Wednesday morning virus stories
Montreal hospitals are being told to send COVID-19 patients off-island. Care home workers are showing up very sick to hospitals – these are the folks Quebec has been moving from place to place to fill absences and vacancies in different homes.
Laval is turning Place Bell into a COVID-19 hospital.
Kids being home from school means some are missing the free meals provided in the school setting, but with the news bits above, it doesn’t feel like Quebec has a handle on this thing yet, does it?
Tim S. 11:27 on 2020-05-06 Permalink
Like everybody I suppose, I’ve been writing to old friends scattered around the world since the crisis began. Some of them I was quite worried about – health care workers, people with chronic illnesses, in high-risk places. The past couple of weeks, though, the replies I’ve been getting have been along the lines of “We’re fine. What the hell is happening to you guys”?
Anyone else having similar conversations?
Kate 11:33 on 2020-05-06 Permalink
Not me, because I participate in some discussions with people in the US and UK, who have it worse than us on the whole.
Alison Cummins 13:32 on 2020-05-06 Permalink
My sister the doctor:
“We in Vancouver are doing well and we don’t have much community CoVID at this time. We’ve had excellent public health direction and our province closed down before our spring break so we have virtually no community CoVID. The medical landscape has changed dramatically and the vigilance is high.”
A polite way of saying “what the &*%# is up with you guys???”
Uatu 16:45 on 2020-05-06 Permalink
Vancouver is lucky to have dr. Bonnie Henry – someone who actually knows what she’s doing
JP 20:42 on 2020-05-06 Permalink
My experience talking to friends and family outside of Quebec is similar to that of Kate’s and Tim’s, in that family in India are staying home, but the area where they are seems ok & unaffected so far. Regarding family in the U.K, my uncle passed away from it, so we’re very sad, and anxious too.
The numbers are just numbers, until it’s someone you love. Of course, risks/benefits need to be looked at objectively, and there’s no such thing as zero risk. I’m as stir-crazy/worried about the economy as anyone, I just don’t think we’re quite ready in Montreal to open up just yet.
On another note, I think the inability to feel comfortable/safe in groups, at least in the short-term, is a tremendous loss. Protests, weddings, graduations, conventions, travelling, visiting friends near and far. Relationships, friendships, connections, these are among the things that give my life meaning. I’m glad it may be the end of the open concept office though…that was always a horrible idea.
I’m also remembering the time I was at an outdoor Jazz fest concert on a humid June evening a couple of years ago, where we were stuck in the middle of a very, very crowded audience. It’s the kind of situation, I don’t know I’ll every put myself in again, ever. [Sorry this went off topic…]
Kate 22:26 on 2020-05-06 Permalink
JP, your thoughts here are good ones. We’re all running through cycles of ideas and feelings like that.
I had a minor dust-up with a stranger on a Facebook group this week when I said I missed dim sum, and didn’t think it would ever come back in the same way – crowded restaurants, tables close together, groups eating around the same dishes. Stranger got angry, implied I was mentally unwell, and stated categorically that soon everything would be back exactly as it used to be. I just can’t see it, as you can’t see the sweaty crowds at summer festivals.
My condolences about your uncle.
JP 22:48 on 2020-05-06 Permalink
Thank you, Kate.