The COVID-19 pandemic

[tomh009]

SATURDAY 2021-07-10

Waterloo Region reported 25 new cases for today (7.9% of the active cases) and zero more for yesterday for 29; 248 new cases for the week (-14 from yesterday, -87 from last week), averaging 10.8% of active cases. 289 active cases, -81 in the last seven days.

Next testing report on Tuesday.

12,820 doses of vaccine administered (Bingeman!), with a seven-day average at 9,443 (previous week was 8,555). 65.08% of total regional population vaccinated (+0.24% from yesterday, +1.15% from 7 days ago), 40.52% fully vaccinated (+1.80% from yesterday, +9.67% from 7 days ago).

Ontario reported 166 new cases today with a seven-day average of 181 (-7). 278 recoveries and six deaths translated to a decrease of 118 active cases and a new total of 1,592. -439 active cases for the week and 37 deaths (five per day). 19,651 tests with a positivity rate of 0.84%. The positivity rate is averaging 0.88% for the past seven days, compared to 1.03% for the preceding seven. 155 patients in ICU (+7 today, -22 for the week) with COVID-19.

New case variants reported today (these are substantially delayed so they do not match the new case numbers):

• Alpha (B.1.1.7): 144
  
• Beta (B.1.351): 0
  
• Delta (B.1.617): 98 (32% of variants over the past 10 days)
  
• Gamma (P.1): 61
  

170,537 doses of vaccine administered, with a seven-day average at 205,271 (previous week was 219,133). 68.90% of total provincial population vaccinated (+0.12% from yesterday, +0.92% from 7 days ago), 46.58% fully vaccinated (+1.03% from yesterday, +8.84% from 7 days ago).

• 28 cases in Waterloo: 4.5 per 100K (based on provincial reporting)
  
• 7 cases in Southwestern Ontario: 3.5 per 100K
  
• 3 cases in Huron Perth: 3.1 per 100K
  
• 7 cases in Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph: 2.6 per 100K
  
• 9 cases in Middlesex-London: 2.2 per 100K
  
• 3 cases in Brant: 2.2 per 100K
  
• 18 cases in Peel: 1.3 per 100K
  
• 7 cases in Hamilton: 1.2 per 100K
  
• 28 cases in Toronto: 1.0 per 100K
  

   

[danbrotherston]

Anyway, this will mess them up when it comes to vaccines. While most Republicans have gotten their vaccine, they certainly haven't encouraged it much. Now, will the USA go into a forth wave? I don't know -- I think so many got sick, and others are vaccinated, there might not be a lot of hosts left, and as for covid deaths, I don't think they'll spike again.

Their 7-day average of new cases is up about 50% in the past week. Florida already has close to 5,000 new cases per day. No masks or distancing, let alone any other restrictions. Vaccination levels have stalled. It's not rocket science to figure out what the presence of delta will do to their case load.

Definitely not over in the US. I dunno, I am less hopeful now than I was in December.

[ac3r]

In Canada we don't have any mainstream news networks that are full on crazy like Fox. But we have plenty of fringe groups. And we have basically the same social media and talk radio nonsense going on.

Thankfully. The closest we had was Sun News Network and their ratings were abysmally bad - an average of 8000 per night. They lasted something like 4 years before the plug was pulled. I think we can be glad Canadians are pretty fair people, even when they are conservative. We have some fringe online media like Rebel News but their viewership is very low as well. Rupert Murdoch was never able to successfully penetrate the Canadian media market AFAIK which helps as well, though Tucker Carlson on Fox News has a hardon for Canada at the moment. The last few episodes of his shit TV show have had segments dedicated to whining about the loss of conservative values, made up attacks on Christians (due to <12 arsons that recently happened), some BS about how China apparently owns us and some more BS about Trudeau. It probably riles up his American viewers and maybe some Canadian Qanon types, but I don't think most Canadians would fall for his shit.

[danbrotherston]

In Canada we don't have any mainstream news networks that are full on crazy like Fox. But we have plenty of fringe groups. And we have basically the same social media and talk radio nonsense going on.

Thankfully. The closest we had was Sun News Network and their ratings were abysmally bad - an average of 8000 per night. They lasted something like 4 years before the plug was pulled. I think we can be glad Canadians are pretty fair people, even when they are conservative. We have some fringe online media like Rebel News but their viewership is very low as well. Rupert Murdoch was never able to successfully penetrate the Canadian media market AFAIK which helps as well, though Tucker Carlson on Fox News has a hardon for Canada at the moment. The last few episodes of his shit TV show have had segments dedicated to whining about the loss of conservative values, made up attacks on Christians (due to <12 arsons that recently happened), some BS about how China apparently owns us and some more BS about Trudeau. It probably riles up his American viewers and maybe some Canadian Qanon types, but I don't think most Canadians would fall for his shit.

But that's the thing...most Americans were sane and rational too. ANYONE is susceptible to cult-like brainwashing if the right propaganda is applied. And the same monied interests that have been active in the US exist here also. We're just 30 years behind the US, and technology can accelerate that timeline.

We'll be out of the pandemic by then...but it's still a real risk. Keeping our policies and our parties and our politics away from that should be a top priority. It's a shame that we didn't reform our electoral system, as that would have been a significant step towards that.

[Bjays93]

As someone else pointed out the problem in the US is both the right and the left have gone too far in their respective directions. The issue is not brainwashing as much as it is intentional division of the populace. Theres no room for middle ground moderates and civil dialogue which is leading to rapid rot and decay in the US both in their political system and their country as a whole. 

Canada, while it does have fringe groups, like any country, has not thus far given those groups a platform to divide people like in the US. While the CPC has some issues amongst certain representatives, O'Toole himself will not lead the party down that direction, regardless of how few people like him. Likewise Trudeau will refuse to venture too far left. Canada has other problems with its political system but what we see in the US right now is not currently one of them and it's unlikely it will be anytime soon

[ac3r]

But that's the thing...most Americans were sane and rational too. ANYONE is susceptible to cult-like brainwashing if the right propaganda is applied. And the same monied interests that have been active in the US exist here also. We're just 30 years behind the US, and technology can accelerate that timeline.

We'll be out of the pandemic by then...but it's still a real risk. Keeping our policies and our parties and our politics away from that should be a top priority. It's a shame that we didn't reform our electoral system, as that would have been a significant step towards that.

America was never sane. It has always been the land of the dumb. The dumb ones got lucky because their biggest foreign adversaries managed to install a washed up, trashy ex-reality TV star as president and it empowered the most insane segments of their society to crawl out of their caves and act like the hateful, moronic racists they always have been. But we are extremely unlikely to venture down that path.

I can't help but feel you're taking a fairly pessimistic view here by saying we're 30 years behind them too. Canada is Canada...we are not the USA. Too many things allow us to differentiate ourselves from them. I don't think Canadians are susceptible to a con on the level we witnessed down south. We can't be compared to them. We can't even be compared to the UK which got Boris Johnson. We're simply not as stupid as they are, in my opinion. The closest we have to Trump is Maxine Bernier who started his own far-right party only to do so bad in the polls that he lost his own seat to a more moderate conservative because he was so repulsive.

Yeah anyone can fall for propaganda indeed, but it would be incredibly hard to achieve that sort of populist BS up here. We're incredibly diverse. Our voting laws and system ensure we don't suffer from gerrymandering or other voter suppression tactics, so every vote truly counts in this country. Canadians value who they are as a nation and they value the benefits that being fairly progressive people enjoy. We don't have anything similar to American Exceptionalism engrained into our mentalities that makes us assume we're special nor do we have people making it harder to vote. Most of us look to our neighbours down south and feel nothing but perplexed by them. We have many problems here, but I don't think we have to worry about becoming anything like them in our generation. Our cultures - outside of things like media - are simply far too different thanks to our education and way of life. It's one thing to browse the internet and see hateful, regressive comments from Canadian people and assume that there's a lot of them out there, but that doesn't truly represent the majority. Social media acts like a giant echo chamber that seemingly amplifies such voices, but most of us don't think like that.

[danbrotherston]

As someone else pointed out the problem in the US is both the right and the left have gone too far in their respective directions. The issue is not brainwashing as much as it is intentional division of the populace. Theres no room for middle ground moderates and civil dialogue which is leading to rapid rot and decay in the US both in their political system and their country as a whole. 

Canada, while it does have fringe groups, like any country, has not thus far given those groups a platform to divide people like in the US. While the CPC has some issues amongst certain representatives, O'Toole himself will not lead the party down that direction, regardless of how few people like him. Likewise Trudeau will refuse to venture too far left. Canada has other problems with its political system but what we see in the US right now is not currently one of them and it's unlikely it will be anytime soon

Lol no. The Democrats are not too progressive. That isn't a real problem. It's a justification that many use to disengage or to excuse GOP insanity. 

Only one party is literally destroying the democracy that is America.

In fact putting things in a left/right dichotomy is one of the things that creates the division that you raise.

But ultimately this thread is now completely detached from COVID.

[danbrotherston]

But that's the thing...most Americans were sane and rational too. ANYONE is susceptible to cult-like brainwashing if the right propaganda is applied. And the same monied interests that have been active in the US exist here also. We're just 30 years behind the US, and technology can accelerate that timeline.

We'll be out of the pandemic by then...but it's still a real risk. Keeping our policies and our parties and our politics away from that should be a top priority. It's a shame that we didn't reform our electoral system, as that would have been a significant step towards that.

America was never sane. It has always been the land of the dumb. The dumb ones got lucky because their biggest foreign adversaries managed to install a washed up, trashy ex-reality TV star as president and it empowered the most insane segments of their society to crawl out of their caves and act like the hateful, moronic racists they always have been. But we are extremely unlikely to venture down that path.

I can't help but feel you're taking a fairly pessimistic view here by saying we're 30 years behind them too. Canada is Canada...we are not the USA. Too many things allow us to differentiate ourselves from them. I don't think Canadians are susceptible to a con on the level we witnessed down south. We can't be compared to them. We can't even be compared to the UK which got Boris Johnson. We're simply not as stupid as they are, in my opinion. The closest we have to Trump is Maxine Bernier who started his own far-right party only to do so bad in the polls that he lost his own seat to a more moderate conservative because he was so repulsive.

Yeah anyone can fall for propaganda indeed, but it would be incredibly hard to achieve that sort of populist BS up here. We're incredibly diverse. Our voting laws and system ensure we don't suffer from gerrymandering or other voter suppression tactics, so every vote truly counts in this country. Canadians value who they are as a nation and they value the benefits that being fairly progressive people enjoy. We don't have anything similar to American Exceptionalism engrained into our mentalities that makes us assume we're special nor do we have people making it harder to vote. Most of us look to our neighbours down south and feel nothing but perplexed by them. We have many problems here, but I don't think we have to worry about becoming anything like them in our generation. Our cultures - outside of things like media - are simply far too different thanks to our education and way of life. It's one thing to browse the internet and see hateful, regressive comments from Canadian people and assume that there's a lot of them out there, but that doesn't truly represent the majority. Social media acts like a giant echo chamber that seemingly amplifies such voices, but most of us don't think like that.

I think this is foolish. We are the same human beings as in the US, one species, there is nothing superior about people who live here vs. the other side of a political line on a map.

Our policies and institutions are what mean we have different results, but those institutions and policies can change. Our voting laws absolutely do suffer from serious issues. Our education system is very good, but you'll note it's often a target of conservative policies, so that can change. Social media is more than an echo chamber, it actively changes people's positions (just like advertising) and it can push people into brainwashing. Whether we like the echo chamber or not, MOST people in Canada DO participate in social media, and like I said, we are the same species as in the US, we are just as susceptible to the algorithms FB employs. We certainly have had no more inoculation against them than anyone else (and this is an example which can be found much more broadly than the US).

Ultimately, only by facing the risks honestly and talking about the implications of changes in our society (like social media, or our electoral system, or our education system) can we avoid the situation the US is in.  The US is also a large diverse country.

Oh...and we really do have a "Canadian Exceptionalism" ethos...it's the belief (rightly or wrongly) that we are better than the Americans.

[ijmorlan]

Oh...and we really do have a "Canadian Exceptionalism" ethos...it's the belief (rightly or wrongly) that we are better than the Americans.

In the immortal words of the Arrogant Worms, “it’s not that we’re better, it’s just that we’re less worse!”.

[tomh009]

Our policies and institutions are what mean we have different results, but those institutions and policies can change. Our voting laws absolutely do suffer from serious issues. Our education system is very good, but you'll note it's often a target of conservative policies, so that can change. Social media is more than an echo chamber, it actively changes people's positions (just like advertising) and it can push people into brainwashing.

Policies can change. Laws are less easy to change. The constitution even less so.

We have a constitution and a populace that largely values collective rights and protections ("peace, order and good government") over individual ones, unlike our neighbours to the south: this is why people here are willing to wear masks and distance from others, when the Americans are not. This is why we are willing to pay for universal health care. And this is why we are more willing to provide to the less fortunate. Yes, this can change, but this has been the case for more than 50 years and will not change overnight.

Our electoral system has similarities with the US, but also key differences. Elections Canada is independent and not controlled by partisan governments. There are no limitations on which citizens are allowed to vote. Gerrymandering is unheard of. We don't have US-style primaries, which promote pandering to the (more extreme) party base. And we have more than two parties, which means that candidates generally try to appeal to larger groups of voters, again discouraging extremism. This system will not change so easily, yes.

The human beings, as such, are the same on both sides of the border, there is no question about that. But the environment (including the upbringing of the children) and the political system have plenty of differences, so, at least in my opinion, rapid convergence of the two is highly unlikely. And FB alone won't make that happen.

[jeffster]

Current 7-day Covid-19 cases per 100k

• Grey Bruce Health Unit 73.6
• Region of Waterloo Public Health and Emergency Services 41.8
• Peterborough Public Health 18.2
• Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health 14.4
• City of Hamilton Public Health Services 13.2
• Porcupine Health Unit 12.0
• Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit 10.1
• Lambton Public Health 9.9
• Southwestern Public Health 9.5
• Peel Public Health 9.2

• TOTAL ONTARIO 8.7

Great numbers overall, hopefully RoW continues in this direction, we should be "Orange" in a few days, maybe less.

[ac3r]

20'077 vaccines were administered at Region of Waterloo Public Health operated clinics over the weekend during the "Every Dose Counts" event: https://www.kitchenertoday.com/coronavir...nd-3947864

[tomh009]

MONDAY 2021-07-12

Waterloo Region reported 28 new cases for today (9.7% of the active cases) and zero more for yesterday for 25; 241 new cases for the week (-8 from yesterday, -65 from last week), averaging 10.8% of active cases. 294 active cases, -75 in the last seven days.

Next testing report on Tuesday.

9,905 doses of vaccine administered, with a seven-day average at 9,856 (previous week was 8,496). 65.23% of total regional population vaccinated (+0.15% from yesterday, +1.15% from 7 days ago), 41.94% fully vaccinated (+1.42% from yesterday, +10.08% from 7 days ago).

Ontario reported 114 new cases today with a seven-day average of 173 (-8). 96 recoveries and zero deaths translated to a small increase of 18 active cases and a new total of 1,610. -357 active cases for the week and 36 deaths (five per day). 15,933 tests with a positivity rate of 0.72%. The positivity rate is averaging 0.80% for the past seven days, compared to 0.99% for the preceding seven. 155 patients in ICU (+0 today, -15 for the week) with COVID-19.

New case variants reported today (these are substantially delayed so they do not match the new case numbers):

• Alpha (B.1.1.7): 14
  
• Beta (B.1.351): 0
  
• Delta (B.1.617): 4 (37% of variants over the past 10 days)
  
• Gamma (P.1): 0
  

121,653 doses of vaccine administered, with a seven-day average at 201,965 (previous week was 214,051). 68.98% of total provincial population vaccinated (+0.08% from yesterday, +0.92% from 7 days ago), 47.33% fully vaccinated (+0.75% from yesterday, +8.69% from 7 days ago).

• 9 cases in Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph: 3.3 per 100K
  
• 15 cases in Waterloo: 2.4 per 100K (based on provincial reporting)
  
• 7 cases in Niagara: 1.6 per 100K
  
• 8 cases in Hamilton: 1.4 per 100K
  
• 5 cases in Middlesex-London: 1.2 per 100K
  
• 4 cases in Windsor-Essex: 1.0 per 100K
  
• 1 cases in Huron Perth: 1.0 per 100K
  

[jeffster]

Current 7-day Covid-19 per 100k

• Grey Bruce Health Unit 71.8
• Region of Waterloo Public Health and Emergency Services 43.6
• Public Health 14.9
• Porcupine Health Unit 14.4
• Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health 14.1
• City of Hamilton Public Health Services 13.5
• Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit 11.1
• Lambton Public Health 9.2
• Middlesex-London Health Unit 9.1
• Southwestern Public Health 9.0

• TOTAL ONTARIO 8.0

Region seems to have stabilized, but hopefully numbers will start coming down. We're about 5x the provincial average.

[tomh009]

TUESDAY 2021-07-13

Waterloo Region reported 26 new cases for today (8.8% of the active cases) and zero more for yesterday for 28; 256 new cases for the week (+15 from yesterday -- last Tuesday only 10 cases were reported -- and -17 from last week), averaging 10.5% of active cases. 286 active cases, -43 in the last seven days.

An average of 1,130 tests/day for the past seven days, and a much-improved positivity rate of 3.24% (5.72% a week ago).

6,624 doses of vaccine administered, with a seven-day average at 9,619 (previous week was 8,451). 65.36% of total regional population vaccinated (+0.13% from yesterday, +1.14% from 7 days ago), 42.90% fully vaccinated (+0.96% from yesterday, +9.84% from 7 days ago).

Ontario reported 146 new cases today with a seven-day average of 170 (-3). 201 recoveries and seven deaths translated to a decrease of 62 active cases and a new total of 1,548. -335 active cases for the week and 34 deaths (five per day). 17,489 tests with a positivity rate of 0.83%. The positivity rate is averaging 0.77% for the past seven days, compared to 1.03% for the preceding seven. 145 patients in ICU (-10 today, -23 for the week) with COVID-19.

New case variants reported today (these are substantially delayed so they do not match the new case numbers):

• Alpha (B.1.1.7): 31
  
• Beta (B.1.351): 8
  
• Delta (B.1.617): 41 (37% of variants over the past 10 days)
  
• Gamma (P.1): 41
  

176,834 doses of vaccine administered, with a seven-day average at 196,410 (previous week was 206,978). 69.11% of total provincial population vaccinated (+0.13% from yesterday, +0.91% from 7 days ago), 48.40% fully vaccinated (+1.07% from yesterday, +8.43% from 7 days ago).

• 36 cases in Waterloo: 5.8 per 100K (based on provincial reporting)
  
• 4 cases in Chatham-Kent: 3.8 per 100K
  
• 10 cases in Middlesex-London: 2.5 per 100K
  
• 11 cases in Hamilton: 1.9 per 100K
  
• 43 cases in Toronto: 1.5 per 100K
  
• 6 cases in Halton: 1.1 per 100K
  
• 2 cases in Southwestern Ontario: 1.0 per 100K