What is an acceptable level of death?

I think its finally time for us to move beyond panic and fear, and to come to terms with the fact that government can't protect us from death.  

People die in Canada every day by the hundreds.  Before this pandemic Canada was forecast to have somewhere around 290,000 fatalities from all causes in 2020, that's almost 800 per day.  

The response to the novel and mostly benign coronavirus is without precedent.  If I were to sum it up I would channel Winston Churchill in saying:

'Never have so many sacrificed so much so that so few could live such a short time more'.  

As I write this Canada's death toll from Covid-19 stands at 6,152, and of course that number is going to keep climbing higher and higher.  

This virus is going to be with us a long time, and hopes of a vaccine might never come to fruition.  It may very well be that we're simply going to have to accept that people are going to die from Covid-19.  No different from the fact that 8,511 Canadians died from inluenza/pneumonia in 2018 as per StatsCan, the 6th leading cause of death that year.  

Death sucks, we're all against it.  But we've never done anything like turning our entire world upside down trying to prevent it, we accept the risks and get on with living.  

The number one cause of death in Canada during that 2018 year was cancer not suprisingly at almost 80,000 lives lost.  Cancer isn't contagious of course like the coronavirus or flu, but in some cases it is preventable such as with smoking.  The Canadian government could have banned smoking and saved the lives of perhaps 45,000 people each year as per a Conference Board of Canada report, as well as $6.5 billion in savings for health care systems.  But for whatever reason its never even been seriously considered or debated.

Number two is heart disease at over 53,000 in 2018.  Again, not contagious but still preventable in many cases.  Heart disease is often termed a lifestyle disease.  Those who are obese are at greater risk.  Could Canadian governments do more to promote healthy living, like having a national fitness campaign?  With all the money being thrown at the coronavirus pandemic I imagine a fraction of that amount could have enormous benefits.  Maybe we could force all fast food restaraunts to close the way we've put small family owned establishments out of business now.  

Number three is strokes at 13,480 deaths, followed by accidents at 13,290 and then at number five comes chronic lower respitory diseases with 12,998.  And that brings us back to the aforementioned flu/influenza deaths at 8,511 coming in at number six.  StatsCan puts influenza and pneumonia together, and I assume that's because the flu often progresses to pneumonia.  

Despite all this death governments have never before attempted to wrap the population in bubble wrap to save as many lives as possible.  Almost 2,000 people died in car accidents in 2018, along with almost 10,000 serious injuries....often very young children.  Over 30 people killed or injured on Canadian roads each and every day.  That's close to 12,000 people in total either dying or being seriously injured in vehicles, and yet we've never seen a massive response.  

This novel coronavirus is a threat, just like cancer, heart disease, car accidents and all the rest.  And our response needs to be proportionate to that threat.  If there's a squirrel in your attic you don't burn the house down.  While that analogy might be a little over the top, I don't think its that big a stretch.  

3+ million Canadians have gone from being tax paying workers to receipents of government welfare.  Unemployment can lead to depression, alcohol and substance abuse, spousal and child abuse...suicide.  

By shuttering schools, churches and other community based programs and activities our children may be paying the heaviest price.  Teachers and other professions that work with youth are trained to recognize the signs of possible physical, mental and sexual abuse....those safegaurds have been sacrificed, sorry kids.   

Is all this collateral death, pain and misery worth it when we're fighting a virus that overwhelmingly attacks those who are already elderly and dying?  I don't think so.  If it is then we should also ban all non-essential vehicular traffic, because all lives matter....not just those who are at risk of dying from Covid-19.