NB: I have a tendency to say “we” when I am talking about BC public health. I am not employed by pub health (or actually anyone at the moment). I say “we” as a British Columbian invested in the system. It is OUR health care system. Press Briefing Testing Case counts continue to soar. Yesterday… Continue reading 2021-12-24 BC
Category: BC
2021-12-23 BC
IMPORTANT! If you tested positive on a rapid test in BC and did not get a PCR test, pub health asks that you please go to https://www.vch.ca/covid-19/you-have-tested-positive, click on the purple “Complete your assessment” button, and fill out the form. (It’s easy, takes five minutes.) I cannot speak for pub health, but I can imagine… Continue reading 2021-12-23 BC
2021-12-22 BC/General
I am going to take the rest of the day off as a mental health break. Brief bits from what I have already seen: UK had 100K cases yesterday, which sounds like an unimaginatively huge number until you realize that’s ~6K cases/day when adjusted for the different population — which is only two doublings from… Continue reading 2021-12-22 BC/General
2021-12-21 BC
Mitigation Measures If I had known about the cap on food delivery fees (at 20%), I had forgotten it. Yesterday, the province put out a press release announcing that it had been extended until the end of 2022. I hope that doesn’t mean that the pandemic is going to last until the end of 2022!… Continue reading 2021-12-21 BC
2021-12-18/19/20 BC
Mitigation Measures Today’s press release strongly implied that there would be additional mitigation measures announced at tomorrow’s press briefing. Testing This article reports that there have been really long lines at testing centres. Sometimes testing workers have gone down the line giving rapid tests. They ask that if you do not have symptoms, to please… Continue reading 2021-12-18/19/20 BC
2021-12-17 BC
Vaccines This article talks about how a number of vaccine clinics will be closing for the holidays. Press Briefing The big news was that the Province amended a number of Orders to make them more restrictive. They start early Monday morning and go through the end of January. From their press release, the measures include:… Continue reading 2021-12-17 BC
2021-12-16 BC
Cases are going up fast. Omicron is here! Testing This article says that testing sites are getting backed up. Statistics +753 cases, +3 deaths, +5,350 first doses, +2,678 second doses, +26,963 other doses. Currently 184 in hospital / 70 in ICU, 3,878 active cases, 218,616 recovered. There have been 135 cases of Omicron to date.… Continue reading 2021-12-16 BC
2021-12-15 BC
Assholes This article describes how somebody phoned the Lynn Valley Care Home early in the pandemic, pretended to be a health inspector, and told them that essentially everyone was infected and that nobody could go in or out. He pled guilty today to “conveying a false message with intent to alarm”. Side Effects This article… Continue reading 2021-12-15 BC
2021-12-14 BC
Sports This article reports that three Canucks are “in the COVID-19 protocol”, meaning they are sick or have been exposed. But wait! This article says that a fourth went into protocol IN THE MIDDLE OF A GAME! Vaccines The Province reminds us that the first COVID-19 vaccine in the province was given one year ago.… Continue reading 2021-12-14 BC
2021-12-11/12/13 BC
Mitigation Measures This article reports that UVic has cancelled its in-person exams due to COVID-19. This press release says that there were 124 cases and at least four were Omicron. Statistics Fri/Sat: +415 cases Sat/Sun: +365 cases Sun/Mon: +349 cases Over the weekend, +5 deaths, and an average of +7,437 first doses, +1,752 second doses,… Continue reading 2021-12-11/12/13 BC