The Politics of a Pandemic - Everyone is doing the right things.....

Canadians, no matter where they live, can be assured of one thing in our fight against the novel coronavirus.  Whatever goverment is in place they are following the best advice of medical professionals and are being guided by the science, protecting the health and safety of citizens.   

That's true federally where the Liberals are in power, in British Columbia where the NDP rules,  also in Ontario where Doug Ford's Prorgessive Conservatives hold a majority, as well in Quebec where its François Legault and the Coalition Avenir de Québec calling the shots.  Every level of government across Canada is making all the right decisions. 

It was true when the nation's top medical officer did not require people coming back from hotspots like Wuhan China and Italy to quarantine themselves, and that masks weren't required.  And its true now that everyone is under a form of quasi quarantine and should wear a mask when indoors and unable to maintain physical distance....unless they have asthma or a lung condition which makes breathing through a mask difficult, then maybe not...

Is it any wonder Canadians, like a lot of people around the world, are confused.

Sweden is a favourite example for both those who think we've gone too far, as well as for those who think we either got it right or need to do even more.  As most readers will be aware, Sweden opted not to bring in strong lockdown measures.  

They didn't do nothing, but when compared to a country like Canada it was close to nothing.  So many of the closures deemed essential here, like shuttering elementary schools, bars and restaraunts were left open in Sweden.  They did ban public gatherings of more than 50 people, required all bar and restaraunt patrons to be seated, and urged people to work from home when possible and for the elderly and health compromised to isolate.

How they fared when compared to other jurisdictions is up for debate.  Their reported death toll is significantly higher than in Canada or in neighbouring Norway and Denmark, but far less when compared with other European countries that opted for strong lockdown measures like Belgium and Spain.  

With such wildly varying results I consider it at least reasonable to question whether or not strong lockdown measures are the deciding factor in how a country fares in its fight against the novel and mostly benign coronavirus.  Factors like vitamin D deficiency, the obesity rate of a population, population densities and likely many other variables could play a significant role in determining why some countries are experiencing higher rates of death than others.

Just looking at obesity, the United States reportedly has roughly one third of its citizens with Body Mass Indexes (BMI) above 30 which is the clinical threshold for declaring someone obese.  Of course in our politically correct times the Coronavirus might be dragged in front of a human rights tribunal for fat shaming if its true that Covid-19 is more deadly for the overweight as some studies are now indicating.

I have not been shy about expressing my opinion that I think Sweden chose the best path, not perfect but better than the route we chose.  Its a horrible situation, because no matter what road is taken the result is the same....death.  Tossing millions of Canadians out of work and onto government assistance (if they qualify and not everyone does) will have negative reprecussions, progressives have long known that poverty kills.  

And while it may sound crass, implementing measures that have tanked the global economy to levels not seen since the Great Depression, (and very likely worse) so that the sick and elderly can have a few more months of diaper changes was the wrong way to go in my opinion.  

Those who are worried that we're moving too soon and too fast in opening things back up though, of one thing you can be absolutely certain.  Our elected officials are acting on the best advice of medical professionals, they're being guided by the science and making the best possible decisions to protect the health and safety of everyone.