As #Quebec prepares to partially open today, I’m trying to keep an open mind. But I’m looking at these numbers and I can’t make sense of them. Quebec has roughly 23% of the CDN population, but almost 54% of all confirmed cases nationally, and close to 60% of all deaths.
Alberta, with significantly fewer #COVIDー19 cases than Quebec, isn’t planning on opening schools until September. Same for BC.
New Brunswick hasn’t had a COVID case for weeks and zero deaths, but hasn’t announced any plans to reopen schools/businesses.
New Brunswick hasn’t had a COVID case for weeks and zero deaths, but hasn’t announced any plans to reopen schools/businesses.
In the meantime, the province doing - by far - the worst in the country numbers-wise, is preparing to slowly start opening businesses and sending kids off to school despite the overwhelming unease expressed by many parents and teachers.
While we can debate how different ways of confirming/labelling COVID deaths may have inflated our numbers, the fact remains that we continue to post many daily deaths (69 just yesterday!) & confirmed cases, and hospitals + ICUs remain full, w/ many worrisome outbreaks reported.
The fact remains, I don’t see how the worst performing province is getting ready to be the first to open. Premier Legault can very well insist that there are two Quebecs, but if this ruthless virus has taught us anything it’s that everything and everyone is interconnected.
Opening schools with no real plan, while COVID cases and deaths continue, and while outbreaks persist both in CHSLDs and hospitals, seems to me like a calculated risk we are neither prepared for nor should be taking.
I’m neither a health journalist nor a scientist, but these numbers just don’t seem to support what the gov’t has decided on. I have no answers, but, one week before #Montreal is slated to open schools/businesses, I sure as hell still have a lot of questions...
