhibit signs of decline from which there is no coming back, I'll take myself out on my own terms rather than rot in some semi-hellish seniors' home...

 

[Admiral Beez]

The reality is you don't have a choice over it. If you cannot take care of yourself at all,

Of course you do.

Medical assistance in dying: Overview - Canada.ca

What medical assistance in dying is, who is eligible, how to make a request, the process, and who can provide medical assistance in dying.

www.canada.ca

Dying With Dignity Canada

Dying With Dignity Canada is the national not-for-profit organization committed to improving quality of dying, protecting end-of-life rights, and helping Canadians avoid unwanted suffering.

www.dyingwithdignity.ca

 

[Northern Light]

It should be said, many long-term care facilities are much nicer than they once were; and by and large, minimum statutory standards are rising.

That's not to suggest every place meets those standards, for instance, in Ontario, no room will be more than semi-private (2 person occupancy) as opposed to ward-style (4 bed), as of 2024. Not every facility has been renewed yet.

Some are much more architecturally appealing, inside and out, featuring nice gardens, great rooms, sometime residents have limited self-serve kitchen access, facilities often have hair salons etc.

But certainly that is far from universally the case.

Personally, I don't want to find myself, for a prolonged period, in a state in which I am dependent on the charity of others, and bed-ridden etc.

Though to each their own.

But no question, we can make the experience a much kinder one than it is; though doing so, invariably costs more money; like so many things, I would tend to support that, but the list of social investment priorities is long, it must be conceded.

***

Homecare/dayprograms etc can be an alternative. But they have to be in place, on offer, and in adequate quantity. We also need to have easier ways to upgrade homes/apartments to meet the needs of more fragile/vulnerable residents.

While some of that can hugely expensive, some of it can be remarkably cheap. Its the building entrance with a fob-triggered door-opener, and the same for a laundry room.

Its an entry door wide enough for people in mobility aids (to one's apartment, not just the main building).

Ideally, its interior door ways that are large enough too.

When my parents needed rollators for a time; it came to my attention that the bathroom door in both of their places wasn't large enough to roll-through with their hands on the rollator.

All that was needed as a 5cm enlargement of the door-frame.

Mandating base-design changes when apartments become vacant, where practical, would be a good step towards letting more seniors stay at home in their waning years.

 

[AlbertC]

‘We are seeing encouraging signs’

Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, offered Canadians encouraging news at the federal minister’s update.

While over 5,153 Canadians are unwell, only 7 per cent have been hospitalized, 3 per cent are critically ill and 1 per cent of cases are fatal.

Tam confirmed there is some ‘cautious optimism’ coming out of British Columbia, with a slight flattening of the curve and reduced growth of cases. The country will look closely at the province's cases and curve to confirm what method of distancing is most effective in coming weeks.

The optimism coming out of British Columbia doesn’t mean that social distancing should come to an end.

“This should spur us to keep up with our new habit of social distancing. We need to stay the course,” Tam urged.

The important thing is to stay in your bubble and not burst someone else’s by getting within 2-metres of distance of them.

Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Howard Njoo reiterated Tam’s message when asked about how long social distancing will continue across the country.

‘We can’t predict what will happen in the future but there have been encouraging signs. The number of cases is decreasing in British Columbia, or even in Canada. It's important we stay the course and we not give up.”

COVID-19 in Canada: Ontario closes strip club, restricts operations at restaurants, bars and clubs

The latest COVID-19 updates from Canadian officials, health experts and politicians.

ca.news.yahoo.com

 

[Johnny Au]

Here's a neat website tracking COVID-19 by genome:

auspice

nextstrain.org

 

[Regigate]

Gets into a sub-discussion about how we tend to discourage stair use in hi-rise buildings (admittedly, in taller buildings not that feasible at least for in/out from the 40th floor)

So, interestingly, this week I began running the stairs in my high-rise, given gym closure. I got in on my floor because I realized I'd never seen the entrance to the stairs before in the lobby / ground floor area. After my workout I went all the way down, and eventually found the exit - which spit me out into a locked courtyard area outside, that isn't a) accessible or b) open from the outside. Found it odd that even if you wanted to take the stairs, you wouldn't be able to. Previously I've lived on the 2nd and 4th floors of buildings and would prefer taking the stairs over waiting for the elevator.