COVID-19 >>"True and Helpful" Covid Information Thread

[cc]

As to # of cases, Alberta is to be congratulated for getting cases down so far from a short  while ago



As to variants, we can only hope and pray

[Anonymous]

As to # of cases, Alberta is to be congratulated for getting cases down so far from a short  while ago



As to variants, we can only hope and pray

If there's a silver lining, at least we know the number of variants..



Ontario can't seem to answer that.

[Anonymous]

Alberta reported 348 additional cases today..



The testing positivity rate is 3.6 per cent.

[cc]

I don't understand significance of "positivity rate".



Who is tested? ... those suspected of having covid? ..  those exposed to it? ..  or the general population at large?

[Anonymous]

I don't understand significance of "positivity rate".



Who is tested? ... those suspected of having covid? ..  those exposed to it? ..  or the general population at large?

Alberta tests more people per capita than most provinces..



The positivity rate was over ten per cent when were getting close to two thousand infections per day..



Dr Hinshaw has said multiple times that she wants the positivity rate below five per cent and the other rate below one per cent....sorry I forget what that is called.

 ac_blush

[cc]

OK, but "who" do they test? What "group" or just the general population at large?



Over 10%  must imply only those suspected of symptoms .. or what????  as 10% of population infected at one time would not be realistic



I is confused as to testing criteria = I have no perspective of what it actually means .. Can anyone clue me in ???

[Anonymous]

OK, but "who" do they test? What "group" or just the general population at large?



Over 10%  must imply only those suspected of symptoms .. or what????  as 10% of population infected at one time would not be realistic



I is confused as to testing criteria = I have no perspective of what it actually means .. Can anyone clue me in ???

I don't know the testing criteria either..



The under one per cent thing that Dr Hinshaw wants to see refers to the reproductivity rate of those infected.

[Anonymous]

Alberta reported 351 new cases, and four deaths today..



Alberta announced a relaxation on certain youth sports restrictions on Saturday.

[Anonymous]

Alberta now has 434 people in hospital and 81 people in ICU..



We haven't had numbers this low in many moths.

[cc]

WOW - is Alta going good or what"?



Canada as a whole has come down from a 7 day rolling day average of 8,807 on Jan 8 to 3,613 today, a month later - and today itself was 3,203

[Anonymous]

Alberta announced 269 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, including 25 more cases of the variant strain first identified in the United Kingdom..



Alberta's reproductive (R) value sits at 0.87.

[Anonymous]

Saskatchewan reported eighty cases of COVID today. That is the lowest in over three months.

[cc]

Yes, Sask & Manitoba are down substantially today



With all those previously out of control being  down a lot at this point in time

[Anonymous]

When I watch Global Calgary, all of the experts are pro lock down..



But, many in the medical community have a very different opinion.



Lockdowns are the wrong response to COVID-19



In the Edmonton Journal on Jan. 23, the physician-led Edmonton Zone Strategic COVID-19 Pandemic Committee published a Q&A about the purported necessity of widespread lockdowns, including time-limited circuit-breakers (that have so far not been time-limited), as a response to COVID-19. We argue that societal lockdowns are ineffective, harmful, and the wrong response to the pandemic.



Was the most important information needed to decide about lockdowns provided?



Are there better strategies to respond to the pandemic?

Yes. A public emergency response aims to minimize impact of COVID-19 on our society. This requires a written emergency management plan released to all Albertans. A co-ordinating agency (Alberta Emergency Management Agency) is required to co-ordinate requests from the subject matter agency (public health) dealing with the direct effects of COVID-19, while also dealing with the indirect effects of the pandemic. In the 2014 Alberta Pandemic Response plans, the four goals are: controlling the spread of infection and reducing illness and death from the virus, mitigating societal disruption by ensuring continuity and recovery of critical services, minimizing adverse economic impact, and supporting an efficient and effective use of resources.



Priorities are clear. First, protection of concentrations of older people, particularly in long-term care homes. Residents and staff should be placed in quarantine, with volunteer staff asked to work one month on and one month off living away from their families with generous compensation. Other seniors with multiple co-morbidities require quarantine. Second, ensure critical infrastructure is ready for people who get sick. Build surge capacity in hospitals, without cancelling or delaying health care for diseases other than COVID-19. Third, shift the focus of response from fear to confidence.



Don't chase case counts. Don't lock down everybody. Keep schools open. Have government educate the public on the trade-offs — let the public know its government knows how to deal with the situation.



Ari R. Joffe is a pediatric critical care medicine and infectious diseases specialist in Edmonton. David Redman, is a lieutenant-colonel (retired), and former head of Emergency Management Alberta.

https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-lockdowns-are-the-wrong-response-to-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR3eOTubrlHpVom92G_Qebte6VBPM1Xak4XL7Zt9_vpU6mafmuRKMVWm2Rc">https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/col ... uRKMVWm2Rc">https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/columnists/opinion-lockdowns-are-the-wrong-response-to-covid-19?fbclid=IwAR3eOTubrlHpVom92G_Qebte6VBPM1Xak4XL7Zt9_vpU6mafmuRKMVWm2Rc

[cc]

There is no "good" path in this mess .. lots of talk and theories and Ex Spurts telling us various ideas thay have



I see today Alberta has gone in 1 week from 500 cases / day to 195 today ... by means of heavy rules .. ON & QB down a lot using the same using the same heavy methods



Meanwhile, we, always less that others for months post 435 today .. still using the same wishy-washy sort of rules we have all along .. are going nowhere .. . absolutely nowhere



I don't have "the answer" to this vile virus .. and I'm not sure anyone does. There seems to be no good or "right" path against it, despite all the theories