Coronavirus (COVID-19) Discussion Part IX- Now Featuring More Lockdowns

[ULF_55]

The Government of Alberta announced Tuesday expanded public health measures (see item below) designed to reverse rising numbers of new cases, hospitalizations and ICU admissions — a trend that continued this past week.
Between Dec. 3 and Dec. 9, Alberta recorded more than 1,500 cases each day, with 1,881 reported on Dec. 4, an all-time high. Over this period, there was an average of 1,733 daily new cases, compared to 1,591 the previous week, a nine per cent increase. If there’s a sliver of positive news, it’s the fact this single-digit increase is preferable to what we’ve seen over the previous four weeks, when we saw week-to-week increases of between 23 percent and 42 per cent.
For the week ending Dec. 9, there were 6,573 cases among individuals aged 20 to 49 years, which is 54 per cent of all new cases. However, cases continue to occur in every age group. This week, 1,833 new cases were reported among school-aged children (5 to 19 years) and 1,891 new cases were reported among older adults (60 years and older).
Alberta surpassed 20,000 active cases for the first time on Dec. 6 and had a record number of active cases on Dec. 7 with 20,388 active cases.


As of Dec. 9, there are 20,163 active cases in the province. Edmonton Zone has the most active cases with 9,464, a 14 per cent increase compared to the previous week. North Zone reported a 26 per cent increase compared to the week before, the largest proportional increase among the five zones. For the second consecutive week, the South Zone reported a 5 per cent decrease in the number of active cases compared to the previous week. The table below shows the number of active cases in each zone for the last two weeks.

	Active Cases (week ending Dec. 9)	Active Cases (week ending Dec. 2)	Per Cent Change
Edmonton	9.464	8,331	14%
Calgary	7,304	6,445	13%
Central	1,480	1,251	18%
North	1,247	991	26%
South	601	633	-5%
Unknown	67	92	-27%

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Hospitalizations and ICU admissions
As of Dec. 9, there are 682 individuals in Alberta hospitals, with 124 in ICUs. These numbers represent a 34 per cent increase in total hospitalizations from the previous week. The breakdown of hospitalizations by zone as of Dec. 9 is as follows:

	Hospitalizations	Patients in ICU
Edmonton	371	72
Calgary	201	40
Central	55	5
North	35	4
South	20	3

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Other notable COVID-19-related information:
· As of Dec. 9, a total of 75,054 cases of COVID-19 have occurred in Alberta and 2,465 individuals have been hospitalized, which represents 3.3 individuals for every 100 cases. In all, 54,225 Albertans have recovered from COVID-19.
· Alberta has reported 666 deaths since the start of the pandemic, with 14 per cent of those deaths occurring in this last week alone. We extend our condolences to the families of these individuals, and to all who have lost loved ones from any cause during this time.
· In the past week, 134,902 COVID-19 tests were completed, an average of 19,272 per day. A record 23,463 tests were performed on Dec. 5. The daily positivity rate reached a record of 10.74 per cent on Dec 3. A total of 2,444,373 tests have been conducted as of Dec 9.
· As of Dec 10, AHS has confirmed 3,119 individuals with COVID-19 were present at schools while infectious or acquired the disease in the school setting. Currently, 897 out of 2,415 schools in the province (37.1 per cent) have reported an individual has attended their school while infectious or had in-school transmission.

Cancer Public Awareness Campaign
As Alberta moves through the second wave of the pandemic, undiagnosed cancer rates are going up. This trend is not unique to Alberta and has been identified across Canada and in other parts of the world.
To improve diagnosis rates, AHS is asking all staff, primary care physicians and partners to:
· Educate Albertans about listening to their bodies and seeking medical attention if something seems or feels off.
· Reassure Albertans that healthcare facilities and primary care clinics remain safe places to seek care, and follow stringent COVID-19 cleaning and safety protocols.
· Reiterate their family physicians and nurse practitioners want to hear from them and help investigate their concerns.
· Remind Albertans that having an ongoing relationship with a family doctor or nurse practitioner can help keep them well – during the pandemic and beyond.
Let us remind Albertans about the importance of listening to their bodies and to seek medical attention if they notice any changes.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

Suicide deaths in Alberta in 2020 fewer than what was recorded last year

I love the don't test and we'll have less cases argument.

If no one reported crime we'd have no crime.

If you are suggesting I said that or implied that, I didn't. I was very clear on what my two points were: 1. The second wave looks bigger at first glance until you consider the relative testing rates and, 2. The death rate is more reliable because it can't be manipulated as easily.

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

The Government of Alberta announced Tuesday expanded public health measures (see item below) designed to reverse rising numbers of new cases, hospitalizations and ICU admissions — a trend that continued this past week.
Between Dec. 3 and Dec. 9, Alberta recorded more than 1,500 cases each day, with 1,881 reported on Dec. 4, an all-time high. Over this period, there was an average of 1,733 daily new cases, compared to 1,591 the previous week, a nine per cent increase. If there’s a sliver of positive news, it’s the fact this single-digit increase is preferable to what we’ve seen over the previous four weeks, when we saw week-to-week increases of between 23 percent and 42 per cent.
For the week ending Dec. 9, there were 6,573 cases among individuals aged 20 to 49 years, which is 54 per cent of all new cases. However, cases continue to occur in every age group. This week, 1,833 new cases were reported among school-aged children (5 to 19 years) and 1,891 new cases were reported among older adults (60 years and older).
Alberta surpassed 20,000 active cases for the first time on Dec. 6 and had a record number of active cases on Dec. 7 with 20,388 active cases.


As of Dec. 9, there are 20,163 active cases in the province. Edmonton Zone has the most active cases with 9,464, a 14 per cent increase compared to the previous week. North Zone reported a 26 per cent increase compared to the week before, the largest proportional increase among the five zones. For the second consecutive week, the South Zone reported a 5 per cent decrease in the number of active cases compared to the previous week. The table below shows the number of active cases in each zone for the last two weeks.

	Active Cases (week ending Dec. 9)	Active Cases (week ending Dec. 2)	Per Cent Change
Edmonton	9.464	8,331	14%
Calgary	7,304	6,445	13%
Central	1,480	1,251	18%
North	1,247	991	26%
South	601	633	-5%
Unknown	67	92	-27%

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Hospitalizations and ICU admissions
As of Dec. 9, there are 682 individuals in Alberta hospitals, with 124 in ICUs. These numbers represent a 34 per cent increase in total hospitalizations from the previous week. The breakdown of hospitalizations by zone as of Dec. 9 is as follows:

	Hospitalizations	Patients in ICU
Edmonton	371	72
Calgary	201	40
Central	55	5
North	35	4
South	20	3

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Other notable COVID-19-related information:
· As of Dec. 9, a total of 75,054 cases of COVID-19 have occurred in Alberta and 2,465 individuals have been hospitalized, which represents 3.3 individuals for every 100 cases. In all, 54,225 Albertans have recovered from COVID-19.
· Alberta has reported 666 deaths since the start of the pandemic, with 14 per cent of those deaths occurring in this last week alone. We extend our condolences to the families of these individuals, and to all who have lost loved ones from any cause during this time.
· In the past week, 134,902 COVID-19 tests were completed, an average of 19,272 per day. A record 23,463 tests were performed on Dec. 5. The daily positivity rate reached a record of 10.74 per cent on Dec 3. A total of 2,444,373 tests have been conducted as of Dec 9.
· As of Dec 10, AHS has confirmed 3,119 individuals with COVID-19 were present at schools while infectious or acquired the disease in the school setting. Currently, 897 out of 2,415 schools in the province (37.1 per cent) have reported an individual has attended their school while infectious or had in-school transmission.

Cancer Public Awareness Campaign
As Alberta moves through the second wave of the pandemic, undiagnosed cancer rates are going up. This trend is not unique to Alberta and has been identified across Canada and in other parts of the world.
To improve diagnosis rates, AHS is asking all staff, primary care physicians and partners to:
· Educate Albertans about listening to their bodies and seeking medical attention if something seems or feels off.
· Reassure Albertans that healthcare facilities and primary care clinics remain safe places to seek care, and follow stringent COVID-19 cleaning and safety protocols.
· Reiterate their family physicians and nurse practitioners want to hear from them and help investigate their concerns.
· Remind Albertans that having an ongoing relationship with a family doctor or nurse practitioner can help keep them well – during the pandemic and beyond.
Let us remind Albertans about the importance of listening to their bodies and to seek medical attention if they notice any changes.

Yup. Alberta's not doing as well. I live in Ontario so I focus on the numbers that affect me most and I'm more familiar with the numbers here.

 

[ULF_55]

Yup. Alberta's not doing as well. I live in Ontario so I focus on the numbers that affect me most and I'm more familiar with the numbers here.

There is a reason Alberta isn't doing well.

There has been very little restriction here, as the attitude is very much like it is in certain parts of the US.

 

[ULF_55]

If you are suggesting I said that or implied that, I didn't. I was very clear on what my two points were: 1. The second wave looks bigger at first glance until you consider the relative testing rates and, 2. The death rate is more reliable because it can't be manipulated as easily.

I believe death rates are probably reflective on knowing how to treat the patients with the experience gained over time. The first patients paved the way for the current patients.

 

[Sens]

The Government of Alberta announced Tuesday expanded public health measures (see item below) designed to reverse rising numbers of new cases, hospitalizations and ICU admissions — a trend that continued this past week.
Between Dec. 3 and Dec. 9, Alberta recorded more than 1,500 cases each day, with 1,881 reported on Dec. 4, an all-time high. Over this period, there was an average of 1,733 daily new cases, compared to 1,591 the previous week, a nine per cent increase. If there’s a sliver of positive news, it’s the fact this single-digit increase is preferable to what we’ve seen over the previous four weeks, when we saw week-to-week increases of between 23 percent and 42 per cent.
For the week ending Dec. 9, there were 6,573 cases among individuals aged 20 to 49 years, which is 54 per cent of all new cases. However, cases continue to occur in every age group. This week, 1,833 new cases were reported among school-aged children (5 to 19 years) and 1,891 new cases were reported among older adults (60 years and older).
Alberta surpassed 20,000 active cases for the first time on Dec. 6 and had a record number of active cases on Dec. 7 with 20,388 active cases.


As of Dec. 9, there are 20,163 active cases in the province. Edmonton Zone has the most active cases with 9,464, a 14 per cent increase compared to the previous week. North Zone reported a 26 per cent increase compared to the week before, the largest proportional increase among the five zones. For the second consecutive week, the South Zone reported a 5 per cent decrease in the number of active cases compared to the previous week. The table below shows the number of active cases in each zone for the last two weeks.

	Active Cases (week ending Dec. 9)	Active Cases (week ending Dec. 2)	Per Cent Change
Edmonton	9.464	8,331	14%
Calgary	7,304	6,445	13%
Central	1,480	1,251	18%
North	1,247	991	26%
South	601	633	-5%
Unknown	67	92	-27%

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Hospitalizations and ICU admissions
As of Dec. 9, there are 682 individuals in Alberta hospitals, with 124 in ICUs. These numbers represent a 34 per cent increase in total hospitalizations from the previous week. The breakdown of hospitalizations by zone as of Dec. 9 is as follows:

	Hospitalizations	Patients in ICU
Edmonton	371	72
Calgary	201	40
Central	55	5
North	35	4
South	20	3

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Other notable COVID-19-related information:
· As of Dec. 9, a total of 75,054 cases of COVID-19 have occurred in Alberta and 2,465 individuals have been hospitalized, which represents 3.3 individuals for every 100 cases. In all, 54,225 Albertans have recovered from COVID-19.
· Alberta has reported 666 deaths since the start of the pandemic, with 14 per cent of those deaths occurring in this last week alone. We extend our condolences to the families of these individuals, and to all who have lost loved ones from any cause during this time.
· In the past week, 134,902 COVID-19 tests were completed, an average of 19,272 per day. A record 23,463 tests were performed on Dec. 5. The daily positivity rate reached a record of 10.74 per cent on Dec 3. A total of 2,444,373 tests have been conducted as of Dec 9.
· As of Dec 10, AHS has confirmed 3,119 individuals with COVID-19 were present at schools while infectious or acquired the disease in the school setting. Currently, 897 out of 2,415 schools in the province (37.1 per cent) have reported an individual has attended their school while infectious or had in-school transmission.

Cancer Public Awareness Campaign
As Alberta moves through the second wave of the pandemic, undiagnosed cancer rates are going up. This trend is not unique to Alberta and has been identified across Canada and in other parts of the world.
To improve diagnosis rates, AHS is asking all staff, primary care physicians and partners to:
· Educate Albertans about listening to their bodies and seeking medical attention if something seems or feels off.
· Reassure Albertans that healthcare facilities and primary care clinics remain safe places to seek care, and follow stringent COVID-19 cleaning and safety protocols.
· Reiterate their family physicians and nurse practitioners want to hear from them and help investigate their concerns.
· Remind Albertans that having an ongoing relationship with a family doctor or nurse practitioner can help keep them well – during the pandemic and beyond.
Let us remind Albertans about the importance of listening to their bodies and to seek medical attention if they notice any changes.

If Alberta was that bad the wjc would be cancelled

actions speak louder than words

 

[X66]

First set of vaccines being given out today boys!

Time to celebrate!

 

[The Hanging Jowl]

I believe death rates are probably reflective on knowing how to treat the patients with the experience gained over time. The first patients paved the way for the current patients.

Actually my theory actually supports your Alberta comments since their death rate is significantly up during this wave.

There's another thing to consider as well: maybe Ontario's first wave decimated a good portion of our most vulnerable causing the higher death and ICU admission rates back then, and now there aren't as many vulnerable to ravage. And perhaps Alberta did a much better job protecting their vulnerable in the first wave leaving more fuel for the fire (so to speak) this time around. No way to quantify this but Alberta did have a vastly lower death rate in the first wave than Ontario (not even close to proportional to relative populations).

 

[stealth1]

Its the governments fault
Go to work
Go to school
But don’t you dare see your grandparents for Christmas

the majority are going to be like f*** that shit

I have never said it's the businesses fault for any of this. I put a lot of the blame on people. If people were as cautious at home as they are in public things wouldn't be this bad. IMO the reason they tell you not to visit your grandparents and have Christmas with your own household cause again people are going to people and not take precautions at home. If people would wear masks and did social distancing when people visited their home, they would probably say you could have small family gatherings. You know people are going to people and act like everything is normal.

 

[stealth1]

Actually my theory actually supports your Alberta comments since their death rate is significantly up during this wave.

There's another thing to consider as well: maybe Ontario's first wave decimated a good portion of our most vulnerable causing the higher death and ICU admission rates back then, and now there aren't as many vulnerable to ravage. And perhaps Alberta did a much better job protecting their vulnerable in the first wave leaving more fuel for the fire (so to speak) this time around. No way to quantify this but Alberta did have a vastly lower death rate in the first wave than Ontario (not even close to proportional to relative populations).

I wonder if a lot of the lower death rate in Ontario now has to do with that the majority of cases are in people under 40 now.

IMO now is the time to start doing studies on long term affects of Covid. Seen as the majority of people under 40 don't die from Covid, see if there is any after affects.

 

[Nineteen67]

I never said to stop social interaction, just limit it. You can still work and for the most part limit your interactions.

You’re advocating locking down and closing stores and restaurants which have proven to be a low driver in the spread of the virus.

 

[GQS]

There is a reason Alberta isn't doing well.

There has been very little restriction here, as the attitude is very much like it is in certain parts of the US.

During the entire first wave and the whole summer only Ontario and Quebec had the highest number of covid cases and deaths while pretty much the rest of the country was at extreme low numbers and almost untouched even in larger provinces like BC and Alberta. As I've been saying for so long it seems like trying to contain the spread was often a pointless exercise and that eventually the virus was going to make its way everywhere and burn through the whole country and population until it runs the course and dies down on its own.

It happened in the US where New York state took the first major hit and after that every state eventually took its turn with some states being harder hit than others, but almost no state being spared regardless of the actions they took.

Also what I don't understand is that seeing as covid cases are interrupting the normal operations of hospitals and are often preventing non-covid people from getting surgeries and other treatments, why aren't we creating covid only patient hospitals? Namely for example in Toronto/GTA you choose a hospital in each of Scarborough, Markham, Mississuaga and downtown Toronto and turn them into becoming hospitals that treat only virus patients and no one else. If someone is sick enough with the virus that they need hospital treatment they would ONLY go to those designated hospitals and nowhere else.

That way all the other hospitals in the GTA can go back to taking care of non-covid patients and people and the staff working at those non-covid patient hospitals wouldn't have to worry too much about getting infected when you're mixing covid and non-covid patients and staff together like they're doing now. With a covid only patient hospital you can put all the necessary resources, PPE, other equipment etc. into only those facilities and provide the best care you can for patients while keeping them isolated from everyone else and if the number of virus cases is high, then maybe you simply open up a few overflow facilities like in a hotel or arena or something where less serious cases can go to recover leaving hospital beds for the more sick patients.

I wonder why doing that wouldn't be a better idea than what's currently being done and having almost all hospitals be affected and negatively impacted and not being able to operate normally?

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

Actually my theory actually supports your Alberta comments since their death rate is significantly up during this wave.

There's another thing to consider as well: maybe Ontario's first wave decimated a good portion of our most vulnerable causing the higher death and ICU admission rates back then, and now there aren't as many vulnerable to ravage. And perhaps Alberta did a much better job protecting their vulnerable in the first wave leaving more fuel for the fire (so to speak) this time around. No way to quantify this but Alberta did have a vastly lower death rate in the first wave than Ontario (not even close to proportional to relative populations).

I live in my Calgary, here's my opinion of what's happening.

Covid was far less ramped in western Canada during the first wave. Eastern USA got hit hard which led to spread in Quebec and Ontario and a lot of deaths. We did a lockdown in Alberta for about 2 months with wild projections of cases and deaths. By the end of summer we had hardly any deaths and people stopped taking the virus all that seriously. People let their guard down and now we are getting a far worse second wave.

 

[Nineteen67]

Its the governments fault
Go to work
Go to school
But don’t you dare see your grandparents for Christmas

the majority are going to be like f*** that shit

The government doesn’t tell you that all., which is the problem. They tell you stay away from restaurants, close school, etc but don’t give proper information about how and where this virus spreads.


Politicians and public health officials are in those positions for a reason, and it’s not because the cream rises.

 

[Nineteen67]

I live in my Calgary, here's my opinion of what's happening.

Covid was far less ramped in western Canada during the first wave. Eastern USA got hit hard which led to spread in Quebec and Ontario and a lot of deaths. We did a lockdown in Alberta for about 2 months with wild projections of cases and deaths. By the end of summer we had hardly any deaths and people stopped taking the virus all that seriously. People let their guard down and now we are getting a far worse second wave.

its seasonal and there weren’t as many infected the first go around to build immunity.

on the left is what they tell us, on the right demonstrates seasonality.

 

[stealth1]

You’re advocating locking down and closing stores and restaurants which have proven to be a low driver in the spread of the virus.

I have never advocated lockdowns and closing of businesses. All I'm saying is for people to limit interactions. You don't need lockdowns for that. I will continue to put the majority of blame on people for this.

Again it's not hard to understand, a virus needs people for it to spread. If you lower the amount of social interaction the less spread. From day one of this the problem is still people are going to people.

@Confucius you keep going on about people lining up for coffee and other things. Again that's nothing to with business or government,. That's again people being people. Its pretty bad when the government has to be the babysitter cause people can't follow the 4 simple guidelines.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

its seasonal and there weren’t as many infected the first go around to build immunity.

on the left is what the tell us, on the right demonstrates seasonality.

Yes, absolutely. The numbers were definitely going to go up during flu season. I just think the cases have gone up quicker out west because we didnt really get hit with the first wave and let our guard down a bit more.

 

[stealth1]

The government doesn’t tell you that all., which is the problem. They tell you stay away from restaurants, close school, etc but don’t give proper information about how and where this virus spreads.


Politicians and public health officials are in those positions for a reason, and it’s not because the cream rises.

They have told us where the virus spreads. Why else do you think they are telling people to limit family gatherings.

 

[Confucius]

I have never advocated lockdowns and closing of businesses. All I'm saying is for people to limit interactions. You don't need lockdowns for that. I will continue to put the majority of blame on people for this.

Again it's not hard to understand, a virus needs people for it to spread. If you lower the amount of social interaction the less spread. From day one of this the problem is still people are going to people.

@Confucius you keep going on about people lining up for coffee and other things. Again that's nothing to with business or government,. That's again people being people. Its pretty bad when the government has to be the babysitter cause people can't follow the 4 simple guidelines.

why I harp on it because it is beyond silly picking and choosing who gets locked down. I've always said it's all or nothing. If the government is going to deem trivial things like buying beer a necessity. How can anybody take their plan seriously? It's either a danger or it's not. Open it all up and as you say let the people decide if they want to risk covid for a coffee.

 

[Sensmileletsgo]

why I harp on it because it is beyond silly picking and choosing who gets locked down. Ive always said its all or nothing. If the government is going to deem trivial things like buying beer a necessity. How can anybody take their plan seriously. Its either a danger or its not. Open it all up and as you say let the people decide if they want to risk covid for a coffee.

This is my opinion as well. Close everything down or don't close anything at all.

 

[usernamezrhardtodo]

You’re advocating locking down and closing stores and restaurants which have proven to be a low driver in the spread of the virus.

 

[Nineteen67]

I have never advocated lockdowns and closing of businesses. All I'm saying is for people to limit interactions. You don't need lockdowns for that. I will continue to put the majority of blame on people for this.

Again it's not hard to understand, a virus needs people for it to spread. If you lower the amount of social interaction the less spread. From day one of this the problem is still people are going to people.

@Confucius you keep going on about people lining up for coffee and other things. Again that's nothing to with business or government,. That's again people being people. Its pretty bad when the government has to be the babysitter cause people can't follow the 4 simple guidelines.

where does spread occur?

People are being people because they know they are safe and they know the inept politicians are wrong about retail, restaurants and school.

 

[stealth1]

why I harp on it because it is beyond silly picking and choosing who gets locked down. I've always said it's all or nothing. If the government is going to deem trivial things like buying beer a necessity. How can anybody take their plan seriously? It's either a danger or it's not. Open it all up and as you say let the people decide if they want to risk covid for a coffee.

They aren't picking and choosing. They can't close everything. The businesses that sell groceries and have a pharmacy have to be open cause people need to eat and get medication. Letting the people decide is a bad idea. People already can't follow simple guidelines as it is.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

I believe death rates are probably reflective on knowing how to treat the patients with the experience gained over time. The first patients paved the way for the current patients.

or it could be a weakened virus too or better steroid/antiviral meds too ... no one really knows for sure but experience is da key for most things in life

 

[stealth1]

where does spread occur?

People are being people because they know they are safe and they know the inept politicians are wrong about retail, restaurants and school.

Retail, restaurants and schools are open. Outside of the GTA, everything is open. People do get Covid in public just it spreads more at home cause PEOPLE LET THEIR GUARD DOWN AT HOME. Its not rocket science to understand any of this.