[EvoFire]

So my son tested positive with a rapid anti-gen test last night.

When I picked him up from daycare yesterday they said he had been low energy all day, didn't want to participate and didn't eat his whole lunch. So they gave me the test to take home.

(I think the process of sticking the swab up his nose traumatized him, he was so freaked out we had to hold him down to do it and he hyperventilated for like 5 minutes after)

It's weird because we don't really see any other outward symptoms, he seemed totally fine in the morning, and even last evening he's not really coughing, no temperature, no congestion. This morning he's obviously staying home but he seems totally fine, plenty of energy today.

Is there a decent chance of false positives with the rapid tests?

So far the experiences (from us and other friends who's kids got covid) have been one bad day/night and then it's not much thereafter. My son is on the 4th day of showing symptoms of covid and a positive test. He has a runny nose and a little bit of coughing here and there. He has a thing where everytime he has a runny nose he gets post nasal drip coughing so we aren't even sure if the coughing is from covid.

Good luck with it though. We got it from my son even though we can't be tested. We are triple vaxxed and aren't really showing any symptoms other than a itchy throat for my wife and a runny nose for me. One thing is though we are both very tired. Having to keep my son at home, while trying to work, while having covid is extremely taxing.

[Great68]

Thanks, yeah we got boosted a few weeks ago and don't feel a thing.

We find it weird because there was a week just after the Christmas break where all 3 of us actually did have some fairly substantial symptoms and figured that we actually contracted Omicron then.
I guess maybe that wasn't the case back then.

[EvoFire]

^ We had exactly the same scare right around new years where all three of us were sick with different symptoms that all matched covid. Seems like it wasn't the case either.

[320icar]

Or you guys all got sick again

[EvoFire]

Or you guys all got sick again

3 separate rapidtests for me, all negative, just some dumb cold I guess.

[PeanutButter]

Is anyone willing to travel right now?

I just found out Cabos is only a 4h direct flight from YVR

Now that restrictions are lifted, I feel like that's the best bang for your buck

[Hondaracer]

Going to Playa in early March

Fucking govt. bullshit though is pissing me off.. so I’m trying to cover all my bases and potentially purchase an antigen kit prior to going down you do over Skype etc. a bunch of local places sell them.

So I look through a shit load of different govt. websites and this is the line that I get

Travellers can instead opt for a cheaper rapid antigen test approved by the country they are coming from,

So instead of buying one in Canada I need one approved in Mexico in order to come back to Canada? And the one I buy preemptively from a lab IN CANADA which is also associated with aircansda and aeroplan might not be accepted at the Mexican airport

Fuck right off you fucking clowns. You announce all this shit and then leave it as vague as possible ffs..

[HonestTea]

Is anyone willing to travel right now?

I just found out Cabos is only a 4h direct flight from YVR

Now that restrictions are lifted, I feel like that's the best bang for your buck

Europe in May

[PeanutButter]

I thought PCR tests are not needed anymore?

[westopher]

Antigen tests still are. It just made it slightly cheaper and the exact same amount of hassle.

[Hondaracer]

I’m some ways it’s even more hassle because the antigen test needs to be done within 24 hours of flying instead of 72 like the PCR was

[acrophobia]

Is anyone willing to travel right now?

I just found out Cabos is only a 4h direct flight from YVR

Now that restrictions are lifted, I feel like that's the best bang for your buck

Maui in late March. I need to get out of this f—king winter and make some vitamin D.

[JDMDreams]

You mean get some d :ifyouknow::troll:

[Twi7ch]

Cancun in March. I hope people keep living in fear, less tourists everywhere I go [emoji106]

[inv4zn]

Going to Playa in early March

Fucking govt. bullshit though is pissing me off.. so I’m trying to cover all my bases and potentially purchase an antigen kit prior to going down you do over Skype etc. a bunch of local places sell them.

So I look through a shit load of different govt. websites and this is the line that I get



So instead of buying one in Canada I need one approved in Mexico in order to come back to Canada? And the one I buy preemptively from a lab IN CANADA which is also associated with aircansda and aeroplan might not be accepted at the Mexican airport

Fuck right off you fucking clowns. You announce all this shit and then leave it as vague as possible ffs..

I think the purpose of this (as little as it is) is to stop people buying 'no-name' brands which could just be a pregnancy test or whatever, and then doing a shitty job actually taking the test.

If you're going to Mexico a lot of the resorts have it in their best interest to meet these requirements (Canada is a huge market after all), so just check with your resort. If all else fails you can still do the PCR in Mexico, so nothing's really changed other than Canada giving you another option.

[westopher]

I think the point is, the test is all but useless other than for the sake of transmission on the airplane. Covid is here, and it’s here as fuck. I’ve said it before, but I’ll reiterate. I have the same chance of getting it from someone at work, at the grocery store, etc as I do from the beach in Mexico, or at a restaurant in Seattle.
We aren’t preventing it from entering our borders.
If anyone needs me I’ll be in my parking garage honking my horn incessantly until the border testing is lifted.

[MarkyMark]

Yeah I'm going to Mexico in April and hoping all this testing bullshit will be over by then.

[The Producer]

i can't afford to miss the extra week of work that getting stuck somewhere would entail so no travel for me until we're past this nonsense phase.

I've got 3 friends stuck in mexico right now. All 3 tested positive on the outbound. Must be nice - another week away from the kids, jobs still paying. Sipping margs in the hot tub that definitely give them a worse hang over than any covid symptom.

This shit is ridiculous at this point.

[Hondaracer]

I think the purpose of this (as little as it is) is to stop people buying 'no-name' brands which could just be a pregnancy test or whatever, and then doing a shitty job actually taking the test.

If you're going to Mexico a lot of the resorts have it in their best interest to meet these requirements (Canada is a huge market after all), so just check with your resort. If all else fails you can still do the PCR in Mexico, so nothing's really changed other than Canada giving you another option.

What I’m more annoyed at is that I can’t buy these “approved” tests that are affiliated with aircanada and aeroplan, and have a Canadian doctor or nurse on Skype who oversees it and gives me the results in writing

Rather, I have to use a test “approved” in the departing country, ie. Mexico. The brand or quality of test seems to have nothing to do with it other than the Mexican authorities at the airport probably can’t deal with random tests from who knows where as you said, so the Canadian govt. basically passes the buck off to the departing authority. Even though I’m flying back into Canada, on a Canadian carrier.

[inv4zn]

What I’m more annoyed at is that I can’t buy these “approved” tests that are affiliated with aircanada and aeroplan, and have a Canadian doctor or nurse on Skype who oversees it and gives me the results in writing

Rather, I have to use a test “approved” in the departing country, ie. Mexico. The brand or quality of test seems to have nothing to do with it other than the Mexican authorities at the airport probably can’t deal with random tests from who knows where as you said, so the Canadian govt. basically passes the buck off to the departing authority. Even though I’m flying back into Canada, on a Canadian carrier.

I haven't flown in years so I don't know, but is it really the Mexican authorities who check? I thought it was the airline on behalf of the country you're trying to enter?

[Hondaracer]

I haven’t flown internationally since and when I went to Toronto and Montreal in the summer they hadn’t brought in those measures yet regarding fully vaccinated flying etc.

But I’d think sunwing, air Canada, etc. would be the ones checking the test so it kind of makes even less sense of the wording regarding the departing country

[mikemhg]

Mexico doesn't check, the airline does.

Honestly, the guy/gal at the airline counter doesn't give a fuck :lol

They barely reviewed my PCR test on the way home, I could have doctored the thing easily. No scanning or confirmation of anything, you could construct a phony PDF at this point.

You want a PDF of my test for a template, hit me up.

They don't even lock the PDF itself from the clinic I went to, fully editable :lol

#Safety.

[Hondaracer]

Yea was thinking just bring computer down for some photoshop..

[StylinRed]

My test in NY was just a letter, there was no letterhead no charts/graphics

Looked like someone just typed up a letter on a blank paper

And no one asked to look at it either so it really felt like a moneygrab/waste of my time n money, and that was several months back when everyone took covid more seriously than now :/

[mikemhg]

Yea was thinking just bring computer down for some photoshop..

Do it, honestly.

I had mine edited and ready just in case my 2nd PCR came back positive before the flight, alas it didn't anyways.

Had a known that process was so wishy washy, I would've just used my first negative test from 10 days prior, with the dates changed.

Save the $70 for another few bottles of Don Julio :lol

[!LittleDragon]

I'm in Honolulu right now, for the most part, everyone is masking up when they're indoors. The only outdoor spot that required masks was at the zoo because Covid 19 can be transmitted to the animals.

I flew out of Seattle because flying from YVR would've required a test. Using the land border just needed vaccination. Plus when I've had enough sun and am ready to come back, I fly back to Seattle and get my test done there to get back into Canada. If I test positive, at least I'm on the mainland and I have my car. I can drive to California and quarantine with family. As nice as it is to have to quarantine in Hawaii, I'm not leaving until I've had enough sun and by the time I'm ready to leave, I really want to leave...

[donk.]

I love how this thread went from

You can't be outside! You need to follow government orders and stay inside, we are in a pandemic!! Mask up, gloryhole sex only, don't visit your friends no matter what!

To

Yeah you should Photoshop your documents and yolo it, I'm over this endemic

[Hondaracer]

My wife’s colleague at work said her parents were down in Mexico, the dad test positive with an antigen test, a crisp $20 got a negative result

[StylinRed]

Family friend just passed away, she was only 42 no known preexisting conditions (unrelated to my friends grandfather)

[underscore]

I love how this thread went from

You can't be outside! You need to follow government orders and stay inside, we are in a pandemic!! Mask up, gloryhole sex only, don't visit your friends no matter what!

To

Yeah you should Photoshop your documents and yolo it, I'm over this endemic

Went from? There are still people doing for the former and there have been people doing asshole shit like the latter the entire time.

[Hakkaboy]

Family friend just passed away, she was only 42 no known preexisting conditions (unrelated to my friends grandfather)

RIP. Was she vaccinated?

[punkwax]

Wondering if I have the vid rn.. Have a nasty headache, I’m super tired, achy and also:

https://c.tenor.com/iUFU163h2sgAAAAC/he-needs-more-blankets-he-needs-less-blankets.gif

My boy got sick last week first and he bounced back in a day. My middle child started feeling sick yesterday and is feeling better today. I woke up feeling like garbage so hopefully I’m fine by tmrw as well.. wife and the eldest have avoided it thus far.

CDC says not to get tested with mild symptoms but it sure would be nice to know if this is it or not lol

[SkinnyPupp]

We're doing universal testing next month - go in once a week for PCR testing for 3 weeks, and take a rapid test every day in between. 7.5 million people. Everyone who pops positive goes to isolation (or more likely told to stay home since they'll run out of isolation room fast)

Seems like a great way to create several super spreader events for 3 weeks straight, as the lineups for these will be insane

[Hondaracer]

Lol.. you guys are like a year behind places like the Uk and the states, that’s insane.

Just pushing back hospital run ups and cases. It’s just a giant slowly knocking down the door

[SkinnyPupp]

It's because "zero covid" policy based on super tight border control actually worked for 2 years, but they didn't do anything with the time it bought. They didn't prepare for what would happen if a breakthrough did occur, and they didn't work harder to get people to vaccinate. They're just starting a passport system now (which makes it extra sad seeing the freedummies fighting it in Canada, we desperately need it because it works in motivating reluctant people and even straight up antivaxxers). We basically had no covid the entire time, until Omicron showed up.

And now they say because everyone wore masks so much, closed outdoor venues, sanitized everything, many kids didn't develop a proper immune system. So kids are getting sicker than other places around the world. We've had 3 child deaths so far, 3, 4, and 11 months. Most countries are at 0, or close to that, much further into Omicron. It's freaky.

[sdubfid]

How many garbage trucks does 140 million discarded rapid tests fill?

[StylinRed]

RIP. Was she vaccinated?

From what I heard from her family she was triple vaxxed (she's in the states) but my cousin who was closer to her than I, said she wasn't.
After the news, my cousin implored some unvaxxed relatives to get vaxxed regardless of the brand of vaccine (theyre in China) so I've no idea if she was

[mikemhg]

I love how this thread went from

You can't be outside! You need to follow government orders and stay inside, we are in a pandemic!! Mask up, gloryhole sex only, don't visit your friends no matter what!

To

Yeah you should Photoshop your documents and yolo it, I'm over this endemic

I also had a few takes on that offer :lol

[acrophobia]

How many garbage trucks does 140 million discarded rapid tests fill?

Far fewer than the number of garbage trucks filled with discarded masks. :eek:

[JDMDreams]

Are they testing back to normal now? It seems cases are lower but are they just not testing still so numbers are low? Death rate still seems pretty high.

Not sure why they finally decided to hand out rapid tests now.

[68style]

I went to the testing station in Richmond yesterday by the airport as I've been pretty sick... it was dead, only 1 other car in front of me... after asking me a bunch of the usual questions they said I don't qualify for a test because I'm not at-risk (elderly or child) and not working with at-risk people or in healthcare.

I asked about a rapid test and they just said nope and waved me away. Told me to go home and treat it like any flu.

Waste of time.

[JSALES]

I just got back from Vegas and basically no one wears masks down there. It felt like a bit of normalcy being there. I also got my PCR test from Reviv at the Cosmopolitan hotel, I didn’t want to take a chance doing the free CVS/Walgreens method.

[sdubfid]

I went to the testing station in Richmond yesterday by the airport as I've been pretty sick... it was dead, only 1 other car in front of me... after asking me a bunch of the usual questions they said I don't qualify for a test because I'm not at-risk (elderly or child) and not working with at-risk people or in healthcare.

I asked about a rapid test and they just said nope and waved me away. Told me to go home and treat it like any flu.

Waste of time.

This sums up the whole situation. The majority is not at risk yet we are still forced to wear these darn masks in work environments. Nobody wears them at home unless they are paranoid freaks. Same with the passport, the Pareto principle has been applied. 80% of people got the vaccine, holding out for the last 20% will never work. Bonny henry or her crew will take weeks to think about reducing restrictions. Just open everything up already and get it over with. At this point it’s benefitting no one. All the at risk people have had their opportunity to protect themselves.

[SkinnyPupp]

The information they give on patients here has been more than I've seen reported when I've looked.. They give exact numbers, vaccine status, ages, and specific pre existing conditions. For instance here's today's report

• 50 deaths
• 35 male, 15 female
• aged 52-97 years
• 6 cases received two doses of a vaccine
• 2 cases received one dose of a vaccine
• 44 not fully vaccinated (88% unvaccinated death rate)
• 5 under 60, 45 60+, 31 aged 81+

And for everyone under 60, they give specifics on pre-existing conditions:

52/M, RCHE resident, immobilised
53/M had cancer
56/M RCHE resident
58/M immunocompromised, had stroke a few years ago
60/F brain tumour, was undergoing chemotherapy

This has been very informative, and takes away the arguments from idiots who are against vaccination.

Unfortunately tomorrow they'll report another child death, this one a 9 year old boy. But he had a genetic condition of some sort. That's 4 deaths under 10 years old for this wave which has only been 2 weeks.

Other milestones: More deaths from this 2 week wave than the entire rest of covid. More deaths than SARS.

[blkgsr]

had COVID last week, nothing more than a light cold. sore throat and light cough the first couple of days (actually tested negative) then tested again a couple days later and it was positive but still only had a slightly stuffed nose etc.

[StylinRed]

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2022/02/24/bc-health-care-workers-fired-covid-vaccination/


2452 healthcare workers terminated due to non compliance of vax mandate

[68style]

That will surely help out the healthcare worker shortage!

Though I'm not sure what else they can do... it's been said many times, just bizarre people in that profession would tinfoil hat on this stuff. My sister just got a full-time job at a hospital because of it though, some positions opened up in her particular area of study just recently for this very reason :)

[320icar]

, it includes 895 terminations in Interior Health, 458 in Fraser Health, 341 in Island Health, 291 in Northern Health, and 224 in Vancouver Coastal.

What is it with the people who don’t live on the coast? Read as; white people. Just get the shot?

Just an assumption, but I’m sure there’s way more employees in VCH then all the others, yet is the lowest amount of terminations on the list. Did not check the numbers tho

[BlackV62K2]

Anti-vaxxer bums gets fired and then collects EI from the government that is trying to "control" them FailFish

[Hondaracer]

Can’t collect EI if you’re fired with cause

[BlackV62K2]

Can’t collect EI if you’re fired with cause

Ohh perfect PogChamp

[westopher]

You can’t even get into any nursing program unless you are up to date on your vaccinations so I’m not sure why all these health care workers that are getting fired over it have changed their minds on the matter somewhere within their career.

[68style]

I know of one person who got fired who is married to and helps out with someone who regularly blasts out promotions for essential oils... not because they smell nice, but for their actual medical properties. They've made a fortune off it in fact.

What a pair they are.......... hard to believe that one of them was in the healthcare field for so long and also promoting this stuff on the side. Massive conflict of interest if you ask me.

[320icar]

^^ wrong. This way they can sell that stuff and say “im a doctor/surgeon/nurse and I can tell you this stuff really works!!”

[Teriyaki]

^^ wrong. This way they can sell that stuff and say “im a doctor/surgeon/nurse and I can tell you this stuff really works!!”

And the people that buy into this stuff really lap it up.
It's bizarre how one moment they put these people up on a pedestal claiming "This one doctor, or handful of medical professionals said this!". Like yes, your argument is that this trained professional claims *insert wild theory/snake-oil* is legit.

Then, the moment you bring up the other 99% of medical professionals disagree then they say medical professionals can't be trusted!

It hurts my brain trying to understand the crazy.

[The Producer]

covid thread all lonely since ukraine politics replaced covid politics

beaverton still at it tho. beaverton x kenney collabs are the best :accepted:

https://www.thebeaverton.com/2022/03/jason-kenney-imposes-mandatory-freedom-on-alberta/

“Now is not the time to play politics with public health recommendations,” Kenney said. “That time was earlier, when I was doing it.”

[ImportPsycho]

covid thread all lonely since ukraine politics replaced covid politics

beaverton still at it tho. beaverton x kenney collabs are the best :accepted:

https://www.thebeaverton.com/2022/03/jason-kenney-imposes-mandatory-freedom-on-alberta/



“And the best way to celebrate our freedom is to make everyone do as I say.”


ROFL

[Hondaracer]

With WW3 looming may I please remove my mask Mrs.Henry?

Will my fabric balaclava protect from nuclear fallout?

[sdubfid]

With WW3 looming may I please remove my mask Mrs.Henry?

Will my fabric balaclava protect from nuclear fallout?

Please think of all the lives you would be endangering by not wearing your mask.

[inv4zn]

With WW3 looming may I please remove my mask Mrs.Henry?

Will my fabric balaclava protect from nuclear fallout?

You can always move to Manitoba. They're dropping pretty much every restriction/mandate mid-March.

[SkinnyPupp]

Mandates or not, I will probably keep wearing them in certain scenarios (and did before covid). Sometimes it's stupid though, especially now when by law you have to wear them outdoors, even during exercise.

Oh it's also still illegal to wear masks here

[SkinnyPupp]

https://twitter.com/TomPelissero/status/1499431474155728902

Covid is over! :alonehappy:

[J____]

The information they give on patients here has been more than I've seen reported when I've looked.. They give exact numbers, vaccine status, ages, and specific pre existing conditions. For instance here's today's report

• 50 deaths
• 35 male, 15 female
• aged 52-97 years
• 6 cases received two doses of a vaccine
• 2 cases received one dose of a vaccine
• 44 not fully vaccinated (88% unvaccinated death rate)
• 5 under 60, 45 60+, 31 aged 81+

And for everyone under 60, they give specifics on pre-existing conditions:

52/M, RCHE resident, immobilised
53/M had cancer
56/M RCHE resident
58/M immunocompromised, had stroke a few years ago
60/F brain tumour, was undergoing chemotherapy

This has been very informative, and takes away the arguments from idiots who are against vaccination.

Unfortunately tomorrow they'll report another child death, this one a 9 year old boy. But he had a genetic condition of some sort. That's 4 deaths under 10 years old for this wave which has only been 2 weeks.

Other milestones: More deaths from this 2 week wave than the entire rest of covid. More deaths than SARS.

There's news spreading on china social media that a few hong kongers chartered a private plane and skydiving to smuggle into mainland china to escape the pandemic. Not sure if its true or not haha. Shanghai's starting to see some heavy (a few dozen case) pop ups here this week. If 1 was positive, entire apartment complex is in lockdown for 2 weeks. There's like 10 or some complexed locked down. talking about a city wide test... crazy almost 30 mil people...

[SkinnyPupp]

There's news spreading on china social media that a few hong kongers chartered a private plane and skydiving to smuggle into mainland china to escape the pandemic. Not sure if its true or not haha. Shanghai's starting to see some heavy (a few dozen case) pop ups here this week. If 1 was positive, entire apartment complex is in lockdown for 2 weeks. There's like 10 or some complexed locked down. talking about a city wide test... crazy almost 30 mil people...
That's fucking hilarious

The news here has been:

Govt plans to do universal testing over 9 days. Everyone tested 3 times, then RAT daily, and positives go into isolation

China wants them to do full lockdown during this time. What this means, nobody knows, but most likely it'd basically be like a typhoon lockdown, something we do 1-3 times a year. Grocery stores, pharmacies, etc would remain open.

Govt leaked these 2 stories with 2 different dates to the press (March 17 and March 27), and people lost their shit and started panic buy. Most grocery stores were cleared out of fresh and frozen food. Still lots of canned food and snacks and rice. We had to buy frozen chicken breasts for instance LUL

Experts have been saying universal testing is pointless during the peak, they already missed their shot at it having any effect. They'd essentially find over a million positives and tell them to stay home.

So the universal test is on hold for now, but they may use it to kill off the wave once it starts to die on its own. Experts keep saying it's pointless except in specific scenarios, but China really wants them to appear as if they're doing something. They still do building lockdowns, and when they do they find between 10-20% of the residents are positive.

They are still building isolation facilities, a new one in a shipping port with thousands of isolation pods that look like prison cells (complete with barred windows)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FMqZel6agAUz1mO.jpg

People are freaking out because they don't want to be sent to these things (you could randomly get sent to a hotel room) with communal toilets (yes shared toilets where one of the side effects of covid is diarrhea) and no showers.

They are starting a self reporting system, so if you test positive with a RAT, you notify them and they will send you to isolation if there's room. Obviously nobody is going to do this.

General life, basically people are self imposing a lockdown. Most WFH if they can, and nobody goes out to do more than shop for groceries. Most restaurants are either converting to take out only, or closing completely. We had dim sum on the last day possible, and they barely had anything to choose from.

It's not total disaster, and people aren't parachuting into China to escape it LUL but the wave is at its peak now, and everyone is basically waiting to get covid, recover from it, and move on with life. Most importantly, people need to get vaccinated.

I knew a few people who have gotten it; three of my wife's coworkers, and my sister's (who is also my roommate)'s bf. They all recovered after 2-3 days and started testing negative after 6 days. Sore throat, some fever, coughing.

I think isolation can work in certain scenarios, like people who live in extremely crowded conditions. But if they do universal isolation with no conditions, it's just idiotic. For instance if me and my wife and her sister get it, would it make more sense for us to self isolate in our village home, out of the way from the general population, or put us into one of those pods surrounded by thousands of sick people?

[Teriyaki]

...For instance if me and my wife and her sister get it, would it make more sense for us to self isolate in our village home, out of the way from the general population, or put us into one of those pods surrounded by thousands of sick people?

And that's the whole point. You can do responsible and sensible things like that, but then the gov can't point and say THEY are doing anything about it so it doesn't count.

Universal testing is absolutely useless once your numbers are projected to exceed your treatment/isolation capacity. If anything, it just creates even more community spread.

People went nuts here when we exceeded our capacity to test, alas the city didn't burn down. Felt like that peak came and went pretty quickly, 1-2 weeks? People were getting Omricon left and right, a few days of sickness here and there. Hospitals kept up, and we're mostly all good now?

Godspeed to those in HK with these... weird measures. Maybe y'all need some truckers to drive over to Central to protest the dracronian measures.

[SkinnyPupp]

And that's the whole point. You can do responsible and sensible things like that, but then the gov can't point and say THEY are doing anything about it so it doesn't count.

Universal testing is absolutely useless once your numbers are projected to exceed your treatment/isolation capacity. If anything, it just creates even more community spread.

People went nuts here when we exceeded our capacity to test, alas the city didn't burn down. Felt like that peak came and went pretty quickly, 1-2 weeks? People were getting Omricon left and right, a few days of sickness here and there. Hospitals kept up, and we're mostly all good now?

Godspeed to those in HK with these... weird measures. Maybe y'all need some truckers to drive over to Central to protest the dracronian measures.
I think they know not to do it, some of the leading experts on pandemics are at the universities here. But they keep getting pressure from China to "do something" including a message from Xi himself.

As for truckers.. Yeah they tried that 3 years ago... Didn't work out so well :badpokerface:

[SkinnyPupp]

In case you're wondering what a difference vaccination in the elderly makes...

40% vaccination over 80 in general population, 15% vaccination rate within elderly care homes

Hospitals so overcrowded, people are having heart attacks waiting to get in. Several public hospitals are covid only, privates are refusing to treat them, but they are taking on some other non covid cases that require treatment. Morgues so backed up that dead bodies are being piled up.

They bought 2 years while everyone in the world went through covid, and did nothing with it. In fact, having zero covid is partially responsible for vaccine hesitation - a lot of people though they could just wait it out and let the rest of the world deal with it. A lot of these people would have gotten vaccinated for a bag of rice, imagine if they'd been offered $5000 or even $500

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FNB3t20UcAAt-27.jpg

[westopher]

What’s that graph mean? deaths per 100k?

[SkinnyPupp]

Daily deaths per million

US peaked at 10 for the big Delta wave, HK hasn't hit their peak yet, it's expected to come in about 2 weeks

[westopher]

heyzeus chorizo.

[StylinRed]

Not sure if this has been posted yet

Fake news bamboozled, leaving the link here tho just in case anyone wanted to see my fk up

https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/modern-day-censorship/pfizer-covid-vaccine-has-1291-side-effects-reveals-official-documents/?__cf_chl_tk=Kfp4F1tkmT1uGYi2ICJSH3GFDS1LbXS.UzujJ 8y9esA-1646548476-0-gaNycGzNCKU

[68style]

Yah I'm going to blindly believe a Brazilian "news outlet" that has links to articles on the bottom that Ukraine was secretly developing nukes and every anti-mask or anti-passport related mandate piece one can think of......................

Nevermind all the anti-mRNA and "are vaccines worse than the disease?!?!" articles... ugh...

[yray]

just waiting for hk infections to come up with a new strain and here we go again

[Traum]

In case you're wondering what a difference vaccination in the elderly makes...

40% vaccination over 80 in general population, 15% vaccination rate within elderly care homes

Hong Kongers have grown so incredibly distrustful of the HKSAR gov that they are allowing their distrust of the government to fxxk themselves over on this one. Instead of getting vaccinated, many insist on believing that the vaccines have extremely undesirable side effects, unknown long term safey, or that they are downright dangerous. The belief is especially common among the elderly, thinking that the vaccine carries a higher risk of killing them, instead of the risks from COVID itself.

My elderly aunt is exactly in that sort of boat, even though she doesn't really have much of a political stance one way or another. It is frustrating to talk to her about this. Back when Hong Kong was still dealing with the occasional delta case, I have quite plainly said to my aunt that if COVID gains a sizable foothold in Hong Kong, she would be at a major risk from COVID because of her age and health conditions, and because of that, I think she should go get vaccinated (with BNT). But nope -- she absolutely believes that precisely because of her existing health conditions, she'd die from the side effects / undesirable effects of the vaccine. FailFish

Watching the senior and vulnerable population in Hong Kong getting taken out by COVID is super agonizing. It's like watching a replay of the early days of how COVID ripped through the senior homes here, which in itself is another replay of how COVID wiped out a whole bunch of seniors in Italy back at the start of the pandemic. The only difference is -- and this is what makes is so much more aggrevating and infuriating -- the situation is largely preventable now because of the existence of the vaccines, but people are refusing to take the vaccine for all sorts of stupid reasons.

And then you watch the old and/or vulnerable drop dead like flies, the hospitals get overwhelmed because of a combination of the COVID volume and gov policy failure, and people die preventable deaths.
FailFish :banghead:

[StylinRed]

Yah I'm going to blindly believe a Brazilian "news outlet" that has links to articles on the bottom that Ukraine was secretly developing nukes and every anti-mask or anti-passport related mandate piece one can think of......................

Nevermind all the anti-mRNA and "are vaccines worse than the disease?!?!" articles... ugh...

:lol

Didn't notice that at first

But I think it's referencing this pubmd report

Regarding 1291 participants in a Latin America study looking at adverse reactions (1021 of which exhibited such)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34812287/

I got fake newsed bamboozled

[whitev70r]

If some (quite a large number shockingly) Canadians and Americans think that their gov't is trying to inject a chip inside them through the vaccine to control them ... why would you be surprised that HK people be suspicious of China HKSAT gov't? Out of all places and countries, that might actually be legitimately true.

[westopher]

It’s not all that shocking unfortunately anymore. People have proven that a fair amount of them will believe fucking anything.
“DOnT TrUsT AnyOne” unless it’s some random bullshit on the internet that you like.

[white rocket]

It’s not all that shocking unfortunately anymore. People have proven that a fair amount of them will believe fucking anything.
“DOnT TrUsT AnyOne” unless it’s some random bullshit on the internet that you like.

100%. The shear quantity of information available combined with those that choose to report on it, it's no wonder so many dot connections seem legitimate and believable. You can quite literally take a whole bunch of random info and connect dots easily to portray whatever narrative you want. And then when a YouTuber, or news agency, or Joe Rogan, or whoever, has done so and then broadcasts said dot connection across a platform to a large audience it then becomes solid truth for most average people. We're seeing it happen in this thread even.

Truly an insane time to be alive right now.

[Mikoyan]

:lol

Didn't notice that at first

But I think it's referencing this pubmd report

Regarding 1291 participants in a Latin America study looking at adverse reactions (1021 of which exhibited such)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34812287/

I got fake newsed bamboozled

Methods: We conducted an observational cross-sectional study to assess the potential adverse reactions to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine among a sample of healthcare workers (HCWs) in the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, from March to May 2021.

Results: The sample comprised 1291 patients, with a mean age of 39.3 years (SD, 13.5). In general, 79% (N = 1020) of participants presented an adverse effect of any type at first dose, while 75.1% (N = 969) did so at the second dose. Pain at the puncture site was the most common adverse effect overall after either the first (68.4%) and second (55.6%) dose. Regarding anaphylaxis, no participant developed the condition after the first dose, and only 0.2% (N = 2) developing it at the second dose. No fatalities were reported.


News flash: Injections hurt.

[westopher]

Vaccinated individuals faced such side effects of
Mild inconvenience, up to 30 minutes of their day spent at injection centres, and other experiences nearly as horrible as the aforementioned.
Better than lung failure? Only you can decide.

[Hondaracer]

So Canada’s top health officials at the federal level are now saying masks are a “personal choice” yet we’re still playing this game in BC..

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/as-provinces-lift-mandates-federal-officials-say-mask-wearing-a-personal-choice-1.5807051

[westopher]

Honestly though what’s the point of getting rid of them. They will just bring them back when the bingbong variant hits in like 5 weeks.

[320icar]

I have no issue wearing them and never understood why people fight it so much. Other restrictions (vax pass) I do understand people being more morally against. But the mask thing I just don’t understand how people are so mad about it.

Eventually it will be dropped, and eventually it will come back if need be.

[MarkyMark]

I get it at places like the supermarket where people actually keep them on the whole time, but at restaurants and the gym or sporting events where you're allowed to take them off at certain times it just seems so pointless.

[Hondaracer]

Honestly though what’s the point of getting rid of them. They will just bring them back when the bingbong variant hits in like 5 weeks.

People double and triple vaxxed, most already have had Covid on top of that

If we’re just gonna wear masks permanently to avoid sickness say that. Otherwise why are we playing this waiting game to remove things when virtually every jurisdiction around us has or will be removing them shortly.

For me it’s just a comfort thing, kinda had enough of wearing it, carrying one around etc. am I stopping transmission by wearing one while I’m escorted to my seat in a restaurant but then having it off for an hour in a poorly ventilated space? It’s just pointless in most cases

[mikemhg]

At this point it should simply be a choice. If you want to wear a mask, have at it, if you don't, who fucking cares already.

[GS8]

Ditch the fucking passport already....

[westopher]

People double and triple vaxxed, most already have had Covid on top of that

If we’re just gonna wear masks permanently to avoid sickness say that. Otherwise why are we playing this waiting game to remove things when virtually every jurisdiction around us has or will be removing them shortly.

For me it’s just a comfort thing, kinda had enough of wearing it, carrying one around etc. am I stopping transmission by wearing one while I’m escorted to my seat in a restaurant but then having it off for an hour in a poorly ventilated space? It’s just pointless in most cases

Yeah I get it, we just have played this game before. If anything BC has stayed ahead of shit with way less disruptions to our lives than any other province. Fuck looking to them to see what they are doing. They’ve ranged from bad to all out terrible.

[ImportPsycho]

my company's Calgary office will be closing until further notice after 10+ people suddenly tested positive.... I wonder what happened..... didn't Kenney say covid is over?
Good job AB....

[Gumby]

Yeah I get it, we just have played this game before. If anything BC has stayed ahead of shit with way less disruptions to our lives than any other province. Fuck looking to them to see what they are doing. They’ve ranged from bad to all out terrible.
To some people in BC, being required to wear a mask is a “disruption”…

[westopher]

To some people it’s full on war crimes.

[Teriyaki]

my company's Calgary office will be closing until further notice after 10+ people suddenly tested positive.... I wonder what happened..... didn't Kenney say covid is over?
Good job AB....

Maybe unlucky or lucky ya didn't get an invite to the office orgy. :badpokerface:

[spoon.ek9]

To some people it’s full on war crimes.

holocaust 2.0 bro

[MarkyMark]

Why is it considered weird that someone doesn't want to wear a mask on their face lol. The feeling I get when I take my mask off and breathe fresh air is a feeling I want to have all the time again. I'm a normal person who followed all the rules when we needed to, so not sure why the comments coming out make it sound like people who dislike wearing masks are only idiots who think tHe GoVeRnMeNt is out to get them.

You want to keep wearing masks? You won't hear a word from me. When the mask mandate is lifted I should expect the same treatment when I stop wearing it.

[inv4zn]

Why is it considered weird that someone doesn't want to wear a mask on their face lol. The feeling I get when I take my mask off and breathe fresh air is a feeling I want to have all the time again. I'm a normal person who followed all the rules when we needed to, so not sure why the comments coming out make it sound like people who dislike wearing masks are only idiots who think tHe GoVeRnMeNt is out to get them.

You want to keep wearing masks? You won't hear a word from me. When the mask mandate is lifted I should expect the same treatment when I stop wearing it.

There's a difference between not wanting to wear one but still doing so, and not wanting to wear a mask and spewing vitriol at minimum wage workers.

I was walking into a save-on yesterday when this fat white guy had his two kids with him. Both the kids were wearing cloth masks properly, and the guy had his raggedy ass medical mask on his chin - and he goes "LOOK KIDS, AM I WEARING MINE PROPERLY HA HA HA", and proceeds to try walking in. Security guy (who is jacked) walks over, and the guy pulls it over his nose properly and walks in. Then when he's in the store he looks around and pulls it down over his chin again, and again tells his kids "LOOK KIDS, LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT MY MASK". Like Jesus fuck. His kids looked embarrassed as hell.

[Gumby]

Why is it considered weird that someone doesn't want to wear a mask on their face lol. The feeling I get when I take my mask off and breathe fresh air is a feeling I want to have all the time again. I'm a normal person who followed all the rules when we needed to, so not sure why the comments coming out make it sound like people who dislike wearing masks are only idiots who think tHe GoVeRnMeNt is out to get them.

You want to keep wearing masks? You won't hear a word from me. When the mask mandate is lifted I should expect the same treatment when I stop wearing it.
I’m getting tired of wearing a mask too, but I don’t go around complaining that we’re required to wear one in certain situations. Complaining that you have to wear a mask is truly a first world problem.

[blkgsr]

how many of you guys saying you have no problem wearing a mask have to wear them for 8+ hours a day. or you just talking about when you go to the mall or groceries?

I've been doing it for the past year and a half and I'm fucking tired of it. Indoors/outdoors, it's not comfortable.

end this shit already

[westopher]

No one’s saying we like it lol. We are saying that people have literally protested outside of parliament, city halls and hospitals, screamed at low wage employees, threatened people, etc when wearing a mask. If that wasn’t you, then there’s no need to be offended about our comments here talking shit about the people that have.
I’ve had to wear a mask 10 hours a day from beginning to end of this shit, I’m over it as well, but I remember last summer it was literally 3 weeks or less we got to remove them. Was just pointless.

[Hondaracer]

When the top govt. health officials are coming out saying it should be a choice, and we have this mentality of "lol why cant you keep wearing a mask bro? you an anti-vaccer?"

this just reaks of that govern me harder meme.. people are forming their own opinion on it not based on logic but based on some weird social construct of following the crowd and portraying this moral high ground or some weird shit..

I wear a mask for about 50% of my work day then whenever going into a business etc. i also cant properly wear a KN95 or N95 because ive got a big beard so its kind of defeats the purpose entirely, at least for me, when i cant get a good seal on the masks. Odds are ill still have to wear one for work but out in other settings, give people the choice. We just gonna play this game forever?

[320icar]

how many of you guys saying you have no problem wearing a mask have to wear them for 8+ hours a day. or you just talking about when you go to the mall or groceries?

I've been doing it for the past year and a half and I'm fucking tired of it. Indoors/outdoors, it's not comfortable.

end this shit already

I have worked every single day of this pandemic on the ‘front line’ dealing with the general public this entire time. And I am truly not inconvenienced at all by the mask. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[JDMDreams]

All you need is a new variant, and bam, the Nazis are back holocaust 3.0 :ahwow:


When the top govt. health officials are coming out saying it should be a choice, and we have this mentality of "lol why cant you keep wearing a mask bro? you an anti-vaccer?"

this just reaks of that govern me harder meme.. people are forming their own opinion on it not based on logic but based on some weird social construct of following the crowd and portraying this moral high ground or some weird shit..

I wear a mask for about 50% of my work day then whenever going into a business etc. i also cant properly wear a KN95 or N95 because ive got a big beard so its kind of defeats the purpose entirely, at least for me, when i cant get a good seal on the masks. Odds are ill still have to wear one for work but out in other settings, give people the choice. We just gonna play this game forever?

[MarkyMark]

Everyone will have different experiences. Doing any sort of physical labor when it's peak summer and your safety glasses keep fogging up as you sweat your ass off won't love the mask as much as someone in an air conditioned environment.

[Hondaracer]

Again, people double and tripled vaxxed, many have also HAD Covid

I wouldn’t be concerned at all with a new variant. And at this point in the game if you’re so vulnerable to infection that you are worried, it’s on you to deal with. You can wear a mask, you can avoid social situations etc. we’re catering to a increasingly smaller and smaller niche group worried about it.

It’s like not serving bread at a 500 person wedding because 1 person is a celiac.

I also feel like the booster program has “jumped the shark” as they say when you see Moderna Booster ad’s on the boards at hockey games..

[inv4zn]

It’s like not serving bread at a 500 person wedding because 1 person is a celiac.


This is a surprisingly good analogy.

I know some people with celiac disease, and most will take it upon themselves to make sure they know what they're eating.

But there's this one cunt who imposes it on everyone else. Sorry, can't go to eat there, I'm celiac. Sorry, please don't make this food when I'm coming over, celiac. And then they cry victim when nobody wants to hang out with them anymore...lol
/off-topic

[Hondaracer]

Yea we have a friend with it so I spent time some learning about it. She manages the best she can to try and arrange things ahead of time. Definitely sucks if it’s a group of 8-10 people going out because places that are actually like certified gluten free are few and far between and generally not places anyone else is really eager to go to lol

[mikemhg]

I don't think it's first world problems to dislike having to wear a mask. No, of course a normal individual wouldn't protest on the street, or proclaim their government as fascist for it, but it certainly is an inconvenience.

Forgetting your mask and having to run back to the car, if you have a beard (the damn mask pulls on your hairs), if you wear glasses they fog your lenses, if you're wearing a hat the straps hurt the ears. Yes, minor inconveniences, but guess what, it's a silly inconvenience that simply isn't necessary anymore.

Why am I sitting at my table only to have to throw on my mask to go take a piss? Why am I throwing on my mask to not look like an asshole as I leave a restaurant with the door a few paces away from my table?

I also feel for servers and people who work in retail/hospitality that have to wear one the whole day, especially in the summer heat.

Another thing to note on a more human level is how much it changes the dynamic of simply smiling or acknowledging someone in a public space, covering your mouth takes away that engagement, and for some it can make you look more intimidating or unapproachable (I'm serious here). I can't tell you how freeing it felt to simply walk around a restaurant from the inside to outside, without fumbling around with a mask in Mexico.

I'd like to go back to that at this point.

[white rocket]

Packed house yesterday. Adults, kids. My wife and I are the only vaxxed people. 2019 vibes. I make fun of their tinfoil hats and they make fun of the 5G that I have in my system now. We laugh, we drink, everyone is merry. Everyone has had covid already. My wife and I had the worst symptoms out of all of us. So yea, it's time to move on. /coolstorybro

I don't mind wearing a mask, I bought a cool one that looks dope, ninja vibes. But I don't go anywhere so I think my total masking-wearing time doesn't even exceed a couple hours total in 2 years. I can see how someone wearing one constantly would grow tired of it or maybe it masks their facial features so it makes it difficult to communicate. Not sure about a breathing restriction as I haven't worn one for long enough. You can choose to not wear a mask when not permitted to AND also not be a cunt to others about it. Those people making others feel uncomfortable about it were cunts long before a pandemic.

[nabs]

Sooo.... is covid over?

[westopher]

For 5 weeks, yes.

[MarkyMark]

When the war is over and an even milder variant comes out Covid will be back in full swing to ruin all your summer plans, better to just not bother planning anything at all. #covidlogic

[inv4zn]

When the war is over and an even milder variant comes out Covid will be back in full swing to ruin all your summer plans, better to just not bother planning anything at all. #covidlogic

K I'm just gonna say, the point was to protect 1. healthcare system, and 2. vulnerable people.

Even with the shift in mood these days the above isn't going to change.

Even with Omicron being perceived the 'mild covid', hospitalizations were still way up, as were ICU (yes, vaxxed vs unvaxxed, old vs young, blah blah). Everyone talking about how they're inconvenienced this way, and government tyranny that way, frivolous plans being "ruined", wherein reality, it's not difficult to see just how fragile (and poorly run) our healthcare is right now, and it's going to take years to fix if it gets fixed at all.

I get what you're saying, and we're all tired of it, but not being able to go to mexico because of covid isn't really the same as having your cancer surgery postponed because of covid. You don't need Bonnie Henry to tell you which one is probably more important.

[Hondaracer]

^ I’d be more willing to buy into any of that if Bonnie was straight forward when asked point blank, how many people are in hospital BECAUSE of Covid and how many are just admitted to the hospital for something else entirely but test positive. She completely sidestepped the question when asked a couple weeks ago while other jurisdictions like Toronto were being much more forthcoming saying yes hospitalizations are up but most are not directly related to Covid itself.

[inv4zn]

^ I’d be more willing to buy into any of that if Bonnie was straight forward when asked point blank, how many people are in hospital BECAUSE of Covid and how many are just admitted to the hospital for something else entirely but test positive. She completely sidestepped the question when asked a couple weeks ago while other jurisdictions like Toronto were being much more forthcoming saying yes hospitalizations are up but most are not directly related to Covid itself.

While that is a fair point, it's also nitpicking for something trivial. Hospitals aren't overwhelmed because suddenly people started breaking their arm more, or because everyone is getting more ulcers, or whatever. Covid is the only variable, and is directly affecting total hospitalization numbers.

If I were to guess as to why BH deflected, probably because she/they don't know - but like I said, other than the mystery aspect, does it matter? I mean unless you subscribe to the idea of stupidity that the whole thing is a Bill Gates conspiracy, what meaningful impact does that have on your decision making?

[Hondaracer]

Well I’d then ask what’s “normal” hospitalizations?

If you say 500 people are in hospital but 3/4 are there for underlying health issues but have also tested positive for Covid, is that just a normal rate of hospitalization? Or are you just saying 500 people are in hospital with Covid but while they are positive, many are asymptomatic? I think there’s a distinction in the details

[inv4zn]

Well I’d then ask what’s “normal” hospitalizations?

If you say 500 people are in hospital but 3/4 are there for underlying health issues but have also tested positive for Covid, is that just a normal rate of hospitalization? Or are you just saying 500 people are in hospital with Covid but while they are positive, many are asymptomatic? I think there’s a distinction in the details

I mean, you're right - I can't find info for how full hospitals were before covid, so there's no baseline. But that aside you must agree that covid had an impact on healthcare.

In 2020 and for much of 2021 it was all about hospitals in the US being overwhelmed, people in Italy dying in their homes, triage, etc. I don't think BC would have escaped similar trends if not for lockdowns and restrictions.

My original point was that the goal was to not have healthcare collapse - which in retrospect we (BC) have seem to have accomplished.

[Alpine]

Sooo.... is covid over?

Depends if you listen to mainstream media or not lol. If it's your main source of news, then Putin eradicated covid.

I'm hearing from family that HK case #s are blowing up, and they are locking down much of the country. Extremely difficult to fly into or out of HK at the moment... I have relatives that are trying to buy tickets to fly out but haven't been able to for the last month+. And relatives trying to visit are being told there are very limited flights, and they must fly to Singapore, quarantine for 2 weeks, and then fly into HK.

[Lomac]

how many of you guys saying you have no problem wearing a mask have to wear them for 8+ hours a day. or you just talking about when you go to the mall or groceries?

I've been doing it for the past year and a half and I'm fucking tired of it. Indoors/outdoors, it's not comfortable.

end this shit already

I wear a mask for 8+ hours a day. I also have glasses and work a physical job. Went from cloth masks at the beginning to surgical paper masks and haven't had any issues. Sure, glasses might fog up momentarily when I'm breathing in a cold environment, but a simple adjustment of the nose pieces fixes that.

I also have guys at work who wear a full on respirator all day and have done so for years. Haven't heard any of them complain about it in all that time. :shrug:

[Obsideon]

Not sure which thread to put this in or if it's been brought up.
But I plan on flying down to the states in a few weeks, where is the cheapest place to get those rapid tests? Seems to be many clinics selling for $99+, and YVR has a testing site that will do it for $79? But I've heard people getting them for under $40, or even free?

[mikemhg]

Not sure which thread to put this in or if it's been brought up.
But I plan on flying down to the states in a few weeks, where is the cheapest place to get those rapid tests? Seems to be many clinics selling for $99+, and YVR has a testing site that will do it for $79? But I've heard people getting them for under $40, or even free?

If you have parents (which I assume you do), you can just pick up some free tests via them.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/testing

Go down and pick them up before your trip, you need their name/address/PHN and they'll give you the free tests from your pharmacy.

"Pick up a kit for someone else
You can pick up a kit for someone else, like a parent or grandparent. Make sure you know their full name, date of birth and PHN, the pharmacist will ask you for that information. "

Easy.

[Hondaracer]

Not sure which thread to put this in or if it's been brought up.
But I plan on flying down to the states in a few weeks, where is the cheapest place to get those rapid tests? Seems to be many clinics selling for $99+, and YVR has a testing site that will do it for $79? But I've heard people getting them for under $40, or even free?

I just bought the ones you mentioned from switch health associated with Aeroplan, $75 for 2 tests seem to be alright, I can report back on how they worked once I get back from Mexico

[Hakkaboy]

I just bought the ones you mentioned from switch health associated with Aeroplan, $75 for 2 tests seem to be alright, I can report back on how they worked once I get back from Mexico

How will you know if they "work" or not?

[winson604]

If you have parents (which I assume you do), you can just pick up some free tests via them.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/testing

Go down and pick them up before your trip, you need their name/address/PHN and they'll give you the free tests from your pharmacy.

"Pick up a kit for someone else
You can pick up a kit for someone else, like a parent or grandparent. Make sure you know their full name, date of birth and PHN, the pharmacist will ask you for that information. "

Easy.

Also a lot of pharmacies have been running out but if you put your name down to reserve one and they'll call you when it arrives. Also kids in school are starting to receive their pack of 5 so if you know anyone with kids might be able to also snag one that route too.

[Great68]

I mean, you're right - I can't find info for how full hospitals were before covid,

This is that document, from a BC FOI request:
http://docs.openinfo.gov.bc.ca/Response_Package_HTH-2021-13906.pdf

In a nutshell:

2015/2016: Hospitalizations: 442,992 ICU: 39,545
2016/2017: Hospitalizations: 451,803 ICU: 39,953
2017/2018: Hospitalizations: 455,393 ICU: 39,656
2018/2019: Hospitalizations: 459,088 ICU: 40,032
2019/2020: Hospitalizations: 461,022 ICU: 40,536
2020/2021: Hospitalizations: 431,822 ICU: 39,160


Unless I'm missing something, looks like COVID barely moved the needle, like not even a 1% increase in total hospitalizations. And a reduction in 2021/2022 to below 2015/2016 numbers?

[320icar]

That probably doesn’t account for the fact our hospital system Has already been maxed out pre-covid, so all they did was kick out and defer other patients to make room for covid.

Also, remember the term ‘flattening the curve’. The point of all our restrictions was to prevent a max influx of critical patients. That means they worked

[Presto]

This is that document, from a BC FOI request:
http://docs.openinfo.gov.bc.ca/Response_Package_HTH-2021-13906.pdf

In a nutshell:

2015/2016: Hospitalizations: 442,992 ICU: 39,545
2016/2017: Hospitalizations: 451,803 ICU: 39,953
2017/2018: Hospitalizations: 455,393 ICU: 39,656
2018/2019: Hospitalizations: 459,088 ICU: 40,032
2019/2020: Hospitalizations: 461,022 ICU: 40,536
2020/2021: Hospitalizations: 431,822 ICU: 39,160


Unless I'm missing something, looks like COVID barely moved the needle, like not even a 1% increase in total hospitalizations. And a reduction in 2021/2022 to below 2015/2016 numbers?

^^^

One could also argue if 2020/2021 got crushed by COVID, and prevented people from going to the hospital? The data counts are by cases (individuals), and doesn't take duration (other than >1 day) into account. I wonder what the number of days of hospitalization would be compared between the years.

[Hondaracer]

How will you know if they "work" or not?

Basically whether they are faulty or not when we do them.

Thay claire Newell from travel best bets erc. Was on the radio a while back saying she bought the travel ones for the states and the results turned out to be invalid so she had to go pay for another one anyways.

[Great68]

That probably doesn’t account for the fact our hospital system Has already been maxed out pre-covid, so all they did was kick out and defer other patients to make room for covid.

Also, remember the term ‘flattening the curve’. The point of all our restrictions was to prevent a max influx of critical patients. That means they worked



I would think the ICU numbers would be more telling of that story. I don't recall hearing stories of people being turned away from the ICU if they needed a bed in one. If you are denied an ICU bed, then you're pretty much dead.

[Obsideon]

If you have parents (which I assume you do), you can just pick up some free tests via them.

https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/info/testing

Go down and pick them up before your trip, you need their name/address/PHN and they'll give you the free tests from your pharmacy.

"Pick up a kit for someone else
You can pick up a kit for someone else, like a parent or grandparent. Make sure you know their full name, date of birth and PHN, the pharmacist will ask you for that information. "

Easy.

But this is eligible for travel?

[mikemhg]

But this is eligible for travel?

Of course. PCR tests are no longer required, rapid tests are fine.

[Hondaracer]

Those rapid tests you just pick up from the pharmacy though have no written record of your results?

[CivicBlues]

Of course. PCR tests are no longer required, rapid tests are fine.

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/flying-canada-checklist/covid-19-testing-travellers-coming-into-canada

proof of a professionally administered or observed negative antigen test taken outside of Canada no more than 1 day before your scheduled flight or entry to Canada by land or water

So no, self administered won't cut it.

[68style]

Gotsta have that signature from a professional boyzzzzz!

It's just as big a pain, if not even moreso, than the PCR test.

[Hondaracer]

Buddy sending me vids from Cabo 6000 person pool party not a mask in sight and here we are saying “why shouldn’t you wear a mask?!? What kind of peice of shit are you???”

[westopher]

Literally no one is saying that. The closest it’s gotten to that is, it really isn’t that big of a deal, or acknowledging that it’s gonna come back asap and just piss everyone off again.
They are going to announce masks are gone on Thursday anyways most likely so your broken heart will be mended shortly.

[Hondaracer]

They better!! :woot2:

[68style]

Did Honda have a heart to break in the first place? :considered:

[MarkyMark]

Then the real fun begins lol, all the evil glances from people still wearing masks because they care more about human life than you do.

[Hondaracer]

Lol is that sarcasm or ignorance?

[68style]

Sarcasm!

[Teriyaki]

Can't wait for all the snide remarks from strangers going "Oh honey, you know you don't have to wear that anymore right" or something to that effect to me in public.

[Hondaracer]

Anyone who says anything either way to strangers is a POS. Mind your own business ffs..

At least the maskless person will be able to show their dismay on their face lol :troll:

[Hondaracer]

Sarcasm!

Not you, Marky lol

[acrophobia]

My kids each got 5 rapid tests at school today...thinking these would have been much more useful in January when students returned back after Christmas break :/

[MarkyMark]

Not you, Marky lol

I was kidding lol but I do believe there will be plenty of people who will look at you like you're a piece of shit for not wearing a mask.

[68style]

I’ve been getting used to that in my condo building, I live on the first floor so I don’t need to use the elevator and don’t wear a mask in the hallways…. Her lots of dirty looks :)

(I would wear one in the elevator if I used it though)

[SkunkWorks]

Anyone who says anything either way to strangers is a POS. Mind your own business ffs..

Says the guy who was on here calling those who were wearing masks at the playground 'cucks'

[MarkyMark]

Well to be fair, he didn't say it to their face lol.

[Hondaracer]

Says the guy who was on here calling those who were wearing masks at the playground 'cucks'

Well yea, I’m not gonna go out of my way to start a fight with a stranger but if you’re outside wearing your mask in a park, you’re a bit misguided.

[mikemhg]

Then the real fun begins lol, all the evil glances from people still wearing masks because they care more about human life than you do.

He's right, be ready for it.

[mikemhg]

https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/flying-canada-checklist/covid-19-testing-travellers-coming-into-canada



So no, self administered won't cut it.

That is wildly confusing. They state the following:

-it must be administered or observed by a pharmacy, laboratory, healthcare entity or telehealth service
-the test must be authorized for sale or distribution in Canada or in the jurisdiction in which it was obtained
-the test must be performed outside of Canada

So one can't use a test provider by a Canadian pharmacy (approved in Canada), and taken outside of Canada?

How fucking ridiculous :lol

So you can't use any rapid purchasable tests? You have to have it conducted directly at a pharmacy abroad?

[Hondaracer]

Or you buy the ones I mentioned where you do the test over FaceTime etc. and then the results are sent to you via the linked account

Just a fucking cash grab

[CivicBlues]

Well we're going to Iceland in two months where rapid tests are supposedly given out for free but we're going to fork over about $90 for extra "quarantine insurance".

So win for insurance companies and hotels.

[Hondaracer]

Yea, I’ve got 3 overlapping insurance policies for travel and I still had to fork over $80 for wife and I to get quarantine coverage for Mexico. They are lapping it up

[GLOW]

when you have multiple insurance policies for travel like that, do all of them try to avoid paying out and point the finger to the other insurance agency?

i always thought it was best to have just 1 policy to avoid the infighting.

[Hondaracer]

Luckily I’ve never had to use them but the RBC avion actually had quite good reviews when it comes to their insurance response so usually if I’m booking travel I’ll book it on that card

[quasi]

Luckily I’ve never had to use them but the RBC avion actually had quite good reviews when it comes to their insurance response so usually if I’m booking travel I’ll book it on that card

I have a really nutty Avion insurance story, not going to rehash the whole thing but it comes down to me saying thanks RBC for writing off that new vacuum and my truck insurance for the year. LOL, I tried so hard to pay it so many phone calls, no dice and the charges are gone forever.

My brother in law has used the avion insurance to replace shirts he shrunk in the dryer, they cover so much.

[CivicBlues]

Yea, I’ve got 3 overlapping insurance policies for travel and I still had to fork over $80 for wife and I to get quarantine coverage for Mexico. They are lapping it up

Who did you go with? I see ones for PBC and Manulife quoted often.

when you have multiple insurance policies for travel like that, do all of them try to avoid paying out and point the finger to the other insurance agency?

i always thought it was best to have just 1 policy to avoid the infighting.
Work policy does not cover quarantine and neither does my CC. Only Emergency Medical.

[Hondaracer]

Went with Manulife, was like $70 for a week for 2 people I think

[snowball]

I have a really nutty Avion insurance story, not going to rehash the whole thing but it comes down to me saying thanks RBC for writing off that new vacuum and my truck insurance for the year. LOL, I tried so hard to pay it so many phone calls, no dice and the charges are gone forever.

My brother in law has used the avion insurance to replace shirts he shrunk in the dryer, they cover so much.

damn, i've been using avion for 15 years and never claimed anything with their insurance. what a mistake!

[Acura604]

One step closer to normality.... hopefully
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/b-c-businesses-preparing-for-indoor-mask-mandate-to-lift-friday-vaccine-passport-to-end-in-coming-weeks-sources-1.5813738

[68style]

I have a really nutty Avion insurance story, not going to rehash the whole thing but it comes down to me saying thanks RBC for writing off that new vacuum and my truck insurance for the year. LOL, I tried so hard to pay it so many phone calls, no dice and the charges are gone forever.

My brother in law has used the avion insurance to replace shirts he shrunk in the dryer, they cover so much.

I for one want to hear this story :thumbs:

[BlackV62K2]

Our face skin thank you with no mask requirements

[whitev70r]

Damn ... hope this doesn't mean that I have to go into the office more often!

[whitev70r]

Wait ... does this mean that the FReeDoM cOnVoy won? :lol

[EvoFire]

Wait ... does this mean that the FReeDoM cOnVoy won? :lol

They would probably take the credit despite not really moving the needle.

[MarkyMark]

I wonder how many businesses are going to keep masks for awhile longer anyways. I guarantee my work will keep them for much longer

[Great68]

One step closer to normality.... hopefully
https://bc.ctvnews.ca/b-c-businesses-preparing-for-indoor-mask-mandate-to-lift-friday-vaccine-passport-to-end-in-coming-weeks-sources-1.5813738

I was just listening to the news conference at 12:30pm and it's confirmed. Whoever wrote that article, considering it was posed at 7am has a good source!

[Acura604]

now if only the FEDS get off their asses and remove the land border testing requirements ...

[Hondaracer]

I wonder how many businesses are going to keep masks for awhile longer anyways. I guarantee my work will keep them for much longer

980 had the GM of both the tap house restaurants and he said they are getting rid of them completely for all front and back house staff.

Westopher can start spitting in my food again! :lawl:

Anyone federally regulated will likely still require them. What I find super annoying is not requiring them at a “work space” but then stil requiring them to move about the office. It’s pointless.

I’m flying out Tom morning at 930 am..I wonder if the airport will not require them?..

[whitev70r]

I was just listening to the news conference at 12:30pm and it's confirmed. Whoever wrote that article, considering it was posed at 7am has a good source!

I think it is common practice for governments/police/etc. to release some 'confidential' summary to the press before formal announcements. Then they write an article and as soon as presser is finished, it's posted.

[JDMDreams]

Honda Racer can finally bare back that second hand breath

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-drops-mask-vaccine-mandate?fbclid=IwAR0XlVubK2r3IloeCbxsQSjEk47BxUXY5 U_Zq1XpTCGt20RkwP8PK1eClLU

[The Producer]

Damn ... hope this doesn't mean that I have to go into the office more often!

my petty side hopes the PJ party is over for the WFH lotto winners :ilied:

now we just need a huge amazon strike to get people back out spending their gains at the brick and mortars.

[Great68]

I think it is common practice for governments/police/etc. to release some 'confidential' summary to the press before formal announcements. Then they write an article and as soon as presser is finished, it's posted.

Yeah, but that article was posted 5 hours before the presser haha Someone violated the "confidential" part of the summary?

[Hondaracer]

Honda Racer can finally bare back that second hand breath

https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/bc-drops-mask-vaccine-mandate?fbclid=IwAR0XlVubK2r3IloeCbxsQSjEk47BxUXY5 U_Zq1XpTCGt20RkwP8PK1eClLU

Can’t wait to hyperventilate on a packed skytrain

[68style]

^^ Dude mental image!! I wouldn’t even do that before I became an infectious disease expert on RS

[westopher]

980 had the GM of both the tap house restaurants and he said they are getting rid of them completely for all front and back house staff.

Westopher can start spitting in my food again! :lawl:

Anyone federally regulated will likely still require them. What I find super annoying is not requiring them at a “work space” but then stil requiring them to move about the office. It’s pointless.

I’m flying out Tom morning at 930 am..I wonder if the airport will not require them?..
How are you going to get out your anger now that you can’t scream at a hostess for asking you to wear a mask?KEKW

[Hondaracer]

Just being a general dick and poorly tipping I suppose

[GLOW]

i'm picturing you asking for a fork...for each party at your table....one at a time, multiple trips :lawl:

[donk.]

Just being a general dick and poorly tipping I suppose

no tip > poorly tipping

[donk.]

Wait ... does this mean that the FReeDoM cOnVoy won? :lol

One of our antivaxxers at work was doing laps, from the removal of mandates

" i knew it"

" i told you so"

" what now that you have two vaccines in you that are no longer required"

" its all a sham"

" the great reset is accurate!"

:derp::joy::drunk:

[68style]

Your fist should thank them for dragging this on longer than it needed to be… for like a year longer

[MarkyMark]

Well Covid is over at my gym, 99% maskless this morning, plexiglass at the front desk gone.

My work on the other hand says masks indefinitely

[snowball]

Well Covid is over at my gym, 99% maskless this morning, plexiglass at the front desk gone.

My work on the other hand says masks indefinitely

You'd think they would at least still keep the plexiglass; I mean they already paid for it and it might reduce the chances of their staff getting sick in general.

[immorality]

Lots of masks still on the West coast express this morning.

[The Producer]

to a lesser degree than masks, plexi barriers are antisocial. A further disconnect between 2 human beings that are attempting to form a connection.

do you need to connect with the bus driver or the kid behind the desk at the gym? not really, but it's imperative that we find ways to reconnect with our fellow humans.

as i feared - even more people have become antisocial. Heads buried in screens, avoiding eye contact. We normalized masks and by consequence normalized anonymity.

Reddit is a shitty data source, but it's amazing how many people are talking about keeping their masks. Not because of covid or avoiding colds etc, but because they want to remain disconnected. They want to hide facial expressions and avoid interactions.

Dear introverts - your hall pass from participating in society for the past 2 years is ending, and you're encouraged to rejoin us.



EDIT: thought I would add here that the half dozen customers that have come in today so far have all been masked. Last summer if somebody came in w a mask, I followed suit. For now - I'm not going to do that.

I will leave our small plex up at the end of the desk for now. There's plenty of room for clients to decide if they want to be behind it.

[Great68]

My work removed mask requirements today but they created "Workspace Comfort Indicator" signs for those who are still afraid of this thing to hang in their cubicles/offices. I could see this having the opposite effect to what they're actually intending.

[Great68]

Reddit is a shitty data source, but it's amazing how many people are talking about keeping their masks. Not because of covid or avoiding colds etc, but because they want to remain disconnected. They want to hide facial expressions and avoid interactions.

Dear introverts - your hall pass from participating in society for the past 2 years is ending, and you're encouraged to rejoin us.


So true.

[68style]

Hopefully they have teddy bears for the ones that are uncomfortable to hug when they feel threatened

[westopher]

Between social media, and the pandemic the way people interact is changed forever, and it’s only downhill from here unless there is some major culture shift. I don’t see it happening though, but I hope I’m wrong. Buy some meta stocks because that alternate reality is going to take off when people realize how badly it’s fucked them up that they will look to other avenues for social connection without the danger of the real world.

[68style]

You mean NFT's? :troll:

[acrophobia]

Between social media, and the pandemic the way people interact is changed forever, and it’s only downhill from here unless there is some major culture shift. I don’t see it happening though, but I hope I’m wrong. Buy some meta stocks because that alternate reality is going to take off when people realize how badly it’s fucked them up that they will look to other avenues for social connection without the danger of the real world.

I’m with you on this one! I run every day, often on multi use trails, and find it sad that the majority of people that I pass go out of their way to avoid making eye contact; the usual drill is for others to see me coming, move WAY over to the far side of the trail (sometimes right into the bushes), and stare straight ahead. As a result, I’ve started saying hello to every single person that I pass; re-teaching of basic social skills has commenced :)

[punkwax]

It could take many people as many years as they’ve been masked up for them to be comfortable unmasking. Everyone is built differently.

I’m looking forward to going into the next shop I need to go into unmasked, myself.

[hud 91gt]

I went into Mopac today without a mask. Felt really fricken weird. Would have worn it, but their passive aggressive signage over the last year “Masks required, again” makes me think it wouldn’t have benefited during my return process. Hahaha red necks lol.

[murd0c]

I went to a couple places at lunch today and all staff and people in the stores are wearing masks and I got a dirty look for not wearing one. I guess this is the world we live in now.

[whitev70r]

To be expected ... change is gradual ... we don't flip habits like a light switch. If you can't live with this ambiguity of some people wearing masks, some people not for the next 2 weeks or month ... , just stay the hell home.

[westopher]

Work today I’d say 75% of staff went no masks, about the same for customers. No judgement from any of the mask wearing staff about the staff that weren’t, not sure about the customers but no one was weird about it. That said we are in a room full of people who are guaranteed to be vaccinated, so the attitude could be a bit more comfortable due to that.

[inv4zn]

Was at Lowe's in the morning, and surprisingly most people were still masked. Anyone thinking they got dirty looks for either wearing or not wearing one is probably just self conscious...

This one woman at work (everybody hates her) barges in this morning yelling WAHOO NO MASKS. This cunt caught covid 3 damn times, and was single handedly responsible for spray-bombing the entire office back in 2020, when it was still a serious thing. We call her Typhoid Mary. Then she was reminded that the company is still requiring masks, and that she needs to go get hers or leave. She's been quiet the whole day.

[SumAznGuy]

Not sure if this has been posted yet

Fake news bamboozled, leaving the link here tho just in case anyone wanted to see my fk up

https://www.riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/modern-day-censorship/pfizer-covid-vaccine-has-1291-side-effects-reveals-official-documents/?__cf_chl_tk=Kfp4F1tkmT1uGYi2ICJSH3GFDS1LbXS.UzujJ 8y9esA-1646548476-0-gaNycGzNCKU

Just wanted to say thanks, glad you left this link here.
My anti-vax co-worker was trying to tell me that this was real and the vaccine was gene therapy. That they tried to keep it hush hush for 75 years so it must be true.

It's funny cause he was also the same guy who said Bob Saget's death was a few days after getting vaccinated and that the governor of California had a bad reaction to the vaccine booster and developed Bell's Palsy.

Some people just want to believe it sooooooo badly.

Guess vaccines also cause autism

[JDMDreams]

You guys are sheeps for letting the Nazi gov tell you to not wear masks :troll: I'm gonna wear masks cuz it's my right and FREEDOMZ to do what I want! :lawl: :troll::troll::troll: I'm gonna get that free third shot too just cuz the government can't force me not to and get faster 5g :troll::troll::troll::joy:

[320icar]

Costco is mental busy today. I’d say 30%+ aren’t wearing masks. Everyone peacefully comingleing. You can tell by the numbers that people were ready to take em off. And I appreciate how many still wore them masks even though their personal thoughts might have been to go maskless the last few months

[nismodrifter]

Went to Thriftys. 90 percent of people were masked

[lilaznviper]

went to the bank and everyone still had mask on, walked into pricesmart food and surprised everyone there still wearing their mask. i think its become a habit to just wear your mask everywhere you go.

[The Producer]

So nice to go to my local tonight and see the staff’s faces. There are actually people who’s faces I’ve never seen before.

Big smiles from everyone - even last year when the mandate was off the staff wore masks.

Man I hope this is it. I haven’t really felt like myself for a long time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mikemhg]

Feels good man.

It's a weird feeling though. We went to see Batman last night and I felt like I was getting away with a crime walking into there without a mask on :lol

[Hondaracer]

As much as people want to live in this communist China state, simply seeing people smile is such a big thing. Being in Mexico even talking to dumb Americans having a conversation face to face and seeing peoples faces is so nice.

[BlackV62K2]

Home Depot still required masks WutFace

[mikemhg]

Home Depot still required masks WutFace

That's actually pretty funny, considering how conservative/rightwing the folks that run the company are, major Republican donors. Would've thought they would be the first type of business to drop masking rules.

[underscore]

Some of y'all are so overdramatic.

https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/020/549/1081.gif

[nismodrifter]

Willowbrook Mall. Not a mask in sight. I expected this.

[MarkyMark]

Willowbrook Mall. Not a mask in sight. I expected this.

Why, cause white people? Lol

[JDMDreams]

^^you don't say :lawl: all those sheep's listening to bonnie Henry now:troll::troll:

[BlackV62K2]

That's actually pretty funny, considering how conservative/rightwing the folks that run the company are, major Republican donors. Would've thought they would be the first type of business to drop masking rules.

Yeah I was surprised of all places

[Mikoyan]

+90% of people I saw at Metrotown today were masked.

[whitev70r]

No one needs to report ... I haven't even been there but I assure you ... Richmond 90% masked.

[SkinnyPupp]

I mean rules or not, there's still a pandemic... Going to a crowded place without a mask is kind of foolish, as much as it sucks to wear one, and as nice as it is to see teeth again.

[westopher]

I wouldn't call it foolish. I'm triple vaxxed, I've had Covid. There's zero chance of me getting it at least at this point in time, and zero chance of me spreading it to anyone vulnerable as a result. That said, I went to grab beer today, and the sign at my favourite liquor store had a "thank you for masking" sign on the door, and staff that were all masked. It wasn't a difficult decision to pull my mask out of my pocket an put it on, if that's what they feel comfortable with. If the business doesn't care though, or the person who's house I'm at doesn't care, I sure as shit don't, for the reasons mentioned. In a couple months when the new variant is here, I'll throw my mask back on no problem. It doesn't need to be so hard, in either direction. It's so weird how people have turned it into their identity.

[inv4zn]

It's so weird how people have turned it into their identity.

I guess you can wear one of these now :troll:
https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-560w,f_auto,q_auto:best/newscms/2020_40/1615692/lana-del-rey-mask-today-inline.jpg

[MarkyMark]

I mean rules or not, there's still a pandemic... Going to a crowded place without a mask is kind of foolish, as much as it sucks to wear one, and as nice as it is to see teeth again.

Foolish? Come on man. The good majority have been more than helpful putting a mask on, getting their vaccines, doing everything possible to get this shit over with. Now that we're actually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel people want to go back to normal, and I totally get it.

Your previous posts have me confused. Where you live it's like living in the past. You guys were so cautious that you kept Covid at bay until it turned into a variant that can't be contained. You said yourself kids aren't developing a proper immune system because of it. Were getting over it and where you live shit is hitting the fan. What did you guys exactly accomplish?

[inv4zn]

Foolish? Come on man. The good majority have been more than helpful putting a mask on, getting their vaccines, doing everything possible to get this shit over with. Now that we're actually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel people want to go back to normal, and I totally get it.

Your previous posts have me confused. Where you live it's like living in the past. You guys were so cautious that you kept Covid at bay until it turned into a variant that can't be contained. You said yourself kids aren't developing a proper immune system because of it. Were getting over it and where you live shit is hitting the fan. What did you guys exactly accomplish?

He's in HK, where population density is far, far higher. The number of randos you run into during your day in close proximity is NOTHING like here. This is also (probably) why Korea is reporting like 250K cases a DAY.

I will agree with Skinny that throwing off your mask as if Covid is somehow magically over is indeed foolish - but we live in very different areas, and following the latest PHO info here in BC doesn't make you a fool.

[MarkyMark]

He's in HK, where population density is far, far higher. The number of randos you run into during your day in close proximity is NOTHING like here. This is also (probably) why Korea is reporting like 250K cases a DAY.

I will agree with Skinny that throwing off your mask as if Covid is somehow magically over is indeed foolish - but we live in very different areas, and following the latest PHO info here in BC doesn't make you a fool.

Yeah I'm well aware of where he lives, but this is primarily a Vancouver forum and he knows that. This isn't a 'fuck masks' movement it's a 'following public health orders movement'. We've done our part, and for the time being the science says no masks needed. Some people can't seem to handle that, so go ahead and wear your masks and leave the rest of us alone.

[inv4zn]

Yeah I'm well aware of where he lives, but this is primarily a Vancouver forum and he knows that. This isn't a 'fuck masks' movement it's a 'following public health orders movement'. We've done our part, and for the time being the science says no masks needed. Some people can't seem to handle that, so go ahead and wear your masks and leave the rest of us alone.

lol, that's a significant amount of offence you seem to have taken.

And to be fair, the PHO order is masks recommended + use of common sense. You probably still shouldn't pack yourself into a room full of people, vaxxed or not. But at least you can now.

[MarkyMark]

lol, that's a significant amount of offence you seem to have taken.

And to be fair, the PHO order is masks recommended + use of common sense. You probably still shouldn't pack yourself into a room full of people, vaxxed or not. But at least you can now.

I'm totally fine lol, I just find it funny that people have such an opinion on whether or not I have a mask on my face when I'm not required to. I don't have anything to say to people who still wear a mask, so why should I be any different? If we're both vaxxed and you have a mask on and I don't, what are either of us worried about?

[inv4zn]

I'm totally fine lol, I just find it funny that people have such an opinion on whether or not I have a mask on my face when I'm not required to. I don't have anything to say to people who still wear a mask, so why should I be any different? If we're both vaxxed and you have a mask on and I don't, what are either of us worried about?

The virus, I hope :troll:

[MarkyMark]

The virus, I hope :troll:

That's what you're wearing the mask for.

[The Producer]

hey - back to that weird racial undertones thing from 2020 RS c19 thread again

gross

[68style]

Brentwood and Richmond… if I wasn’t wearing a mask I would have been the only one haha… didn’t feel the need to put it on to walk to washrooms at restaurants and stuff…

It will come slowly I think… it will feel more real when the passport gets dropped after April 8

[SkinnyPupp]

I wouldn't call it foolish. I'm triple vaxxed, I've had Covid. There's zero chance of me getting it at least at this point in time, and zero chance of me spreading it to anyone vulnerable as a result. That said, I went to grab beer today, and the sign at my favourite liquor store had a "thank you for masking" sign on the door, and staff that were all masked. It wasn't a difficult decision to pull my mask out of my pocket an put it on, if that's what they feel comfortable with. If the business doesn't care though, or the person who's house I'm at doesn't care, I sure as shit don't, for the reasons mentioned. In a couple months when the new variant is here, I'll throw my mask back on no problem. It doesn't need to be so hard, in either direction. It's so weird how people have turned it into their identity.
It's foolish because every reasonable step that can prevent more deaths can be taken. Some steps are drastic, some are not. Wearing a mask in crowded indoor areas is not.

I'll take the fails from the usual suspects; it's still foolish. There's still a pandemic, people still die, and it will take longer to go away the more readily it spreads. The longer it sticks around, the more it has a chance to mutate into something weird. For instance now they're seeing people with a Delta/Omicron hybrid version of the virus (https://www.livescience.com/deltacron-variant-confirmed). We're not at the endemic "treat it like the flu" stage just yet.

And even then, I don't want the flu either.. It fucken sucks! LUL I actually have some weird cough right now and it's driving me crazy (it's not covid)

Edit: Maybe 'foolish' isn't the right word though.. maybe more like reckless, or irresponsible

[westopher]

You quoted me, but didn’t acknowledge the scenario I mentioned, where I’d literally be a medical anomaly to be studied in labs all over as the only person on the planet to get covid twice in a 2.5 month span while fully vaccinated. I have no problem with masks, but at this point in time, it’s not a step that can prevent illness or death in my circumstances. Like I said, in 3 months when variant 69420 hits I’ll have it back on.

[SkinnyPupp]

You quoted me, but didn’t acknowledge the scenario I mentioned, where I’d literally be a medical anomaly to be studied in labs all over as the only person on the planet to get covid twice in a 2.5 month span while fully vaccinated. I have no problem with masks, but at this point in time, it’s not a step that can prevent illness or death in my circumstances. Like I said, in 3 months when variant 69420 hits I’ll have it back on.
I was just talking about people at large, and why most people will still mask up despite no more mandates. Like I said, there's reasonable and unreasonable measures to take.. In your case, it would obviously be reasonable enough to assume you won't get covid again any time soon. This is why I didn't address it, there's no need to... I don't think most people are in that specific scenario though. Most people are susceptible to it, especially if their last vaccine was quite a while ago.

[westopher]

You’d be surprised. I’d say at my work, around 50% of people fit that category. The last wave absolutely ripped through the population here. Definitely it should be built around risk level. That said, the risk level was determined by dr bonbon that we are fine to do it. We should expect people to follow the guidance at the best of times or we can’t really be mad at the people not following it at the worst of times. Not that I’m saying it’s unreasonable for someone to not rip their mask off, but saying that if they say “no that guidance isn’t accurate” you can’t really say “dr bonbons guidance must be followed” 6 weeks later when you like it more.

[sdubfid]

If you have a boat with 8 billion holes in the bottom then plugging 30million of them won’t make any difference. The only reason I wear a mask is out of respect to someone’s private property, the same way I’d take my shoes off if I visited someone’s house. I have yet to be charged with manslaughter for not wearing a mask. Until they find a way to give a booster to 8 billion people at the exact same time the cycle will continue.

[whitev70r]

Goes back to Asian culture and mindset. Before anyone even heard of Covid, Asians wore masks during flu season voluntarily

[BlackV62K2]

https://i.redd.it/qyv7f391t5n81.jpg

[Mr.Money]

....so its not me feeling dirty breathing unfiltered air.

[SkinnyPupp]

Shenzhen, a city of 17 million people, had 66 positives so went into full lockdown last night, including public transportation. They'll test all 17 million people 3 times over the next few days and put all positives into isolation. Will be interesting to see if that cuts it off.

This fucks me over because that's where most of our food and supplies come through.. When the border was closed for a day, it coincided with a panic buy over lockdown rumors, and there was almost no fresh or frozen food for days, only canned stuff.

[6793026]

i doubt it's only 66 positive but meh... people are encourage not to leave shanghai.. good luck with that too ahhah

[Traum]

I am going to assume that Chinese officials are not stupid -- they know their own vaccines offer very limited protection against COVID -- be it infection, severe cases, or deaths, so if they can't stop the virus dead in its tracks before it gets any bigger, the whole country would be thoroughly fxxked.

Also, politically, Baus Xi has made it clear from the get-go that they are adhering to their COVID Zero strategy. To abolish it would mean a political failiure on Emperor Xi's part, and he would lose face to the 1.4B peasants in his country.

So either way you slice it, they gotta try clamping down hard on it. But with Omicron, and with the number of cases that has already been established in China, I'm afraid the genie is already out of the bottle.

Shenzhen, a city of 17 million people, had 66 positives so went into full lockdown last night, including public transportation. They'll test all 17 million people 3 times over the next few days and put all positives into isolation. Will be interesting to see if that cuts it off.

This fucks me over because that's where most of our food and supplies come through.. When the border was closed for a day, it coincided with a panic buy over lockdown rumors, and there was almost no fresh or frozen food for days, only canned stuff.

[SkinnyPupp]

Most old people here use Sinovac, and only 10% of deaths are vaccinated. So Sinovac is fine.

[Traum]

https://www.hkupasteur.hku.hk/post/malik-peiris-published-a-study-comparing-antibody-level-in-biontech-and-sinovac-vaccine-recipients

Malik Peiris Published a Study Comparing Antibody Level in BioNTech and Sinovac Vaccine Recipients

Published in the Lancet Microbe with Prof Ben Cowling and Prof Gabriel Leung, the study has found that recipients of the BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine have 10 times more antibodies than those who took Sinovac.
It isn't just COVID-induced death that is problematic. Infection and severe cases would also bring a collaspe of the hospital system, and that in turn will lead to additional non-COVID-related deaths.

And then there is the impact to the economy. Certainly you've seen the impact of Welcome and Park'n Shop -- the 2 biggest HK supermarket chains, for those who don't know -- needing to close at 3pm because they don't have enough staff? And the goods delivery problem because warehouse staff are sick as well? And that the slaughter houses in Hong Kong all closing down because the butchers got sick? If Omicron hits China as hard as it is hitting Hong Kong, the results would be disastrous (for the CCP).

[Razor Ramon HG]

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022HLTH0086-000358

Rapid tests available for people 40+ at pharmacies

[mikemhg]

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022HLTH0086-000358

Rapid tests available for people 40+ at pharmacies

But can't use them for travel purposes? :lol

[westopher]

They just removed the border testing.

[CivicBlues]

They just removed the border testing.

*Will announce tomorrow ending March 31st

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/federal-government-to-drop-pre-departure-testing-1.6386763

[StylinRed]

I need to get my passport renewed, didn't realise they made it such a pain to renew due to covid -_-

[CivicBlues]

Why is it such a hassle now?

[stewie]

I need to get my passport renewed, didn't realise they made it such a pain to renew due to covid -_-

I actually found it easier! Mine had been expired for close to a year until I found out that there was a grace period. Had an apt booked a week after I called in and had the new passport in the mail within 34 weeks.

[punkwax]

34 weeks? I have to renew my kids’… hoping you’re missing a hyphen lol

[GLOW]

so road trips across the border will be hassle free now in terms of testing, or is that airports only? it wasn't clear to me in the article

[StylinRed]

Why is it such a hassle now?

I actually found it easier! Mine had been expired for close to a year until I found out that there was a grace period. Had an apt booked a week after I called in and had the new passport in the mail within 34 weeks.

I read the website saying appointments will only be reserved for ppl leaving within 25 business days and only if they had a credible reason having a ticket booked/vacation wasn't considered a legit reason

Otherwise you'll have to mail it in or bring it into service Canada who will do the same, and then they'll get to it when they get to it

Friend said it took him two months, but that was last year

I just wanted to drive over to get my packages didn't realise my pp expired :okay:

[stewie]

34 weeks? I have to renew my kids’… hoping you’re missing a hyphen lol

�� missed that hyphen! ��


I read the website saying appointments will only be reserved for ppl leaving within 25 business days and only if they had a credible reason having a ticket booked/vacation wasn't considered a legit reason

Otherwise you'll have to mail it in or bring it into service Canada who will do the same, and then they'll get to it when they get to it

Friend said it took him two months, but that was last year

I just wanted to drive over to get my packages didn't realise my pp expired :okay:


Not sure if it's changed then. Mine was done online I believe. They do a questionnaire and it'll say yes you qualify for renewal or not. This was renewed in Dec. and it had expired the year before in October.