Despite the best efforts of authorities, many still not afraid of the novel coronavirus....

We're over three months into the global pandemic with a constant stream of death and disease filling the public airwarves and digital news outlets.  Our world has been tossed upside down.  Millions of Canadians out of work, businesses closing never to re-open ever again, people dying because their life saving medical procedures were indefinitely delayed, children isolating at home with unemployed depressed parents with booze declared essential.  

Horrific and devastating measures, but absolutely needed to slow the spread of the supposedly "deadly" coronavirus.  You think we'd all be terrifed by now, but many aren't. 

According to Ontario's own Covid-19 portal this province of roughly 14.5 million people has just 214 patients being treated in our roughly 500 hospitals, 51 of them are in ICU and of those in ICU 36 are on a ventilator.  

Some believe the reason the numbers are so low is because we've done a really good job at social distancing and all the rest.  But the reality is that we haven't.  First there were the so called "yahoos" protesting at Queen's Park, then the ~10,000 people who gathered in Trinity Bellwood park in Toronto, followed by the massive BLM demonstrations.  All these activities were supposed to send the numbers soaring, inundating our hospitals with people sick and dying of Covid.  

Then there's the daily drumbeat of people having friends and neighbours over, fines being handed out daily for people not following the advice of public health officials.  Anyone with a decent set of eyes can see that there are all kinds of people out and about paying little heed, at least in my province of Ontario.  I went for groceries this past Wednesday and again today (Sunday) and I saw no more than a quarter of shoppers wearing masks, and not one single store worker wearing one.  

So why isn't Ontario suffering as bad as a state like Florida where case numbers and  hospitlizations are reported to be soaring?  I don't know, I don't think anyone does for sure.  With Covid the advice and science seems to change pretty much weekly.  First it was that asymptomatic people didn't contribute to spread, then they were the main drivers of contagion, now it's that some asymptomatic people may spread the virus and others may not, emphasis on the word "may"....

I have my own thoughts about why Florida is having a worse go of it than Ontario based on the science being reported.  A University of Florida study pegs the rate of obesity for the Sunshine State at 37.1%.  For a state with roughly 21.5 million people that's almost 8 million people for whom Covid has shown to be more serious and potentially fatal.  In Ontario our obesity rate is pegged a much lower 26%, working out to about 3.8 million with the potential for Covid to be serious.

Add in the fact that Florida has a large senior population, combined with more poverty and those with darker skin tones making Vitamin D deficiency more likely and it's perhaps not surprising that some are calling Florida the new American Covid epicentre.  On top of that Florida's population density is exponentially higher than Ontario's.  Miami's greater metropolitan area has about the same population as the GTA, but they also have Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville all with over 1 million people.  

My own view is that Florida has not only more people, but a larger population of people for whom Covid can be serious, and they're packed in much closer together increasing the opportunity for viral spread than what exists in Ontario.  

Maybe the reason people aren't afraid is that they figure they're part of the marjority, those for whom Covid has not proven to be serious.  That can be dangerous thinking in my view for people with underlying conditions, no matter how healthy they may think they are.  

Asthama, Obesity and Diabetes are three conditions that are in no way uncommon, and I can see some viewing themselves as healthy despite these underlying conditions.  Then there are other more acute conditions like cardiovascular and kidney diseases and cancers, or any condition that impacts the heart and/or lungs.

Ideally I hope and pray that those with these underlying conditions, be they mild (asthma, obesity) or acute, that they have gotten the message and are doing everything they can to keep themselves safe.  And given our incredilby low patient numbers in this province, in spite of 1,000+ cases being identified each week as testing keeps ramping higher, it strikes me that by and large people at risk are paying attention.  

But if we want to pretend we're doing really well at social distancing and wearing masks, well fairy tales are popular with some.