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Coping with COVID-19

We apparently can't do today what we should because of "Charter Rights" but if the strange mixture of half measures aren't any more successful in three weeks in doing what the half measures have been unsuccessful at to date he will "have to" consider the lock-down that should have started today. Are there plans to repeal the Charter in the next three weeks that I'm unaware of that allow something in three weeks that aren't allowed today? The announced half measures stretch out past the middle of January whereas the lock-down that's really needed could start to be lifted in three weeks. Making province wide health decisions - or more accurately not making them - because of some strange set of apocryphal stories in food courts from immigrants from "socialist Venezuela" and from rural Alberta isn't appropriate public health policy, it's rationalization for government by misguided dogma.

And for anyone that thinks that because no one is happy this is a reasonable consensus, this isn't a bowl of porridge, it's a pandemic. And instead of a full measure that could be over in 2 - 3 weeks with more stringent measures, we will have another whole series of half measures spread out between now and the middle of January that won't be any more effective than the half measures that brought us to this point. Charter rights of jurisprudence? Bull Sh!t. No one has a charter right to yell fire in a crowded theatre and no one has a right to jeapardize the lives of their fellow citizens by engaging in behaviour that does exactly that. Citizens in every other province have the same "charter rights" as citizens in Alberta. "Even the WHO isn't recommending lock-downs as the first avenue" according to Kenney. Except that it isn't the first avenue for Alberta is it? We have had a whole series of avenues that have not been effective and have brought us to where we are - why would anyone think that more of the same will be any more productive. Why wait the three weeks or more at which time Kenney said he is going to consider a full lock-down if things don't get better. Does he somehow think those charter rights he's so protective of will somehow be different in three weeks? If they won't matter in three weeks they shouldn't be an excuse not to do what should be done now.
 
Well I just know for my family, I'm not going to chance things. As part of the announcement one of my daughters will continue in school learning for the remainder of the week and then start online on monday. To me that makes no sense. It would be like if after Pearl Harbour the U.S. government said we will wait a few days before going to red alert.
 
I have been lucky to have been coping with COVID 19 just fine. Coping with this provincial government, however, is an entirely different story. What a clown show.
 
Alberta - Now
-Masks - all indoor places
-No outdoor gatherings

Dec 13 for 4 weeks

-15% for retail/malls
-Places of worship 15%
-Rest/bar/takeout - pickup only
-entertainment/casino/museums - closed
-indoor rec closed
-personal and wellness - closed
-hotels open, but anything within closed
-all AB employees now MUST/Legally work from home
 
More support for Edmontonians in the fight against COVID-19​

February 19, 2021

The City of Edmonton has approved a funding agreement for community groups across the city to provide multilingual, targeted support to people at high risk of COVID-19 transmission.

Approximately $1.5 million will be distributed to community groups throughout Edmonton. The City received the funding from the Government of Alberta to create a COVID Care Team to implement outreach activities in collaboration with local community partners.

“We’re happy to partner with community groups to help flatten the COVID-19 curve. By providing dignified, culturally safe, timely and relevant support and information to people from disproportionately impacted communities, we aim to improve their wellbeing,” said City Manager Andre Corbould. “This on-the-ground approach will help ensure the right supports and information are provided in the right way to those who need it most.”

Communities most at risk of community spread of COVID-19 include areas where there are:
  • Households with members who are front-line workers.
  • People who encounter language barriers.
  • High density and multi-generational households.

The funding will be used by community groups, working in collaboration with each other, for a resource hub that includes:
  • Creating response-based teams of agencies who coordinate the delivery of emergency services:
  • Food coordination
  • In-kind financial assistance and non-food emergency needs
  • Mental health support
  • Providing timely information and recommendations on system gaps to all levels of government regarding proper supports for people impacted by COVID-19.
  • Establishing a shareable but simple database that captures levels of needs and allows real time data analysis and sharing.

Community groups that will receive the funding are:
  • Action for Healthy Communities Society of Alberta (AHC)
  • Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers (EMCN)
  • Council for the Advancement of African Canadians in Alberta - Africa Centre
  • Edmonton Immigrant Services Association (EISA)
  • Multicultural Health Brokers Co-operative (MCHB)
  • John Humphrey Centre for Peace and Human Rights (JHC)
  • Coalition for Justice and Human Rights
  • Creating Hope Society
  • Islamic Family Support Services Association
  • Francophonie Albertaine Plurielle (FRAP)
  • Catholic Social Services (CSS)
  • ASSIST
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For more information:
Please check alberta.ca/COVID-19 for the most up-to-date information on province-wide COVID-19 guidelines.

Updated information on City programs and services will continue to be available onedmonton.ca/COVID-19.

Media contact:
Geoffrey Driscoll
Manager, Crisis and Issues Communications
Communications and Engagement
780-293-2971

After Hours Media Line
780-423-5956​
 
Sooo... my wife and I can go to one or two weddings a week - it's that time of the year after all - with 8 others and one or two funerals a week - it's that time of our lives after all - with 18 others and we could therefor spend a couple of hours with up to 52 other people in total, not all who will have been vaccinated.

We could then go to one or two church services and spend time with another 178 people at each of them (assuming 15% of a 1,200 person fire capacity is being maintained) not all of who will have been vaccinated either. so we could easily spend time with up to 408 people a week but we can't visit our two grandchildren or have them visit us even though we have been vaccinated and so have their parents?

AND we're going to welcome international visitors as soon as the federal government allows it because we know how to restrict all of our cases to the home-grown made in Alberta kind. For 17 months I've said we didn't do enough quickly enough and didn't keep things in place long enough but now that we're on the downside what's being relaxed (based on first doses only with the longest gap between first and second doses than almost anywhere else in the world!) and what's continuing to be restricted makes no more sense than the last 17 months.

But we can cross our fingers and plan to attend the Calgary Stampede. Yahoo! 🙁
 
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Is there any reason they won't allow indoor gathering cohorts? Even of 4-5 people?

At the end of the day, those who really want to do indoor gatherings have been doing them for the past six months. At least give the folks who have been trying their best to stay within all the rules and regs a bit of a break.

Even working with the June 28th date (seems highly improbable) for allowing no restrictions on indoor gatherings, that marks close to seven consecutive months where it is illegal to have a friend come visit you at your house. Anyone else seeing the problem here?
 
Is there any reason they won't allow indoor gathering cohorts? Even of 4-5 people?

At the end of the day, those who really want to do indoor gatherings have been doing them for the past six months. At least give the folks who have been trying their best to stay within all the rules and regs a bit of a break.

Even working with the June 28th date (seems highly improbable) for allowing no restrictions on indoor gatherings, that marks close to seven consecutive months where it is illegal to have a friend come visit you at your house. Anyone else seeing the problem here?

Answering your last question: no!

If the people who kept doing indoor gatherings hadn't, we'd probably be already on our way to lifting all restrictions for a while, now.

If people had stayed home during Thanksgiving and Christmas, the story could've been different.

I'm not even going to dive into the politics of it, but from a health standpoint, the way we handled it was a flagrant fiasco. And from an economic point of view, it was useless... Having 2/3 months of REALLY strict Lockdown BEFORE things got dire would've been better in all accounts.

So again, no, I don't see anything wrong there. As much as I miss my family and friends (who, by the way, are in a country handling this even worse than Canada did and won't be able to visit for at least another year). I would've loved to make new friends in the past year or so, since I was a broke newcomer to Canada when the pandemic hit, and barely knew anyone. But in the end, it is one or two years of relative isolation to save as many lives from this virus as possible.

This is a once in a century event that unfortunately came to happen in our time. Quoting my favourite author:

"Frodo: I wish none of this had happened.

Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
 
While we rely on vaccines as a first line of defence, it’s important to remember that we’re fighting a moving target whose counter offensive is variants. Vaccines work because they’re good at what they do. Variants emerge because they’re good at what they do. Just because you don’t need to wear a mask and socially distanced doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.
While we rely on vaccines as a first line of defence, it’s important to remember that we’re fighting a moving target whose counter offensive is variants. Vaccines work because they’re good at what they do. Variants emerge because they’re good at what they do. Just because you don’t need to wear a mask and socially distanced doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1624798940
 
Well folks, what do we figure the odds are we enter into another lockdown come fall?
 
we all know what the odds are... :(

probably even kenney and the ucp - that's why the silly referendum topics are federal equilization payments (where the province has no say whatsoever since kenney wrote the current formula) and daylight savings time (who really cares in the grand scheme of things - do it or don't do it - it's pretty consequential either way). because if they really wanted a consequential referendum on the table for us to judge and vote on, it would be recall legislation.
 
I really don't want to go into another lockdown guys - I get why it might happen and that case numbers are rising but a) People who are fully vaccinated and still, by a very slim chance, get Covid have no or little symptoms, so why do those cases even matter in the grand scheme of things? and b) If anything, I fully support restricting access to things like travel and large events for people who are unvaccinated and having something like a vaccine passport.

This pandemic is now truly among those who are unvaccinated and, almost 100% of the time, they'll regret their delay after they or their family end up in the hospital and/or die. Why should people who did the responsible thing be punished for the inaction of others?
 
I really don't want to go into another lockdown guys - I get why it might happen and that case numbers are rising but a) People who are fully vaccinated and still, by a very slim chance, get Covid have no or little symptoms, so why do those cases even matter in the grand scheme of things? and b) If anything, I fully support restricting access to things like travel and large events for people who are unvaccinated and having something like a vaccine passport.

This pandemic is now truly among those who are unvaccinated and, almost 100% of the time, they'll regret their delay after they or their family end up in the hospital and/or die. Why should people who did the responsible thing be punished for the inaction of others?
Against my better judgement (regarding posting) I feel like you deserve a decent answer:

There's quite a few people who can't get vaccinated, for several reasons: immunocompromised, children under 12, people with certain diseases with treatments that might interact badly with the vaccine (mostly an excess of caution, but pending studies) and some religious groups (as much as you and me might find it silly).
We need to care for those people, cut off the transmission and push the vaccine to those who can, but haven't taken it yet, so we can get actual herd immunity and protect those who will never be able to take it, giving them, at the very least, the time for an effective treatment to be developed.
I hate the idea of another lockdown and I don't even believe that extremely strict rules will need to be put in place, but rather measures like limited occupancy in businesses, a temporary ban in large events and gatherings (especially indoors), etc...
 

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