Thread by @BarryHunt008

Dear Friends,

I know this wave, Wave 8, seems like the same old same old but this time it's different.

We used to have a respite between waves during the summer for ppl and hospitals to recharge & regroup prior to the fall & winter onslaught. This time we didn't.

We used to finish a wave before we started the next one. This time we're starting a new wave on top of the current wave.

We used to start a new wave with <1000 daily cases (in Ontario).This time we're starting with 40,000.

We used to start a wave with a single dominant variant. This time we have variant soup.

We used to be confident our new monoclonal antibodies would be effective against a new dominant variant. This time we aren't.

We used to be confident one more vaccine boost would overcome immune evasion. This time we're not.

We used to have low hospital occupancy & spare hospital capacity at the start of a wave. This time we don't.

We used to have mandatory masking in place. This time we don't.

We used to have remote learning options in place. This time we don't.

We used to have confidence we can meet the capacity challenge in our hospitals. This time we don't.

We used to have risk, case & outbreak data by school, by region, by province. This time we don't.

We used to have Federal income supports in place for ppl & businesses. Now we don't.

We used to take COVID seriously. Now we don't.

We used to be afraid of the acute phase of COVID. Now we aren't.

We used to think the acute phase was the only concern. Now we know better. Mid COVID & Long COVID are just as harmful, in many ways more so, to ppl, their families, businesses & the economy.

So now what can we do to save hospitals from crashing & schools from closing? Wave 8 is already here. What can we do in a hurry?

A couple of ideas:

Deploy 2 M kid's size Health Canada authorized respirators to school kids. After all, schools are the primary drivers of community cases.

Deploy 100,000 highly protective easy-sealing reusable respirators to teachers. After all, they are more vulnerable to hospitalization & death & have a big impact on class availability.

Make universal respirator use mandatory in hospitals & LTC for staff, visitors and voluntarily for patients. After all, HC is the other major driver of cases & HCWs are existentially invaluable to the system.

Monitor CO2 levels / ventilation in real time across every classroom in the province & target improvements where needed.

Mandatory masking in public places until cases are lower.

Set minimum standards - respirators for high-risk, minimum medical masks for all other.

Do these measures sound drastic? They're not. Minor inconveniences & minor investments. On a scale of 1 to 10 they're a 2, compared to the health & economic consequences of inaction. And the inconvenience of wearing a mask is TEMPORARY.

Disclosure: I research & develop new products, processes & standards to keep ppl safe from air, water & surface transmission of disease. I develop, manufacture, distribute & sell reusable respirators, CO2 monitors, UV & other devices to pay the bills.

I'd like to stay healthy, live a long happy life & I want that for my friends & fellow citizens too.

I'd like hospitals & schools & public spaces to be safe, the economy & businesses to flourish & kids to excel in school.

Let's make it happen.

Stay safe everyone!

#MaskUp