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I can agree with a widening of vaccines that don't require specialized handling, once they are received in sufficient quantity to support widespread distribution, but still support they prioritization of healthcare workers, vulnerable sectors, etc.
 
Then there are the people who are on the waiting list to get INTO long-term care. They are lucky and unlucky. Lucky in that they wouldn't get COVID-19 because they are not in long-term care. Unlucky, because they are more vulnerable to getting COVID-19 from asymptomatic people.

COVID-19 increases long-term care wait-list by 10% in Nova Scotia​


From link.

As admissions at long-term care facilities has slowed during pandemic, wait-list has risen.
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Infection control measures put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 have increased the backlog of Nova Scotians waiting for long-term care beds.

At Northwood, the Halifax long-term care home with the largest and only ongoing outbreak of COVID-19, no new residents have been admitted since March 31. The province prohibits new admissions to any facility with an ongoing outbreak, but some facilities currently untouched by COVID-19 have opted to put new admissions on hold as an added precaution.

Many facilities have also reduced their capacity to make space for COVID-19 isolation units, or to separate residents who had been living in shared rooms.

Before the global coronavirus pandemic reached Nova Scotia in March, there were about 1,300 people waiting for long-term care in the province. But because new admissions have slowed in the past two months, Health Minister Randy Delorey said the wait-list has grown by 10 to 12 per cent, but changes day by day.

Delorey's department announced Friday that in response to the growing wait-list, it was crafting a deal with Shannex to convert part of Caritas, a private assisted living home in Bedford, N.S., into nursing home beds.
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The deal will add 23 beds to the province's capacity starting in early June. A spokesperson for the province said the price tag for the project is still being finalized.

When asked if the province was looking at other ways to address the backlog in long-term care created by COVID-19, Delorey pointed to a slew of long-term care projects that were announced in 2019 and 2020, prior to the pandemic.

He then added that more work is ongoing and said the 23 new beds in Bedford were just one example of the changes being made to improve long-term care.
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A call for more home-care support​


Janice Keefe, a professor at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax and director of the Nova Scotia Centre on Aging, said it was no surprise the wait-list had grown as a result of COVID-19. She said the most obvious response would be to increase home-care support for people who may now be waiting longer for a bed in long-term care.

She said she understands why many facilities are placing an "iron ring" around their walls by blocking family, volunteers and new residents to protect the vulnerable population. But it has the unfortunate consequence of decreasing the capacity of a system that's already in high demand.

"If the individuals who need care and are eligible for a long-term care facility, if they're not able to be cared for at home … it may result in having to be admitted to a hospital," said Keefe.

She said the overall takeaway from COVID-19 in long-term care is the need for more resources.

No decisions yet on shared rooms​


Delorey said capacity at long-term care facilities has dropped about six per cent, on average, as facilities have made space for COVID-19 isolation units and moved people out of shared rooms.

At Northwood, where 52 of the province's 59 COVID-19 deaths have occurred, the facility has reduced its capacity by about 18 per cent. As of Friday, 85 out of 485 beds were vacant.

Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, and Northwood administrators have identified shared rooms as a problem when it comes to infection control, and one of the reasons why Northwood has struggled to contain the virus.

In the past month, Northwood has eliminated shared rooms wherever possible, with the exception of couples and roommates who want to stay together. CEO Janet Simm said the facility will try to maintain single rooms going forward, but a permanent change to its occupancy would have to be done in concert with the province, which licenses and funds the non-profit organization.

Delorey said "no decisions have been made at this point" about any changes to shared rooms, at Northwood or any other facility.
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A CBC list of wandering elected officials (and apparently there are a few staffers as well). Likely only accurate to the time of publication:


Here's a change I can get behind:

montreal.ctvnews.ca

Government could change rules after outcry over aid for quarantining vacationers

A federal cabinet minister hinted that changes could be coming to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit after an outcry over aid money being given to vacationers who left Canada despite public health recommendations.
montreal.ctvnews.ca

I could also get behind withholding/clawing back COVID benefits from folks convicted of violating orders, or even from those had non-essential inter-provincial travel, but I'm not sure how it could be enforced.
 
lenaitch said:
A CBC list of wandering elected officials (and apparently there are a few staffers as well). Likely only accurate to the time of publication:


Here's a change I can get behind:

montreal.ctvnews.ca

Government could change rules after outcry over aid for quarantining vacationers

A federal cabinet minister hinted that changes could be coming to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit after an outcry over aid money being given to vacationers who left Canada despite public health recommendations.
montreal.ctvnews.ca

I could also get behind withholding/clawing back COVID benefits from folks convicted of violating orders, or even from those had non-essential inter-provincial travel, but I'm not sure how it could be enforced.
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Agreed; though unfortunately, that wouldn't really affect a cabinet minister on the public purse.
 
America sets another grim record.

www.nbcnews.com

December was deadliest, most infectious month of the Covid-19 pandemic

The U.S. also surpassed 20 million cases amid the emergence of a new virus variant and a slower than expected vaccine rollout.
www.nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com

www.ctvnews.ca

California funeral homes run out of space as COVID-19 rages

As communities across the country feel the pain of a surge in coronavirus cases, funeral homes in the hot spot of Southern California say they must turn away grieving families as they run out of space for the bodies piling up.
www.ctvnews.ca www.ctvnews.ca
 
PinkLucy said:
And once they leave, we have to let them back in
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Or quarantine facilities...

See link.

New Zealand to start charging some travellers for coronavirus quarantine​

This article is more than 5 months old
Costs set at NZ$3,100 for the first adult, $950 for each additional adult and $475 for each child
Some travellers returning to New Zealand will have to pay the costs of their quarantine, after the government partially backed down from a controversial plan to bill all arrivals for their two-week isolation stay.

The costs will apply only those who chose to leave the country after the charges are imposed and then return, or those staying in New Zealand for fewer than 90 days, the government said on Wednesday.

Temporary visa holders will also be charged, but New Zealanders returning home permanently will avoid any costs.
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There's the rub. We have a mandatory quarantine, but it's hit and miss as to whether people comply. The only way to ensure compliance is a quarantine facility, and I agree that people should have to pay for it themselves. But is Canada ready to start locking up its citizens returning from travel?????
 
PinkLucy said:
There's the rub. We have a mandatory quarantine, but it's hit and miss as to whether people comply. The only way to ensure compliance is a quarantine facility, and I agree that people should have to pay for it themselves. But is Canada ready to start locking up its citizens returning from travel?????
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Quarantine should be on the airport premises, takeover an airport hotel and force them to live there, maybe at their expense. Remember back in early 2020, many those flying home were sent to CFB Trenton for a forced two week stay. If you’re flying internationally now, you’re either a self-important ass or somehow think you’re an exception. Time to knock you down a notch with a two week stay in the airport Holiday Inn.
 
PinkLucy said:
There's the rub. We have a mandatory quarantine, but it's hit and miss as to whether people comply. The only way to ensure compliance is a quarantine facility, and I agree that people should have to pay for it themselves. But is Canada ready to start locking up its citizens returning from travel?????
Click to expand...

What they should be doing is using the infield terminal for countries with high covid cases. This would isolate them from the main terminal and from there they can send people to quarantine.
 
I think that for non essential travel, you should have to pay for it. Compassionate travel no. If your job requires you to travel, they can pay.
 
PinkLucy said:
I think that for non essential travel, you should have to pay for it. Compassionate travel no. If your job requires you to travel, they can pay.
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I completely agree. As the saying goes, if you are stupid enough to travel I am smart enough to make you pay for the quarantine.
 
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