COVID-19 is particularly dangerous for people who are older than 60 and people with other health conditions, experts say. My sister Beth Grimmett has an auto-immune disease and her teenage son has asthma, so they're quite concerned and staying home.
Yesterday, her rheumatologist called her and told her to stock up on her medication, in case it starts to run low. She immediately tried to call it in to the pharmacist, but it took three hours to get through on the phone and it's going to take another several days to get it delivered. But still, we're thankful she was able to get it!
She's a strong advocate for a full lock-down, similar to what is now happening in California.
"What upsets me the most is that we saw this happening in China and then Italy," my sister said. "We knew it was headed our way but still Canada did not start implementing restrictions until over the last week and I think we are still behind the eight ball. Why not implement now what Italy, China and other countries are already doing? Why wait?"
Here are a bunch of questions she has:
- Why are some government offices and big businesses still asking employees to come in to work?
- Why are grocery stores not focusing more on pickup and delivery services and less on in-store shopping? (My comment: If it's a shortage of staff, there are many, many people who have lost service jobs in the restaurant sector who would love a new job, assuming they are protected from the virus with face masks, etc. Although grocery stores are putting in plexiglass guards for the cashiers, that could take a while, and a few days ago when I was last in the store, the cashiers didn't even have face masks. Also, with pickup and delivery, it's easier to monitor if people are buying more than their fair share.)
- Why are restaurants still allowed to do takeout?
To her list, I will add:
- Are we repurposing businesses to build ventilators?
- Could laid off people work on making masks? I realize this might be complex, but it seems crucial.
With many dire warnings coming out from ordinary people in Italy — mostly all saying take this seriously, sooner — I think my sister is right. We should shut down everything we can, while still keeping supply lines open for things like food and medical supplies.
Today, March 20, 2020, Italy is reporting nearly 6,000 new cases, for a total of 47,000 cases. That's after they've been in lockdown for 11 days. Apparently the virus has an incubation period of up to 14 days. Surely they must be reaching a peak, if lockdown works, as it appears to have worked in China.
Another very scary statistic is that the United States had nearly as many cases today (5,497) as Italy did (5,986). The population of the United States is more than five times that of Italy. You do the math.
UPDATE Saturday, March 21:
Doctors at Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster are urging B.C.’s medical health officer to take stronger measures now to fight COVID-19.
In a letter posted on the Vancouver Sun website, they say B.C. is following the same trajectory Italy did and needs to close non-essential businesses and enforce social distancing before it’s too late.
“We need to act now to prevent a catastrophic number of preventable deaths,” the letter says. “At our current rate of spread, our hospitals will be overwhelmed within a few weeks without drastic action.”
They urge that non-essential businesses be shut down and that public parks and beaches must enforce social distancing or also be shut down. They also call for hospital visitors to be limited and more public awareness campaigns.
The letter was written yesterday, March 20.
This is serious business. We need to get serious in response. If you're still going out and you don't absolutely have to, please stay home.
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