Aaron Derfel Profile picture
May 20 10 tweets 6 min read Twitter logo Read on Twitter
1) The latest graph by Our World in Data shows #COVID19 deaths globally trickled to a mere dozen on May 17. Yes, that's right, only 12 such fatalities the world over. How is that possible? In this thread, I explore our rush to wipe the #pandemic from our collective consciousness. Image
2) Our World in Data had been a reliable source of #COVID stats. But since March 8, it's depended on data from the World Health Organization, whose information is only as accurate as the stats it collects from jurisdictions. But many countries are no longer so diligent.
3) The Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center had been an excellent source of information during the #pandemic, producing a highly detailed dashboard every day. But it stopped collecting data as of March 3. Sadly, the chart below is its last update. Image
4) It was on January 27 that Japan announced it would formally downgrade #COVID19 as a common infectious disease, on a par with the seasonal flu. Japan's declaration would influence many jurisdictions around the world. Image
5) Three days later, U.S. President Joe Biden informed Congress that he would end #COVID19 as both a national emergency and a public health one on May 11.
With the emergency now lifted, the uninsured must pay out of pocket for most COVID expenses in their entirety. Image
6) Six days before the U.S. lifted its COVID state of emergency, the World Health Organization's director-general announced "it's with great hope that I declare #COVID19 over as a global health emergency." Most people did not focus on what Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said next. Image
7) "That does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat," the W.H.O. chief added. In my home province, Quebec on May 18 reported 864 #COVID hospitalizations. Twenty individuals were receiving intensive care, and 35 deaths were declared in less than three weeks.
8) The pandemic severely weakened Quebec's health-care system, as it did in many other jurisdictions. The system must still cope with #COVID hospitalizations and those suffering from #LongCOVID, many of whom rightfully complain they're being gaslit by the medical establishment. Image
9) Meanwhile, the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes #COVID continues to mutate, as the chart by Quebec's public health institute reveals. Yet the World Health Organization has lamented that it's receiving less and less reliable information about new variants. Image
10) This rush to wipe the #pandemic from the public consciousness may come back to haunt humanity. There are simply too many unknown variables at play here, and the current cavalier attitude toward #COVID data doesn't help. End of thread. Image

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More from @Aaron_Derfel

May 14
1) BREAKING: Two days after I wrote a story about psychiatric patients being forced to lie on floor mattresses in the corridors of the emergency room at Douglas Hospital, the latest government figures show an average ER wait time there of 105 hours and 28 minutes. Image
2) The Douglas's appalling emergency department numbers fall far short of the Quebec Health Ministry's own objective that no patient should have to stay on an ER stretcher for longer than 14 hours. Again, in the case of the Douglas, the latest average is 105 hours and 28 minutes. Image
3) Understand that these psychiatric patients are in acute distress. They deserve a decent hospital bed. They should not have to languish in an ER corridor for more than 105 hours. Here is the story I wrote about this on Friday.👇
montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
Read 4 tweets
May 5
1) Breaking: Reducing ER overcrowding is the McGill University Health Centre’s No. 1 priority, the new executive director pledges.
montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
2) Dr. Lucie Opatrny was previously known to many Quebecers as the deputy health minister in charge of hospitals during the #pandemic. Whether she can fix the MUHC’s major ER overcrowding problem remains to be seen, She told me this will take a team effort.
3) After first dodging an interview for weeks, the MUHC graciously accepted to let me ask Dr. Opatrny some questions. Her answers were so detailed and frank, I expect to write a couple more stories from that interview.
Read 6 tweets
May 3
1) Dernière heure : Le temps d'attente moyen sur civière pour les patients des urgences âgés d'au moins 75 ans a grimpé à près de 28 heures à Montréal, contre 21,3 heures seulement quatre ans plus tôt. Doit-on tolérer cette situation comme étant normale ?
montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/an…
2) Il y a trois ans, j'ai sonné l'alarme au sujet de la crise des soins aux personnes âgées dans CHSLD. Aujourd'hui, j'attire l'attention sur ce que je crois être une véritable crise concernant les personnes âgées dans les salles d'urgence du Québec.
montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
3) « Personne ne veut parler de la façon dont les aînés sont traitées aux urgences », a déclaré une source. « Elles ne sont pas tournées (sur civière) toutes les deux heures comme elles sont censées l'être. Elles finissent toutes par avoir des escarres. »
montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/an…
Read 6 tweets
May 3
1) Breaking: The average wait time on stretchers for ER patients aged at least 75 jumped to nearly 28 hours in Montreal from 21.3 hours only four years earlier. Should anyone — let alone an elderly person — stew on an uncomfortable stretcher for 28 hours?
montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/an…
2) Three years ago, I sounded the alarm about the crisis in eldercare in nursing homes. Today, I'm drawing attention to what I believe is an unspoken crisis involving the elderly in Quebec's ERs. They are bearing the brunt of this terrible overcrowding.

montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
3) “Nobody wants to talk about the way the elderly are treated in ERs,” a source said. “They’re not fed routinely. They’re not turned every two hours like they’re supposed to be....They all end up getting bed sores." montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/an…
Read 6 tweets
Apr 28
1) Dernière heure : Certains patients qui devaient être admis à l'unité de cardiologie de l'Hôpital Royal Victoria ont passé près de trois jours à l'urgence avec des soins moins appropriés.
montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
2) D'autres patients qui devraient être admis dans l'unité de médecine interne du Royal Vic restaient sur des brancards à l'urgence pendant parfois plus de 120 heures. Cette situation est médicalement risquée, en particulier pour les personnes âgées. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
3) Malheureusement, la situation au Royal Vic est loin d'être unique à Montréal. À l'hôpital St. Mary dans Côte-des-Neiges, le personnel de l'urgence récite maintenant une prière avant chaque quart de travail. montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
Read 6 tweets
Apr 19
1) Breaking: A year-over-year comparison of overcrowding in Montreal's hospital emergency rooms continues to show the situation is worsening. A year ago on this date, all the city's ERs were filled to 119% capacity. Today, the percentage has surged to 144. Image
2) A year ago on this date, no Montreal ER was overcrowded above 200%. Today, the Royal Victoria Hospital's occupancy rate is a staggering 242%; its average ER stay on a stretcher is 48 hours and 27 minutes. Both stats are the highest by far in the metropolis. Image
3) Close behind, the Jewish General's ER is at 225% occupancy and the Montreal General's is at 213%. At the Lakeshore General, the average ER stay is nearly 48 hours. As I wrote recently, lengthy ER stays are associated with a higher mortality rate.
montrealgazette.com/news/local-new…
Read 9 tweets

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