Thought of the Day - February 13 2022 - By the Numbers

The world figures for COVID-19 cases are down 20% this past week and deaths are also now going down as the Omicron wave comes to fruition. Europe remains the outlier and will soon again overtake North America in new deaths per million.

China has by far delivered the most vaccine doses. UAE seems to be leading the world on a vaccine-dose per population basis. Portugal is now number two, moving ahead of Cuba. Canada is the eighth-most "vaccinated" place on the planet according to InformationIsBeautiful.

Canada's hospitalizations continue to decline:

Canada's deaths continue to decline:

And finally, Canada's restrictions (Stringency Index) is now declining:

Thanks to policy changes across the provinces, notably Saskachwen leading the way, Alberta following suit and Quebec in reversing some of the most stringent policies in the country, Canada has moved from fifth highest last week to tenth in the world today. While we have a long way to go, at least we are now moving in the right direction.

This week's shout-out jointly goes to Saskatchewan for being brave enough to make the first announcement in lifting pandemic restrictions including vaccine passports, and to Quebec. While Quebec had some of the highest restriction levels in the world, in a proactive response to the trucker-led social uprising they have now dropped talks of the crazy "unvaxxed fines". They have abolished limits on private gatherings, increases occupancy in restaurants, and are now reopening gyms, indoor sports and recreational activities. Moreover, there is an ongoing plan to continue to reduce restrictions over the coming month. In a priceless quote of the week, Quebec City’s police chief said he is “unable to comment why it went one way in Ottawa and how it happened here.”

We still have a long way to go, things are finally moving in the right direction in ending our "pandemic thinking".

Cheers

Cliff