Updates from March, 2020 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Kate 20:27 on 2020-03-28 Permalink | Reply  

    Two external day centres were launched Saturday for the homeless – at Cabot Square and Place Émilie-Gamelin. Three more are coming soon.

    Certain parts of Quebec are now off limits.

    Most of the Quebecers who have died from COVID-19 have been between 80 and 89 years old.

    Some CEGEPs hope to resume and finish the term using online methods starting Monday, but this may not be as easy as it sounds.

     
    • Raymond Lutz 07:45 on 2020-03-29 Permalink

      From the linked article: “The solution may seem attractive, but not all (satisfactory skill levels) will be reached, ” said de Repentigny, giving technical training in health as an example. Graduating nurses, for example, who have not had some practical training, could be worrisome.”

      Indeed. You can’t short cut technical formation… for pre-university programs, gaps _could_ be filled in later in the cursus… but not for techs.

    • Raymond Lutz 08:48 on 2020-03-29 Permalink

      Oh and by the way, did you now I can’t harshly criticize here my CEGEP and the MELS decision to resume and finish the term?

      I’m an employee and the Civil Code of Québec article 2088 stipulates: “The employee is bound not only to perform his work with prudence and diligence, but also to act faithfully and honestly and not use any confidential information he obtains in the performance or in the course of his work.
      These obligations continue for a reasonable time after the contract terminates and permanently where the information concerns the reputation and privacy of others.”

      As an example of what this means on the ground, I found the SAQ employees “Code Of Ethics And Conduct”. I’m not a lawyer but I guess it merely explicits article 2088 scope (they cite it in the document) so it should equally appliy to my CEGEP job:

      —————
      We must perform our work in a manner consistent with the company’s expectations regarding its mission and refrain from any action that could jeopardize its legitimate interests.
      ACTING LOYALLY MEANS, AMONG OTHER THINGS, in a situation where a customer criticizes our store or company: staying calm; encouraging the customer to address his criticisms to our manager and, if appropriate, to Customer Service; keeping our personal opinions to ourselves; and focusing our efforts on serving the customer.

      By acting in this way, we demonstrate loyalty. Regardless of our opinion of the comments being made, our professional attitude ensures customers receive courteous service in keeping with the SAQ’s brand image. The same is true for social media; we should not comment on debates or share them with others.
      IT ALSO MEANS: not taking advantage of our position to promote a partisan position; rather than voicing our dissatisfaction to the media or on the Web (on blogs, for example), making constructive comments inside the company so we can improve our practices.

      In this way, we will all help maintain the reputation of the SAQ and its personnel.
      Moreover, our obligation of loyalty lasts for a reasonable period of time after we stop working for the company and forever when the reputations and private lives of others are concerned. What is considered a reasonable period will vary depending on an employee’s position and level of responsibility at the SAQ.
      ————-

      I guess you could replace any ‘SAQ’ mention by CEGEP…

      This is a lengthy comment but a welcome distraction from covid-19… 😎

  • Kate 16:17 on 2020-03-28 Permalink | Reply  

    According to the Journal, new quarantine rules may be announced on Sunday including a one-kilometre limit to one’s excursions from home on foot. They also have a map of hotspots on the island.

    Strong report on reddit of worsening adherence to traffic laws. I haven’t been out, have people noticed this?

     
    • EmilyG 16:38 on 2020-03-28 Permalink

      Darn. Today was my first day I dared to go out for a walk.

    • Kate 17:50 on 2020-03-28 Permalink

      Well, it’s not yet a rule, and 1 km is not too bad. However, this seems to be based on the Paris model, which is also based on existing French rules that you need to have a piece of paper with you explaining why you have to be outside, and a deeper French concept that you need to have your ID on you at all times. We don’t have that, so police can hardly ascertain where we live, can they?

      If stopped, you could point and say “I live just over there” and they would probably not go to the trouble of demanding anything more official.

      I don’t think they’re going to create such a law, but I think 1 km is a good guideline.

    • Alison Cummins 20:28 on 2020-03-28 Permalink

      Worsening adherence to traffic laws… like walking the dogs down the middle of the street for social distancing?

      That would be me.

    • Ephraim 20:51 on 2020-03-28 Permalink

      They need to do something about assuring people in senior’s homes can get groceries. I can’t find a slot for delivery to get my mother groceries. Leaving me required to pick them up and delivery them to the building. I can do this, but I’m sure that some of the seniors don’t have people to do this.

    • EmilyG 22:02 on 2020-03-28 Permalink

      Yes, Ephraim. There was a piece on the radio recently about that.

    • John B 22:22 on 2020-03-28 Permalink

      We tried to order from Metro, the first delivery date was 10 days away. IGA was only offering pick-up dates, no delivery. This was about a week ago, hopefully it’s improved. I know a lot of smaller shops have got delivery up & running in the past few days.

      When I’ve been out biking on the streets, (where there are few people, as opposed to the bike paths that are full), I’ve seen a few cars, (and motorbikes – it’s spring after all), stomping on the gas, but that’s it.

    • Kevin 22:49 on 2020-03-28 Permalink

      I hit the grocery store Friday because the first online pickup date I could find was April 7.
      And even then, being able to pickup at the latest possible time of 6 to 7 pm would be difficult for me or my wife.

      I was there from 6:20 until 8:20. Madness.

      But I should be able to go weeks without needing anything in case my household needs to go into lockdown.

    • Raymond Lutz 09:15 on 2020-03-29 Permalink

      This is unwarranted … in China they estimates that 75-80% of infections occurred in HOUSEHOLDS (sorry, too lazy to dig up the source). We have to gather at the grocery, and we’ll get infected there… FFS! Why nobody follow South Korea protocols! They closed schools but “did not use draconian lockdown strategies”

      But wearing a mask in public should be mandatory, for both inward and outward protections. South-Korea mantra was ” Test, trace and treat

      I don’t know if they quarantined positive people in special centers… Here we’re 5 in the household, if my spouse get infected at her daycare (where she must work) it will be a rough ride …

    • Kevin 10:17 on 2020-03-29 Permalink

      Raymond Lutz
      Stupid as it sounds, people need training to properly wear masks and gloves.

    • Alison Cummins 11:10 on 2020-03-29 Permalink

      YouTube videos show how to put on a mask.

      We aren’t doing surgery.

      Homemade masks are fine for most everyday purposes. Keep them dry, change the filter (paper towel?) regularly so it doesn’t get damp. Will protect you from doing stupid things like touching your face or for licking your fingers when you’re trying to open a soft plastic bag. Will protect other people from your cooties. Will protect you from a lot of cooties.

      If you’re going into a hospital or doing chest compressions on someone, you can get into a lot of heated arguments about whether a homemade mask is better or worse than nothing. Either way, it will matter a lot whether you put it on right. But for just walking around and doing groceries, it’s a reasonable precaution for protecting OTHER PEOPLE and might even protect you.

      The coolest thing a homemade mask does, and which it does effectively no matter how poorly you put it on, is scare other people into maintaining their social distance.

    • Kevin 11:30 on 2020-03-29 Permalink

      My perspective is different because my wife has a PhD in infectious disease, did pharmaceutical research on a bunch of viruses, then became an MD. She’s currently advising a covid-19 task force for a hospital.

      The stupid stuff she has seen people do while wearing masks and gloves (even last week!) has convinced me that without massive training the only thing that will work for the masses is the simplest solution: stay away from each other, stay inside if warranted, and wash your hands.

    • David100 12:46 on 2020-03-29 Permalink

      I take some small delight in the “Airbnb apocalypse” stories I’m reading coming out of London, and other places. Given Montreal reporters’ stock move of spotting trends in other places/publications, then reporting on the local version (even if there’s nothing to report), I’m surprised that we’ve not yet seen a dive into the woe afflicting Montreal Airbnb “entrepreneurs” at the moment.

    • Alison Cummins 13:23 on 2020-03-29 Permalink

      Kevin,

      Masks have helped *elsewhere* when 60%-80% of the people wear them. Possibly The Masses get used to using them properly when it’s the Done Thing?

      Question: if The Masses can’t learn to put on a mask properly, do we really trust them to learn to wash their hands properly, maintain social distance properly and not give themselves improper exceptional excuses for going outside and travelling and visiting their old people?

      Personally I find a mask useful for heightening awareness. MY awareness. I’m more likely to be religious about washing my hands for 20 seconds when I’m wearing a mask. I am definitely a lot less likely to lick my fingers to help open my dog’s poop bag when I’m wearing a mask. Also people give me 3 to 4 m of social distance when I wear a mask outside. I’m fine with that.

      Washing my hands protects me. When I wear a mask it’s primarily to protect other people.

      My father is 78 and has lived a full life. Under normal circumstances I would let him make his own choices. Problem: he has a 38-year-old diabetic wife and a nine-year old daughter. I DO NOT WANT THAT DAUGHTER ORPHANED AND ON MY HANDS. She’s a doll but I am an old fuddy-duddy and live in a province that speaks a different language and have a dog that bites kids. He is hard to educate about social distancing and I need to video chat with him daily to remind him. (He touched somebody the other day and washed his hands like mad.) The entire household needs to act as if they are as vulnerable as he is. That’s a big ask.

      I would be happiest if the nerdy tenant doing my father’s errands and fixing his electronics wore a mask when he’s over at the house, in addition to washing his hands. My father is dependent on that tenant, likes him. and is unlikely to keep 2 m away if the tenant is not flagging him with a scary mask.

      My father is an educated, worldly man. His father and grandfather were doctors, both around for the 1918 flu. He’s disciplined and stopped smoking cold turkey when I asked him to when I was six. He never relapsed. He’s also survived HepB, typhoid, malaria, cancer and probably other interesting things. He wavers between feeling invincible and feeling like he’s stretched his luck.

      He should be easy to educate, but he isn’t. He’s 78 and learning new things is hard.

      I would be glad if his tenant wore a mask to visit him, in addition to washing his hands.

      +++ +++ +++

      Kevin, I know that your wife knows better than I do! I also know that the smarter people are, the better they are at rationalizing and that I am smart enough to rationalize and am therefore a potential danger to self and others.

      My rationalization at the moment is that appropriate public health recommendations are always based on local conditions.
      1. When it’s not common practice to wear a mask, people won’t do it properly.
      2. People around here, in our individualistic society, may believe that a mask will offer much more personal protection than it does and socialize inappropriately or neglect hand-washing. As a general recommendation, masks risk being counterproductive.
      3. Unless 60%-80% of the population wear masks, the public health benefit is quite limited.
      4. When there’s a limited supply of proper medical-grade protective masks, it makes a lot more sense to reserve the masks for health care providers and not encourage The Masses to waste them on themselves.

      Something like that?

      So I rationalize that I am special and exceptional because my personal local conditions are special and exceptional. I make my own masks; I am a lifelong face-eyes-and-nose-rubber-and-scratcher; I’ve never been particularly afraid of dirt and learning new habits is hard; I educate people that a mask is to protect others, not myself or my father’s tenant. I haven’t been tested and am breathing easily, but (like most people) I have no special reason to think I’m not incubating an infection.

      Am I that off-base? Am I a danger to self and others?

    • LJ 16:34 on 2020-03-29 Permalink

      If you have a dog that bites kids, that dog should not be left unleashed outside ever.

    • Raymond Lutz 17:31 on 2020-03-29 Permalink

      Soupir… combien de gens consultent les articles que je réfère.. mon commentaire de 09:15 renvoyait à ‘COVID-19/ WHY WE SHOULD ALL WEAR MASKS — THERE IS NEW SCIENTIFIC RATIONALE écrit par Sui Huang, MD, PhD, a molecular and cell biologist. How’s that for science credo?

      “the only thing that will work for the masses ” is popular education, via tiktok, no less 😎 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5mhUQgP3V8

    • Raymond Lutz 17:33 on 2020-03-29 Permalink

      ‘science creds’

    • Kevin 18:01 on 2020-03-29 Permalink

      Alison,
      I don’t think you’re off-base. I think that there is a whole educational component that our society requires and we’re not there yet. I don’t know if we ever will get there.

  • Kate 10:28 on 2020-03-28 Permalink | Reply  

    CBC inquires into the ethics of snitching on illegal gatherings. Note the advice not to call 911, but to call the non-emergency line for the local police station. These are listed under “police de quartier” on the police website.

     
    • Bill Binns 11:08 on 2020-03-28 Permalink

      The police non-emergency line is an enduring urban legend. There is no such thing (at least in my neighborhood). It either rings forever or you get a recording telling you to call 911. I have called 911 for lots of petty “a junky just stole my broom” type stuff and I have never been scolded by the operator.

      You can make non-emergency complaints on the police website as long as that complaint fits neatly into the handful of buckets setup on the worse-than-terrible form but I suspect these are never read by a human being ever.

    • MarcG 11:14 on 2020-03-28 Permalink

      I’ve called my local station several times for non-emergencies and they’ve always answered. Most of the time, however, they’ve told me to call 911.

    • Chris 15:24 on 2020-03-31 Permalink

      MarcG, my experience has been the same as Bill. Every time I’ve tried, they’ve just said to call 911 or 514-280-2222.

      What number are you calling? 514-280-01?

  • Kate 10:16 on 2020-03-28 Permalink | Reply  

    Five Montreal firefighters have COVID-19 and others have had to go into quarantine, so the remaining workers have changed their shift patterns and delayed vacations (although where could you go on vacation now?).

    A third STM worker has the rona – in fact I’m surprised more drivers haven’t got it, considering their degree of exposure to the public even after they taped off the front of the buses.

    Workers at at NDG pharmacy have also tested positive.

    Le Devoir has a statement from an SAQ worker about what it’s like when every day is like the day before Christmas, and people ignore the rules.

    Le Devoir also reports on the various hotspots around town, including a couple of outbreaks in Jewish communities following Purim and one big wedding in the west end. (Contrast Côte St-Luc mayor Mitchell Brownstein’s keenness on bringing in quarantine procedures with Hampstead mayor Bill Steinberg’s Trump-style denial of the facts.)

     
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