Re-opening…we aren’t the only country!

[Pantene23]

So I’ve seen lots of doom and gloom recently about reopening and all the people we are about to kill off. Also that we are the only country dropping all restrictions.

I’ve just spoken to my friend in Canada. As a whole they were extremely impressed with the UK vaccination rollout but although they started later, Canada has now double jabbed over 50% of adults and children over 12, over 80% with one vaccine. They are now open as usual to people who live there. There doesn’t appear to be the same media coverage with such negative connotations there. Why?

Are we addicted to the drama? Is it all scaremongering?

I double checked all figures so it’s not just “my friend said”.

What do you all think?

Polulation density.
Delta?

Unlike us, Canada has pandemic borders. As in largely shut or restricted. They're still closed even to their neighbours in America.

Just did a quick Google of each countries daily covid cases. Have attached a screenshot of the UK. For comparison Canada New positive covid test number is 232 cases.

Yes, this reopening certainly does deserve a different narrative.

Compare and contrast our current case numbers and trajectory with Canada's.

My guess has always been public transport.

Actually I think they have just reopened to America. Only in the last couple of days.

There was high mask compliance (it was mandatory indoors) and in some provinces schools were closed at times.

We can't expect to be in the same position as other countries, when we didn't do what they did to get there.

We aren’t the only country reopening but we are pretty much THE country with most cases right now relative to population.

Beggars belief that the government would think now is the best time to get rid of all restrictions, at the point where cases are almost higher that they have been at any point in the pandemic!!!!

The Netherlands reopened a couple of weeks ago and swiftly had to reverse as cases grew exponentially.

Are you actually joking??? You cannot compare Canada's approach to ours. We have had fuck up after fuck up. What a daft post.

You need to look at the data in conjunction with the number of tests per population. Of course the less you test the lower the number of cases

Everything in context- the less you test the fewer the positive cases

I would be absolutely in favour of reopening if the Uk had low cases - Canada has low cases.

What the UK is doing is insane

Everything in context- the less you test the fewer the positive cases

Hmm, but also the lower the spread of the virus, the fewer people who need to test so this all gets a bit chicken and egg.

The UK decision is fucking nuts.

@roses2

Everything in context- the less you test the fewer the positive cases

Just for context, what's the % positivity rate for tests in Canada?

I’m in Ontario. Yes, we’re “reopening”, but masks are remaining mandatory, we still have daily screening for daycares/camps/workplaces, and there are still capacity restrictions on non-essential businesses. The government has also struck a much more cautious tone, e.g., saying they’ll continue to monitor daily cases and hospitalizations and test positivity rates, and not claiming that this is the definite end of all lockdowns. I think there’s a pretty big difference.

We’re all watching the UK in horror (and some newspapers are suggesting we should impose flight bans to the UK like those we have for India…)

In Ontario, 0.9%

Canada has very low case numbers at the moment - around 73 per million over the past 7 days compared to 4671 per million in the UK. The two are hardly comparable.

If case rates were that low in the UK, I'm sure most people would support the reopening. With cases sky high as they are, it's a very different scenario. The government are being reckless and they know it.

Arr yes Canada unlike all the other countries will avoid delta because they have shut boarders (not as much as Australia of course but they they avoided delta…oh erm wait!).

People on here like to think this is a U.K. epidemic it’s comforting I think. Silly is if we could just be like x country everything would be fine! Last summer it was Germany only that hasn’t worked out so this summer we should have been Canada. I do believe there were posts were we should have been more like India (which incidentally also talked of shut boarders oh abs mask they supressed it with masks into oh they didn’t!))

Facts
It’s global
Most developed country are trying to vaccinate there way out if it

We are only unique in that thankfully are nice scientists at Oxford have a vaccine that is actually affordable to the rest of the world. But it doesn’t fit with the narrative so yes we are crap compared to x country (will keep it at x country then you can just exchange based on the facts at the time April x was India July it’s Canada await with interest next month’s country!!)

What annoys me is the US treating us like a pariah, putting us on their “do not fly” list and continuing to lock us out when in fact their deaths per million are higher than ours (and their case rate, they’ve just stopped testing) and Delta makes up 80% of their cases.

Although a couple of areas have reinstated a mask mandate (LA) by and large they opened up earlier and bigger than us. I don’t normally defend the U.K. because our floppy haired leader is indeed an idiot but the hypocrisy of the US position irks me.

Yes Canada could go either way. It is rising fast

Canada will open to the US 9th August and then to vaccinated in September.

It is everywhere - France has increased 150% in a week. Spain hit 60,000 cases today and has a 65% increase in hospitalisations.

NEtherlands seems to have plateaued like us but who knows if it will hold

@UpToMyElbowsInDiapers

In Ontario, 0.9%

Our world in data has the whole of Canada as 0.6%, not sure how accurate that is, but it seems to fit.

England's positivity rate, updated on their dashboard today is 10.7%.

One of these countries is not doing enough testing. And it doesn't seem to be the one doing the most tests.

Good point - % of positive tests is low for Canada

@IndigoC

What annoys me is the US treating us like a pariah, putting us on their “do not fly” list and continuing to lock us out when in fact their deaths per million are higher than ours (and their case rate, they’ve just stopped testing) and Delta makes up 80% of their cases.

Although a couple of areas have reinstated a mask mandate (LA) by and large they opened up earlier and bigger than us. I don’t normally defend the U.K. because our floppy haired leader is indeed an idiot but the hypocrisy of the US position irks me.

We have a 7-day case rate in my US state of 26/100k. Our test positivity rate is below 0.5% - it's nothing to do with us not testing people.

That's with Delta well and truly in place.

If the rate does go up then, unlike the UK, we'll reimpose mitigations. We haven't yet got rid of the requirements for masking indoors at schools and camps.

The CDC and State Dept don't make their decisions about discouraging travel just because they feel like it. It's because the UK right now is a pariah when it comes to Covid - infections through the roof and letting it all rip.

England's positivity rate, updated on their dashboard today is 10.7%.

Jeez that's appallingly high especially considering how many tests they're doing.

Case figured aren’t the be all and end all.

The Delta variant has manifested as a common cold type illness in all of the people I know who tested positive recently. Whether that be the vaxxed or unvaxxed.

When we’ve been told the entire pandemic of the few very specific symptoms of Covid, it may not even occur to people to get tested if they have say, a sniffle and a bit of a flemmy cough.