BristolUK

The biggest difficulty is my SD works retail (Home stuff). The staff are masked up, screens at cash desk but they all do different things so they're not always at a cash desk.
For some time the store had a wear a mask policy but nobody was denied entry if they didn't have one. That's been replaced by a mandatory provincial policy to wear them but the store is still not enforcing it. But the wearers sometimes don't wear them properly and even lower them to speak to staff. And don't always observe distancing.

She gets the bus to work and although the drivers enforce it that's only when they get on the bus. They may lower them after and not be seen. Passenger numbers are restricted. A couple of weeks ago a woman was sitting behind SD telling someone she was with about how she and her son had just been tested as they had symptoms but this woman was on the bus going to work when she was supposed to be self isolating pending a result.

So, just like being on the roads, you can be careful but still have stupidity around you.

old.sparkles

I think it is this sort of attitude that caused the second wave seen in Victoria and forced the lockdown that is only now being lifted. The second wave was much more severe than the first with about 18000 confirmed cases, and 800 deaths (not shown). Source of data - https://covid-19-au.com/state/vic

Shard

Yes, that sounds like the reaility of it. I went to PC World back in August, and I remember being quite nervoust that the sales guy kept moving to within 1 meter of me.

BristolUK

I bought my first computer there. I don't think I'd be in Canada if I hadn't.

Nand

I'm still hoping there will be more advocacy for and money put into making it possible for the vulnerable population to stay at home. Those who want to do that should be supported.

If that meant separate housing for younger members of households which also have vulnerable people, then there should be at least partial subsidizing for that to encourage those who want to remain isolated from the general populations to be able to do so without severe hardship. Obviously I still think isolation is the only way guarenteed to saving lives of a large percent of the population.

People who can safely work will still have to take all measures to keep Cov19 from spreading but the significantly less deaths and hospitalizations would be really great results of such a scheme.

If I saw numbers coming down because of the methodology we have taken on so far, instead of numbers going up like rockets, I wouldn't be thinking of such a scheme.

BristolUK

How does that work in practice? If around half households are a mix, all things being equal something like 25% of the population needs rehousing.

A nice and neat way would be to do a straight swap - the young and fit move into households of young and fit, while at risk move out and into households of other at risk folk. Of course they'd all need to self isolate somewhere for two weeks before deemed safe so there's still an accommodation problem.

Maybe there are some old barracks around that could be used.

Sorry tumbleweedly, I'm not meaning to sound sarcastic, I just don't see it as practical and that's ignoring the breaking up family households aspect.

Pulaski

I agree, many western countries have chronic housing shortages, especially for young people, so the idea that such problems can be resolved in the middle of a global pandemic is a non-starter in my opinion, never mind the need for very considerable money that would be required. And as you point out, it would likely just lead to more "unnecessary" movements and contacts, with people visiting relatives. .... I could see that a house of several young people would just create a hotspot-bridge between households of otherwise unrelated families.

scrubbedexpat091

Agreed. No way any government could suddenly find places for people to live to protect the vulnerable population, as you say many countries can't house the current population as it is.

Plus some cultures live in larger family groups under one roof, its pretty common with Indians here in BC, many generations under one roof. (By Indian I mean people from the country of India.)