We Fight On

I know, I know. COVID, ugh. But it was time for me to have a look at the present situation and trends in Ontario. Therefore, I jot it down for you but will understand if readers choose to avert their eyes. 

The COVID situation in Ontario remains alarming, but there may be hope. 

As for the alarming part, according to this article (a short read), "875 people with COVID-19-related illnesses [are] being treated in Ontario's ICUs, with 589 of those requiring a ventilator." Those are current  ICU numbers only. Who knows how many genuinely active cases there are, for tracking must be problematic. However, there may be up to 47 000 cases still ongoing in the province in some way. Looking at it that way, the percentage of those needing acute care is less than 2% of total unresolved  cases, so that at least is somewhat encouraging.

A concomitant of these ICU numbers is overcrowding so that some patients have to be moved to other hospitals, and they can be far away. For example: some Toronto patients have been airlifted to Ottawa, an hour's distance by plane and 4 hours by car. This is a hard thing: "As we're loading ambulances to leave, we're finding family members lined up on the sidewalk, shouting goodbyes and taking photos — trying to catch a glimpse of their mom or their dad."

In the same article, there is a 1 minute video of a patient being moved into an ambulance. I find it both sobering and emotional.

On a somewhat positive side, the lockdown plus innoculations seem to be having an effect. Just a week or so ago, the provincial new case numbers had skyrocketed to almost 5000/day. Lately, they have fallen to under 4000 with only 3480 yesterday. While that number is hardly an only, trends are relative to what has preceded them.

The red trend line at the very right show that new cases are declining.

There is more positive news. More than 4.5 million or 30+% of us have had the first jab, and it is projected that 80% of age 16+ will have their first dose by June 14. It is important to stay the course for the next two months..

It's not so good everywhere, India is in dire straits, gaining 1 million more cases every three days. It wasn't so long ago that some nitwit on social media was saying how wonderful that country was doing with hundreds of millions not wearing masks. Alas, it was too early for that COVID-denying anti-masker to crow with a juvenile post. 

As this sad scene transpires, I understand that India continues to allow super-spreader, religious events. I will bite my tongue and not offer further comment on that point.

If all of this isn't sobering enough, I leave you with a photo of the cremation pyres burning. Apparently, they can hardly keep up.