Keep your stocks of toilet paper and bleach topped up . . .   
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   CBC News · Posted: Oct 03, 2020   
      
   Why a 2nd wave of COVID-19 is more dangerous than it looks   
      
   At first glance, Canada's second wave of COVID-19 is looking a lot different   
   than the first wave.   
      
   Testing capacity has drastically improved, barriers to getting tested have   
   been lowered, stocks of personal protective equipment have grown, and while we   
   still don't have a safe and effective vaccine — we know a lot more about   
   COVID-19 and how to treat    
   it.   
      
   And despite a rapid rise in new cases across the country, hospitalizations and   
   deaths are comparatively lower so far, which might lead you to believe the   
   second wave will be less dangerous than the first.   
      
   "It may seem somewhat comforting to say, 'Yes, there are a lot of cases, but   
   we're not seeing our hospitals overwhelmed, and we're not seeing a huge number   
   of deaths so far. So things are better, right?'" said Dr. Samir Sinha,   
   director of geriatrics at    
   Sinai Health and University Health Network in Toronto.   
      
   "The truth of the matter is, we're just getting started."   
      
   Sinha said COVID-19 outbreaks typically followed a predictable pattern: people   
   increase their number of contacts amid relaxed restrictions, then weeks later   
   cases rise, hospitalizations spike and more deaths occur.   
   Dr. Samir Sinha says the rising case numbers across Canada are lagging   
   indicators that will likely lead to increases in hospitalizations and deaths   
   — suggesting older Canadians may be next to feel the brunt of the pandemic.   
   (Evan Mitsui/CBC)   
      
   "We need to modify our behaviour and do everything we can to try and wrestle   
   it down as soon as possible," he said.   
      
   "If we don't, we're going to be thinking back a month from now saying, 'What   
   were we doing, and why did we even allow it to get this bad?'"   
   Some provinces could face worse 2nd wave   
      
   In Canada's hardest-hit provinces, cracks are already beginning to show.   
      
   "The second wave isn't just starting. It's already underway," Prime Minister   
   Justin Trudeau said last week. "The numbers are clear."   
      
   Ontario public health officials are projecting up to 1,000 new cases per day   
   this month, and the number of patients in the province's hospitals with   
   confirmed cases of COVID-19 doubled in just one week.   
      
   (snip)   
      
   The 'big worry'   
      
   "You should only use a lockdown when you have fouled up your response so bad   
   that that's all you have left to do," he said.   
      
   "You don't want people to behave as if we're not in a pandemic on the one   
   hand, and on the other hand the alternative isn't just to completely shut the   
   whole country down again."   
      
   Hoffman said one of his biggest concerns is whether Canadians will be   
   resistant to the idea of re-entering lockdown, if it's deemed necessary.   
      
   "We know that people are exhausted from containment measures, and my big worry   
   going into a second wave is that people won't be willing to follow public   
   health directives, which we all really need to do," he said.   
      
   "That's when this pandemic would become much worse than it is and potentially   
   worse than the first wave."   
   _____________________________________________   
      
   . . . . worth reading in full; loaded with good updates.   
      
   https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/coronavirus-canada-second-wave-lo   
   kdown-1.5748106   
      
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