Late in posting tonight. I had a great visit with two of my siblings and one of my sisters-in-law this afternoon. We sat outside on lawn chairs just as the sun came out. I wore a mask. I did not really need to. Six feet apart with virtually no chance of "running into each other" adds up to no chance of transmitting to one another but I am now officially a COVID freak. There is no way I will take any chances. Imagine carrying that emotional burden if you know you are responsible for transmitting to a family member. A mask is that little bit of extra protection. But, I do advise that you get out and socialize in groups less than five, carefully distanced. It is so good for the soul and it makes this whole thing much more bearable.
This shot was taken yesterday beside my clothes line. I have practiced medicine in the developed world and in a developing nation. I have delivered 2,000 babies, assisted in countless surgeries and treated thousand of HIV positive patients but this is new; hanging freshly laundered cloth masks on the line, ready for use by my patients on Monday. It's crazy where this world can take you. COVID has certainly turned us all up-side-down, for now.
Yes the daily number of new cases has increased in the province of Ontario ( 323 in the last 24 hours) but let me give you some perspective on that.
Premier Ford expanded the criteria for testing on May 24th, allowing anyone with even one symptom to be tested. If more people present for testing, we will find more positive cases and that is exactly, precisely and brilliantly what we need to do. Everyone of the people who tested positive who would have stayed home and not been tested had the Premier not opened up our testing criteria, are now having their contacts traced and quarantined before the infection can be passed on to anyone else. This is how we reduce the 'R' value. Once an infected person is transmitting the virus to less than 1 other person, the virus dies out. Wide spread testing and contact tracing is vitally important and, congratulations Ontario. You did it again. You followed the leaders and worked collectively as a team.
As a result, are you listening? As a result, the province reported a record-breaking number of COVID-19 tests completed in a single day today with 20,640 tests being done. Just over 1.5 % of those tested were positive for the disease which marks the lowest positivity rates that the province has seen so far.
You are a brilliant bunch.
Because we managed this remarkable feat, Premier Ford is considering a regional, phased approach to reopening the province.
"Now that our testing is getting to where we need it, I am now comfortable with asking our officials to look at a regional approach for a staged reopening."
That means that communities with a lower rate of infection will see restrictions lifted soon while a new testing strategy focuses on communities with a high number of cases.
I am so proud of what we have accomplished. More than 20,000 people tested in the last 24 hours. May I give you some perspective on that too? That means that Ontario's network of labs are now successfully processing huge numbers of COVID 19 tests every day. Thank you to our lab technicians and technologists who are working triple plus time to get this done. You are our unsung heroes.
And more good news:
The overall number of patients in Ontario hospitals with confirmed cases of COVID-19 fell again today. The number of hospital admissions and ICU admissions has been declining for over 2 weeks.
Canada and Quebec reported the lowest number of new cases since March 29th!
Be proud and confident. Our approach to this pandemic is working. We will soon be on the other side.
Sleep well on this cool May night.
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For local assistance with anxiety and depression:
www.here4help.ca
CMHA WW Website: www.cmhaww.ca
Here 24/7 at 1-844-HERE-247 or www.here247.ca.
And for post-secondary students, Good2Talk
https://good2talk.ca/
www.here4help.ca
CMHA WW Website: www.cmhaww.ca
Here 24/7 at 1-844-HERE-247 or www.here247.ca.
And for post-secondary students, Good2Talk
https://good2talk.ca/
And to help the vulnerable.
Relief efforts in Lesotho:
Relief efforts in Guelph:
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