Canada flights cancelled

[flyboy08]

I feel for all you loonies....thats a tuff break for those that had booked plans.

We can start an underground train for ya...

 

[MMM]

This too shall pass, eventually. I have read some polling that most Canadians think that pandemic response, both provincially and nationally, needs to get tougher.

 

[Ben_3]

Somewhat political move, too many officials taking vacations during covid restrictions and being pointed out by the medias. How much this helps in the fight against covid I'm unsure.

 

[yle]

If I was Canadian I'd fly to a US northern border city and walk across.

Well if you did that you'd be refused entry into the US & get a less than happy attitude as you walked back to Canadian Customs & Immigration.

I feel for all you loonies....thats a tuff break for those that had booked plans. We can start an underground train for ya...

My mother told us that my great grandma's family left Ireland around the turn of the century, first landed in the New Brunswick area and then snuck across the Bay of Fundy into Maine at low tide. I have no idea how feasible this is, now or then, but... if people really need to get from the US into Canada, perhaps they could find an old Irish gentleman somewhere in New England to show the way.

Is diving in Cozumel really worth it? Well now... we all know the answer to that! (I'm going in April, even if it's Daedalus style...)

 

[yle]

This too shall pass, eventually. I have read some polling that most Canadians think that pandemic response, both provincially and nationally, needs to get tougher.

Yes... because they are told "this is what we will do to control the pandemic!" and then the pandemic doesn't seem to be controlled. So the reasoning continues... we need more restrictions!

It's like when the volcano rumbled and the people decided the gods were angry, and only sacrifices of many chickens would appease the gods. So a hundred chickens were sacrificed... but the volcano still rumbled. So what was the response? SaCrIFiCe MoRe ChIcKeNs!!!

Yup. Crazy thing is that everyone will admit the volcano & chickens story is silly. But...

 

[Curious_George]

What’s crazy is this last post - as it tries to compare the science based responses many countries are attempting to some sacrifices to the gods. Pointless blabber.

Canada’s efforts (51 deaths per 100,000 people) have been much more successful than the US (131 deaths per 100,000 people). And it sounds like - if the above mentioned polling is true - they are also being much more mature about it vs. a big portion of the US.

COVID-19 pandemic death rates by country - Wikipedia

That being said, people who can’t work or feed their family do need help - and we need to take action to ensure they are cared for, but it’s not less restrictions. Those that can think beyond the binary choices proposed above will understand we just need to hang on a little longer. Or would you rather get ok with another 200,000 people dying in the US before summer gets here?

 

[yle]

What’s crazy is this last post - as it tries to compare the science based responses many countries are attempting to some sacrifices to the gods. Pointless blabber.

Canada’s efforts (51 deaths per 100,000 people) have been much more successful than the US (131 deaths per 100,000 people). And it sounds like - if the above mentioned polling is true - they are also being much more mature about it vs. a big portion of the US.

Comparing the US to Canada is certainly apples to oranges (sorry for using the tired cliche.)

The virus, naturally, spreads better in areas with higher population density. The US has a population of 330 million. Canada? Just under 38 million. And that's spread out over an area comparable to that of the US.

Of course it really makes no sense to compare population densities of an entire country. It makes more sense to compare cities... where, because of population density, the virus will spread more efficiently.

Just looking at the cities in both countries with populations greater than 1 million provides a clue as to why the virus has spread more efficiently in the US:

New York 8.6 million
Los Angeles 4.1
Chicago 2.7 ------------------- Toronto 2.7 million
Houston 2.4
Phoenix 1.7 -------------------- Montreal 1.7
Philadelphia 1.6
San Antonio 1.6
San Diego 1.5
Dallas 1.4 ------------------ Calgary 1.2
San Jose 1.0

Notice the US list doesn't include such cities as Seattle, Miami, Boston, Denver... cities that technically have fewer than 1 million, but only because the area surrounding the cities is split into many smaller cities.

The US has quite a few large, densely packed population centers. This is the primary reason the virus spreads effectively. Is there anything that can be done about it? No... but insisting that people's behavior is the primary cause, and that the virus will just stop spreading if people would behave a certain way, is what my last post... the "pointless blabber"... was about.

Before you assume I'm one of those "I dont want to wear a mask!!" people... nope. Quite the opposite. I've been working from home since last March. Me and the two dogs. We go for walks. I go to the store occasionally. I wear a mask. And the majority of people I see do the same... following the restrictions as they've been asked to do.

And what we see is... the virus is still here. So we're told to keep doing more of what we've been doing. Because... if we do more it will work?

Nope. It has very little to do with the attitude of the people, although it's perfectly natural for wanting it to be so: the idea that "if everyone just works together and cooperates, the virus will go away!" is very appealing. But it's just not reality.

The virus spread has everything to do with population densities. The virus will run its course, just as the volcano will do what it will do, regardless of what we do. If you want science... I have the evidence to support that conclusion.

 

[Jcp2]

I wonder how many people Singapore has, or Taipei, or Seoul, or Tokyo?

 

[yle]

Canada’s efforts (51 deaths per 100,000 people) have been much more successful than the US (131 deaths per 100,000 people). And it sounds like - if the above mentioned polling is true - they are also being much more mature about it vs. a big portion of the US.

Following up on my previous post... I claim that it doesn't make much sense to compare entire countries, and that it is population density that is the main issue. You state

US 131 deaths per 100,000

Canada 51 deaths per 100,000

But if we look a little deeper, we find that densely populated states, like New York (223), New Jersey (241), Massachusetts (210) Illinois (167), Michigan (154) are driving that figure of 131 for the US. While some states with lower population density... Alaska (36), Vermont (28), Maine (42) have death rates lower than that of Canada.

Meanwhile... Toronto has a rate of 88, much higher than the average for Canada overall. Montreal is at a whopping 251 (yeah, I found that hard to believe, but... numbers.) And Calgary... turns out Calgary is only around 50 (i.e. the Canadian average), but Edmonton, with a population just under 1 million, is around 85.

Is it possible that the Canadians living in these cities are more influenced by American pop culture, and so are more likely to behave like Americans (i.e. suffer higher death rates than the more sparsely populated areas)? Or is it more likely that the death rate is primarily a function of population density, regardless of which side of the border?

I will agree with you that science is what solves problems. But when the science is telling us what the problem is, we have to listen.

 

[Curious_George]

Hey, thanks for doing what you can. Certainly some of us are lucky that we can isolate ourselves. My feelings really go out to those who are personally struggling and don’t have this opportunity.

Population density can be a factor, but it doesn’t have to be if people act the right way. Check out North Dakota’s per capita deaths for a simple contradiction to this premise. Way above Canada’s death rate per capita and I think a bit less "dense" than Canada

Some may not feel this is an unbiased website, but it does appear to have legitimate sources and it thoroughly refutes the population density argument: Stop Blaming COVID-19 Deaths On Population Density | HuffPost