The COVID-19 pandemic

[ac3r]

...because I was exposed days ago...

Can you clarify?  Like exposed to other people that have since tested positive, or just exposed in a general way (ie: out in public grocery shopping for essentials)

I was exposed to someone who had tested positive. We worked around each other for about two days, then they were off sick for about a week. I assumed they caught it, but due to confidentiality I couldn't ask. Eventually my manager approached me at work, told me they were positive and that I'd have to go home and self-isolate.

Seems I was wrong about it being 5-7 days. The province has a website up that allows most people to check their test results online, and this says it can take up to 4 days.

[ijmorlan]

Can you clarify?  Like exposed to other people that have since tested positive, or just exposed in a general way (ie: out in public grocery shopping for essentials)

I was exposed to someone who had tested positive. We worked around each other for about two days, then they were off sick for about a week. I assumed they caught it, but due to confidentiality I couldn't ask. Eventually my manager approached me at work, told me they were positive and that I'd have to go home and self-isolate.

Seems I was wrong about it being 5-7 days. The province has a website up that allows most people to check their test results online, and this says it can take up to 4 days.

Sounds like we’re taking medical confidentiality too seriously. Medical confidentiality should stop where others’ health begins: if somebody has a contagious illness, it is the right of anybody with whom they came in contact to know. Although I note that your manager told you, so maybe in the end the policy was OK.

[tomh009]

Austria implemented a lockdown about three weeks ago, and their new infections are now down to about 250 per day (roughly 2.5%), so they are about to gradually loosen restrictions.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/...-next-week

FIRST STEPS TO RESTART ECONOMY:

• April 14: small stores, hardware and gardening shops can reopen
  
• Some parks in Vienna reopen
  
• Social distancing rules remain in place; face masks become mandatory in public transport
  
• May 1: all other stores, malls, hairdressers can reopen
  
• Mid-May: Services including restaurants, hotels, cosmeticians reopen
  
• Schools probably remain closed until at least mid-May
  
• End-June: Events such as concerts, sports events
  

This will be very interesting to see -- will their infection rates stay low, or will there be a new surge? Either way, it will be information that we can use to make better decisions in Canada, too.

[tomh009]

Only 329 new cases in Ontario today for an 8% increase; that's the first single-digit increase since, possibly the beginning of the pandemic -- but one swallow does not a summer make. Five-day average is just below 13%.

78,796 tests done to date. 589 cases currently hospitalized (+66) and 216 in the ICU (+16).

Quebec had another positive day, with about 600 new cases. Five-day average is down to 13%, almost identical to Ontario.
2020-03-23 778 (+258%)
2020-03-24 1040 (+34%)
2020-03-25 1339 (+29%)
2020-03-26 1629 (+22%)
2020-03-27 2021 (+24%)
2020-03-28 2498 (+24%)
2020-03-29 2840 (+13%)
2020-03-30 3430 (+21%)
2020-03-31 4162 (+21%)

2020-04-01 4611 (+11%)
2020-04-02 5518 (+20%)
2020-04-03 6101 (+8%)
2020-04-04 6997 (+15%)
2020-04-05 7944 (+14%)
2020-04-06 8580 (+8%)

[danbrotherston]

Another (global, mental health) study on the effects of COVID-19:

https://www.reddit.com/r/waterloo/commen...on_mental/

[plam]

This will be very interesting to see -- will their infection rates stay low, or will there be a new surge? Either way, it will be information that we can use to make better decisions in Canada, too.

It looks like NZ is committed to the 4 week lockdown (and we're on day 13). Obviously people are talking about moving out of lockdown. One of the key prerequisites is being able to do good contact tracing. NZ probably doesn't have sufficient contact tracing capability yet.

[tomh009]

379 new cases in Ontario today for an 9% increase, the second day with a single-digit increase.

81,364 tests done to date. 614 cases currently hospitalized (+25) and 233 in the ICU (+17).

Quebec added 760 cases today, also 9%. 105,000 tests done to date. 635 currently hospitalized and 286 in ICU.
March
2020-03-23 778 (+258%) 2020-03-24 1040 (+34%) 2020-03-25 1339 (+29%) 2020-03-26 1629 (+22%) 2020-03-27 2021 (+24%)
2020-03-28 2498 (+24%) 2020-03-29 2840 (+13%) 2020-03-30 3430 (+21%) 2020-03-31 4162 (+21%)
April
2020-04-01 4611 (+11%) 2020-04-02 5518 (+20%) 2020-04-03 6101 (+8%) 2020-04-04 6997 (+15%) 2020-04-05 7944 (+14%)
2020-04-06 8580 (+8%) 2020-04-07 9340 (+9%)

[tomh009]

Social distancing directives now posted by Kitchener city staff. This one from the IHT:

   

[tomh009]

550 new cases in Ontario today for a 12% increase a few percentage points higher than the last two days.

84,601 tests done to date -- I am mystified as to why we are now only testing about 3000 people per day in Ontario. 605 cases currently hospitalized (-9) and 246 in the ICU (+13). Infections now reported at 58 long-term care homes.

Quebec Quebec added 691 cases today, only 7%. 109,260 tests done to date (4000+ for the past day). 632 currently hospitalized (-2) and 181 in ICU (-105). (I don't understand how the ICU count can be down this much unless the methodology has changed again.

March
2020-03-23 778 (+258%) 2020-03-24 1040 (+34%) 2020-03-25 1339 (+29%) 2020-03-26 1629 (+22%) 2020-03-27 2021 (+24%)
2020-03-28 2498 (+24%) 2020-03-29 2840 (+13%) 2020-03-30 3430 (+21%) 2020-03-31 4162 (+21%)
April
2020-04-01 4611 (+11%) 2020-04-02 5518 (+20%) 2020-04-03 6101 (+8%) 2020-04-04 6997 (+15%) 2020-04-05 7944 (+14%)
2020-04-06 8580 (+8%) 2020-04-07 9340 (+9%) 2020-4-08 10031 (+7%)

[ac3r]

Nice to see they are posting signs. They should be posted in high traffic areas. Throughout the downtown, the universities, certain areas with shops, parks, trails.

[tomh009]

Nice to see they are posting signs. They should be posted in high traffic areas. Throughout the downtown, the universities, certain areas with shops, parks, trails.

I saw a bunch on the IHT this morning but haven't been elsewhere yet. (These ones won't be at the universities, though, as they were put up by the City of Kitchener.)

[jamincan]

550 new cases in Ontario today for a 12% increase a few percentage points higher than the last two days.

84,601 tests done to date -- I am mystified as to why we are now only testing about 3000 people per day in Ontario. 605 cases currently hospitalized (-9) and 246 in the ICU (+13). Infections now reported at 58 long-term care homes.

Quebec data to follow in the afternoon.

The explanation I've heard is that even though the capacity is there to test more, they never relaxed directives on who to test, so they are only testing people under the much more restrictive criteria we originally had, which is kind of ridiculous at this stage. I have heard they will be expanding that critieria soon, though.

[danbrotherston]

Nice to see they are posting signs. They should be posted in high traffic areas. Throughout the downtown, the universities, certain areas with shops, parks, trails.

I saw a bunch on the IHT this morning but haven't been elsewhere yet. (These ones won't be at the universities, though, as they were put up by the City of Kitchener.)

Also, the university is probably a ghost town.

[tomh009]

483 new cases in Ontario today for a 9% increase; averaging under 10% for the last  days. 231 recovered and 26 dead for a net addition of 226 active cases.

88,698 tests done to date; that's only 4000 tests today, but apparently Ford is pushing to expand testing starting today.. 632 cases currently hospitalized (+27) and 264 in the ICU (+18). Infections now reported at 69 long-term care homes (+11).

Quebec added 881 cases today, about 9%. 113,375 tests done to date (3000 for the past day). 679 currently hospitalized (+47) and 196 in ICU (+15).

March
2020-03-23 778 (+258%) 2020-03-24 1040 (+34%) 2020-03-25 1339 (+29%) 2020-03-26 1629 (+22%) 2020-03-27 2021 (+24%)
2020-03-28 2498 (+24%) 2020-03-29 2840 (+13%) 2020-03-30 3430 (+21%) 2020-03-31 4162 (+21%)
April
2020-04-01 4611 (+11%) 2020-04-02 5518 (+20%) 2020-04-03 6101 (+8%) 2020-04-04 6997 (+15%) 2020-04-05 7944 (+14%)
2020-04-06 8580 (+8%) 2020-04-07 9340 (+9%) 2020-04-08 10031 (+7%) 2020-04-09 10912 (+9%)

Both Ontario and Quebec averaging case growth in the single digits now. Now to get it to the low single digits ...

[panamaniac]

Social distancing directives now posted by Kitchener city staff. This one from the IHT:

I saw a bunch on the IHT this morning but haven't been elsewhere yet. (These ones won't be at the universities, though, as they were put up by the City of Kitchener.)

Also, the university is probably a ghost town.

Is it?  I'm wondering where the international students are?  I'd assume that many were not able to get back to China.