(03-09-2022, 06:37 PM)ac3r Wrote: That doesn't seem to be the case in countries which have removed restrictions and mandates, though.

In the US cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths have been continually trending downward even though all states have now removed mask mandates. In the last two weeks, they've seen (numbers referring to percentages) -51 cases, -43 hospitalizations, -44 for ICU beds and -26 in deaths.

In the UK, they have been seeing similar downward trends. There's a slight increase in cases recently, but one needs to remember they test a hell of a lot more than other countries...in the last two weeks they've gone up 7 percent. Deaths have nonetheless gone down a -25 percent decrease in the last 14 days.

Both countries have removed restrictions and mandates a while ago (with a few states lagging behind, such as Hawaii as well as Puerto Rico, though now I believe it's universal with the exception of certain school systems and private businesses) and yet even with omicron, things are looking good.

Things have gone up in Canada in comparison - +7 percent in cases and +33 percent in deaths - but I'm not sure how to explain that when we are still wearing masks here. Regardless, we can look at countries that have removed mask mandates to get a sense of what we are likely going to be in store for. Judging by US and UK data, it should be easily manageable. People will still die, but that's going to happen no matter what since we are past the point of eliminating this virus. Either we remove the mask mandates now (and reinstate them if necessary) or we never do.

And either we trust our public health officials - doctors, scientists, statisticians etc - when they say it will be okay to remove the mandates or we don't trust public health. Personally, I'm willing to trust them because they've presented their data and research to the PCPO and then they made the decision. And it isn't really a political decision as it's based on research. Some are suggesting it's to score political points, but I think that's nonsense since the election isn't for a while and it would make no sense to remove the mandates only for things to spike back up. That's shooting themselves in the foot, so I believe they have simply been looking at not only our own country but others to come to the conclusion that we can now take the chance to end them and reinstate if necessary.

Note: I'm pulling these numbers from the New York Times since they are a reliable source. Not sure if their Covid-19 info is available for free still, but the info can be found elsewhere.

(03-09-2022, 10:24 PM)jeffster Wrote:

(03-09-2022, 07:10 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Cases are a very unreliable indicator because test volumes are so low now.

Deaths are a lagging indicator so looking at a two-week span will not tell you the real story.

Here are charts for the last 30 days for hospital population. This still lags, but less so than deaths.

Damn, the USA, though. Could that be because nearly everyone has gotten sick?

(03-10-2022, 10:46 PM)tomh009 Wrote:

(03-09-2022, 10:24 PM)jeffster Wrote: Damn, the USA, though. Could that be because nearly everyone has gotten sick?

Could be. Or they started kicking out people without insurance.

(03-14-2022, 12:05 PM)kps Wrote:

(03-10-2022, 10:46 PM)tomh009 Wrote: Could be. Or they started kicking out people without insurance.

US has just started a federally-funded ‘test-to-treat’ program — pharmacies can do tests and dispense antivirals on the spot, free.

(03-17-2022, 03:10 PM)ac3r Wrote: The testing centre will be closing on the 23rd at 6:30PM and moving back to Grand River Hospital so this property will be finally free for redevelopment unless something happens and they need to reopen it. I have taken a couple trips there to scout and tour the site and I believe one of other crew was touring the place last month or so. Can't reveal what potential plans I'm involved in nor do I know what others have been considering, but I can definitely say there's a lot of interest from various developers for potential projects.

I'll be curious to see what happens with this place. It's far too small for a stadium despite people wanting to see one get built here. But I do hope we can utilize it for something more meaningful for the community rather than simply selling it off for condos. A park extension, public square and perhaps some civic oriented buildings would be most ideal in my opinion and I've been designing plans for such projects in AutoCAD/Revit in my free time.