Thread by @OttawaHealth

Threads were intended for major shifts. Things that couldn't be explained in 1 tweet. We'd planned to use one every 6-7 weeks. But this is our third thread in a month. And we're writing this one because we've hit a critical point. We'll get to that, but first let's chat.

(1/10)

It would've been simpler to work in physics. "Hey, does gravity exist?"...drops something..."yup! Case closed!"

But public health during a pandemic isn't like that. A piece by @edyong209 in @TheAtlantic way back in April put it perfectly. Quoting Harvard's Bill Hanage, he (2/10)

summed it up as: “We’re trying to build the plane while we’re flying it.”

The relentless flow of new information hasn't slowed in 7 months. And we've endeavored to make the best decisions we could based on the best information we had at the time. From your perspective, it (3/10)

might feel like we keep shifting our guidelines. But, to be fair, that's what we should be doing. We'd much rather tell you that based on new evidence we're shifting from Guidance A to Guidance B, versus stubbornly sticking with Guidance A in the name of being consistent. (4/10)

That's why the guidelines for self-screening, back-to-school & social gatherings have been shifting recently. COVID doesn't care that we don't have the time we'd normally need to react & we're trying to stay ahead of things. But that plane from before? It's in big trouble. (5/10)

Our health care system is in crisis. Labs are working beyond capacity causing dangerous backlogs, which affects our contact tracing & case management. Hospitals are nearing capacity, and we're seeing more outbreaks in LTC homes. Our system can't handle much more of this. (6/10)

And today, we're reporting 142 new cases. The highest number of new cases to date. We know this will scare you, but that's not our intention. We're just laying it all out. We're being transparent so you can appreciate the severity of this. This is a critical turning point. (7/10)

On our end, labs & hospitals are increasing capacity, we're training more case managers & further LTC rules are being implemented. But these things take time. And time is a luxury we can't afford. That's where you come in. Your actions matter. Maybe more than you realize. (8/10)

We've shown you how the actions of 1-2 people going to a gathering can affect hundreds. Now think about the actions of 1,000,000...one million good decisions. You already know how. We've tweeted "#BeCOVIDwise" 37,542 times already. It's nothing new. You just have to do it. (9/10)

We know you're tired. So are we. We haven't slowed from this relentless pace in 7 months. But we're still here, and we're not going anywhere.

This is that hour, Ottawa. We can't carry you, but we'll stand 2m beside you.

-OPH out (10/10)