All disasters are political.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s April 16 news conference announcing new pandemic control measures was followed by a rapid flip-flop after public outcry. A panicky walking back of restrictions was followed by an emotional apology six days later. But despite the honest apology, damage has already been done by what is being perceived as a lack of an informed plan.
Fifteen months into the pandemic, Canada’s most populous region is at the breaking point. Today, the COVID-19 situation in Toronto is looking more and more like that of a lesser developed nation facing a pandemic worst case scenario.
Here Comes the Fourth Wave (Or Not) | Asharq AL-awsat aawsat.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aawsat.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Faye Flam: Here comes the fourth wave (or not)
Summary: Even if we can’t predict the size or timing of a next wave, public health officials do know that the disease will continue to kill as long as some people don’t qualify for the vaccine or can’t book an appointment.
Written By:
Faye Flam, Bloomberg Opinion | 11:00 am, Apr. 19, 2021 ×
Coronavirus patients coming in emergency are housed in a makeshift ER unit established in a tent at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center on Dec. 23, 2020, in Colton, California.
(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/TNS)
So are we having a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. or not? University of Minnesota’s Michael Osterholm has forecast a COVID “Category 5 hurricane” this spring. To some people, a look at hard-hit Michigan could justify this level of alarm.
Faye Flam
Guest Columnist
So are we having a fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. or not? University of Minnesota’s Michael Osterholm has forecast a COVID “Category 5 hurricane” this spring. To some people, a look at hard-hit Michigan could justify this level of alarm.
But Paul Offit of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia could also claim to be right with his much more optimistic view that vaccines will mostly tame the pandemic from this point forward. After all, U.S. death rates and hospitalizations are not spiking and may never return to anything close to the fall/winter peak.
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