From: brewnoser2@gmail.com   
      
   What's 2 or 3 weeks in lockdown with the vaccines so close now?   
   It makes more sense to lock down for a few weeks and allow the vaccinations to   
   catch up than it does to 'loosen rules'.   
      
   We've done through a lockdown before; we know how to do it. Toilet paper . . .   
   toilet paper . . . toilet paper. This race against the virus with vaccines   
   makes no sense if Canadians are out there hob-knobbing and spreading the   
   newest viruses.   
   __________________________________   
   CBC News · Posted: Mar 26, 2021   
      
   Daily COVID-19 case counts could hit 12,000 a day if Canadians maintain or   
   increase contacts   
      
   After two months of relative stability, Canada's COVID-19 case count is   
   expected to rise rapidly in the coming weeks as variants of concern take hold   
   with the country projected to hit 1 million total cases next week, according   
   to data released today by    
   the Public Health Agency of Canada.   
      
   While the vaccination campaign has ramped up after a period of scarcity, the   
   rollout can't keep pace with the spread of the virus, said Dr. Theresa Tam,   
   Canada's chief public health officer. Tam urged Canadians to reduce their   
   contacts in the medium-term    
   while provinces and territories deploy more shots in the months to come.   
      
   "COVID-19 still has a few tricks in store and we need to hold on together a   
   bit stronger and longer until vaccines have us protected," Tam said. While the   
   setback is "discouraging," she said better days are ahead. "We are closer now   
   than ever, but it's    
   still too soon to relax measures."   
      
   COVID-19 variants, like B117, which is thought to have originated in the U.K.,   
   now account for a high proportion of new cases — representing half of all   
   new cases in some areas. There are roughly 3,000 new cases being reported each   
   day nationwide, up    
   from about 2,000 a month ago.   
   Case count could rise to 12,000 a day   
      
   With variants now circulating widely, PHAC said the case count could rise to   
   as high 12,000 a day if Canadians maintain or increase the number of people   
   they are in contact with each day. The current public health measures in place   
   in most jurisdictions    
   will be "insufficient" to keep cases at bay, the agency said.   
      
   While an increase in cases is almost certain over the coming weeks, if   
   Canadians reduce contact, the country will be able to hold the line at 5,000   
   cases a day.   
      
   PHAC is predicting the cumulative case count — the number of cases reported   
   since this pandemic began — will jump over the next week from 951,000 to   
   between 973,000 and 1,005,000.   
      
   The spread of the variants — which are more transmissible than the strain   
   first discovered in Wuhan — has also resulted in an increase in   
   hospitalizations. There are now some 2,200 people in hospitals, 600 of whom   
   are in intensive care units.   
      
   However, the vaccination campaign is starting to bear fruit with case counts   
   among the 80-plus age cohort declining dramatically.   
      
   While there were 35 cases per 100,000 people aged 80 or older in January, the   
   case rate has dropped to less than 5 per 100,000.   
      
   Most provinces and territories have been directing the early supply of mRNA   
   vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna to seniors. About 60 per cent of all people   
   over the age of 80 have received at least one shot, PHAC said.   
      
   The number of outbreaks in long-term care homes is also much lower than it was   
   just three months ago. There were as many as 500 long-term care home outbreaks   
   at any one time in December, while there have been fewer than 100 reported   
   throughout March.   
   _________________________________   
   60% higher risk of death from coronavirus variants   
   https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/covid-variants-death-anal   
   sis-ontario-1.5964296   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)