Epidemic Daily | Ontario Epidemic Going Out of Control

In 2020, too many people wrote articles describing the daily life under the lockdown, especially last spring, which is probably an unprecedented experience in modern history, so people wrote about queuing, whether to wear a mask, sitting in a troubled city, and withdrawing Don’t withdraw, write about how to re-understand the West during the epidemic. At the beginning, for the Italian elderly people in the ICU, they asked nurses to give the respirator to the young people. I was saddened by stories like the lack of coffins. Later, no one was too embarrassed to write that they were actually paralyzed by this amazing death data .

The epidemic has really become a daily routine. Last year, I didn’t write too much experience related to the epidemic. I always thought that it would get better sooner or later. I didn’t expect that a year later, we will still be locked down, even more serious than last year.

At this time last year, I was writing my master's thesis, and the daily life of the epidemic was not too different from that of writing a thesis: staying at home for a long time. Compared with the United States and Europe, it is unavoidable that they are fortunate to live in Canada. Canadians seem to listen to the government. Although the Canadian government inexplicably follows the guidelines of the WHO, it finally catches up with various epidemic prevention measures. In the so-called Western world, even if it is not like The two island countries of New Zealand and Australia can be model students. Considering that it has the longest border in the world with the United States, which ranks first in the world, the data is not satisfactory. As for the elderly who died of COVID in nursing homes (may they rest in peace) ), which soon became data.

In the summer, the first wave of the epidemic seems to have flattened the curve. In July, I boldly went to the park with my classmates. Although everyone brought drinks, we soon began to share cigarettes and marijuana. My father-in-law also began to resume the weekly routine of driving from the north to the city center to eat Chinese food with his sons. The previously chilling tension seemed to relax a lot. Residents of Ontario don't have the Europeans' desire to fly to the beach for a vacation in the summer. They can go for a walk in the outskirts of the province and take a vacation by the lake.

However, after school started in September, everything went haywire, the number of confirmed cases rose rapidly, and soon the Prime Minister began to call on everyone to stay at home, something like "We can't spend Thanksgiving, but at least we can spend Christmas" and so on. When I want to take a plane back to Taiwan, I still have some kind of illusion in my heart: of course, I have to go back to Taiwan during the winter, or I have to wait for the weather to improve and the epidemic to ease, so that everyone will get together before leaving the beautiful Toronto summer?

In the second wave of the epidemic, Ontario residents experienced an extremely lonely Christmas. There was no Christmas dinner, no Boxing Day, no New Year's Eve fireworks, and no skiing holiday. However, it was revealed that many senior government officials and wealthy retirees did not give up any instructions that they should try to avoid overseas travel during the epidemic, and they went to the Caribbean islands and Florida for vacations. For those who have no money for a vacation, in fact, the inequality in the world has not changed because of the epidemic.

Later, the city was closed for a long time, but it still had a little effect. The second wave of the epidemic was slowed down a little. Ontario finally dropped to less than 1,000 people diagnosed in a single day, and the city opened again. Of course, any public place must wear a mask. Except for the park. Ontarians inexplicably stubbornly believe that as long as they are outdoors, the risk of being infected is much lower, aka they will not be infected , and this is the only belief that can support them through the long lockdown. , holding a lover's hand for a walk on the street, and having a meal with friends on the street outside the restaurant, what do you expect in the daily life of this epidemic?

The plot is as expected. As soon as it opened in March, Ontario exploded. Various variants of viruses invaded each other, the ICU became more and more full, and the patients who entered the ICU were getting younger and younger. City, but people are completely tired. On April 1, the Ontario government said it would close the city for four weeks, but it was also afraid of the continuing economic depression. It wanted to seal it but did not dare to seal it. As a result, at most restaurants were banned for dining. Of course, this cannot stop the curve from continuing to rise. ; A week later, all Ontario residents’ cell phones received the kind of national-level alert that is issued only when there is an earthquake in Taiwan. It is an emergency at home order, in addition to purchasing necessary living necessities, medical treatment and prescription drugs, work In addition to having to go out and exercise around the home , other times must be at home.

remember? Originally, the tenant wanted to go back to Canada, so we would go to my mother-in-law's house for a short stay, and the second sister who planned to be my husband would drive us to my mother-in-law's house that day (my mother-in-law has not allowed us to take public transportation or Uber to find it since the epidemic). She), but as soon as she heard the emergency order, the second sister indicated that taking us for a ride was not an essential activity, and the mother-in-law also said that breaking the rules was uneasy, and asked us to stay at home, the husband said angrily, "I'm really tired of having only our family. Following the rules."

We went out shopping that day. On the road, the number of pedestrians seemed to be even higher than before. Every coffee shop or bar was squatting with a row of people holding drinks. Only then did I find various shops nearby, whether they were selling clothes. , Selling potted plants, fortune-telling, teaching painting, and all of a sudden they all sell coffee. Continuing to walk forward, when we passed the park, there were groups of young people who were picnicking. When we came out of Han Chao, there was even a string trio performance. For the audience in front, all of them were not wearing masks.

Who cares about the rules? But as a classmate from the Institute wrote on Facebook: "Doug Ford (the Premier of Ontario) blamed the rise of the epidemic on the selfishness of young people to go out to party, why not think about where we can go other than our own room and park? We But there is no vestibule or backyard for barbecues.” After a year, people have been locked up insane, and they can only go out for a jog, connect with friends to play electric games when they get home, and there is still a world of difference between being able to meet physical friends in the park. When rich old men can go to the wide golf course, can we blame ordinary people enjoying spring and brief reunions in the park?

A year later, Canadians are finally moving towards European-style freedom and natural selection. The epidemic is becoming more and more difficult to control. Governor Ford is fortunate that he has found a new way to cover up his twisted and ambiguous anti-epidemic measures: once the vaccine is not enough, Second, people are disobedient, and we can only silently hope that this out-of-control epidemic can be defeated by the speed of vaccination.

On April 15, the Ontario Cabinet said that their model showed that if the trend continues, the number of confirmed cases per day may reach 18,000 by the end of May (this week, the number of confirmed cases per day has been 4,000+), while Canada is the whole country. The only country in the world where all three major variants of the virus are infecting on a large scale, Toronto even has to use the ICU of the Children's Hospital to receive critically ill adults. So after two announcements of the "closed city" ban, the third real city closure ban came again ,

Interprovincial Movement <br class="smart">Ontario will set up outposts along the borders with Quebec and Manitoba. Ontario will restrict movement to and from residents of Quebec and Manitotoba.

Stay-at- home order <br class="smart">extended until May 20. In addition to purchasing daily necessities, medical care, sports, and social basic operations, the public must always be at home, and those who can work from home must work from home.

Outdoor gatherings <br class="smart">Except with family members, all outdoor social activities and public outdoor gatherings are prohibited. If you are an individual, you must participate in the activities of another family at most. All outdoor recreational sports such as golf courses, basketball courts, children Playgrounds are closed.

Retail volume further reduced<br class="smart">All non-essential stores must open after 7am and close before 8pm. For all stores that allow customers to enter the store, such as supermarkets, convenience stores, grocery stores, stores that sell food and medical drugs, the floor area ratio is reduced to 25% of the normal state (not sure what this means, but it probably means limiting the number of people ).

Religious services <br class="smart">All religious services including weddings and funerals, whether indoors or outdoors, are limited to 10 people. Drive-through religious services without getting out of the car are permitted.

Non-essential construction works <br class="smart">All non-essential construction works must be stopped, and the provincial government will also send law enforcement officers to inspect all construction sites in the province to ensure compliance with the provincial government's epidemic prevention instructions and regulations.

New Law Enforcement Discretion <br class="smart">Police have the power to stop everyone and vehicles leaving their home to determine where they live and why they left home.

It seems very plausible, but when the rules came out, it was like a joke between my husband and I: "Who are the police going to stop? Stopping any person of color will immediately fall into the suspicion of racism?" "Yes, if I am The police probably only dare to stop white people.” The truth is, most police units in Ontario immediately rejected this power, and although I have always complained about Canada’s epidemic prevention measures, I am relieved that law enforcement is not taking this opportunity to expand its power. In one breath, the most terrifying thing about this plague is that it gradually gives people the impression that the epidemic prevention can only be effective if it is like the CCP. Fortunately, except for Ford's cabinet, the minds of Ontario are still sober.

But whether the new measures can suppress the continued growth of the epidemic remains to be seen. People's greatest hope is that the speed of vaccination can catch up within this month. However, whether the vaccination will cause more people to care less Epidemic prevention measures, another wave of epidemics, it is difficult to say.

Ontario's vaccines are currently open to people over 50 years old (of course, medical frontline workers, aboriginals, caregivers or teachers can be vaccinated at any age). A few days ago, my zip code was designated as an infection hotspot. You can register for vaccination at the municipal health unit. We noticed a day later that the registration website has been closed. Yesterday, it was said that there are still a large number of AZ vaccines that have not been used. It is simply open to adults aged 18 to 49 in the hotspot to register for vaccination. Although thrombus suspicion is entangled, but living in a hot spot, I also feel that if I can fight it, I will plan earlier.