For the first time ever, Ontario is reporting 700 new cases of COVID-19. A new single day record!
If you're curious where in the province these new cases are being reported, here's the elite eight areas:
- Toronto: 344
- Peel Region: 104
- Ottawa: 89
- York Region: 56
- Niagara Region: 20
- Halton Region: 15
- Hamilton: 13
- Simcoe Muskoka: 12
We're also being told that about 60% are people under the age of 40. I wish they'd tell us a whole lot more. I'd like to know where this virus is spreading... Is it at people's workplaces? Is it at indoor parties? Is it at bars, strip clubs and discotheques?
This isn't the trend that we were hoping for, but if this is as bad as the pandemic is going to get, I think we're getting off easy. As pandemics go, this one could be a whole lot scarier. As I type, Ontario is only reporting 128 people in the hospital with confirmed cases of COVID-19. 128 isn't something to laugh at, and I'm not trying to minimize the value of these 128 lives, but in a province of 14.57 million, that's a miniscule 0.0008785175017158545%.
What fascinates me 7+ months into this "new normal" is the variants of people's comfort level. Personally, I'm very comfortable doing things outdoors. I have guests over for my podcasts, I host smaller events, eat at restaurants and chat up neighbours and buds, but I do it all outside. And when I'm outside and socially distanced, I don't wear a mask, except for when I'm dropping off and picking up the kids at school. I'm not worried about the transmission of COVID-19 outdoors.
But, there's very little I'll do indoors. Sure, I grocery shop, pick up items at the drugstore, and even went to the dentist, but I'm highly selective, and always wearing a mask unless I'm sitting in the dentist chair. I won't eat inside a restaurant or bar, I won't entertain people outside my pod in my home, I won't visit people outside my pod in their homes, and you won't find me in a place of worship. That last one has nothing to do with the pandemic, btw.
At this point, my riskiest behaviour is having four kids in four different schools. Otherwise, we're just doing our best to avoid this virus in the hopes we can outlast it. I've chosen to live in Stage 2, but I'm not sure we need to roll everyone back to Stage 2. I'm not sure a virus that has hospitalized 0.0008785175017158545% of this province warrants it.
What's your current COVID-19 comfort level? Are you still in lockdown, have you pretty much returned to your 2019 lifestyle, or are you like most of us, plowing through the day to day, seeking that balance somewhere in the middle?
