He is my stabilizing force. The man in the painting behind me is Stephen Lewis. Stephen was the United Nations special envoy for HIV AIDS in Africa until 2005. He is also the founder of the Stephen Lewis Foundation and the master mind behind their grandmother to grandmother campaign. Check them out at https://www.stephenlewisfoundation.org/.
What do you say about a man who inspired you to create a force that is focused on ending the AIDS pandemic in Lesotho? Thank you is not enough. Stephen Lewis has worked very closely with Bill Gates. They are men of integrity whose efforts have changed the lives of so many people in resource poor countries. Right up there with Nelson Mandela whom both have worked with too. Oh for a charismatic international leader to take the reigns of our planet today.
When I am stuck, when I do not know how to move forward, when I am depressed and curled up in a fetal position, I think of Stephen Lewis whose wise words have encouraged me in the past. He steadies me.
For those of you who are following these posts, you may need this at this moment of chaos and crisis. Sit down. Relax your body and mind, take a deep breath and say this slowly:
"STEADY"........another deep breath.......,"STEADY"........deep breath, ........."STEADY".
Slow and steady wins the race. Be steady and calm.
When your neighbours house is burning down, you call 911. You do not assume that your house is burning down or that the neighbourhood whole neighbourhood is on fire. The United States are in a double crisis. Stay focused on your circumstances. Move forward. Stay the course. They will be OK. They are a strong nation and a strong people. They are also brilliant. Let's stay strong so that when they need a neighbour, we are a steadying force from them.
God Bless America.
This is your situation in Canada.
Since May 24th, Canada's number of new daily cases has been less than 1,000. This is important because countries that get their daily number of new cases under 1,000 remain on a very positive trajectory.
For example:
Spain had 201 new case today. Down from their peak of over 6,000 on April 1 and today Spain reported it's first day of no deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Italy was down to 333 cases today. At their peak, there were at 6,000 cases per day. Do you remember how devastated Italy was and how worried we were about them? The horrific images in their ICU's? Yep. They followed the public health lock down recommendations and they are on the other side.
The United Kingdom had 1500 new cases today. They were at 2,000/day just days ago and they were over 8,000 on April 1 which was their peak.
Take home message, we are on the right track.
We have ramped up our testing and tracing capacity by a huge degree. This is what we need in order to safely loosen restrictions.
We have ramped up our testing and tracing capacity by a huge degree. This is what we need in order to safely loosen restrictions.
In BC, their number of new daily cases have not increased significantly in the last 2 weeks during which time they have opened businesses, schools, restaurants and bars.
We will get their but we must continue to follow the guidelines in this province. I have received many calls from patients who hope they can shift the rules in their circumstances. Nope. We must continue to follow the rules. Their are specific epidemiological numbers our provincial leaders are waiting for until we can open up further. Keep at it so that we can reach these numbers.
Here are the guidelines:
1/ Stay physically distanced from other people in public spaces ( 2 m apart).
2/ Avoid needless travel or needless trips to public spaces. Stay home if you are able.
3/ Wear a cloth mask in public
4/ Do not blend your isolation bubble. No more than five can gather and they must remain 2m apart.
5/ If you have any upper respiratory symptoms, even one, get tested for COVID 19. That includes people with allergy symptoms. Get tested if you have been exposed to someone with COVID 19 or if you have been in a high risk space or work in a high risk area. Get tested if you are worried that you might have COVID 19.
6/ Self isolate for 2 weeks if you have returned from travel outside the province.
1/ Stay physically distanced from other people in public spaces ( 2 m apart).
2/ Avoid needless travel or needless trips to public spaces. Stay home if you are able.
3/ Wear a cloth mask in public
4/ Do not blend your isolation bubble. No more than five can gather and they must remain 2m apart.
5/ If you have any upper respiratory symptoms, even one, get tested for COVID 19. That includes people with allergy symptoms. Get tested if you have been exposed to someone with COVID 19 or if you have been in a high risk space or work in a high risk area. Get tested if you are worried that you might have COVID 19.
6/ Self isolate for 2 weeks if you have returned from travel outside the province.
We are doing very well. Steady it goes. Stay focused. This storm will pass and you are weathering it well.
Please join us on June 10th for an informative night on finding the COVID balance. I will see you then.
Anne-Marie
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