Re: Coronavirus
 

When I was working with the RCMP we used to joke about the fire fighters shifts. We used to call it two playdates and two sleepovers as they are allowed to sleep at night. :lol:

Kamloops RCMP work two 12hr days, two 12hr nights, then 4 off. Can't really go home for a nap as the cruisers are tracked via GPS for safety.

Re: Coronavirus
 

I wonder how many 1st year Uni students around the world are behaving like this each night. I have a horrible feeling that Christmas at home will be cancelled.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavir...rsity-12085726

Re: Coronavirus
 

I agree - pulling students onto campus / into halls in August was a huge mistake, and sending them home again for a "mandatory" off-campus break at Christmas is going to multiply the problem. Worse, I assume that the students will be recalled again after Christmas, and if the break is only two weeks, then at least the international students will have spent their entire Christmas quarantined, and presumably subject to another two weeks of quaratine on return to campus after Christmas.

Re: Coronavirus
 

I could never do a job where it was 2 day shifts and then 2 night shifts, I need consistency in order to sleep....lol

My mom was a paramedic in California for 20 years, always worked the same shift though, they didn't flip flop, you were either all nights or all days. My mom chose nights 6pm to 6am. They didn't have a station but were allowed to sleep when waiting for calls, but had to take turns, since one had to be awake to listen for calls.

When I did 12.5 hour shifts at the airport, 4pm to 6pm was downtime so I would take a nap to recoup some energy to make it through the last 6 hours.

My wife has a psychiatrist nurse friend, she says they can sleep overnight shifts, they take turns through the night, since patients are sleeping, overnight shift in the psych ward seems pretty easy, most patients are drugged erm medicated before bed, so sleep like babies.

I liked the 12.5 hour shifts simply because I only had to work 3 days a week, with 4 off each week, rather worker longer hours but less days.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Known as 2 x BBQ/clean trucks day and clean trucks/2 sleeps for the less busier fire houses. Plus quite a lot have 2nd jobs on their 4 days off and I am guessing a lot of money under the table jobs.

Re: Coronavirus
 

With improvements in wiring codes, reduced use of open fires for heating, widespread use of home smoke detectors, and a marked decline in smoking, most fire stations are much less busy than they were 40-50 years ago. I most commonly see fire engines at the scene of a road accident. ..... Which probably explains why a recent fire at a home a few miles from my home was attended by fire engines apparently from across the county - I heard reports of there being as many as 10-12 engines, :blink: and none of the stations here have more than four engines at most, and many only have two, or one.

Oh, and the fire? Someone had set fire to a wheelie bin, which had scorched the siding of the home, but a neighbour had extinguished the fire by the time the first fire engine showed up. :rofl:

Re: Coronavirus
 

:focus: This thread is to discuss the Coronovirus ONLY.

Can we please keep this thread on topic? If you wish to discuss salaries/hours of FF/paramedics etc, please open a new thread.

thanks.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Numbers up again yesterday...732 new cases in Ontario.

https://www.cp24.com/news/ontario-re...week-1.5130003

Re: Coronavirus
 

Oh hell.. 2nd wave here we go :(

Might have to start putting a few loaves of bread, fish, meat and vegetables in the freezer again..

Re: Coronavirus
 

Well over 300 schools in Ontario have reported cases. ER Doctor friends of my daughter said they were expecting the 2nd wave in October, they were right. We seem to be getting back to the same position as we were in in March. Difference is, that was the end of the winter and this is the beginning of the winter. :eek:

I have been buying a few extra non perishable bits and pieces for a while now. I have a side by side fridge/freezer, have been considerIng buying a chest freezer for the garage but kept putting it off.

Re: Coronavirus
 

14 new cases in Saskatchewan yesterday. We'll have to watch for an increase and adjust routine accordingly.

Re: Coronavirus
 

According to the local paper, Moncton's Ice Hockey team (QMJHL) is playing tonight and it's open to paying fans. The usual capacity is restricted to 25% so it's possible they may have over 2000 people in the arena.

I checked the booking site and they are selling tickets, single seating only but 'together' seats appear to be available for the next match in two days time.
I've no idea how many normally go but for so long with nothing I imagine there may be some desperate people about.

All sorts of restrictions, distancing, mask wearing, no 'gathering' etc but will everyone follow the rules? And they're allowing mask removal in seats, which is okay as far as restricting food and drink consumption in the seats, but this is a general "masks compulsory except when seated" rule as if it's allowed not just for eating and drinking. So what about shouting and cheering? I imagine there may be some of that.

And then, of course, the matter of them arriving and departing.

On the bright side there are only about 5 current cases in the whole province of NB and no new cases for a week. But we do get the odd one crop up every week or so and by the time the person has become symptomatic and tested/isolated they've probably not come into close contact with many people, for long enough, to have passed it on.

This could be interesting next week. :unsure:

Re: Coronavirus
 

Positivity rate in Ontario is still fairly low though, so that is a good sign.

The total percent positivity means that 1.3% of tests that were performed for COVID-19 were positive for COVID-19 on October 1, 2020. This was a change of -0.2% from the previous day.

Re: Coronavirus
 

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...dc4dcb29ef.png
Comparison UK CANADA - New Cases

Re: Coronavirus
 

As the numbers rise in Alberta and Manitoba, I'm just waiting for it to start here. People will be travelling back and forth over these borders to visit family on the Thanksgiving long weekend, and the papers are already advising against it.

Re: Coronavirus
 

In a bid to try to contain the virus as much as possible, people in the Toronto area are asked to stay home and only venture out if it is essential.


566 new cases in Ontario reported for yesterday. 196 in Toronto.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Yes, we have been so very fortunate in NB - they shut us down early, and the vast majority of people have followed the rules, and even if they didn’t - we had very few cases to spread. The problem is that so very many people have family just over the border, where ever we aren’t meant to venture, and they want to visit. It’s getting to people, it’s making them cross and antsy. I can’t see that Thanksgiving and Christmas are going to make it all feel better either.

In lots of ways I think it’s easier for us mentally than for a lot of Canadians. We moved a long way to get here and have always accepted that whilst we miss and worry about absent loved ones, visits are going to be rare due to cost and distance, but, certainly here, Canadians think nothing of jumping in a car and driving to Ontario or Ottawa etc., for high days and holidays and it’s a big mind shift for them not to be able to do it, it’s all in their own country. It doesn’t look like the annual week in Cuba In February is going to happen either.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Can anyone give some explanations for the terrible numbers in Quebec? They have been high in first wave, second wave or whatever wave we are on now. The population is just over 8 million, over an arguably huge geographic area, what is going on?

Re: Coronavirus
 

It's close proximity to the US, I suspect, with people popping over the border - perhaps with a disregard for keeping distance, masking up - or perhaps originally a lack of evidence (positive test) and people going about their daily buiness not realising they were asymptomatic and infectious.
The 2nd wave has just started for the majority of Canada.
:(

Re: Coronavirus
 

Sadly after a week with no new cases, New Brunswick just had a new one. There's no smiley that says "different world"


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...8e16fbe61c.gif

Re: Coronavirus
 

A workplace in Delta, BC (near Vancouver) was shut down due to an outbreak with 23 workers.

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/23-workers-tes...-b-c-1.5131641

They don't update over the weekend in BC, so this is as of Friday at 4:30pm. Those not familiar with BC, the province has different health authorities for different regions. Fraser Health Authority serves the largest population, followed by Vancouver Coastal Health, so no surprise those 2 health authorities see the most cases. Positivity rate for the last 10 days has been a low of 1% to a high of 1.8%.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...9531061f87.png

Re: Coronavirus
 

There are benefits of isolation... Newfoundland, even as part of the Atlantic bubble continues to have a low case count. (<300 total). All recent cases - and there are only 3 active right now - are people who have travelled from elsewhere in Canada or the world here. Most recent was a man coming from central africa who died while quarantining. I expect travel restrictions to remain indefinitely - the provincial govt was taken to court recently over the constitutionality (if thats a word) of the travel restrictions and won. So we remain a low covid island - at the cost, of course of a decimated tourism sector. Hopefully things will be better next summer.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Re: Coronavirus
 

Pubs, restaurants and cafes in Scotland are being barred from selling alcohol indoors for 16 days from Friday.

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavir...tland-12098306

Re: Coronavirus
 

Another nurse not following protocols. This time in Kelowna, but doesn't appear any patients were affected, the college of nurses has suspended his license for 4 weeks.

https://www.citynews1130.com/2020/10...-19-protocols/

Re: Coronavirus
 

So, after a week of nothing again in NB (for the umpteenth time) we had 2 new cases announced Monday (as usual related to travel) followed by another 2 Tuesday but this time in a Moncton nursing home.

Today there are 17 including residents, staff and family (n/k if family of staff or residents).

Source unidentified so far but from what was said by someone visiting their mum a couple of weeks ago screening wasn't done other than a temperature check. Of course, if you know you won't pass screening questions (because you know you travelled etc), then you shouldn't be going anywhere, let alone a nursing home.

Ice Hockey matches took place Friday night and Sunday night with fans.

Re: Coronavirus
 

With today's update, BC broke the 10,000 mark, not active cases of course, total cases since this began.

110 new cases today.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...sday-1.5755728

Re: Coronavirus
 

Ontario...Single day record high of 797 cases announced today. 265 in Toronto.

https://www.cp24.com/news/alarm-bell...ases-1.5137799

Re: Coronavirus
 

939 new cases in Toronto yesterday...a one day record. 5 new deaths. 336 in Toronto.

Re: Coronavirus
 

This is not good news :(

Re: Coronavirus
 

it certainly isn’t. It was only a few weeks ago the numbers were hovering around 100.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Ottawa and Toronto are going back into a tighter form of lockdown:

• The measures, which go into effect at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, include closing indoor dining, gyms, cinemas, casinos, performing arts and racing venues. Schools and places of worship will remain open.
• Personal care services where masks must be removed are prohibited as are team sports games and scrimmages.
• Capacity limits are reduced to 10 people indoors for tours, real estate open houses and meeting and event spaces. Physical distancing must be maintained.
• Wedding receptions are temporarily suspended effective 12:01 a.m. Tuesday.
• The government is also asking people in those areas to leave their homes only for essential purposes. Travel to other regions in the provinces should also be limited (though there is no outright travel restriction in place).

Re: Coronavirus
 

I feel for all you folks there, and for everywhere that's seeing increased rates of infection. This bloody virus, trying to control it seems to be one step forward and several back.

Re: Coronavirus
 

The last one is half hearted. Our constitution doesn't allow for them to put the regions into lockdown (thankfully) but people will go outside of those regions to access the services that are closed.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Indeed it does.

BC seems to be taking the, as long as deaths and ICU patients remain low we will stay open and business as usual for the most part. Schools are open, and only closures on businesses are night clubs and banquet halls. Pubs can be open with some restrictions such as no alcohol sales after 10pm, but otherwise nothing really is different here except we wear masks now.

We are seeing increasing cases and have been since late summer, but death rate isn't following, and ICU admissions not climbing exponentially either, so they seem to be managing things well through contact tracing still.

We don't even have mandatory mask rules in place, although most businesses require masks to enter.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Funny how people turn on each other. Compared to everywhere else Atlantic Canada has minimal numbers of covid, partly due to population - but if you travel on the bus, work in a bank, school, office, factory, supermarket etc you likely come into contact with as many people on the bus and in a bank, school, office, factory, supermarket etc as in big cities (there are just more of them for more people) - and the travel restrictions we've had.

Now, within NB, we had someone who travelled and didn't self isolate as required and this led to an outbreak in Campbellton (Northern NB) where there were confirmed cases in a special care home, hospital and two day cares. 30 odd cases IIRC. This put that region into code Orange when the rest of the province was yellow.

We've just had the highest day's number because of another outbreak in a special care home in Moncton. 17 cases - residents, staff or close contacts and there have been bitter people complaining that Moncton area had not been put back to Orange. They're seemingly unable to differentiate between one outbreak and four.

As it happens, the government has just announced that Moncton area will go back to Orange for the time being. I think this is a sop to those in the northern part of the province where the government won not a single seat in the recent election and where the Premier recently got into trouble for saying a lampshade could get elected up there. :lol:

I'm not particularly bothered. When you look at the differences between orange and yellow the vast majority of people will be largely unaffected especially as on the same day, mask wearing in public places is to be mandatory instead of recommended. That's a much bigger effect on people than the other change.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Pretty much here too. Only two deaths total, we only hit the 200th case a week ago but we just had a care home outbreak, cause not yet known.

Last week, spectators were allowed in for the ice hockey matches. I don't know how many actually went other than the first match in the new arena was a sell-out 8500 and attendances thereafter hovered around 4000. Capacity was restricted to 25% so could still be 2000 and there were various restrictions but I don't see how they could avoid a lot of people in the doorway all leaving at the end. :ohmy:

People were allowed to remove masks once they were seated and distanced. Following the recent change from Yellow to Orange (posted above) they can still go but when seated will have to keep their mask on. It's not a huge change. With all that whinging I mentioned you'd think it made the difference of not being able to go.

Re: Coronavirus
 

We have had 245 deaths in BC out of 10,066 cases.

Unemployment improved in September , but still higher than Jan/Feb.

Provincial average- 8.4 (still 3.4% higher vs Jan/Feb)

• Kelowna - 8.0 per cent (9.0)
• Abbotsford-Mission - 8.0 per cent (8.2)
• Vancouver - 11.1 per cent (12.8)
• Victoria - 9.1 per cent (10.3)

Re: Coronavirus
 

Correction/editThat 255 was supposed to be 25% :o

Re: Coronavirus
 

Hospitalizations only increased by 5 over the last week, despite seeing 90-120 new cases each day on average. 19 in ICU which isn't bad either. 119 new cases today.

Positivity rate this week has been between 1% and 1.7% so that is very low and good.


BC Gov't asking people to keep Thanksgiving to gatherings of 6 people or less, but I already know of several families who are having big dinners so I wonder how many will cancel Thanksgiving this year or keep it small?

Seems every long holiday brings an uptick, but summer long weekends tend to be people doing stuff outside so lower risk, but now the winter and fall holidays are coming where people are more likely to spend them indoors.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...ct-9-1.5754392