Summary
Written By Dr Malik
To See This Blog Post Click Here
As you may have noticed, Covid-19 cases in the province of Ontario and around the world are increasing once again. Daily counts have been increasing progressively since mid-August. Similarly, this phenomenon occurred during the 1918 pandemic, with the second wave starting about 4 months after the peak of the first wave.
There were a total of three waves during the 1918 pandemic. (Side note, I would recommend reading The Great Influenza, By John Barry if you are interested in learning more about the Spanish Flu). Given the recent increase in numbers, the question arises: are we facing a second wave?
There is no formal definition of what constitutes a wave, but you can think of infections going up and crashing down like waves of the sea. Rather than a linear progression, infections tend to spike up, then crash down, and repeat.
To get a glimpse of what could be in store for Ontario, it may be worthwhile reviewing what occurred in the Australian state of Victoria, which has a similar population to Ontario. Victoria recently experienced its second wave, with case counts reaching near five times the high of the first wave.
There is considerable lag time between becoming infected to developing symptoms. According to John Hopkins School Of Medicine, it can take up to two weeks for a person to become sick enough to get tested and their case counted. It can take additional time for more people to become infected, which can cause a delay in actual counts that reflect the total number of infections in a population. This can explain why the benefits of public policy measures may not be seen in case counts until weeks after they are implemented.
In conclusion, the current situation emphasises the need for continued adherence to safety protocols, such as handwashing, disinfecting, face covering and social distancing. With cooler months ahead of us, and flu season fast approaching, we must remain vigilant to help protect our population, especially those most at risk.
Thank you for listening to our podcast. To learn about our podcasts visit http://www.muscleandjoint.ca
Thank you for listening to our podcast and we wish you the best of health!
—
This episode is sponsored by
· Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
—
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/muscleandjoint/message