Rhino's Ramblings - Believe It Or Not COVID Is Here
By Robert Thomas Opinion/Commentary
It is the biggest issue out there in the community and that is the ever increasing numbers of people testing positive in the community with COVID - 19 and the need to somehow stem the tide.
Opinions are multitude as to how the virus is going to be contained. It seems like everyone and their dog now have virology. Everyone is an expert.
It is an issue which has people saying the entire issue is a lie given the low numbers of people COVID - 19 has claimed as its victims. Influenza will claim more loves than COVID - 19 is the usual refrain and at the cost of the economy.
While on the other side of the equation there is the feeling that COVID - 19 is set to decimate humanity. It is a disease we need to contend with now or it will overwhelm us.
A tide which according to some is out of control while for others it is a tide that really is non-existent it is all a scam a way to manipulate the population, or the sheep in an effort to do a number of things for what really is no apparent reason.
A plandemic in the minds of many who see it nonetheless as an attack on our Western way of life and an attempt to take away people’s freedoms and in the end targeting everything we hold sacred in an attempt to destroy our economy and capitalism itself.
The entire situation is not being helped by those on the left who go far beyond the science in an attempt to push their agenda on people.
The left has rolled out Universal Basic Income (UBI) and the dream of giving everyone a set income whether they are working or not, In their war cry for the immediate implementation of UBI in reality the left is just feeding the fears of many and extending and entrenching the pandemic.
The fight for UBI at the present time is doing nothing other than making the pandemic worse by giving its critics ammunition to fire at the restrictions the government has attempted to install in an effort to control the spread of the virus.
In reality so many people have gone so political partisan they are in my opinion out in the lunatic fringe and that goes for both sides of the issue. COVID - 19 has truly brought out the worst in so many people. It is that simple.
It is all heavy philosophical stuff with partisans of one political cause fighting it out amongst each other on social media and elsewhere,
Now here is what I know and believe about the entire COVID - 19 pandemic. You can take it for what it is and ignore it if you chose to do so.
Personally despite the claims out there that the coronavirus that causes COVID - 19 has never been photographed and scientists do not know what it looks like I personally believe the virus exists. I also believe that there are more than a few microscopic photographs of this virus - the stuff you are reading on the Internet in my opinion that there is no photograph of the virus is a bunch of hooey.
The virus is real and it is here whether we like it or not. And as such people need to take steps to prevent the spread of the virus.
I know the virus, or rather those who suffer from it, have been in our local hospital. That for me is indisputable.
Do I believe our hospital is full of COVID - 19 patients? No I do not the evidence is not there to support such a conclusion. I know someone in health care locally and they tell me otherwise.
On the local front Dr Thorpe is free to post his rants about the virus and take them down when they draw too much attention but one has to wonder what he is actually accomplishing by such on-line outbursts and then retractions.
If it is to build confidence in the community as to the ability to contain this pandemic - no matter what method is chosen - it is not happening. It is having the opposite effect.
If anything it is building fear and distrust throughout the community of the entire medical system. That we, the citizens of Moose Jaw, are being lied to by the Province. There is some great conspiracy out there to not inform the general public about what is going on. Coming forward and stating that the “facts” as presented by the Province are incorrect and the situation is far worse than we are being told may well be doing the entire opposite in the trust building arena to the efficacy of any COVID - 19 control measure.
The good doctor can go after my opinion all he wants, hey we still live in a democracy, but it is an opinion that many in the community are saying. I may not hold a medical degree but I think I took some classes on public opinion and the use of the media manipulate it. If people lose anymore trust of the authorities that they already have in the end it is going to be harder to get the general public to control this pandemic.
I do not need the word of the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to tell me that COVID - 19 is here and in the local hospital as I have photographic evidence it has been here. From an anonymous source I have received photographs I personally recognize as from being within our local hospital.
Photographs which show attempts to isolate rooms within the hospital and stop the transmission of a contagion that is transmitted by droplets. A contagion that causes COVID - 19.
Now this is where it gets tricky and that is in the control and eradication of the virus.
For many the solution is simple lock down everything once again. Confine people to their homes for 28 days and at the end of it all you will have total control over the virus and the spread will be stopped.
It all sounds wonderful but in the end is it practical? It is all so simple and easy to to now isn’t it? And most importantly will it work? And what would be the cost?
Now there are some that will say that the government has not ordered another complete lockdown of businesses and the citizenry because it will too negatively impact the economy. That any economic momentum is going to be lost in the mix. But there there is another compelling reason not to close down everything and that has to deal with people’s mental health.
The COVID - 19 pandemic has majorly impacted the mental health well-being of the entire community. The effects of this are enormous.
It is the fear of the unknown and many people just being tired of the entire issue that is playing on many people’s minds. It is effecting their mental and physical health without people actually contracting the virus.
You can see it in many of the responses in social media as people are rapidly getting more stressed out as we head into the unknown that 2020 and COVID - 19 has become. A continual pressure as the news continues in a ever increasing spiral of more infections, more deaths and more bad news. The rainbow of hope in this entire year continues to elude us.
So just how bad is the stress on society from COVID - 19?
During his police budget presentation to Council this past week Chief Rick Bourassa mentioned that the Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) statistics. The MJPS is seeing an increase of activity brought about from the stressors surrounding COVID - 19. This is not from helping people with COVID - 19 but rather from the interactions the police are having with the citizenry.
It is a more belligerent citizenry out there and they are not in any mood to listen to the MJPS.
The same belligerent attitude extends to the SHA who are seeing their contact tracing operations thwarted on a continual basis as people they are contacting while trying trace contacts with people with known cases of COVID - 19 are not cooperating. People are telling the SHA contact tracers off, refusing to answer their questions, hanging up or flat out lying to them.
Others have discovered that the SHA is often using cellphones to track close contacts and so they are now turning off their cellphones when they are out or just leaving them at home. It has lead to the SHA now asking for people going to restaurants and bars to supply their name and contact information.
It is a total mess and the SHA is stretched to the limit by it all.
The statistics and even the follow-up with such places as schools just is not happening right away and it is leading to an uneasiness amongst the populace.
You have people who are employed in education now publicly commenting about what they see as the system failures and telling people not to wait for the SHA to do something but to just do it on your own. To hell with privacy and just do your own contact tracing once you identify who has contracted COVID - 19 seems to be a growing motto.
All the while making it harder and harder for contact tracers as those who are not feeling well decide not to get tested.
Has there been system failures here locally?
Yes there has in at least two cases - the late official declaration of an outbreak at Providence Place and the non-declaration of an outbreak at Vanier Collegiate. The reporting system is obviously breaking down.
Further afield the SHA has admitted there is a lag in the number of deaths attributed to COVID - 19 which can be at least a week behind. The public is not receiving accurate and up to date information they clamour for in an interconnected world.
Public relations wise the media strategy employed by the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) and the Province has been an unmitigated disaster.
And it is not just Dr Thorpe and other doctors who are publicly posting their opinions that is undermining it. They are in many ways shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to the COVID - 19 pandemic. They need to get a handle on the public relations front if they are ever going to regain the public’s confidence.
It is great to have information but quit hiding it deep down in their web-sites. They need to make the facts readily available if they want to win over the majority of the populace and end the rallies calling the pandemic as fake. If they cannot do this the meagre restrictions we have now are going to turn into much more severe restrictions very quickly.
As I said I am no virologist, doctor or medical professional but what I can tell you is this - wear a mask if you are medically able to properly in a public indoor space, wash your hands frequently, maintain a proper physical distance (indoors or out) at all times whether you are wearing a mask or not and above all - be kind to one another.
Let’s try to ease the growing mental health crisis as well.