Re: Coronavirus
 

Ontario recorded 978 new cases yesterday...record high. 348 in Toronto. 6 deaths.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Good God.
It wouldn't surprise me if they break through the 1,000 new cases per day next week if this keeps up.

Re: Coronavirus
 

They are getting close for sure. US has been breaking all time daily records this week, seems the warnings over summer the 2nd wave in fall could be worse seem to be coming true.

So much for those who were saying there wouldn't be a 2nd wave.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Change from previous report 625 1.1% increase
:( definitely on the increase

Re: Coronavirus
 

My work colleagues and i were having a discussion the other day about how the 2019/2020 flu season seemed to be a non entity, we have 8 employees and work in a small building so usually when one gets the flu we all get it, but this year no one got it, (none of us got Covid either) and i don't know of any of my friends or relatives around the globe who got Flu either, then i read this in the DM.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...illed-flu.html
Now i know the source of this article is a bit iffy but if true it does throw up alot of questions regarding Covid, Flu, testing etc. etc. ands adds fuel to the fire regarding what the politicians and scientists are telling us.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Whilst I wouldn't trust the mail - after seeing someone say this the other day I looked into it myself out of curiosity.

Information is here: WHO flu data

Taking the UK from Jan 18 to present the previous 2 winters had weeks of 4000+ positives, several weeks each of 2000+ - this winter we saw no weeks above 1800 at all.

Taking the US - this years numbers have been higher than last year but similar to 2018 - although a noticeable decline in type A (pandemic causing) - interesting though flu dropped off the face of the earth in the US in mid march and hasn't been seen since (realise some of that is the focus on covid - but likewise would almost expect more flu positives as more people will be worried about it being covid and seeking help rather than just going to bed - I'm pretty sure some of hours of flu would cause hospitalisation if they'd been reported and I'd been looked at) compared to normally having residual cases throughout the summer.

Canada is much the same as US in that its disappeared and last winter was worse than the previous but matched up to 2018.
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As we typically don't get much more than a small sample of flu cases, the billion dollar question for me is for places in the northern hemisphere on very bad flu weeks we'd see similar death numbers to what we saw from COVID (and bare in mind those with comorbidities often wouldn't get flu down as cause of death, especially if it was a post flu chest infection or the like a couple of weeks later on someone with lung problems) - did a milder flu season and milder winter mean the large spikes we saw of 1000s of deaths a day early in the pandemic were people who wouldn't have survived a bad flu season or a tough winter or where extremely succeptible to covid - so will we see similar scary numbers this time round??

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Re: Coronavirus
 

This was interesting from that article, not something I ever thought of before, but does make sense.

"Dr Groppelli adds: 'Viruses are parasites. Once they enter a cell, they don't want other viruses to compete with. So the virus already in the body will effectively kick the other parasite out.'

Re: Coronavirus
 

Reading through I was waiting to read the theory that because many people were taking precautions they didn't routinely take in other years to avoid spreading Covid, it follows that regular flu was also kept in check.

But I didn't see it until the comments.

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up again yesterday...1042 new cases, 7 deaths. 309 in Toronto. :(

Re: Coronavirus
 

Not good at all.

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My SD got tested twice with one symptom each time.

On the weekend just gone, an area in the north of the province carried out a mass testing, no symptoms required (anyone with symptoms was encouraged to stay away) and they tested about 2500 in that one off exercise. Saturday results were all negative.

Re: Coronavirus
 

817 new cases in BC over the last 3 days.

New rules around gatherings in homes restricted to immediate household members and six additional people. Although depending on size of the dwelling 6 additional people may still be too many.

Increase in cases being linked to increased gatherings during Thanksgiving holiday.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...t-26-1.5743802

Re: Coronavirus
 

Pretty much all western countries seem to want to issue rules that cause confusion. Inviting people into your home represents a risk of catching and spreading the disease, and therefore should be avoided. The purpose of limiting the numbers to six non-family members is to slow the spread of the disease, not stop it. So long as people are misled into thinking that "six guests is safe" the pandemic will continue to escalate.

Unfortunately I suspect that for every family who is following isolation/ self lock-down rules there appear to be several families who are ignoring/ flouting the rules.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Fraser Valley ruining it for the rest of the province.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Looks like the Fraser Health issue is large gatherings like weddings causing the surge.

Might be time to make restrictions region specific and limit non-essential travel considering they have a fair amount more cases than anywhere else in the province.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...urge-1.5773420

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...1bbbc1c641.png

Re: Coronavirus
 

There are a lot of cultures in that neck of the woods with Sons living at home with their parents well into their 30s, and some even after marriage, they live with their parents and spouse as a “joint family". I'm sure that this is a contributing factor to the high number of COVID cases for that specific health region.
It's exactly the same scenario in the UK for those areas.

My in-laws in Manila are all crammed into a tiny house where there are not enough beds, it's pretty common all over Asia to have 'joint families' in one house. Nothing wrong with it, but during COVID it is not ideal.

Re: Coronavirus
 

France and Germany have announced second national lockdowns to try to curb a surge in coronavirus cases and deaths.The month-long measures will include:

• A 'stay at home' order except to exercise for one hour a day, seek medical care or buy essential goods
• Shutting restaurants and bars
• Non-essential shops to close
• A travel ban between regions
• Closing some external borders
• Universities moving to online teaching

Anyone outside their homes will have to carry a document justifying their excursion, which can be checked by police.

Schools will remain open.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Fraser Health want's people to restrict their gatherings to mostly just those who reside in the same dwelling.

"Dr. Elizabeth Brodkin, the Fraser Health Authority's interim chief medical health officer, says she wants people to start limiting home gatherings to only those who live there, excepting the occasional family visitor."

Fraser Health accounted for 81% of cases over the weekend. Fraser Health is the largest health authority in the province serving 40% of the population.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...ules-1.5779383


Danny your thought was correct, Fraser Health has the highest density of multi-generational housing with many people living in close proximity.

"Brodkin says the region seems to be a hot spot for COVID-19 because it has the highest density of multi-generational people living in close proximity to each other, making it easier for the virus to circulate."


At the hospital yesterday, I am still surprised how many people go there without wearing a mask, they seem to only be suggesting wearing a mask.

I wore one up until the time I had to take it off for the procedure, but most people in the waiting area did not have a mask on, and half the people in line to enter the main entrance did not have a mask on. Most staff however did have masks on but some were letting their nose peek out.

They do "screen" everyone by asking some questions on entry, they asked if you have a fever, cough, sore throat, if you travelled outside of Canada in the past 14 days, if you have been around anyone who confirmed positive, and if you have been told to self isolate, then they drop about a dime size drop of hand sanitizer on your hand, not enough to actually do anything really.

Obviously impossible to social distance as a patient who needs an IV and certain procedures.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Which begs the question, what about masks? We keep on hearing all the plus points about how they protect others and many many places mandating their use and fines issued for non compliance and France, Spain and even Italy i believe have mask mandates for some outdoor areas too. BC in fact probably remains one of the few who haven't as yet actually mandated it. If wearing one is so effective something somewhere is not right because the countries you mention above and UK too have all had rules in place for weeks now yet still we see huge rises and now more severe restrictions to curb spread. Maybe its my simple brain but i just don't see the figures i would expect after mass mask mandates have been in use and for some time too.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Really? It became mandatory only a couple of weeks ago here but the hospital has insisted on masks since at least July.

Re: Coronavirus
 

They request a mask be worn, but not requiring a mask to be worn. No government mandate for masks here, most retail stores do require one though, but not all do, and even those that do require one are not generally enforcing it.

I have a hunch BC may hit 300 cases per day soon.

One positive is hospitalizations don't seem to be climbing rapidly.

Fraser Health has most new cases- 189
Vancouver Coastal Health- 69
Interior Health- 10
Northern Health- 16
Vancouver Island Health- 3

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...enry-1.5780326

https://experience.arcgis.com/experi...9e3cda29297ded

Re: Coronavirus
 

Why am I not surprised this is happening in Chilliwack.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...ules-1.5779895

A children's soccer club in Chilliwack, B.C., has hired a private security firm to supervise its games after it said family members unhappy with contact tracing and limited crowd sizes began lashing out at staff on the sidelines..

Re: Coronavirus
 

The numbers are probably increasing because of all the idiots who won't wear a mask, won't social distance, think they are immune - or think that it's a fake virus! . :)

Re: Coronavirus
 

234 new cases, 1 death in BC.

Death was an 80 year old women who attended a small birthday party in Fraser Health where a majority of those present at the birthday party tested positive for the virus.

Looks like Surrey is responsible for the bulk of the surging cases.

"Henry said from Surrey, part of the Fraser Health region where cases are surging more than anywhere else in the province."

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...r-29-1.5782369
4588 (+43) cases in the Vancouver Coastal Health region

8036 (+173) cases in the Fraser Health region

734 (+7) cases in the Interior Health region

256 (+3) cases in the Island Health region

406 (+7) cases in the Northern Health region

89 (+1) cases of people who reside outside of Canada

Re: Coronavirus
 

Really? I somehow doubt it, have you looked at the numbers in France? Around 1000 cases early August rising consistently until now and record numbers this month, up to 50,000 cases a day!!!! Now they are making young school aged children (6 years) wear them in school which they didn't have to before this week. Like that is going to solve the problem. You say idiots that won't wear one but it has been law since way back so whilst there will always be some who want to "stand their ground" i'm sure that most have had to follow regulations.

Re: Coronavirus
 

From what many of our members have said - together with my own observations - there are many people who disregard the rules / laws / regulations. You only have to watch the news (in any country) to see that...there are demonstrations against the use of them. I personally know of at least 8 people who use the 'medically exempt' excuse for not wearing one, despite all but 1 not having any health issues that would result in this. It's the same the world over!

I didn't just say masks though - I said also those that won't social distance and those that don't believe COVID is real - and think they can do whatever they like, regardless.
:)
In Ontario they advertise that you can't be questioned, you just have to say it!

Re: Coronavirus
 

It doesn't take much to discourage mask wearing. As you say, there are people who won't, and they then provide a example for others who are on the fence, and soon it's only a small minority who are making the effort. It's why we have death rates of 700 (per million) and Asian countries are under 100. The tragedy and frustration is that so many people refuse to believe that infections and death can be prevented.

Re: Coronavirus
 

It seems a very strange way to claim that numbers are rising despite assumed mask wearing by referencing some people previously not required to now wear them.
That rather sounds like there's not been enough mask wearing.
Of course there are plenty of other factors. Last week I watched Manchester United play in Paris and I was astonished to discover that but for the 8.00 pm kick off there would have been spectators in the stadium.

That's right. :nod: They've been letting thousands of fans in to sit close to each other at various sports events, shout a bit, mill around at the exits and entrances and all that. They're letting them in at the France-Ireland rugby international too. :ohmy:

I wonder, do you think there might be a connection?

Ditto in Russia with the spectators they've been allowing.

Re: Coronavirus
 

My theory as to why BC hasn't mandated masks is in part due to contact tracing, which is tracing a good chunk of the cases back to family gatherings in private dwellings, as well as parties in private dwellings.

How many people are wearing masks in private homes during gatherings?

Re: Coronavirus
 

The point about young children becoming part of the mandate was merely pointing out that they (France) are losing the battle yet they appear to think that expanding the mask requirement to 6 year olds will help, i am 100% sure it will make zero difference. It seems that from your comments much is or was wrong with their policies to allow these things to go ahead whilst mandating masks as a way to reduce infection rates. Clearly that mandate hasn't worked as they are now shutting everything down. My original post was really just musing over the fact that right now we are all being required in many places to wear a mask to protect others and help reduce infections yet a quick look at the figures would suggest that more is required. We have seen French authorities expand the mask rules to outdoor areas and bring in curfews and all along it looks like they were barking up the wrong tree

Re: Coronavirus
 

82 new cases in Sask, 707 active cases. We keep setting new records.

Re: Coronavirus
 

It's certainly not going to help if they allow thousands of spectators in to football and rugby matches.
Another hotspot - Russia - seems to be allowing fans in. I watched a bit of a game from Moscow a few days ago. The spectators were definitely distanced but I paused the action a couple of times and counted the people in view. A third were unmasked.

We know that coughing and sneezing transmits the virus but it's also said that being in the company of someone talking for 15 minutes does it too. There have been illustrative graphics of how far the aerosols reach in conversations as well as being expelled at force.

Football fans tend to shout or cheer. That's a lot of aerosols floating around travelling further than 6 feet with a third of a few thousand having no barrier to reduce that happening. And with the best will in the world distancing in the seats won't make much difference in the inevitable bottlenecks at turnstyles and other entrances/exits when they all try to pass through at once.

And when you see pictures like this

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...1239692cce.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...56b382f98.jpeg

People sitting together like that for extended periods, unmasked, you can imagine what happens even if they're masked up and distanced the rest of the time.

Re: Coronavirus
 

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/british...7a22f70c08.jpg

Re: Coronavirus
 

Things not looking good in Manitoba today.

480 new cases today but appears to include several days of backlog.

Broad shutdown starting Monday in Winnipeg, many businesses and facilities in the Winnipeg metropolitan region will close including bars, movie theaters, concert halls, restaurant dining rooms, and retail will be limited to 25% of capacity.

Hospitals will suspend non-urgent procedures.

Intensive care units are at 96 per cent capacity.

5 day positivity rate 8.6 per cent.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manit...t-30-1.5783544

Re: Coronavirus
 

Holy shit! University of Saskatchewan researchers are monitoring Covid-19 residue in Saskatoon wastewater, and their graph (probably most accurate measure because it counts asymptomatic carriers), shows a big spike, so we're probably in for it.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7433877/c...sk-wastewater/

Re: Coronavirus
 

UBC and BCCDC are doing wastewater sampling as well, although the articles don't go into a ton of detail like your link with the graph, I think a fair amount of city's are doing the same.

Quite interesting really.

Re: Coronavirus
 

UK PM set to announce month-long England lockdown.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-54763956

England will go into a second national lockdown for a month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is set to announce.

Non-essential shops and hospitality will have to close, sources told the BBC.

But unlike the restriction in the spring, schools and colleges are to be allowed to stay open.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Finally, BoJo got the memo. A few weeks late, and "alas" a few hundred extra deaths, but he's finally listening the the scientific advice again.

Re: Coronavirus
 

Can't help thinking whilst it may seem like a great idea have they not thought about the Brits and their love of a good party, inside or out. Lock down on Thursday so party hard and fast until then, masks optional. Lol

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/uknews...onal-lockdown/

Re: Coronavirus
 

Hmm...I can see the pictures from Thursday's Daily Fail now showing people on Wednesday night in provincial city centres and Soho in a fetal position in a puddle from too many lagers and cocktails to get that last night of drinking in before lockdown.