# Canada and the Coronavirus **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [March 30, 2020, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643 "2020-03-30T05:02:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 25
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/484 "2021-05-15T01:33:18Z")
Agreed. I felt mild trepidation about Astrazeneca, but decided the risks were negligible. Now that the blood clots seem to be about 1 in 60000 cases, the risks… still seem negligible. Can nobody do the math? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/485 "2021-05-15T01:42:22Z")
“Math is hard” — Barbie. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/486 "2021-05-15T01:43:09Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > is this just the incessant need for journalists to balance a positive with a negative? I think it’s simply the journalistic ethos to tell all sides of the story. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/487 "2021-05-15T02:07:58Z")
Yep. 25,000 dead from Covid. 1.3 million infected, some of them with life-altering results. But we have to find another side. OMG! Two died from suspected blood clots from one of the Vaccines! THESE ARE JUST THE SAME! SO BEWARE OF VACCINES! 1. People suck at understanding risk factors. 2. Journalists suck at understanding science, and feed into #1 above ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/488 "2021-05-15T02:24:43Z")
“It’s like algebra…why you gotta put numbers and letters together?” — Letterkenny ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2021, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/489 "2021-05-15T02:28:56Z")
VITT is basically an immune reaction to a drug which lowers platelets. It’s not like it’s something completely new to medicine, perhaps 3.5% of people who are given heparin might have a similar reaction. I don’t want to minimize problems or discount those who suffered. However, I believe the risk, much lower than something like taking birth control, should be weighed against the benefits, the fact Covid causes problems (and “long Covid” might be due to small clots) and the increase in anxiety and people deciding not to vaccinate… it’s a bit of a dog’s breakfast. If other vaccines are available now, and lack those problems, that is another thing. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/490 "2021-05-20T16:10:54Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > “It’s like algebra…why you gotta put numbers and letters together?” — Letterkenny Well, another day gone and I didn’t use calculus once. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2021, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/491 "2021-05-21T00:47:33Z")
BC hit a two month low today. Alberta cases trending down. Also Saskatchewan, but not as fast as BC and Alberta. Manitoba had it’s highest ever caseload today. Anybody there who can tell us what’s happening? An anomolous spike? Something else? ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2021, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/492 "2021-05-29T00:25:45Z")
My aunt, who has one kid in Nova Scotia and another in BC (none in ON) tells me that in Ontario there is now a three and a half year backlog in elective surgeries. —if you put your name in now for a knee replacement, say, you can expect to get it in late 2024. The delay”s all caused by COVID she says. 1. is this true? 2. if so…wow. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2021, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/493 "2021-05-29T00:45:32Z")
That’s not what the Ontario website is saying: [Patient’s Wait Time from Decision to Having Orthopedic Surgery – Health Quality Ontario (hqontario.ca)](https://www.hqontario.ca/System-Performance/Wait-Times-for-Surgeries-and-Procedures/Wait-Times-for-Orthopedic-Surgeries-including-Hip-Replacement-and-Knee-Replacement/Time-from-Decision-to-Having-Orthopedic-Surgery) Except that optional knee surgery is a poor indicator. That was probably all just canceled. The wait time for that specific surgery for low priority cases at a specific hospital may be much worse than even the Ontario orthopedic surgery averages. FWIW, waiting-time blowout is probably under-reporting. It says that optional low-priority medicine was canceled, and ‘doctors visits’ are optional low-priority medicine, and that means that the _waiting lists for optional surgery are artificially depressed because doctors aren’t referring patients for surgery_. Figure that the median waiting time may not go down when full service is restored – because the wait lists are going to be growing as fast as the completed surgery lists. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2021, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/494 "2021-06-04T19:50:20Z")
[This article](https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/09/19-month-pandemic-related-surgical-backlog-ontario) says that there is an 84 week backlog of elective surgeries in Ontario. And that is from September 2020. I’ve just had some x-rays on my hip that has been giving me problems. My thought is that I might need a replacement down the road and I am considering getting ‘in line’ now. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2021, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/495 "2021-06-04T22:44:57Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > [This article](https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/09/19-month-pandemic-related-surgical-backlog-ontario) says that there is an 84 week backlog of elective surgeries in Ontario. And that is from September 2020. Using historical data, that suggests that the _backlog_ is much greater than the _waiting list_. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2021, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/496 "2021-06-04T23:05:35Z")
… and that it will take 84 weeks for the _backlog_ to clear. (But an 84 week period to clear the backlog could mean that for 84 weeks, the waiting list is 1 week longer than normal.) Hospitals in general have a much different view of backlogs and waiting lists than patients do: 95% of the patients might see that they have to wait for surgery screaming in pain, and the hospital staff might see that 99% of the time the surgical theater is empty and the staff are unemployed. It’s rare for medical services to give as much attention to variance as they do to averages (and even more rare for attention to be given to 3rd-moment statistics). I expect the wait-list to rise once the backlog starts to clear, then eventually the wait list to fall as the backlog is cleared. The hospitals will have a limited ability to clear the backlog, and a more limited ability to increase that rate at which they clear the backlog. … and an even more limited ability to increase the rate at which they are allowed to increase the rate at which they clear the backlog: the number of new staff they bring on, and the rate at which they can bring on new staff is limited, and the rate at which they can increase that rate is also limited… ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2021, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/497 "2021-06-05T20:33:22Z")
Yeah, in general the prognosis is not great. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2021, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/498 "2021-06-05T21:59:20Z")
A lot of Canadian surgeons would happily operate more. They cannot always get as much staffed OR time as they want. That said, backlogs were a thing before Covid, which obviously makes them much worse. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2021, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/499 "2021-06-06T01:22:32Z")
What Canadians have done well is generally wear masks and follow advice. Our death rate per capita is better than many. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/500 "2021-06-19T21:28:23Z")
Federal government has extended the body set closures for another month, until vaccination rates in Canada hit targets. > **[Businesses, U.S. legislators fume as Canada extends travel ban; Trudeau...](https://beta.ctvnews.ca/national/coronavirus/2021/6/19/1_5477470.html)** > > Canada is extending a ban on nonessential travel with the United States and the rest of the world until July 21, officials said on Friday, prompting frustration from businesses and U.S. legislators. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/501 "2021-06-19T22:45:22Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > What Canadians have done well is generally wear masks and follow advice. Our death rate per capita is better than many. We also say sorry when we forget to wear masks. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/502 "2021-06-21T13:45:01Z")
Alberta drops all restrictions on July 1, and Saskatchewan on July 17. This is probably too early as there are still so many unvaccinated people. I imagine the newest variant will rip through some unprotected communities. The good news for me is I got my second shot on the weekend. My first was AstraZeneca and I choose Pfizer for the second. I will still avoid Calgary Stampede this year though. Mixing with thousands of people not wearing masks seems like asking for trouble. I also have a feeling their will be a lot of anti maskers there, who are not vaccinated. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2021, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643/503 "2021-06-21T14:58:17Z")
Ontario is reporting under 300 cases for the 1st time in 9 months: > **[Ontario reports lowest daily COVID-19 case count in more than 9 months](https://www.cp24.com/news/ontario-reports-lowest-daily-covid-19-case-count-in-more-than-9-months-1.5478929)** > > Ontario is reporting fewer than 300 new cases of COVID-19 today with provincial health officials logging the lowest daily case count in more than nine months. They have also announced the ending of quarantine for returning fully vaccinated Canadians & PR, effective July 5: > **[Border measures start easing in July for fully vaccinated Canadians](https://www.cp24.com/news/border-measures-start-easing-in-july-for-fully-vaccinated-canadians-1.5478706)** > > Fully vaccinated Canadians returning to Canada will soon be able to avoid a mandatory quarantine as long as they still test negative for COVID-19. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643.md?page=24) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canada-and-the-coronavirus/850643.md?page=26)