Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 (nCoV-2019)

[Admiral Beez]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke at the conference March 2.

Not Justin?!

This is getting ridiculous. Wash your hands, don't touch your face and trust your immune system. Keep calm and carry on.

One of my distant cousins is a germaphobe and her mental exercises on the viral chain of custody are exhausting at the best of times. I can't touch that hair brush because it landed on a bench beside a public garbage can where someone might have put their trash and the germs may have spilled onto the bench, onto the brush and onto your hair. These folks must be apoplectic now.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Not Justin?!

This is getting ridiculous. Wash your hands, don't touch your face and trust your immune system. Keep calm and carry on.

One of my distant cousins is a germaphobe and her mental exercises on the viral chain of custody are exhausting at the best of times. I can't touch that hair brush because it landed on a bench beside a public garbage can where someone might have put their trash and the germs may have spilled onto the bench, onto the brush and onto your hair. These folks must be apoplectic now.

There is nothing ridiculous about it. Keeping calm is one thing - saying that washing your hands, don't touch your face and "trust your immune system" is sufficient at a societal level for containment might be misplaced confidence.

AoD

 

[Admiral Beez]

There is nothing ridiculous about it. Keeping calm is one thing - saying that washing your hands, don't touch your face and "trust your immune system" is sufficient at a societal level for containment might be misplaced confidence.

What's the alternative for people who are healthy? Hide at home? Stay off the TTC? Has anyone in Canada without a preexisting health issue died of this?

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

What's the alternative for people who are healthy? Hide at home? Stay off the TTC? Has anyone in Canada without a preexisting health issue died of this?

It may come to that for the government to decide - Canada isn't so special to be immune to the trajectory of infectious disease - if you can't learn from other countries that are further down that road, you risk going down that same road.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/canada-covid-19-coronavirus-spread-hospital-surge-capacity-ventilators-1.5493178

AoD

 

[PinkLucy]

It’s not just about you being healthy. You will probably be fine. But you could transmit it to those who aren’t so healthy. It’s the same rationale as healthy people getting the flu shot. You aren’t doing it for just yourself, you are doing it for others.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

It’s not just about you being healthy. You will probably be fine. But you could transmit it to those who aren’t so healthy. It’s the same rationale as healthy people getting the flu shot. You aren’t doing it for just yourself, you are doing it for others.

And from a health system perspective, you want to slow the spread as much as possible - even if people not dying from it doesn't mean they won't take up health resources, and it is pretty clear that a good chunk of the cases with require extensive amounts of it, far beyond what any reasonable health system can provide.

If there is one thing we require leadership from the government for, it is to start that social distancing process - disruptions be damned.

AoD

 

[vic]

Also, it's not just whether you will die or not. If you get ill enough to require medical assistance, hospitalization, etc., you're taking those resources away from someone else who may need them even more. The real trouble will happen if the healthcare system gets overwhelmed and cannot properly treat everyone that needs help. And even with abundant caution, there are doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers getting sick (and not being able to work.....). When help isn't available, I would expect death rates to rise.

 

[PinkLucy]

And this ^^^ is what is happening in Italy.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Also, it's not just whether you will die or not. If you get ill enough to require medical assistance, hospitalization, etc., you're taking those resources away from someone else who may need them even more. The real trouble will happen if the healthcare system gets overwhelmed and cannot properly treat everyone that needs help. And even with abundant caution, there are doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers getting sick (and not being able to work.....). When help isn't available, I would expect death rates to rise.

I might be a little cold-hearted saying this - a single death is a statistic, not a tragedy in the face of an overwhelmed health system. Any reasonable action to prevent the latter should be undertaken - and the government(s) should prepare for that - that's what they are there for. Emergency powers exists for a reason.

AoD

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/covid19-first-case-doctor-hamilton-health-sciences-1.5493530

Oof.

AoD

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

From CTV:

Canada releases coronavirus guidelines on when to cancel major events

The Public Health Agency of Canada has posted guidelines aimed at helping event planners figure out whether to cancel mass gatherings of people as the federal government works to quell the potential spread of the novel coronavirus.

www.ctvnews.ca

Felt a little like no one wanted to make the tough decision.

AoD

 

[Northern Light]

Also, it's not just whether you will die or not. If you get ill enough to require medical assistance, hospitalization, etc., you're taking those resources away from someone else who may need them even more. The real trouble will happen if the healthcare system gets overwhelmed and cannot properly treat everyone that needs help. And even with abundant caution, there are doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers getting sick (and not being able to work.....). When help isn't available, I would expect death rates to rise.

This is a clear case for why we desparetely need more capacity in our hospitals/healthcare system.

With the fewest beds per capita in the OECD, and hospitals routinely running at and over 100% of capacity, there is simply no room whatever to handle a serious surge in patient load.

This is a lesson we should have learned long ago.

Hospitals should not be routinely run any higher than 90% capacity; and there's a hell of a good argument for 80%.

****

Likewise, the Health Ministry here upgraded its standards some years ago for new hospital and long-termcare home construction to move away from the 4-bed ward models to 100% (or close to 100%) private rooms in hospitals
and 100% semi-private in new long term care homes.

I would argue we need to be more aggressive in reaching the former standard, and reconsider the latter in favour of private rooms being the norm.

Doing so would greatly reduce the risk of pandemic conditions within hospitals and long-term care homes.

 

[W. K. Lis]

"The Government of Canada will waive the one-week waiting period for people who are in quarantine or have been directed to self-isolate and are claiming for Employment Insurance (EI) sickness benefits..."

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/canadas-reponse/government-canada-takes-action-covid-19.html

 

[PinkLucy]

WHO declares a pandemic

Source:

Coronavirus update: Ontario confirms a new case, U.S. suspends travel to and from Europe

One of Ontario’s latest patients is a Hamilton doctor. Meanwhile, the Public Health Agency of Canada reports that a Canadian under quarantine at CFB Trenton after leaving a contaminated cruise ship in California has tested positive for COVID-19.

www.thestar.com

 

[Northern Light]

If there is one thing we require leadership from the government for, it is to start that social distancing process - disruptions be damned.

AoD

One key to this is paid sick days; the ability to make it an easy decision for someone whose ill or concerned about their exposure to choose to stay home.

The expansion of EI coverage in this area is a good thing; but doesn't necessarily address hourly workers, and in any event, provides only 55% reimbursement of income.

For many people that 45% pay cut remains a serious problem, as in an inability to meet this months' rent payment.

At the very least, we need to ensure every person without exception has 5 paid personal days, ideally more.

We also need to look at shoring up the reimbursement rate for EI at least in the first few weeks.

I'm not for creating fiscal monster; but I think if someone relies on EI as emergency income replacement, 55% in that first week is very, very low.

I think the notion of 75% reimbursement, the same as most short-term disability plans, for the first 4 weeks would be a reasonable move though.