Google Maps screen shot shows British Columbia and Washington State, two jurisdictions with very different Covid-19 experiences, so far.
British Columbia is experiencing a very different Covid-19 pandemic from its neighbour to the south, Washington State. B.C. has had about 3,200 cases and 189 deaths; Washington State has had about 47,000 cases and 1,500 deaths. B.C.’s population is just over five million; Washington State’s population is nearly eight million. Adjusting for population would mean B.C. would have had about 4,800 cases, but Washington State has nearly 10 times that amount. Why?
Both jurisdictions had Covid-19 cases early on and both had alarming outbreaks in long-term care homes, but very quickly their paths began to diverge.
B.C. is about five times bigger by area than Washington State, with a smaller population, so less dense. That could be part of the reason, but the city of Vancouver is the densest city in Canada and much denser by square kilometer than Seattle.
Canada requires 14-day quarantines for all people arriving from outside the country. Some states, like Hawaii and New York, have similar rules, but Washington State doesn’t. This could be a key difference, but there’s got to be more to it.
I put the idea out on Twitter, asking for suggestions, and was pleasantly surprised by the thoughtful, intelligent ideas in response.
The pandemic is not a competition and things may change tomorrow, but for now, here are some of the things mentioned in the responses that could be playing a role.
Several people mentioned the American belief in personal freedoms versus the Canadian willingness to both respect authority and to sacrifice for the greater good. While this is not true of all individuals, either American or Canadian, Canadians are generally known for their apologetic natures, while Americans are, also generally, known for their belief in individual rights, so there could be something to this argument.
Public healthcare was mentioned as a major difference between Washington State and British Columbia, because it means no one has to pay for a test or for treatment. Canada also introduced the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) of $2,000 per month for people who lost their jobs and is on the cusp of implementing a paid sick leave program (details to come), both of which take the pressure off people who need to pay their rent or feed their families and might be tempted to go to work if feeling sick.
In B.C., the politicians let the public health officials run the show and make the decisions, while in the United States the pandemic is political. Consider the debate over masks and the politics become immediately clear. Our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wore a mask long before public health officials started recommending it. In B.C, we also have to thank our two Covid-19 leaders, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix who have led the way.
Metro Vancouver can also thank its Asian population, who were early onto both masks and social distancing, one Twitter user said. Seattle's Asian population is just 15 per cent, while Vancouver's is more than 40 per cent. Meanwhile, instead of being thanked, Asian people in Vancouver are increasingly being targeted by hate crimes. The Vancouver Police Department has created a special hate crime project team to investigate an increase in hate crimes, including those targeting Asian people on Vancouver. VPD has recorded 155 hate crimes so far this year, compared to 69 for the same time period last year.
B.C. brought in rules to quarantine temporary foreign workers arriving in B.C. and late last month, Dr. Henry said 28 of them had tested positive for Covid-19 during their quarantines. Because they were quarantined, there were no major outbreaks. This may have prevented hundreds of cases.
“It has been very effective for us and I think it’s a very important piece of how we have handled this,” Dr. Henry said.
Some of it comes down to luck. For instance, B.C. was lucky to have its school Spring Break at just the right time so that people for the most part did not travel and bring Covid-19 back with them.
Let’s hope that luck holds. On Friday, Dr. Henry held an unexpected news conference – she used to hold them daily, but since the case count has decreased, they’ve dropped off to just two per week – because of several outbreaks, including one at St. Paul’s Hospital neo-natal intensive care unit for premature babies, one at the nearby Sandman Suites Hotel where healthcare workers were staying, and another at the Site C work camp in Northern B.C.
There were also 28 new cases on Friday, the highest case count in more than two months.
An outbreak in Kelowna that started with a gathering of people around Canada Day has now grown to 35 cases, a number Dr. Henry expects will grow. Many of the cases are in people in their 20s and 30s, who may have only mild symptoms, but their ability to spread the virus is just as high as older people, Dr. Henry says.
"These flare ups in our communities around the province are a concern. It is a warning to us that we need to do more to keep things in balance," Dr. Henry says. “Don’t let Covid steal our summer.” tracy.sherlock@gmail.com
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