Ottawa family physician speaks out as more and more provinces drop masking requirements
No. This is the new reality and they know it. Covid is here to stay and will keep mutating and is NOT going away probably ever. Sometimes it will be worse and sometimes it will be mild. You can’t just keep indefinitely shutting down and imprisoning people will bullshit mandates that do nothing. They are starting to finally see the damage they have done to the people, business, livelihoods, economy, mental health etc. you push any further and the damage becomes irreversible. Not everyone can afford this like the majority of terbs posters who are well off and have tons of money to throw on SPs and post drivel all day long and pretend they are experts in everything discussed.The issue here is very few scientists agree with dropping mask mandates at this time. We are still seeing large amounts of the virus in waste water, which could mean there are thousands of cases right now. And, if things go horribly wrong in a month of so, will Ontario re-impose masks again, or have another lockdown? I think we can all see that the end is hopefully near...but rushing things could be disastrous. You might be done with COVID, but it doesn't mean COVID is done with you....
The fact we aren't using waste water measurements more is just idiocy.The issue here is very few scientists agree with dropping mask mandates at this time. We are still seeing large amounts of the virus in waste water, which could mean there are thousands of cases right now. And, if things go horribly wrong in a month of so, will Ontario re-impose masks again, or have another lockdown? I think we can all see that the end is hopefully near...but rushing things could be disastrous. You might be done with COVID, but it doesn't mean COVID is done with you....
We do use it....just not super effectively. I saw last week they were saying the waste after could show there are 10-15,000 active cases in Ontario. That's potentially massive spread...The fact we aren't using waste water measurements more is just idiocy.
It's one of the few measures that isn't a lagging indicator. It avoids all the self reporting issues and general problems of people wanting to pretend nothing is happening. If the infrastructure is built out there is a good chance it can act as a leading indicator for flu as well. It can be reasonably targeted to specific communities, allowing for more targeting interventions.
It's being criminally underused.
I never claim to be an expert. But, I do know how a lot of things work. Dropping the mask mandate will & should happen. But, is now the time? A lot of experts say they're doing it without a lot of data to back things up. Waste water shows there could be thousands of active cases across the province. Now, we're getting to the warm season, and we have a lot of vaccinated people. But I think it'll be telling after this week where kids and families are going to be getting together for March break. If we don't have a major surge in cases, then I'll feel more confident. As they stop dropping masks, we'll see if there is another surge in cases.No. This is the new reality and they know it. Covid is here to stay and will keep mutating and is NOT going away probably ever. Sometimes it will be worse and sometimes it will be mild. You can’t just keep indefinitely shutting down and imprisoning people will bullshit mandates that do nothing. They are starting to finally see the damage they have done to the people, business, livelihoods, economy, mental health etc. you push any further and the damage becomes irreversible. Not everyone can afford this like the majority of terbs posters who are well off and have tons of money to throw on SPs and post drivel all day long and pretend they are experts in everything discussed.
The problem is that there is a loud and politically active group that is against acknowledging it is a problem at all. Instead of treating it like the flu, where it is actively monitored and there are whole systems in place to keep it from getting out of hand, they want to prevent any acknowledgement of COVID-19 as a serious disease out of some weird investment in it as a political identity.I never claim to be an expert. But, I do know how a lot of things work. Dropping the mask mandate will & should happen. But, is now the time? A lot of experts say they're doing it without a lot of data to back things up. Waste water shows there could be thousands of active cases across the province. Now, we're getting to the warm season, and we have a lot of vaccinated people. But I think it'll be telling after this week where kids and families are going to be getting together for March break. If we don't have a major surge in cases, then I'll feel more confident. As they stop dropping masks, we'll see if there is another surge in cases.
Believe, me, I understand and feel bad for those who are caught up in shit over the virus. I feel the government should support them as much as possible. But just dropping all the safety measures without data is just politics. We might be lucky and the timing is actually right....or we'll have a Omicron type surge that threatens to overwhelm hospitals again. A gradual approach would probably be safer for everyone, including the economy.
I can honestly say, I am looking forward to dropping my mask at some point in the (hopefully) near future. I know people who are very careful and still caught the disease. We are still learning about how it affects the body, the brain and all the other organs. There are people who are still struggling with symptoms 14 months after they were first infected. There are people who got ED or kidney issues. Lord knows where it ends. The point is, I'd rather be super safe than running around helter skelter and throwing caution to the wind. I mean, nobody has a real number of how many people actually have COVID right now. It could be a thousand people, or 20X that. But we can't get a PCR test now, and the rapid tests are nowhere as accurate. If people are still getting ill and suffering permanent damage, we could be paying for this disease for generations.The problem is that there is a loud and politically active group that is against acknowledging it is a problem at all. Instead of treating it like the flu, where it is actively monitored and there are whole systems in place to keep it from getting out of hand, they want to prevent any acknowledgement of COVID-19 as a serious disease out of some weird investment in it as a political identity.
The next thing that the Ontario Science Fiction Table is right about will be the first.Ford was funny today.
He told school boards they shouldn't want a mask extension because they're not medical experts. Meanwhile his science advisory board agrees with them but was never consulted about this purely political decision.
Yet when he was asked if he would still wear mask, he stated he would still wear one for a while.Ford was funny today.
He told school boards they shouldn't want a mask extension because they're not medical experts. Meanwhile his science advisory board agrees with them but was never consulted about this purely political decision.
I think Ontarians are mostly pro-precautions and there's an election coming up. He needs to ignore the loud fringe.I guess the question is, will there be another lockdown and mask mandate...or will Ford just let things ride and see what happens on the other side? And that is a truly scary proposition.
We are never seeing a mandate again in either Canada or the US is my guess.So.....I'm sure you have started to hear about the COVID sub variant hitting China right now. They're calling it "stealth omicron," and it apparently spreads easier and faster than omicron did. Now, we don't know how it will impact people. Apparently there are few deaths related to this, but who knows.
I guess the question is, will there be another lockdown and mask mandate...or will Ford just let things ride and see what happens on the other side? And that is a truly scary proposition.