“Corridor sanitaire” begins installation in Plateau
I’m seeing on Facebook that some part of the Mont-Royal “corridor sanitaire” has already been installed. The photos show borough mayor Luc Rabouin outside the Provigo at St-Urbain, and other views in the stretch between Park Avenue and the Main. It’s just rows of those standard low metal barriers extending the width of the sidewalk into the street, and Rabouin saying if it works well they may do the same on some of the borough’s other busy streets.
Sorry about the Facebook link, which I see isn’t very useful unless you’re already logged into FB.
I do wish public figures would not put valuable information up behind a Facebook login. There is no reason anyone should need Facebook to find out what their elected officials are doing.
Piétons Québec wants more “corridors sanitaires” throughout Montreal.
dmdiem 17:14 on 2020-04-10 Permalink
As harmless as a sidewalk extension is, I fear we may be drifting dangerously close to stupid here. Exhalations dissipate quickly outside. With a slight breeze even coughs and sneezes dissipate quickly too. Compared to inside and areas of low ventilation where the virus can hang in the air for hours. (This is why the Canada post decision to shift delivery of certain packages pissed me off so much. They went from a relatively low risk environment of outside your front door, to a relative high risk environment of a post office.)
I understand the need to do something, anything, in the face of a situation where you feel powerless. If there were more cars on the road, and the sidewalks were exceptionally packed, this extension might make sense. But as it is, this feels like doing something because “something must be done”. And that is where stupid mistakes start to get made.
Meezly 18:25 on 2020-04-10 Permalink
This Belgian-Dutch study may beg to differ: https://medium.com/@jurgenthoelen/belgian-dutch-study-why-in-times-of-covid-19-you-can-not-walk-run-bike-close-to-each-other-a5df19c77d08
Da doo ron ron 18:41 on 2020-04-10 Permalink
Our office was one of the first ones I know of to get hit with a positive test. Our receptionist tested positive in early March.
I’m pretty sure that I had it – symptoms were crazy fatigue, three days of soreness when I breathed deeply, and a small cough that also hurt like hell because my lungs hurt – I didn’t skip work, because didn’t have sniffles or anything or connect to coronavirus. This was first week of March. My assistant was out for three days around the same time, with extreme fatigue and a sore throat. Nobody else in our office reported symptoms, and nobody but the receptionist tested positive, or even tested, as far as I know, but I’m certain that most of use were infected, as it’s a smaller office (30 people), we work in close-ish proximity, meet a lot, lunch together, eat out of collective snack bowls, etc.
My point here is that I think that we have one confirmed case and no deaths out of what’s probably 25 or more infected. I think that’s probably a pretty good account of the level of underreporting on this.
If I’m right, this virus is already super widespread, and it’s a lot less deadly to most people than the official numbers would indicate. The youngest person in our office is 25, the oldest is 70. But out of 25-30 infected that cross all demographic groups, you have one positive test and nothing more than fairly minor symptoms.
I’m glad people are taking measures to save lives, but let’s not exaggerate.
dmdiem 19:11 on 2020-04-10 Permalink
A good way visualize this is to think of someone who vapes. Think about how quickly the cloud dissipates outside versus how it fogs up a room inside.
Im really hoping this virus is less fatal than it appears. We won’t really know for sure until we start mass testing for anti-bodies and learn the scope of asymptomatic and mild symptom people.
Kate 19:26 on 2020-04-10 Permalink
Da doo: back in February I also had some sort of sudden bug, a bit like a cold, but more like sudden fatigue than anything. It hit me hard for a couple of days then was gone. I have no idea whether it was the Thing. There are other viruses, including coronaviruses, that cause upper respiratory illnesses. And it was too early for there to be testing.
But one thing that does worry me is the assumption that, once you’ve had it, you’re not going to get it again. I don’t think this thing has been around long enough for anyone to know whether one-shot immunity is a safe assumption at all.
dmdiem 19:56 on 2020-04-10 Permalink
Reports of reinfection are most likely due to bad testing and not actual reinfection. The chance of losing immunity that quickly is extremely low. But you are right, covid could join the ranks of the yearly flu season. A terrifying thought.
Kevin 20:33 on 2020-04-10 Permalink
@Meezly
I’m sorry to say that does not qualify as a scientific study.
Not peer-reviewed, no research printed—it’s a simulation based on one guy’s thoughts.
Meezly 15:06 on 2020-04-11 Permalink
@Kevin, it’s not just “one guy’s thoughts”. If you look at the references at the bottom of the article, there is an actual research paper with 4 authors (http://www.urbanphysics.net/Social%20Distancing%20v20_White_Paper.pdf). Not sure if it’s gone through the entire peer review process but it looks legitimate.
GC 20:19 on 2020-04-11 Permalink
This is also worth a read, Meezly: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/v74az9/the-viral-study-about-runners-spreading-coronavirus-is-not-actually-a-study
Also, it is still just four guys’ thoughts because it clearly says “Preprint” at the top of the link you included. If you go to the root site of urbanphysics.net, they list many journal articles where they cite the actual place those were published. This one has not been published and might never pass through peer review.
Meezly 09:07 on 2020-04-12 Permalink
Thanks for the clarification then, GC and Kevin. There is too much info to parse out lately so it’s nice to have other eyes. They may still be some truth to this ‘research’ but even so, I’ve been getting out on my bike and it is near impossible to not pass or not be passed by other cyclists. No one is maintaining any distance whatsoever, esp not one proposed by that study! Just hope to god I never enter the stream of a snot rocket.
GC 22:45 on 2020-04-12 Permalink
As someone who has done research–though not in aerodynamics OR epidemiology–it actually frustrates me that they rushed it to the media knowing the possible panic it could spark.
I hear you on the information overload AND the lack of distance. I’d love to just be able to keep the 2 m distance when I’m walking/running, but a lot of people out there seem to think it’s solely someone else’s responsibility to cross the street and/or jump into traffic as they continue their merry way down the sidewalk. I was running on the Rosemont-Van Horne overpass one day and a guy coming the other way decided to consciously spit into the wind, which was blowing towards me. I don’t know that he actually put me in danger, but it was a damn inconsiderate thing for him to do; even before the pandemic.