Canada flights cancelled

[yle]

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

Millions...

Culture certainly plays a role. But pretending it's the only factor, and so assuming if we can just get people to behave a certain way the problem will be solved, will only leave us frustrated and disappointed.

I'm all for the argument that if we can get all of the population in one of our densely populated cities to adopt the behavior of the population of a large Asian city, then we could have similar results. But the argument that Canada is doing everything the right way and the proof is in their low "death rate" takes a hit when you look at their few cities with large population. They look kind of similar to what we get in the US.

 

[yle]

My feelings really go out to those who are personally struggling and don’t have this opportunity.

Agreed. Which is why it's all the more important to understand what factors affect the situation and how much they contribute. I can guarantee you that me wearing a mask while walking my dog has zero effect on the spread of the virus... because I don't have it, and I'm rarely within shouting distance of another human during the walk. But there are still some people that insist I should be wearing a mask... just because.

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

Yeah... I did see that. North Dakota, from what I understand, is a... "special" place. I will grant you that politics in the US was hugely disruptive to getting anything accomplished in the past 10 months. Any of the states along that big red diagonal stripe from Mississippi to Idaho... have some unique circumstances.

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

I'm not blaming population density. I'm just acknowledging it is a major contributing factor. There's a reason New York was hit so hard in the early days, and it wasn't because New Yorkers were uncooperative. My original point was that assigning the difference between Canada's 51 and the US's 131 entirely to policy and restrictions is misplaced. Other factors equal, areas with higher population density will have more efficient virus spread and a proportionally higher death rate.

 

[deepsea21]

Well, looks like our friends in Canada we were diving with have now been imprisoned by their government. The US is certainly following suit. At least we have seasonal waters that reach tropic temps here in the US. Not much to see but better than nothing.

 

[Saxonjd]

Certainly the more people you pack into a place the more likely people are going to get sick. It’s been that way for diseases throughout the centuries.

However, the bigger issue is mask compliance, social distancing, and not getting together in larger groups. Follow those three and transmission rate drops significantly, regardless of population density. Here in the US though these have become polarizing issues and is a big factor in our issues.

A small data point is the county I live in. The main city 85k or so has a case rate of just over 200/100k, while two of our smaller rural towns just 20 minutes north has been over a 1000 the past few weeks. Both places have been super resistant to mask wearing and ignoring group gatherings.

Another Data point (pretty much everywhere) has been the predicted rise in cases over the holidays. This is regardless of density. People got together in groups, often without masks, and we inevitably saw numbers spike.

If we want to follow the science we need to religiously follow the guidelines established, that will help our numbers decrease way quicker and allow for more normalcy. Because of the two towns mentioned above they are one of the main reasons our county can’t move into the next phase of reopening. Then they get mad about it but don’t see they’re doing it to themselves.....and the rest of us.

 

[ReefHound]

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

Even the leading experts say that it is inappropriate to compare case rates and death rates across countries. There are a gazillion variable. In addition to population density, there are also ethnic demographic differences. CDC data by ethnicity show blacks and hispanics 4x likelier to die than whites or Asians.

There are also studies that show places that locked down tightest ended up with about the same spread as places that didn't. In the US, LA is a dumpster fire and they were among those that locked down the most.

 

[ReefHound]

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

There are many other variables besides population density.

 

[ReefHound]

Here's a BBC article that covers why international comaprisons are so hard. A key difference is in how statistics are collected and measured. There is no international standard. Different places measure the data in different ways.
Coronavirus: Why are international comparisons difficult?

 

[ontdiver]

Here's a BBC article that covers why international comaprisons are so hard. A key difference is in how statistics are collected and measured. There is no international standard. Different places measure the data in different ways.
Coronavirus: Why are international comparisons difficult?

Lies, damn lies, and statistics.

 

[Open Ocean Diver]

Anyone know when the COVID testing at Pearson airport for returning citizens and the 3 day gov quarantine will go into affect? With a bonus cost of $2500.

 

[ontdiver]

Anyone know when the COVID testing at Pearson airport for returning citizens and the 3 day gov quarantine will go into affect? With a bonus cost of $2500.

The testing at Pearson starts on Monday and is being initiated by the Province of Ontario. The 3 day quarantine + $$$ starts tomorrow.