Young partiers could be said to be following expert medical advice....

Eighteen of Canada's leading medical authorites recently signed an open letter to Canada's political leadership, both at the national and provincial levels.  Among the eighteen is Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's first Chief Public Health Officer, someone with an actual medical degree.  

There is a letter portion and also a statement.  The letter portion contains these thoughts:

Canadians have developed a fear of Covid-19.  Going forward, they have to be supported in understanding their true level of risk, and learning how to deal with this disease, while getting on with their lives - back to work, back to school and back to healthy lives and vibrant active communities across this country.  

The Statement portion includes this:

The fundamental determinants of health - education, employment, social connection and medical and dental care - must take priority.  Measures for COVID-19 control need to accomodate these health determinants.  Children need to to go to ineract with their peers, in child care, schools, sports and social activities and summer camps.  Adults need to go to work.  Family and friends need to meet.

It seems many young people have gotten the message about getting on with their lives.  Many are getting back to doing what countless generations have done in summers past, they're getting together and having a good time.  

This doesn't sit well with Doug Ford, which is something I find incredibly ironic given the Premier's own history when he was a young man in Etobicoke. Anyone unfamiliar with the Premier's colourful history is welcome to read about it in an excellent Globe & Mail exposé.  It should be noted that Doug Ford threatened to sue the Globe for false reporting, but never followed up on the threat.  

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/globe-investigation-the-ford-familys-history-with-drug-dealing/article12153014/

Someone like Doug Ford, with a history of ignorning the rules, now telling young people not to do what young people have done for ages, oh puh-lease.   And I'm not talking about dealing illegal drugs here, just about getting together and having a good time...maybe even passing the dutchie now that it's allowed.  

The sobering part of the advice being offered by leading experts in the medical field is in the words "true level of risk".  

While much has been said about trying to keep everyone from getting infected with SARS-Cov-2, the fact is well known to most that certain individuals are at far greater risk than others.  People with a host of conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular and kidney diseases, basically any conditions affecting the lung and/or heart are at much greater risk of Covid-19 being serious and potentially fatal.  There are other statiscially significant contributing factors like Vitamin D deficiency, having a blood Type of A, obesity and autoimmune disorders such as Lupus.

I hope the young people gathering are aware of the factors that can make Covid serious and potentially deadly.  And that they're staying home if they themself are at risk, and staying away from others for whom Covid is potentially lethal.  I'm not naive though, expecting there to be no mistakes would be like expecting people to wear cloth masks properly without touching the outside material....

The bottom line being that Covid-19 is not an equal opportunity disease, it is not the major health risk for younger healthy people that it is for those who are older or with compromised health, put the two together and the risk is even greater.

I've been equating our ridiculous response to one of the Toronto Island ferries sinking with 100 passengers on board, but only 10 flotation devices.  The way we're dealing with Covid now is akin to cutting each of the flotation devices into 10 separate pieces and giving each ferry passenger their little useless chunk.  Obviously the smarter course of action would be to identify those unable to swim and to give them the whole flotation device and to not give them to those who are strong swimmers.  

Of course smart and public policy are something of an oxymoron a lot of the time, and now is a prime example.