Canada - Coronavirus COVID-19 #3

[BetteDavisEyes]

U.S. issues 'Do Not Travel' warning for Canada amid Covid rise (nbcnews.com)

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deemed Canada "very high" risk for travel on Monday as the State Department issued a "Level Four" warning.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. State Department on Monday advised against travel to neighboring Canada because of a rising number of Covid-19 cases as the omicron variant spreads.

The CDC elevated its travel recommendation to “Level Four: Very High” for Canada, telling Americans they should avoid travel, while the State Department also on Monday issued its “Level Four: Do Not Travel” advisory for Canada citing Covid-19 cases.

The CDC, which lists about 80 destinations worldwide at Level Four, also raised the island of Curacao to Level Four...

 

[otto]

U.S. issues 'Do Not Travel' warning for Canada amid Covid rise (nbcnews.com)

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention deemed Canada "very high" risk for travel on Monday as the State Department issued a "Level Four" warning.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. State Department on Monday advised against travel to neighboring Canada because of a rising number of Covid-19 cases as the omicron variant spreads.

The CDC elevated its travel recommendation to “Level Four: Very High” for Canada, telling Americans they should avoid travel, while the State Department also on Monday issued its “Level Four: Do Not Travel” advisory for Canada citing Covid-19 cases.

The CDC, which lists about 80 destinations worldwide at Level Four, also raised the island of Curacao to Level Four...

This is a good thing for Canadians. The USA has 187,000 cases per million, Canada has 67,000 cases per million. The USA ranks #20 in world stats for cases per million, Canada ranks #103. Fewer people from countries with higher cases per million travelling to Canada means Canadians will be safer.

COVID Live - Coronavirus Statistics - Worldometer

Canada seems to be taking the approach that omicron means the pandemic will shift to an endemic. There isn't much choice, since omicron has spread through communities so fast that testing is impossible.

 

[tarabull]

Ontario considered forcing hospitals to re-hire unvaccinated staff as surging case numbers strain health-care providers | Canoe.Com

 

[LadyL]

Unvaccinated Quebecers will have to pay a health tax, Legault says

 

[LadyL]

46% of those currently hospitalized with COVID in Ontario were admitted for other reasons: new data

 

[LadyL]

Patient sneaking ivermectin into hospital a scary sign, pharmacists' association says

 

[musicaljoke]

Slim majority support government lockdowns, restrictions in response to Omicron | Canoe.Com

From the link:
Bourque said the results suggest a growing number of vaccinated Canadians are growing impatient with those who have refused to get their shot.

Sixty-four per cent of respondents said they supported vaccine passports for malls and other retail outlets, including liquor and cannabis shops but excluding grocery stores. The poll showed 61 per cent of respondents wanted vaccine requirements for public transit users.

Almost two-thirds of respondents also were in favour of creating separate areas in hospitals and clinics for unvaccinated patients.

“It’s kind of:, ‘come on guys, just get the damn shot,”‘ Bourque said.

 

[tarabull]

CBC.ca: Quiet removal of proof-of-vaccination rule leaves business groups wondering about options.

 

[LadyL]

it is getting real in Quebec!

Quebec judge suspends unvaccinated man's visitation rights with child

 

[tarabull]

Ontario rejects tax on unvaxxed | Canoe.Com

 

[tarabull]

COVID-19 live updates: Over 330 ETS trips cut due to driver shortage; Omicron wave expected to peak within weeks; Alberta's restock of rapid tests delayed | Edmonton Journal

 

[dotr]

How about designating certain medical centers as non- vax ''friendly'' it could be operated by unvaccinated staff to serve only unvaccinated patients? imo.

 

[dotr]

This is a good thing for Canadians. The USA has 187,000 cases per million, Canada has 67,000 cases per million. The USA ranks #20 in world stats for cases per million, Canada ranks #103. Fewer people from countries with higher cases per million travelling to Canada means Canadians will be safer.

COVID Live - Coronavirus Statistics - Worldometer

Canada seems to be taking the approach that omicron means the pandemic will shift to an endemic. There isn't much choice, since omicron has spread through communities so fast that testing is impossible.

Jan 13 2022
What the U.S. travel warning means for Canadians | The Star
''WASHINGTON—From reactions I’ve heard, when the U.S. State Department elevated its travel recommendation for Canada this week to “Level Four: Do Not Travel,” some Canadians took it as an insult.''

 

[otto]

Jan 13 2022
What the U.S. travel warning means for Canadians | The Star
''WASHINGTON—From reactions I’ve heard, when the U.S. State Department elevated its travel recommendation for Canada this week to “Level Four: Do Not Travel,” some Canadians took it as an insult.''

It seems like a lot of political posturing. Cases per million and deaths per million are much lower in Canada. On the upside, if the USA tells people to stay out of Canada, Canada does not need to close the border to keep them out.

USA deaths per million: 2603
Canada deaths per million: 815

COVID Live - Coronavirus Statistics - Worldometer

 

[Kaley Smith]

How about designating certain medical centers as non- vax ''friendly'' it could be operated by unvaccinated staff to serve only unvaccinated patients? imo.

This makes sense until you realize how high the death rate would be.

 

[Kaley Smith]

it is getting real in Quebec!

Quebec judge suspends unvaccinated man's visitation rights with child

As hard as it is to believe, many will choose no vaccine over their own children imo.

 

[otto]

I suppose this means that Canadians should be very careful regarding omicron in the next 2-5 weeks. It sounds like the vaccines are more or less useless regarding this variant - although experts still claim that vaccine reduces severity of symptoms.

"New modelling released today by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) suggests the highly transmissible Omicron variant will push hospital admissions to "extremely high levels" in the coming weeks as case counts reach levels never before seen in this country.
...

Nationally, the positivity rate is a stunning 28 per cent. That means more than one in four tests for the virus are coming back positive — nearly five times higher than the rate at any other point in the pandemic.
...

Omicron has wreaked havoc because it is able to evade prior immunity from past infections and vaccination. PHAC said two doses of an mRNA vaccine are not very effective against infection and symptomatic disease; it described vaccine efficacy against an Omicron infection as "low to very low."
...

Tam said Pfizer's promising antiviral, Paxlovid, may be a useful tool in the next phase of this pandemic fight — and future federal modelling on hospitalizations and deaths may have to be updated if and when this self-administered treatment is widely available for high-risk patients.

Clinical trial results suggest Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by an impressive 89 per cent compared to a placebo in non-hospitalized high-risk adults with COVID-19.

Health Canada is reviewing the product now, but a post-approval delivery schedule remains uncertain.​

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-modelling-very-intense-omicron-surge-1.6315123

 

[dotr]

This makes sense until you realize how high the death rate would be.

Ontario woman with cancer has surgery postponed indefinitely | CTV News
Jan 13 2022
''A 30-year-old Ontario woman diagnosed with Stage 4 colon cancer has had her surgery postponed indefinitely and says it could be too late to save her if the procedure keeps getting pushed back.
Woodbridge, Ont. woman Cassandra Di Maria was diagnosed with cancer in 2020 and has undergone 17 rounds of chemotherapy since then.
"Now, I'm waiting on my next big surgery," Di Maria told CTV News Toronto on Thursday. "I have no idea when this surgery will happen and I'm at a standstill."

COVID-19 modelling: Omicron dominating, hospitalizations rising | CTV News
''The Omicron variant has “eclipsed” all previous COVID-19 waves in Canada and new modelling forecasts a “large surge” and potential peak in new cases this month, before declining in February.

“While Canada could see a sharp peak and decline in cases in the coming weeks given disease activity far exceeds previous peaks, even the downside of this curve could be considerable,” said Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam on Friday.

The modelling data provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada also shows Canada is on track to see approximately between 100,000 and 250,000 daily infections.''

 

[LadyL]

Glace Bay man arrested after failing to self-isolate — twice

 

[LadyL]

COVID-19 live updates: Over 330 ETS trips cut due to driver shortage; Omicron wave expected to peak within weeks; Alberta's restock of rapid tests delayed | Edmonton Journal

that's disappointing