Discussion thread VII - COVID-19: Endemic Stage

[Pathfinder]

Doctors provide update on COVID across Louisiana

By Perry Robinson
Published: Jul. 5, 2022 at 9:56 PM CST|Updated: 12 hours ago
...
Doctors say two new sub-variants of the omicron variant is the reason why we’re seeing an increase in cases.
...
“The majority of people that are getting infected with these new variants are not winding up in the hospital and dying in the hospital with the original COVID variants,” said Dr. Ralph Dauterive, Vice President of Medical Affairs at Ochsner in Baton Rouge.

In a matter of time, Dauterive said COVID will look like the common cold or flu, with regular infections and occasional spikes.

“We’re as much as in an endemic stage as I think we’re going to get. It’s just a question of someone calling it that,” said Dauterive. “Once it’s endemic, then you’re talking about a disease that you’re living with and that you’re managing. I think we’re a lot closer to that than calling it a pandemic.”
...
https://www.wafb.com/2022/07/06/doct...oss-louisiana/

[sharon sanders]

I am still wearing an N95 mask indoors in public. I do not attend mass gatherings. I do not eat inside restaurants.

I don't care what anyone thinks about what I am doing.

COVID-19 is not over.

Take care of you.

[sharon sanders]

US - CDC: COVID-19 hospitalizations are trending up - July 12, 2022

[sharon sanders]

Please see:


LAC+USC Virtual Town Hall Meeting - LAC+USC Medical Center - July 13, 2022

[Pathfinder]

Translation Google

Covid-19: can we really "live with the virus"?

According to epidemiologist William Dab, this expression used by Emmanuel Macron is "an empty slogan". This former director general of health regrets "a defeatist message". According to him, "living with the virus is not doing nothing".

Interview by - Louis Boy
France Televisions

Published on 07/19/2022 07:06
Update on 07/19/2022 20:06
Reading time: 10 min.

The peak of contaminations has passed and that of hospitalizations should not delay. France foresees an ebb of the seventh wave of Covid-19. But she came to remind us that we were not done with this pandemic, which continues to kill, cause after-effects and clog hospitals already in a recruitment crisis.

While most health measures have ended, many French people were no doubt hoping to enjoy a summer vacation without having to worry about it, and to start “living with the virus” . Is this a possibility or a mirage? What will it take to change lastingly in our lives to live safely with Covid-19? Franceinfo interviewed epidemiologist William Dab, who was director general of health from 2003 to 2005.

Franceinfo: The wave of contaminations which began in June is paradoxical: it reminds us that we are not finished with the epidemic, but its consequences in the hospital seem more limited. Do you find it alarming?

Willam Dab: When I look at the numbers [as of July 13, the date of this interview], we're at 1,500 hospitalizations every day, 130 daily critical care admissions, almost 80 deaths... I don't call that a comeback to normal.

"For me, we are in a trench war. It is illusory to think that this pandemic is behind us. Where are we? The truth is that we don't know. Its evolution is totally unpredictable."
William Dab, epidemiologist at franceinfo

The favorable scenario would be for contagious variants to impose themselves, but of a fairly banal virulence. The catastrophic scenario would be the appearance of a more contagious variant which circumvents the immunity acquired by vaccination or disease. We cannot draw trends for the future from observations of the past, we see that the Covid-19 does not work like that.

In this context, many cling to the idea that it is or will soon be possible to "live with the virus", according to the expression popularized by Emmanuel Macron. What do you think about this idea ?

"Living with the virus" is a meaningless slogan. Obviously we're going to live with the virus, since we're not going to destroy it. Nobody (even the Swedes) is counting on herd immunity against a virus with such potential for mutation. But what does that mean? That we do nothing out of fatalism? Or on the contrary that it would be necessary to return to freedom-killing measures? I believe we can be smarter.

"The current pedagogy is completely deficient."
William Dab, epidemiologist at franceinfo

First of all, it must be said that the pandemic is not over, that it remains a serious threat in the face of which we cannot remain passive. And people need to be told how to adapt their behavior to protect their health and empowered to do so.

In your view, what are the means that are not mobilized today?

We have individual tools, such as vaccination. I don't know why we are down on the booster doses, not to mention the vaccination of children, when we have shown that we are capable of having a real mobilization in France. Then there are the barrier measures. It does not seem complicated to me to explain to people that there are circumstances in which the risk of contamination will be higher, such as in very busy and closed places - stations, airports, planes, trains, public transport... There, it is still not an unbearable constraint to ask people to wear the mask.

It all depends on their perception of the risk they run. Are there also messages to convey so that the French do not let their guard down?

We have studies that show that having been infected twice, three times, increases the risk of heart and lung complications, stroke or kidney problems. However, I do not hear the authorities warning the population that Covid-19 is not a mild infection.

"We can also remember that it is estimated that 2 to 3% of infected people have a long form, what is called a long or chronic Covid, the evolution of which we do not know at all."
William Dab, epidemiologist at franceinfo

Brain imaging shows that the virus alters certain brain structures . Is it temporary or does it foreshadow more serious complications? We don't know anything today. This uncertainty, people have to be aware of it. If they are not told anything, they will not integrate this risk into their protection decision.

Finally, we can remember that there are hundreds of thousands of people in France whose immunity is weakened, in particular cancer patients whose chemotherapy is immunocompromising. They deserve to be protected. We have to think about it when we decide to wear the mask or not. If this altruistic reasoning is not enough, there is also a selfish reason to do so: we know that it is also in these immunocompromised people that new variants are most likely to emerge.

In other words, you see that living with the virus does not mean doing nothing. I know people have had enough. But they have to weigh the risk of them or their loved ones being hospitalized this summer, when there are places where the situation is extremely tense. If they don't want to protect themselves, it's true that it's partly a matter of individual choice. But our authorities could help people make choices and not just say: "What do you want? We have to live with the virus." It is a defeatist message.

In your opinion, should this call for caution be accompanied by measures of obligation?

I think we have to try to send an intelligent message. There are a few high-risk places, like trains and planes, where a mask requirement should be reinstated, if only to send the message that it's not over. For the rest, you have to do what I call the 'pedagogy of uncertainty'. Not knowing with certainty how this epidemic will evolve causes concern, it is normal.

"Telling stories, pretending that the epidemic is over and that we can move on, is preparing for a difficult tomorrow."
William Dab, epidemiologist at franceinfo

Let's give people epidemiological arguments, simply explained, so that everyone can learn to assess their risk and adapt their daily life decisions.

Then it's like when you ski: you choose to ski on a green run or a black run. Some countries have adopted a color system linked to the epidemic situation. If we had one, almost all of France would be red today. This red means that when you are in closed or busy places, it is reasonable to protect yourself. I find that the French have shown that they are quite capable of behaving responsibly.

Should we also hold this discourse about vaccination, when the recall campaign is not really taking off ? By recalling, in particular, that the vaccine also helps to curb transmission? Part of the population seems convinced that it only serves to avoid serious cases...

The vaccine is not 0% or 100% effective. We started from a protection rate rarely seen in the world of vaccinology. Today, it remains good, around 70%. I remind you that it is rare for the flu vaccine to give us more than 50% protection.

It is true that the vaccine gives undesirable effects, for example myocarditis. But no health product has been as well monitored as this one. Almost all cases are mild, and the risk is known to be 10 times lower than that of myocarditis after Covid-19 infection. So the vaccine reduces the risk of myocarditis by 10. It's good to take.

For the risk of contamination, it's the same: yes, you can be vaccinated and contaminate your loved ones, but the risk is greatly reduced. If you wait for a vaccine to be 100% effective in all areas, you will not take any vaccine, against any pathology.

Do you think regular booster doses are part of the adaptations we will need to "live with the virus"?

It seems possible to me. We are all eagerly awaiting the results of ongoing trials on bivalent vaccines, which incorporate a strain of Omicron. Hopefully, sometime in the fall, these vaccines will be available, and they will give us some extra protection. We must also be aware that a new variant can completely change the situation. But the scenario of having to boost our immunity once or twice a year cannot be ruled out.

Faced with the government's discourse, part of the political opposition insists on another element: the lack of beds in the hospital. Do you think that with more resources and staff, it would be more possible to "live with the virus"?

Let's face it: if we had not had 5,000 intensive care beds but 30,000 in 2020, we would not have been confined. We made the hospital adopt an industrial model of tense flow, in which there is almost no reserve. Are we continuing in this direction? Or does our society want to invest and leave 20,000 reserve intensive care beds, which can be mobilized in a few days? The answer is not only medical or epidemiological: when we know what the confinements have cost in terms of GDP , we can calculate a return on investment.

"If we oversize the health system compared to usual care, it is certain that we will be able to better absorb the shocks of the pandemic. I think that deserves a real debate."
William Dab, epidemiologist at franceinfo

Is this the only investment that seems useful to you in the face of the risk of new waves of contamination?

No. No one knows what the battle plan for school air cleanliness is in view of September. It is also known that wastewater monitoring is certainly the earliest means of monitoring the emergence of new variants. And I haven't heard any real plan about it.

And if the French, in a hurry to turn the page on the epidemic, abandon all restrictions and barrier measures, what consequences would we be heading towards?

In this case, if we again had a variant that escapes the vaccine and acquired immunity, who can say that we would not again be led to take partial or total containment measures?

We saw the previous wave. At the beginning of May, we were happy, because there was a very clear reflux. Then this drop became a plateau, the reproduction rate [the average number of people to whom each patient transmits the virus] went back to around 1, then 1.2, 1.3...

“The situation we have today was entirely foreseeable on May 15. If, at that time, people had been asked to apply again the measures which had been lifted in March, I think that we would not wouldn't have this significant peak in the month of July."
William Dab, epidemiologist at franceinfo

Obviously, I'm a doctor and a prevention activist, so I'm making the case. I'm ready to hear something else. But it seems to me that the balance between benefits and constraints is heavily tilted in favor of benefit. And the level of constraints seems so minimal to me...

https://www.francetvinfo.fr/sante/ma...s_5254549.html

[sharon sanders]

bump this

[Emily]

"And from what I'mhearing , everyone, even who is boosted, is getting it."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSox07J7av0

[Pathfinder]

Published July 22, 2022 7:29pm EDT

Dr. Deborah Birx says she 'knew' COVID vaccines would not 'protect against infection'

...
DR. BIRX: I knew these vaccines were not going to protect against infection. And I think we overplayed the vaccines, and it made people then worry that it's not going to protect against severe disease and hospitalization. It will. But let's be very clear: 50% of the people who died from the Omicron surge were older, vaccinated. So that's why I'm saying even if you're vaccinated and boosted, if you're unvaccinated right now, the key is testing and Paxlovid. It's effective. It's a great antiviral. And really, that is what's going to save your lives right now if you're over 70, which if you look at the hospitalizations, hospitalizations are rising steadily with new admissions, particularly in those over 70. And so if you live in the South - I know people keep talking about the fall - I'm worried about the South.
...

Video:

https://www.foxnews.com/media/dr-deborah-birx-knew-covid-vaccines-not-protect-against-infection

[Emily]

I hope the Scarf Lady keeps her nose out of the South. Her belated 'honesty' about the vaccines is not news to anyone.

https://brownstone.org/articles/deborah-birxs-guide-to-destroying-a-country-from-within/

[Pathfinder]

Quebec -

Translation Google

Nurses sick with COVID-19 forced to work

Nikoo Pajoom
August 1, 2022

The expected summer lull has not arrived in hospitals. Nurses with severe COVID-19 symptoms , including nausea, vomiting, headaches and muscle aches, are being forced to work with vulnerable patients to avoid service disruptions in the healthcare system.

According to what Le Devoir has learned, this obligation to remain on the job despite a positive screening test and bothersome symptoms creates discomfort among health care workers. Nurses have shared their fears of infecting patients or making medical errors due to fatigue and symptoms of COVID-19.

“It's a dangerous situation for my colleagues, for the patients and for myself,” says a nurse who works in geriatrics with a vulnerable clientele. She asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.

Presenting symptoms of a COVID-19 infection, this worker carried out a rapid screening test which turned out to be positive. After a PCR test confirmed the infection, managers responsible for employees with a positive COVID test told him to self-isolate for five days. However, after informing her head of unit, this nurse had to stay on her shift “with the agreement of senior management”.

The next day, managers ordered her back to work due to understaffing in her unit. But, in the meantime, her state of health had deteriorated: “I developed more and more intense symptoms. Nausea, vomiting, headache, muscle pain and abdominal pain. »

She informed the people responsible. Yet, she was told that as long as she didn't have a fever, she should continue to work. This decision led the nurse to work “with dizziness and nausea”. “I unfortunately vomited in my department. »

After this episode, she was told to go home immediately. But without any relief, the nurse was forced to finish her shift despite her symptoms.

The next day, due to a high fever, she was allowed to self-isolate until the temperature returned to below 38°C.

Avoid service disruptions

The Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) confirms that employees sick with COVID-19 may be called upon to work in the event of “persistent compromise” in access to services due to a lack of personnel.

Some 6,478 health network employees were absent due to COVID-19 as of July 26, according to the MSSS. “It is obvious that this absenteeism rate contributes to putting more pressure on current employees and on the health network,” says Robert Maranda, spokesperson for the MSSS.

"The early reintegration of an employee infected with COVID is done when other options have been exhausted and when the establishment risks the disruption of services due to the lack of workers," he specifies. The establishment must ensure that the return takes place in a “hot” zone, where people are already infected with COVID, or with less vulnerable clienteles. Measures must be taken to prevent other employees from contaminating themselves, by reserving a meal room or changing room for infected workers, for example. The latter must also wear adequate protective equipment, underlines the MSSS.

Precautionary principle

Another nurse with 20 years of experience, who also wishes to remain anonymous, had to work despite testing positive for COVID-19 and showing symptoms of an infection. She did her best to avoid her co-workers and went to a corner "where there was no one" when she needed to blow her nose.

“I didn't tell my patients because I didn't want to scare them,” explains the nurse.

“People were shocked to know that they could be cared for by an unvaccinated nurse, but they may not know that healthcare workers are likely to be contagious,” she adds.

The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) maintains that health care workers infected with COVID-19 should isolate themselves for 10 days.

“We advocate the precautionary principle for the benefit of workers, but also for patients. We must not compromise on the health and safety of patients and workers,” argues Benoit Hamilton, press officer for the FIQ.

The work of nurses with COVID-19 "does not appear to be widespread practice at this time", according to the union.

For its part, the Order of Nurses of Quebec recalls that its members have “no ethical obligation to inform their patients of their health condition”.

A nurse who goes to work knowing that she is sick “must notify her employer and follow the rules of infection prevention”, including wearing protective equipment to protect her patients.

“However, if she considers that she is not fit to go to work to the point of affecting the quality of the care to be provided, she must withdraw and notify her employer. »

https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/sante/740238/coronavirus-au-boulot-meme-malades

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.commonsense.news/p/court...SigningIn=true

Court Documents Reveal Canada’s Travel Ban Had No Scientific Basis
In the days leading up to the mandate, transportation officials were frantically looking for a rationale for it. They came up short.
Rupa Subramanya
Aug 2

On August 13, 2021, the Canadian government announced that anyone who hadn’t been vaccinated against Covid would soon be barred from planes and trains. In many cases, The Backward could no longer travel between provinces or leave the country. If you lived in Winnipeg and wanted to visit your mother on her deathbed in London or Hong Kong or, perhaps, Quebec City, you’d better get jabbed—or resign yourself to never seeing your mother again.

Jennifer Little, the director-general of COVID Recovery, the secretive government panel that crafted the mandate, called it “one of the strongest vaccination mandates for travelers in the world.”

It was draconian and sweeping, and it fit neatly with the public persona that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had cultivated—that of the sleek, progressive, forward-looking technocrat guided by fact and reason. The Canadian Medical Association Journal, in a June 2022 article, observed that “Canada had among the most sustained stringent policies regarding restrictions on internal movement.”

But recently released court documents—which capture the decision-making behind the travel mandate—indicate that, far from following the science, the prime minister and his Cabinet were focused on politics. (Canadians are hardly alone. As Common Sense recently reported, American public-health agencies have also been politicized.)...

[Pathfinder]

medRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.08.01.22278288; this version posted August 2, 2022....

Intermediate levels of asymptomatic transmission can lead to the highest levels of epidemic fatalities

Sang Woo Park1, Jonathan Dushoff2,3,4, Bryan T. Grenfell1,5, Joshua S. Weitz6,7,8,*
1 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University,
Princeton, NJ, USA
2 Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
3 Department of Mathematics and Statistics, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON,
Canada
4 M. G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster University,
Hamilton, ON, Canada
5 Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University,
Princeton, NJ, USA
6 School of Biological Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
7 School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
8 Institut de Biologie, Ecole Normale Sup´erieure, Paris, France ´
*Corresponding author: jsweitz@gatech.edu
...

Abstract

Asymptomatic infections have hampered the ability to characterize and prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 throughout the ongoing pandemic. Even though asymptomatic infections reduce severity at the individual level, they can make population level outcomes worse if asymptomatic individuals—unaware they are infected—transmit more than symptomatic individuals. Using an epidemic model, we show that intermediate levels of asymptomatic infection lead to the highest levels of epidemic fatalities when the increase in asymptomatic transmission, due either to individual behavior or mitigation efforts, is strong. We generalize this result to include presymptomatic transmission, showing how intermediate levels of non-symptomatic transmission can lead to the highest levels of fatalities. Finally, we extend our framework to illustrate how the intersection of asymptomatic spread and immunity profiles determine epidemic trajectories, including population-level severity, of future variants.

SARS-CoV-2 has had devastating effects at the population level. However, many individuals experienced mild cases, making it harder to estimate the magnitude of spread and fatality rate [1]. The ratio of fatalities to documented cases (the case fatality rate, CFR) is typically between 1%–4%, varying across population because of testing patterns, treatment practice, case definitions, and other factors [2, 3, 4].

But many infections are never documented; the ratio of fatalities to total infections (the infection fatality rate, IFR) has been estimated to be closer to 0.5%–1% for pre-vaccinated populations whose demographics are similar to those of the United States [5]. This means that more than 99% of individuals infected with COVID-19 will survive. Moreover, at least half of the infections are sufficiently mild that they could be classified as subclinical or even asymptomatic.
...
Modeling studies have typically assumed that transmissibility is lower for asymptomatic than for symptomatic individuals; assumptions have ranged from 10%–100% [10, 11]. Similarities in viral load trajectories of asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals provide indirect support for the transmissibility of asymptomatic individuals (Fig. 1C, [7]); however, differences between inferred total viral load from Ct values and infectious viral load add uncertainties to how well asymptomatic individuals can transmit relative to that of symptomatic individuals [12]. We note also that asymptomaticity is expected to be more heterogeneous in a diversity of outbreak settings [13]. For example, during the early pandemic, Davies et al.’s analyses of surveillance data across six countries revealed that older individuals are less likely to have subclinical infections (Fig. 1D), providing indirect evidence for heterogeneity in asymptomaticity [8]. Differences in contact rates between age classes further contribute to the heterogeneity in asymptomatic transmissibility. For now, we primarily focus on a homogeneous population and return to the age effect in discussing our model-based findings.

Despite quantitative uncertainties in asymptomatic transmissibility, individuals infected asymptomatically with SARS-CoV-2 can still transmit to others. This means that the presence of asymptomatic infections may have countervailing effects at the population level. On one hand, an asymptomatic infection means that the individual infected avoids hospitalization and death. On the other hand, asymptomatic infections are less likely to be detected [14], meaning that asymptomatic individuals are less likely to take precautions and relatively more likely to infect others; asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections present additional challenges to managing overall disease burden due to the possibility of long COVID [15]. Altogether, the prevalence of asymptomatic infections could paradoxically make population-level outcomes worse than if SARS-CoV-2 was more dangerous at the individual level.
...
In summary, using a series of simplified models, we have shown that asymptomatic infections (or, more generally, non-symptomatic transmission) can represent a double-edged sword leading to a better outcome for many individuals while facilitating onward transmission that leads to a worse outcome for the population as an whole. Extending our framework further shows that immunity profile (i.e., reduction of infection, symptoms, and/or severity due to immunity) plays a critical role in determining the dynamics of future variants. For example, while protection against symptoms unaccompanied by protection against transmission protects health at the individual level, it can lead to more infections, and potentially more deaths, at the population level. A similar concern was raised in prioritizing vaccine choices that could reduce severe outcomes vs. others that could reduce transmission [31]. SARS-CoV-2 has proven hard to control in large part because transmission is of ten decoupled from symptoms. Our model reinforces the need for dual approaches—prioritizing the reduction of asymptomatic spread (e.g., via risk awareness campaigns [32, 33], asymptomatic testing programs [34, 35], mask-wearing indoors and in crowded environments [36, 37, 38], and through improvements in ventilation [39, 40]) while improving the treatment of symptomatic cases, particularly amongst older individuals at highest risk for severe outcomes. Given the link between age and asymptomatic infections [8], interventions may consider different approaches in strongly age-structured populations (e.g., schools or long-term care facilities). Mass vaccination is also expected to be important especially if future vaccines induce more transmission blocking. As more variants continue to emerge, monitoring the impacts of preexisting immunity (whether through vaccination and/or infections) on preventing infections, and not just diseases, will be critical to controlling the course of the pandemic [41].
...

https://www.medrxiv.org/content/medrxiv/early/2022/08/02/2022.08.01.22278288.full.pdf

[sharon sanders]

There are videos circulating that show officials locking down stores and citizens trying to escape from the situation. Also, there are videos of people screaming from their high rise apartments while under lockdowns.

I have no idea if these are from current outbreaks or earlier ones so I am not posting them.

However, in general, officials do make surprise lockdown attempts and people have flipped out while being loaded into vans destined for quarantine centers. In any mass incarceration there are people do not do well.

I can't imagine the stress at this point amongst the Chinese people. Please view these videos with caution but these types of events have occurred in the past.

[Shiloh]

40 Percent of D.C.'s Black Teens Will Soon Be Barred From School Because They Aren't Vaccinated
Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council will force all public school students ages 12 and up to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Liz Wolfe | 8.26.2022 11:15 AM


School starts on Monday for District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), which is requiring—per D.C. Council vote—that all students ages 12 and up be vaccinated against COVID-19. In addition to teens providing proof of vaccination, students of all ages must provide proof of a negative COVID test prior to the first day of school.

"We're not offering remote learning for children, and families will need to comply with what is necessary to come to school," said Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser in a press briefing.

Though students will be allowed limited medical and religious exemptions from vaccine requirements, a significant chunk of the District's teens remain unvaccinated, per current data. That number is significantly higher for black teens: Though 87 percent of D.C.'s white teens, between the ages of 12 and 15, are vaccinated, only 53 percent of D.C.'s black teens are. For the next age group up—comprised of 16- and 17-year-olds—89 percent of white teens are fully vaccinated, whereas only 58 percent of black teens are.

In many other contexts, a city policy having such a racially disparate impact would be cause for concern, particularly for progressives who frequently measure and seek to remedy such impacts. In this context, Bowser and D.C. Council members appear to be less concerned that these restrictive policies might lead to a disproportionate increase in truancy, which could result in parents being harassed and monitored by D.C.'s Child and Family Services Agency (or even, in extreme cases, locked up and forced to pay fines), purportedly out of the state's concern for the good of the children.

Both D.C. Health and Bowser have been explicit about the fact that unexcused absences due to lack of immunization may lead not just to schools "routinely contacting the parent, guardian, or adult student; placing phone calls; sending written notices to the home; referring students to Student Support Teams" but also may include "making referrals to CFSA, the Child Support Services Division, and the Office of the Attorney General, for truancy or educational neglect."...

[Shiloh]

DC mayor's 'no shots, no school' program postponed hours after separate COVID vaccine mandate struck down: https://www.foxnews.com/us/dc-mayors...te-struck-down

[Emily]

Worst wreck ever. There were no drugs or misbehavior involved. No medical issue divulged. King Jay dropped the booster mandate after this, but still demanded the first two doses, no matter how stale.

https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/captain-of-wrecked-fauntleroy-ferry-resigns/

Captain of wrecked WA ferry resigns

Aug. 1, 2022 at 4:16 pm Updated Aug. 2, 2022 at 5:15 pm
....
The state ferry system is the largest in the U.S. Its more than 70-year history has been a safe one, with relatively few crashes for the number of passages.

But the last two years have been challenging. Crew shortages due to retirements, COVID infections and vaccine-related resignations, have hobbled its ability to provide normal service. Many routes are operating on reduced schedules, including the sailings between Fauntleroy, Vashon Island and Southworth.

[sharon sanders]

Expert predicts 'massive eighth wave' after Ont. lifts COVID isolation rules

August 31, 2022

snip


Zoutman urged people to continue to wear masks in indoor settings, warning that COVID-19 is a serious illness that "affects every organ in your body."

He also cautioned that people remain infectious "for at least ten days after your symptoms" and that wide spread of the virus could have profound implications on critical services like the health-care system and first responders.

"This policy is just closing our eyes and hoping it's all going to be OK."

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/expert-predicts-massive-eighth-wave-after-ont-lifts-covid-isolation-rules-1.6050428