Ten hospitals near capacity
Ten hospitals in Quebec are near capacity with Covid patients. There are more than a thousand people currently hospitalized with the virus and a recent study shows that a Covid patient has an average stay of 17 days. The upshot is: don’t go to the ER with anything else if you can possibly avoid it.
Rima Elkouri tells the story of a doctor who caught Covid while bringing help to one of the west-end CHSLDs that’s been so afflicted.
Douglas 00:56 on 2020-12-19 Permalink
Too bad.
Quebec locked everyone in their homes so they will go to each other’s houses and party.
In Florida only 5% of cases can be tracked back to bars and restaurants.
Would have been smarter to keep bars and restaurants open while banning house parties. People would have gone out to relieve the pressure.
Now Quebec is too cowardly to reverse course.
Kate 10:50 on 2020-12-19 Permalink
Douglas, you really are outstandingly obtuse about the pandemic.
The government can control bars and restaurants, which essentially exist at its bidding because of liquor licensing and occupation permits. It has much less control over what people do in private houses. And it’s not fair to expect wait staff to put themselves at risk so people can eat and drink in public. Medical staff have to do that as part of their jobs but you can’t expect a waiter to do it. It’s something we can easily pass on for now if we act responsibly.
Given the Covid numbers in Florida, they are no sort of situation to hold up as an example.
Ephraim 17:27 on 2020-12-19 Permalink
Not to mention that the number of WALLS in a bar or restaurant in Florida aren’t the same as here, with a lot more bars and restaurants having open/outdoor space.
There are a WHOLE lot of other reasons that things are different, starting from the fact that Americans, lack universal healthcare. Just that makes their numbers incomparable to any country that does have universal healthcare, because people are a lot more reluctant to seek out healthcare when they can’t afford it. They also, lacking any help, go to work SICK. Not to mention that their governor and their president has suggested to them that they shouldn’t wear masks. And that Florida has more solitudes than we even have here…. not just the Liberal versus Conservative/Church, but also the Cuban community, the elderly community, etc.
So, let’s look at the statistics for a minute. We had 2038 case yesterday on a population of 8.5M people or 239 cases per million. Florida has 13,019 cases two days ago with 21.5M people or 605 cases per million.
And couple this with reports that the government in Florida has been fudging the numbers. https://www.wfla.com/community/health/coronavirus/covid-19-death-toll-could-be-higher-than-floridas-data-shows-cdc-says/
So basically… Florida statistics are bad. They are reportedly being underreported and manipulated. Restaurants and Bars often have outdoor spaces. Even with the underreporting and manipulation, they have an infection rate of 2.5X the rate in Quebec. And the lack of universal healthcare, no paid-leave, minimum wages that often don’t cover living expenses, etc. Basically their numbers are shit, their system is shit, their ability to handle a healthcare crisis is shit, their are countless people running around without masks claiming it’s their liberty, religious exemption, etc.