The COVID-19 pandemic

[jeffster]

Current 7-day Covid-19 cases per 100k

• Timiskaming Health Unit 232.5
• Algoma Public Health 171.3
• Public Health Sudbury & Districts 115.6
• Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit 98.2
• Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health 92.6
• Windsor-Essex County Health Unit 88.0
• Southwestern Public Health 85.1
• Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit 84.2
• Brant County Health Unit 72.2
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health 65.3

• Region of Waterloo Public Health and Emergency Services 35.6

• Middlesex-London Health Unit 22.3
• Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health 21.5
• Grey Bruce Health Unit 20.6
• Peel Public Health 20.1
• Toronto Public Health 19.9
• Northwestern Health Unit 18.2
• Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit 16.7
• North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit 11.6
• Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit 11.1
• Porcupine Health Unit 10.8

• TOTAL ONTARIO 34.3

[jeffster]

Current 7-day Covid-19 cases per 100k

• Timiskaming Health Unit 208.0
• Algoma Public Health 167.8
• Public Health Sudbury & Districts 112.5
• Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit 99.1
• Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health 98.3
• Windsor-Essex County Health Unit 96.5
• Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit 83.7
• Southwestern Public Health 83.2
• Brant County Health Unit 81.2
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health 67.7

• Region of Waterloo Public Health and Emergency Services 36.5

• Middlesex-London Health Unit 22.9
• Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health 21.5
• Toronto Public Health 21.5
• Peel Public Health 21.0
• Renfrew County and District Health Unit 18.4
• Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit 17.3
• Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit 14.8
• Northwestern Health Unit 13.7
• North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit 12.3
• Porcupine Health Unit 10.8

• TOTAL ONTARIO 35.8

[tomh009]

A new variant that has now been named as Omicrom has been declared a variant of concern by the WHO; Canadian premiers calling for border closures: https://news.yahoo.com/new-covid-19-vari...53034.html

I'm 99.9% certain that Omicron is already spreading in North America, and 90% that it's already in Canada. For sure, banning travel only from a handful of African countries will not keep this variant out as it's all over Europe already.

[danbrotherston]

A new variant that has now been named as Omicrom has been declared a variant of concern by the WHO; Canadian premiers calling for border closures: https://news.yahoo.com/new-covid-19-vari...53034.html

I'm 99.9% certain that Omicron is already spreading in North America, and 90% that it's already in Canada. For sure, banning travel only from a handful of African countries will not keep this variant out as it's all over Europe already.

Pretty easy call to make  

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/ontario-repor...-1.5684897

[tomh009]

No surprise at all -- and I fully expect that those two are not the only ones. I will say that I had not read that story before posting though! 😉

[jeffster]

Current 7-day Covid-19 cases per 100k

• Timiskaming Health Unit 208.0
• Algoma Public Health 175.6
• Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health 113.8
• Windsor-Essex County Health Unit 109.7
• Public Health Sudbury & Districts 102.5
• Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit 90.3
• Southwestern Public Health 88.4
• Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit 88.2
• Brant County Health Unit 86.3
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health 70.0

• Region of Waterloo Public Health and Emergency Services 34.2

• City of Hamilton Public Health Services 23.8
• Renfrew County and District Health Unit 22.1
• Toronto Public Health 21.9
• Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health 21.2
• Peel Public Health 20.8
• Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit 15.9
• North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit 13.9
• Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit 13.9
• Northwestern Health Unit 13.7
• Porcupine Health Unit 10.8

• TOTAL ONTARIO 36.9

[jeffster]

No surprise at all -- and I fully expect that those two are not the only ones. I will say that I had not read that story before posting though! 😉

We'll have to see where this goes. I was watching some South African news yesterday, and their thinking that this variant might be more contagious than some other variants, but more mild when it comes to the illness.

Obviously it was take a month or two before we really have a good idea how this variant operates. Really 3 things to watch out for 1) how contagious it is, 2) how sick it makes you, and 3) how effective will the vaccine be.

My understanding too is that Astra Zeneca vaccine might have some advantages with this new variant. But that vaccine, along with Moderna, can't be given to everyone due to health risks.

[tomh009]

Obviously it was take a month or two before we really have a good idea how this variant operates. Really 3 things to watch out for 1) how contagious it is, 2) how sick it makes you, and 3) how effective will the vaccine be.

From the virus point of view, more contagious is good, making people very sick is bad (because it prevents people from spreading it). Reproduction is the virus's ultimate goal.

The optimal virus would be super contagious and completely asymptomatic.

[plam]

No surprise at all -- and I fully expect that those two are not the only ones. I will say that I had not read that story before posting though! 😉

We'll have to see where this goes. I was watching some South African news yesterday, and their thinking that this variant might be more contagious than some other variants, but more mild when it comes to the illness.

Obviously it was take a month or two before we really have a good idea how this variant operates. Really 3 things to watch out for 1) how contagious it is, 2) how sick it makes you, and 3) how effective will the vaccine be.

My understanding too is that Astra Zeneca vaccine might have some advantages with this new variant. But that vaccine, along with Moderna, can't be given to everyone due to health risks.

We really don't know anything definite yet. Good to be cautious, not good to panic. We'll know more in a few weeks. mRNA can be retargeted and deployed in 100 days. Only Phase I studies needed to approve.

[jamincan]

Has anyone else noticed more people unmasked in stores? I haven't seen many, but I have encountered a couple this past week. It's a little jarring, because mask compliance has seemed very high through the pandemic up to this point.

[danbrotherston]

Has anyone else noticed more people unmasked in stores? I haven't seen many, but I have encountered a couple this past week. It's a little jarring, because mask compliance has seemed very high through the pandemic up to this point.

I can't say that I have...to be honest, I've been really impressed, mask compliance has seemed really high. I can count on one hand how many unmasked people I've encountered inside since the beginning of the pandemic. One buddy on the GO Bus who apparently couldn't keep his mask on for the whole trip. Various bus drivers (annoyingly enough), one elderly lady in the grocery store with a face shield and an oxygen tank, and vastly less sympathetically a woman wearing an "I'm exempt" anti-masker button who checked out in front of me and was chatting up the anti-vaxxer protestors outside when I got out.

Overall, I'm impressed, but I am also still shopping during very quiet periods.

[jeffster]

Has anyone else noticed more people unmasked in stores? I haven't seen many, but I have encountered a couple this past week. It's a little jarring, because mask compliance has seemed very high through the pandemic up to this point.

I haven't, except the odd time when I am at Wal*Mart, our the inconvenience store when people are buying smokes and/or lottery tickets. Nothing more than in the past.

[jeffster]

Yesterdays Covid-19 cases per 100k

• Timiskaming Health Unit 195.8
• Algoma Public Health 176.5
• Windsor-Essex County Health Unit 118.9
• Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health 112.4
• Public Health Sudbury & Districts 109.5
• Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit 99.1
• Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit 85.6
• Southwestern Public Health 82.3
• Brant County Health Unit 79.3
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health 71.2

• Region of Waterloo Public Health and Emergency Services 29.6

• Middlesex-London Health Unit 24.2
• Toronto Public Health 22.6
• Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health 22.4
• Peel Public Health 22.4
• Renfrew County and District Health Unit 20.3
• Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit 15.6
• Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit 15.3
• Northwestern Health Unit 13.7
• Porcupine Health Unit 13.2
• North Bay Parry Sound District Health Unit 13.1

• TOTAL ONTARIO 37.4

[ijmorlan]

…, and vastly less sympathetically a woman wearing an "I'm exempt" anti-masker button who checked out in front of me and was chatting up the anti-vaxxer protestors outside when I got out.

Overall, I'm impressed, but I am also still shopping during very quiet periods.

“exempt” … from having brains and using them.

[JoeKW]

I've noticed an increase in the number of parents not wearing masks at drop offs and pickups at my child's elementary school but at least we're all outside.