Thread by @jeffgilchrist

Variant update for Ontario & Ottawa, Canada (August 19, 2023)

XBB.1.5* "Kraken" and its descendants are still hanging around with XBB.1.5.10 making a comeback as EG.5.* "Eris" tries to become dominant here while XBB.1.16 "Arcturus" is slowly decreasing. 🧵1/

You can find weekly Ontario stats including variants at ( ).

The visualization tool for variants was created by @Mike_Honey_ ( ). 2/covid.gilchrist.ca/Ontario.html
app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjo…

To learn how to see what variants are circulating in your area, please read this guide ( ). 3/

https://twitter.com/jeffgilchrist/status/1647232148397498368

Looking at the top variants circulating in Ontario now we have:
13% = EG.5.1.1 (Eris)
10% = XBB.1.5.10 (Kraken)
5.3% = GJ.1.2
5% EG.5.1 (Eris)
4% = XBB.1.16 (Arcturus)
4% = XBB.1.5 (Kraken)

4/

COVID wastewater levels in Ottawa, Ontario have been increasing over the past month. Weekly stats available at ( ). 5/ covid.gilchrist.ca/Ottawa.html

Ottawa PCR test positivity has also been increasing quickly. The # of tests being done daily now is about 10x less than this time last year and almost 100x less than 2021. This also makes it much more difficult to detect new variants that may cause significant issues. 6/

With increased transmission and infection also brings an increase in hospitalization. In late July there were only 2 people hospitalized *for* COVID-19 in Ottawa, two weeks ago that increased to 8, and there are 30 people as of last week. 7/

If you stopped masking indoors because levels of wastewater and/or hospitalization were lower than before, you may want to reconsider as school is about to begin so transmission will likely increase even more in the near future. 8/

When you may see most people around you abandon any kind of public health measures like masking, why should you still care about not getting infected? 9/

At least 10% of people who get COVID-19 infections develop Long COVID which is often debilitating and has impacted more than 65 million people worldwide. It impacts multiple organ systems and there are no tested and validated treatments ( ). 10/ nature.com/articles/s4157…

It is important to wear the right *kind* of mask (not a procedure mask) and ensure it fits properly to actually get the protection you need. You can learn more here ( ). 11/

https://twitter.com/jeffgilchrist/status/1652394034055323648

See how different the results were for me when comparing an ear loop mask and headband N95 ( ). 12/

https://twitter.com/jeffgilchrist/status/1655331142990528514

Masks work to block aerosols that contain respiratory viruses and also wildfire smoke so useful for both. How do they do that when particles can be so tiny compared to the mask? This will explain ( ). 13/

https://twitter.com/jeffgilchrist/status/1602994049815908353

@threadreaderapp please unroll