Thread on COVID 19 and why my family has decided to “self isolate” for the next 14 days.
According to government tallies, there are only 42 cases in Ontario. This is not true. It can’t be. We don’t know who has COVID 19 because there are not enough tests being administered to ppl with symptoms or ppl who’ve interacted with outbreak hotspots.
My colleague Brian Lilley attended 2 conferences where ppl were infected. He tried reaching health officials, but the system was so overwhelmed he couldn’t get through.
I similarly tried reaching Health Ontario & couldn’t get through “due to high volume of COVID 19 inquiries”
I similarly tried reaching Health Ontario & couldn’t get through “due to high volume of COVID 19 inquiries”
I don’t have any symptoms but just returned from a trip to Silicon Valley, where there’s currently an outbreak. Out of an abundance of caution, I wanted to see if I could get tested, and to see how readily available tests were. I waited on hold a long time, and finally gave up.
This is why I’m concerned. Exponential growth is a scary thing. I think Toronto is experiencing an outbreak right now. We’re only in week one. (I hope I’m wrong). 
My husband and I will work from home & our son won’t go to any classes. We’ve cancelled all social events, visitors & work travel, will avoid all non-essential trips out of the house and practice social distancing & excessive cleanliness routines.
We can’t trust the government to take a decisive stand or impose a much-needed quarantine, but individuals should take it upon ourselves to contain the spread of this deadly disease. Everyone in Toronto and Vancouver should consider doing the same.
