Just in time for the holidays, three highly contagious viruses have joined forces to create new health hazards. As a result, many nursing facilities are grappling with whether to impose mask mandates.
As if it wasn’t bad enough that providers have been dealing with COVID-19 for nearly three years, we appear to be on the cusp of a banner flu season. And for good measure, respiratory syncytial virus (better known as RSV) has joined the fray.
And as the carnage escalates, health experts are renewing recommendations to wear medical masks in public and on the job.
From their perspective, the rationale is clear: Masks are one of the most effective tools for preventing virus spread. They can literally mean the difference between life and death for those with compromised health conditions, such as most nursing home residents.
Yet to say the long-term care field has been less than enthusiastic about universal mask requirements would be an extreme understatement. There are probably several reasons for such recalcitrance.
Staff burnout is a good place to start. COVID-19 forced operators to adapt unprecedented infection control protocols. They included masks and other protective gear that have been anything but convenient to wear. Let’s face it, who wants to breathe through a filter all day (which is essentially what a mask is), or wear uncomfortable, itchy, sweat-inducing gear? Especially if the additional wearables are not viewed as helpful.
Which brings us to a second matter. In many places, COVID-19 is as much a political as a healthcare issue. At least 40% of this nation thinks masks don’t really help. I’m not here to debate the merits of this view. I’m merely pointing out that it very much exists.
Then there’s this: What may be good from a public health perspective can cause significant economic woes. I hardly need to explain how this is relevant to long-term care. Rare is the facility that has not seen revenues fall and costs rise during the current pandemic. Preventive measures such as masks and isolation surely help limit the spread of illness. But they can take an enormous toll on businesses. And fuel other unexpected negative outcomes.
We’re hearing more almost every day about the mental health toll the pandemic has taken. Millions among us are experiencing more stress, anxiety, fear, loneliness and depression.
To be sure, there are going to be risks associated with a facility’s decision to mandate or not mandate mask wearing. There will be related consequences as well. Both known and unknown.
John O’Connor is editorial director for McKnight’s.
Opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News columns are not necessarily those of McKnight’s.
COVID-19 community levels continue to rise across the U.S., with 14% of Americans now living in a region classified in the “high” tier Friday, based on
hospitalization and case metrics
used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the Bay Area, Santa Clara County became the first in the region to slip back into the “high” tier, for which the CDC
recommends people wear a high-quality mask
or respirator in public spaces and counsels those who are high-risk to consider avoiding nonessential indoor public activities.
Last week, only 5% of the U.S. population fell into the “high” category. About 38.1% of people now live in areas with “medium” virus levels, while 48.2% are in “low” areas.
Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano and Napa counties moved from “low” to “medium,” averaging more than 10 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 residents over the previous week. Under that tier, universal masking is required for specific high-risk settings, including jails and homeless shelters, per
California health department rules.
Health care settings already required rules and are not affected by the latest changes.
“We have observed worsening increases in COVID-19 case reports and hospitalizations since October,” Dr. Nicholas Moss, the Alameda County health officer, said in a statement. “Taking actions like masking and staying home when sick can prevent spreading illnesses like COVID-19, flu, and RSV and help protect our health care system from strain.”
Sonoma and Marin counties moved from “medium” to “low,” while San Francisco and San Mateo remained in “low,” where
masking remains optional.
Counties also move up from “low” if they record a rate of more than 200 new weekly cases per 100,000 residents.
The CDC’s community transmission map, based on a separate metric that tracks the rates of new cases and positive tests, shows all Bay Area counties
in the “high” virus transmission category,
reflecting nationwide trends.
“We are seeing a clear uptick in infections of COVID pretty much in every region of the country, up about 40% over the last couple of weeks,” Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s top COVID-19 official, told the Health Action Alliance
at an event Thursday.
“There’s going to be some bumpy days ahead.”
Aidin Vaziri is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com
Hong Kong mulls dropping outdoor mask rules: Report
Fitch expects home prices in Australia and China to decline in 2023
Fitch Ratings expects home prices in Australia to see a significant drop of between 7% to 10% next year, it said in its latest outlook report.
The agency also predicts that China’s home prices will fall by 1% to 3% next year.
“We expect prices to decline further in 2023 before bottoming out but mortgage performance to only modestly deteriorate, in the face of economic headwinds,” Tracy Wan of Fitch Ratings said in the report.
However, home prices in Japan could buck the trend to rise by 2% to 4% in 2023, the report said. Australia’s prices are forecast to rise in 2024.
– Jihye Lee
Japan’s economy contracted less than expected in third quarter
Japan’s economy saw an annualized quarterly contraction of 0.8% in the third quarter, with the revised gross domestic product reading beating expectations in a Reuters survey for a 1.1% contraction.
The government’s first preliminary estimate released in November was a 1.2% decline.
The nation also reported a 64.1 billion yen ($469.3 million) deficit in its unadjusted current account balance, government data showed. The reading significantly missed estimates for a surplus of 623.4 billion yen in a separate Reuters poll.
– Jihye Lee
Australia’s trade surplus larger than expected in October
Australia’s trade surplus for October came in at 12.2 billion Australian dollars ($8.19 billion), slightly larger than expected, official data showed.
Economists polled by Reuters predicted a print of 12.1 billion Australian dollars, expecting a further drop than reported – after the economy saw a trade surplus of 12.4 billion Australian dollars.
Exports fell 0.9%, and imports declined 0.7%.
— Abigail Ng
Stocks close mostly lower
Stocks closed mostly lower Wednesday, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.19% to close at 3,933.92.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed flat, or 1.58 points higher, to finish the session at 33,597.92. The Nasdaq Composite fell 0.51% to end at 10,958.55.
— Samantha Subin
CNBC Pro: Bank of America says these two global chip stocks could rise by 75% on EV car sales
A shortage of semiconductors during a boom in electric-vehicle sales could help raise profits at a handful of chip makers, according to Bank of America.
The Wall Street bank predicted that two chip stocks could see their share prices rise by more than 75% on the back of that trend.
CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.
— Ganesh Rao
Pending economic data could launch a rally into next year, says Morgan Stanley’s Slimmon
Don’t be surprised if economic data coming out over the next week kicks off a rally into the end of the year and potentially 2023, according to Andrew Slimmon, Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s senior portfolio manager.
The key period of data releases begins Friday with the producer price index, followed by November’s consumer price index and another likely rate hike from the Federal Reserve next week.
“The last time those were released they all led to rallies in the stock market because we had better inflation prints,” he said.
Like many investors, Slimmon expects a downturn ahead, given the inverted yield curve, but does not anticipate the “big earnings collapse,” or downturn, many people are predicting in the first quarter.
This is in part due to the fact that many consumers have beefed up savings in recent years given the proximity of the most recent recession.
“The message of this year is that the economy has proven far more resilient than many people expect and I don’t think next quarter is going to be the end of that,” he said.
— Samantha Subin
CNBC Pro: Is Apple a stock to buy or avoid? Two investors face off
It’s been a tumultuous year for tech companies, as investors flee growth stocks in the face of rising interest rates, and other headwinds.
Apple has held up better amid the tech carnage, although there have been some headwinds.
Two investors faced off on CNBC’s “Street Signs Asia” on Wednesday to make a case for and against buying the stock.
Given that COVID cases, as well as the flu, surge every fall and winter, should you consider seasonal masking? (Illustration: Getty Images)
This season, as the temperatures drop, viral infections are rising. As we face what medical experts are calling a tripledemic — the convergence of influenza, RSV and COVID — you may be wondering how to protect yourself from getting sick. But beyond that, given that COVID doesn’t seem to be going anywhere any time soon and flu season returns every fall and winter, should you consider seasonal masking? Here are some things doctors say you should consider.
‘Dangerous’ surges of respiratory viruses
When the pandemic hit in 2020 and strict measures were put in place to help stop the spread of COVID, doctors say all other respiratory viruses disappeared abruptly and almost completely. “We had cut off the normal ways for respiratory viruses to transmit,” Dr. Shira Doron, infectious diseases physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, tells Yahoo Life. “Of course, they weren’t gone. We didn’t render them extinct. Gradually, they are coming back, and they are coming back with a vengeance.”
Dr. Anna Sick-Samuels, assistant professor of pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, says the disruption of the pandemic has created a shift in the seasonal patterns of these viruses. “What is a little different this year is that the timing of all these viruses is overlapping with early waves of RSV and influenza,” Sick-Samuels tells Yahoo Life. “In prior years, we would typically see them more in succession. So that impact was more spread out.”
Although these respiratory viruses are showing up earlier than usual, Doron says the current numbers are not that different from years past. “We certainly aren’t seeing more flu than we would normally see at its peak,” she explains. “That being said, if there’s this much flu and RSV in November, it could become the worst season we’ve ever seen.”
All this is happening just as people are getting ready to spend more time indoors, whether at busy shopping malls and large holiday parties or in crowded airports. Some people wonder if it’s time to revisit those pandemic protections, including masking, which have been relaxed across the country.
Given the current swell of respiratory viruses, Doron says she is not a proponent of health authorities “ratcheting down on mandates and restrictions right now, masks or otherwise — because I do think that we are now seeing one of the most dangerous, unintended consequences of those measures, which is these reactive respiratory virus surges.”
Should you mask up every winter?
So, does protecting your health mean automatically masking up when the cold weather hits and as respiratory viruses rise? Not necessarily. Dr. Vandana Madhavan, director of advanced pediatrics at Mass General Brigham in Boston, tells Yahoo Life that “it doesn’t have to be an all or nothing” decision. She says, “I’ve talked a lot during the pandemic about public health interventions being like a dimmer switch, not an on or off switch. But that dialing up or down doesn’t have to be at a larger community level.”
Madhavan says it really comes down to what works best for you and your family, along with your age and health status. “Someone might say, ‘We really want to be able to see the grandparents over the holidays. Let’s all wear a mask for a couple of weeks and really be mindful of what activities we do,’” she says. “Masks don’t have to be an all or nothing, but they remain a really effective tool.”
However, Doron says not all respiratory viruses are transmitted in the same way. “A well-fitting, high-quality mask appears to protect against COVID, but it may be less protective against viruses that are more reliant on the contact mode of transmission.”
For example, although RSV is spread when an infected person coughs or sneezes, it can also be spread by touching a surface that has the virus on it and then touching your face, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. So stepping up your hand hygiene and avoiding exposure to people who are sick may be just as, if not more, effective than wearing a mask in this case, says Doron.
In general, healthy lifestyle habits can also help. “There’s a lot of basic stuff that we probably haven’t paid enough attention to throughout the pandemic that still applies here,” Doron says. “Your underlying health really matters a lot. And that’s eating well and exercising and sleeping well and doing things that keep your stress level down. All of those things are just huge risk factors for severe disease.”
When to take more precautions
However, if you fall into a high-risk category, such as those who are immunocompromised or are in close contact with someone who is, doctors agree that you should use everything in your toolbox to avoid exposing yourself to viruses this season. Those most at risk include the elderly, people with heart or lung disease, patients undergoing cancer treatment and babies less than 6 months old.
For parents of very young children who are unable to wear masks, Madhaven says it’s important to be an advocate for your child’s health. “Parents should really feel empowered to ask not just, ‘Oh, is anyone sick?’ But, ‘Have you been around anyone sick recently?’ Because that person who is exposed to someone who’s sick might have it very mild, but then could transmit it to a more vulnerable young child or older adult.”
If you still have concerns, Doron suggests talking to your doctor to help you assess your personal risk and determine what protections might work best for you. “One small silver lining to COVID-19 is that people have become more aware. Like, ‘Oh, let’s think about ventilation, let’s think about transmission risks, etc.,’” says Doron.
Madhavan agrees, saying that these are all lessons that are also applicable to other respiratory viruses. “I think, right now, everyone understands we’re all in the same boat,” she says. “We’re all trying to keep ourselves and our families healthy.”
Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life’s newsletter. Sign up here.
As covid numbers dipped slightly across the region in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, Holy Cross Health hospitals in Maryland still filled up.
Very sick children and older adults suffering from other respiratory illnesses that have spiked far sooner and more sharply than expected this fall are again packing beds, disrupting plans to celebrate the holiday season after nearly three years of burdensome precautions and postponed social connections.
“It has seemed unrelenting over the past three years,” said Ann Burke, vice president of medical affairs for Holy Cross Health in the Maryland region.
The covid-19 pandemic upended holiday plans in 2020 and 2021. While coronavirus remains a serious concern, this year two other common respiratory viruses, influenza and RSV, are wreaking havoc — particularly in the DMV, which is one of the regions with the highest flu activity in the country.
Ahead of Thanksgiving gatherings, doctors like Burke are urging people to take precautions, such as masking in crowded public spaces and on airplanes, covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands, and getting a flu shot and covid booster dose.
“Wash your hands and get your vaccine,” Burke said. “Try to help us out.”
Burke also warned families with newborns, who are particularly vulnerable to devastating consequences from RSV: “I strongly recommend families with a newborn child restrict the number of visitors in their home. I know this is a really unpopular statement.”
As RSV and influenza have skyrocketed, covid has reached a plateau.
The District and Maryland are reporting similar levels of new cases as last year around this time, and Virginia’s weekly new cases are slightly lower than last year’s. But cases began to rapidly rise around Thanksgiving last fall when omicron emerged and created a record-setting spike in cases. So far, signs point to a much milder wave of covid cases this winter, according to epidemiologists and virologists who are monitoring the coronavirus variants currently circulating.
CDC warns of tough winter as flu, RSV and covid collide
With vaccines now widely available for all age groups and 68.7 percent of Americans through the primary coronavirus vaccine series, public health precautions that were previously required are now mere recommendations. Local officials have dropped mask mandates and testing requirements. Most school districts have ditched strict masking rules and jettisoned complicated testing and quarantine programs.
Vulnerable populations also have access to extremely effective antiviral treatments like Pfizer’s paxlovid that had not yet been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration last fall.
Still, few Americans have received an updated bivalent booster shot and strains on health care infrastructure remain.
“We still have around 400 individuals who are hospitalized with covid,” said JinLene Chan, Deputy Secretary for Public Health Services for the Maryland Department of Health. “It hasn’t gone away.”
Chen said that people can safeguard their holiday plans and protect loved ones by taking precautions ahead of indoor gatherings. Wearing masks in crowded public spaces in the days leading up to a holiday celebration, washing hands, and staying home if you feel sick can prevent all three respiratory infections from spreading to other people.
“Getting the flu and covid shots are important,” she said.
Already, the District, Maryland and Virginia are among the 16 U.S. jurisdictions that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says are coping with “very high” rates of influenza-like illness in what may be shaping up to be the most severe and early-onset flu season since the 2009 swine flu epidemic. And a spike in RSV has led to more sick children than can be accommodated in local pediatric intensive care units.
“It’s much too early for us to see a lot of influenza,” said Andy Pekosz, a virologist, professor, and vice chair of the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The story is the same for RSV, he added. The early and rapid uptick in cases may be a sign that these respiratory viruses will run rampant this fall and winter, prompting a severe and lengthy season for illnesses that can be deadly for some vulnerable populations.
“That’s the worst case scenario — it is coming in strong and will last long,” Pekosz said.
RSV leads to between 6,000 and 10,000 deaths in adults over 65 and 100 to 300 deaths in children under 5 each year, according to the CDC. Influenza killed between 12,000 and 52,000 people annually between 2010 and 2020. But the past two years have seen extremely mild flu and RSV seasons — perhaps because coronavirus mitigation efforts helped tamp down the spread of other viruses as well, Pekosz said.
Children and adults who get RSV typically experience cold-like symptoms including runny nose and sneezing, but severe cases can develop fevers, wheezing and even require ventilation to maintain oxygen levels. The flu usually brings fever, chills, body aches, cough, runny nose, sore throat, headaches and fatigue.
What’s the difference between RSV, the flu and covid-19?
In the week ending Nov. 12, Maryland reported 5,144 positive influenza tests and Virginia reported 2,607. The District had 593 confirmed cases of influenza. The rates of flu-like illness across the DMV are already as high or higher than the typical peaks seen much later in the flu season, around late January through March.
It remains to be seen if cases will continue to rise, but epidemiologists say the very mild flu seasons of 2020 and 2021 may have left large portions of the population with little immunity against the virus.
Travelers who may be leaving the DMV and returning after Thanksgiving should check on the levels of respiratory viruses at their holiday destinations, said Montgomery County Acting Health Officer James Bridgers.
“Check the local health department if you’re traveling outside of the DMV and be mindful of any respiratory illnesses that you may be going into,” he said. That is especially true for people headed to the south or states like California, Colorado and Texas, where influenza and RSV have spread rapidly and far earlier than anticipated by doctors and epidemiologists this year.
In Virginia, hospital and urgent care visits for RSV and flu-like illness have nearly quadrupled in recent weeks, said deputy state epidemiologist Laurie Forlano. Those numbers may keep climbing as people increasingly gather indoors as temperatures cool and holidays approach. Coronavirus, which is only slightly up in Virginia over the past week, may also spread more.
“It’s a little too soon to tell, I think, where that’s going to go as the weather gets colder,” Forlano said. “We tend to be inside or around other people more, and that can help these viruses transmitted from one person to another.”
Even as winter approaches, some jurisdictions, like Arlington County, have implemented plans to scale back coronavirus testing and county-sponsored vaccination clinics as demand has tapered off in recent months. Arlington announced that its testing kiosks will close by the end of November, and its county-run vaccine clinic will permanently shutter on Dec. 17. Virginians can search for vaccine clinics and test sites within 100 miles of their Zip code on the Virginia Department of Health website.
Forlano said closing these public resources is part of a transition toward treating coronavirus like other illnesses — including influenza — that are routinely treated through doctor’s offices and pharmacies. People will still be able to access vaccines, boosters and rapid tests at pharmacies and get PCR tests from health care providers, she said.
“The good news is that we’re in a much different place today than we were … two years ago with covid-19,” she said. “We have plans in place should more testing become necessary, but I’m glad that we have a much different and more robust landscape for both testing and vaccines at this point in time.”
Montgomery County, Md., has not yet begun to wind down coronavirus testing and vaccination centers — but the county may consider doing so in January after the holiday season ends, said Bridgers. Maryland’s most populous county expects to see consistent demand for testing, vaccines and boosters through the end of the year, he added. In the week ending on Nov. 13, more than 900 people got coronavirus vaccines in Montgomery, including more than 200 administered at county-run sites, and the county performed more than 900 coronavirus tests, Bridgers said.
How to use at-home covid tests and where to find them
“We’re urging people as we go into the holiday season to make sure they’re up to date on their vaccinations,” and get tested for the coronavirus before gathering with family and friends, Bridgers said.
Pekosz agrees that coronavirus tests are a smart idea before gathering for Thanksgiving dinner, but warned that a single rapid test does not guarantee safety. Taking at least two tests over several days — called serial testing — will give a more reliable result. But no rapid test is perfect, Pekosz said, and anyone who feels even a little bit unwell should stay home.
“People want to see their families,” he said. “Maybe they’ll ignore that scratchy throat or sniffle or fever that they have. But you can transmit [these viruses] before you actually show symptoms. Even with the slightest sign of symptoms, people should be more weary.”
Rising RSV and flu cases have parents wondering if their kids should mask up again. (Photo: Getty Creative)
For the past few years, COVID-19 has been a major concern heading into winter. But now, there’s a so-called tripledemic of illnesses circulating — and cases are piling up.
Currently in the U.S., cases of the flu are starting to soar, with 9% of tests for viruses coming back positive for influenza, per data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC also notes that 4.3% of visits to healthcare professionals right now are for a respiratory illness which is “above baseline.”
At the same time, COVID-19 cases are ticking up again, per CDC data. That’s not all, though. Cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are skyrocketing. A jaw-dropping 18.2% of tests for RSV have recently come back positive, according to the CDC, with a graph that tracks nationwide cases showing a near-vertical climb in the past few weeks.
Reports are trickling in of schools closing due to outbreaks of the flu, RSV and COVID, signaling that respiratory viruses are poised to bring some chaos this season. With all of that, it’s understandable to have questions about whether you should put your child in a mask again to protect them against respiratory illness.
Dr. Betty Choi, a pediatrician, children’s book author and mother of two children in central California, tells Yahoo Life that she’s having her 6- and 9-year-old kids mask up again after previously allowing them to go mask-free during small gatherings.
“Mask-wearing is a normal and simple public health strategy in many countries, well before the COVID-19 pandemic. We have been inspired to adopt this practice as a family,” Choi explains. Choi says that her family uses masks to “minimize the spread of contagious infections” and notes that it’s also in an attempt to maintain consistent childcare.
“We don’t have back-up childcare, and missed school days negatively affects parents’ work and other responsibilities,” Choi says.
Entrepreneur Lionel Mora tells Yahoo Life that he’s decided to have his 5-year-old daughter wear a mask again. “Now that everyone is gathering again as normal, we are seeing so much sickness spread,” he says. “Everyone’s immune systems seem to be a bit extra-sensitive from being indoors and isolated for so long.”
Mora says that having his daughter wear a mask is a way to “ease” her back into crowded environments like school “where children are spreading germs again, so as to protect her from all illnesses and allow her to participate safely.”
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life that it’s “a quite reasonable idea” for parents to have their children mask up again. “We have learned through COVID that masks do indeed provide an additional layer of protection,” he says. “We have been anticipating that people of all ages that are interested in protecting themselves will do this.”
Dr. Marc Hicar, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the University at Buffalo in New York, tells Yahoo Life that this is “perfectly reasonable,” especially if you have family members who are immunocompromised or if your child has struggled with the flu or RSV in the past.
He adds a caveat, though: “These infections are hard to avoid when spreading throughout the community and perfect mask use by a child can be a tough ask.” Hicar also points out that, while the CDC has guidance on masking to prevent the spread of the flu, there is no official recommendation for people who aren’t infected to mask up when community spread of flu is high.
Dr. Ashanti Woods, a pediatrician at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Md., tells Yahoo Life that masking to avoid RSV can be tricky, too. “As RSV picks on toddlers and infants the most, it may be challenging to suggest that masks will make a substantial impact as masks may not be properly worn and are not recommended for those under 2 years old,” he says.
To protect yourself and your family members, Schaffner recommends vaccinating everyone against the flu and COVID-19. (Unfortunately, there’s no vaccine for RSV just yet — but it’s in the works.) “Then, consider wearing a mask when you’re in congregate circumstances,” he adds.
Hand hygiene is also important for preventing the spread of RSV, Hicar says. “Most of the data shows RSV is spread by contact with secretions, so hand hygiene may be the more effective of these interventions,” he says.
If you know you won’t mask all the time but might under some circumstances, Woods suggests keeping tabs on the levels of respiratory viruses in your area and masking up accordingly. “I am personally in favor of seasonal masking when disease burden is high, given the outcome can be respiratory failure and a local ICU not having space to care for a child,” he says.
Schaffner says he doesn’t expect most people to adopt masking again, but says that he anticipates some will. “There is a segment of the population that has picked up prevention measures and are now more health-conscious,” he says. “They’ll wear masks when influenza, COVID and RSV are high in their communities. It makes sense.”
Wellness, parenting, body image and more: Get to know the who behind the hoo with Yahoo Life’s newsletter. Sign up here.
In the wake of a new COVID-19 surge and a shocking flu season, many are wondering and debating whether it is time to bring back mask mandates. However, misinformation online and the lack of a coordinated public health response has left people confused about the right course of action.
Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith said last week that she will not permit any further masking mandates of children in schools following a court ruling on the government’s decision to drop and block those mandates.
Despite a recent Canada-wide surge in respiratory viruses, flu, and COVID-19, Premier Smith said that masking has a “detrimental effect” on the mental health of children.
The detrimental effects of masking on the mental health, development and education of children in classroom settings is well understood, and we must turn the page on what has been an extremely difficult time for children, along with their parents and teachers.Alberta Premier Danielle Smith
On the other hand, many public health experts in provinces such as Ontario and British Columbia are still maintaining their position that masking in indoor spaces with huge crowds provides vital protection from COVID-19.
What the experts and provinces are saying
The former head of Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory, Dr. Fahad Razak, recently said that it’s time to bring back mask mandates as Ontario is seeing a surge in the new BQ.1 and BQ1.1 Omicron subvariants in the province.
Dr. Razak, an internist at St. Michael’s Hospital, also said that the health system is under immense strain that’s normally seen at the peak of a bad flu season.
“Personally, I would say that the criteria to require something like a mask mandate is clearly here,” said Razak, an internist at St. Michael’s Hospital.
“For anyone who says, ‘Let’s not do that,’ I would ask, ‘What is the alternative at this point? How do we keep the system that has so little capacity, how do we get it to continue to run over the winter?”
According to UofT Associate Professor Dr. Tara Moriarty, the Canadian COVID Hazard Index released last Friday shows that traces of COVID in wastewater across Canada has increased nearly three-fold in the last two weeks.
Moriarty says this data shows that the number of people in Canada infected currently is 18 times higher than people infected last year at the same time.
“It means that about 1 in every 24 to 1 in every 34 people in Canada are currently infected,” she said.
“This is why it’s so important not just to wear masks, but also to avoid crowded indoor settings….for everyone. Your chances of picking up COVID are really high right now,” she writes in her latest tweet. “Also, even if you’re not worried about catching COVID yourself, about half of people in Canada are medically at higher risk from COVID, due to age or underlying health conditions. Or they live with someone who is,” she added.
University of Toronto Associate Professor and an expert in paediatrics and expert diseases Anna Banerji agrees that due to the high cases of respiratory viruses and hospitals being overwhelmed, it would be the right course of action to bring masks back.
“Yes, definitely yes,” she wrote in an email to Yahoo News Canada.
All experts unanimously agree that masking combined with bivalent booster shots can help bring the cases down and relieve the pressure on hospitals.
Public health advisory on the official on the City of Toronto website also advised that staying up to vaccines and wearing a high quality, well-fitted mask can decrease the spread of COVID-19 and the flu.
‘Respiratory Spread Guide’ notice sent by the city:
We can layer our protection against COVID-19 and respiratory viruses with some simple steps:
Stay up-to-date with your vaccinations including a fall COVID-19 booster and flu vaccine when eligible for the best protection against getting very sick from COVID-19 and influenza.
Socialize outdoors when possible – outdoors is lower risk than indoors.
Wear a high quality, well-fitting mask, especially indoors, and based on the setting and situation. Masks are strongly recommended in indoor public settings, and especially if you are around people who are at higher risk or have a health condition.
Stay home if you are sick or have symptoms, even if they are mild.
If you have symptoms, get tested for COVID-19 and treatment if you are eligible.
Wash or sanitize your hands often, etc.
The Ontario healthcare system under immense pressure
According to latest reports, emergency rooms across the province have had to close for hours dueto pressure. Doctors believe that the recent increase in COVID-19 admissions and flu admissions have created the “perfect storm” in hospitals—with wait times up to 20 hours or more.
According to the official Health Canada website, more than 21,000 cases of COVID-19 were reported last week across the country.
The Canada COVID Hazard Index also states around 7,000 people were admitted to hospitals with COVID in the last week across Canada. The data shows that in an already-overwhelmed system, 12 per cent of hospital beds are unavailable due to COVID-19 patients.
Moriarty also pointed out that although we hear COVID is getting better, the statistics say otherwise.
“COVID hospitalizations last week were 6,962. However, the average weekly COVID hospitalizations in Canada since COVID started has been 3,032. This data clearly shows that there were twice the number of COVID hospitalizations this week in Canada than there have been during all of the epidemic in Canada to date,” she said.
“Even if you draw the distinction between patients who got admitted who had COVID already (the “with” cases) and patients who got admitted because of COVID (the “from” cases), we still get a number that is 1.7 times higher than what we’ve seen before,” she adds.
Many ER’s are reporting high patient volumes and long wait times, with children’s hospitals in particular reporting high demand.
University of Toronto professor and epidemiologist Dr. David Fisman recently posted a memo sent out by McMaster Children’s Hospital (MCH) on Twitter.
The memo clearly states that inpatient occupancy is nearing 135 per cent and that the critical care and emergency department are facing “extreme challenges”.
As a result, MCH is adopting various mitigation measures—effective Nov. 4—such as reducing the number of pedriatric surgical same-day admits to only one case per day.
The hospital is asking for volunteers across all MCH programs to assist teams at the hospital and they’re looking into examining the transfer of youth and adolescents to other hospitals under Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS).
Two days ago, Fisman released another crucial UHN memo on Twitter that mentioned that the Toronto General Hospital is under Critical Care Bed Alert, which means that the CVICU, CICU, and MSICU have all reached their total bed capacity.
The memo also mentioned that the hospital has limited people to safely keep all the physical critical care beds open and running.
UHN told its staff to “avoid” accepting admissions from another hospitals that require a critical bed and to stop sending patients to the emergency department.
Recently, officials with CHEO, eastern Ontario’s children’s hospital in Ottawa, painted a stark picture of its emergency room as they said the last few months have been the busiest in the hospital’s history.
The hospital is functioning well over-capacity with pediatric units seeing 134 per cent occupancy while pediatric intensive care sits at 124 per cent. The emergency department averages 229 patient visits a day while it’s built for 150, said CHEO President and CEO Alex Munter.
Moreover, earlier last week, Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children reported wait times of up to 12 hours due to unseasonably high patient volumes.
Experts try to raise awareness and battle misinformation online
Survival [102 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/genres/survival”>Survival Horror [163 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/genres/horror”>horror game Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse [1 article]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/games/fatal-frame-mask-of-the-lunar-eclipse”>Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse will launch digitally for PS5 [3,673 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/playstation/ps5″>PlayStation 5, Xbox Series [2,878 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/xbox/xbox-series”>Xbox Series, PS4 [24,132 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/playstation/ps4″>PlayStation 4, Xbox One [11,544 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/xbox/xbox-one”>Xbox One, Switch [12,476 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/nintendo/switch”>Switch, and PC [16,238 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/pc”>PC via Steam on March 9, 2023 worldwide, publisher Koei Tecmo Games [2,872 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/companies/koei-tecmo-games”>Koei Tecmo announced. In Japan, the PlayStation 4 and Switch versions will also be available physically.
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse will be available in both standard and Digital Deluxe Editions worldwide. The latter includes the downloadable content “Rogetsu Isle Dinner Party [21 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/genres/party”>Party Costume Set” and a digital art book with the original soundtrack.
Users who purchase a digital copy of the game before March 22, 2023 will also be able to download the early purchase bonus Ruka-exclusive costume “Marie Rose Outfit” from the Dead or Alive series.
Users who pre-order the game before its release date will also receive a variety of costumes, including the Ruka limited edition costume “Fox Mask” (white / red), Misaki limited edition costume “Fox Mask” (black / red), Choshiro limited edition costume “Fox Mask” (black / blue), and Ruka Misaki and Choshiro limited edition costume “Spirit Stone Flashlight Hat.”
Users who have save data for Fatal Frame: Maiden of Blak Water will also receive the save data bonus accessory “Camera Obscura Hat.”
Here is an overview of the game, via Koei Tecmo:
About
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse was released in 2008 for Wii as the fourth title in the Fatal Frame / Project Zero series. Following the remastered version of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water [20 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/games/fatal-frame-maiden-of-black-water”>Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, the masterpiece of the Fatal Frame series will be brought to life again with upgraded graphics.
When the protagonists were children they visited the isolated Rogetsu Island. In the midst of a festival, they disappeared mysteriously. The title begins when the girls decide to go back and visit the island again in search of the lost memories of that day.
Attempt to repel encroaching ghosts, relying only on a faint glow from a flashlight and a camera with the ability to photograph unimaginable things, the Camera Obscura.
Camera Obscura
An old camera with the ability to repel vengeful ghosts and seal away their power by photographing them.
Equip stronger lenses and change out different films to capture even more powerful photos.
Reveal “things that cannot be seen” to find clues that will help in discovery of lost things.
Exploring Rogetsu Island
Explore the dimly lit Western-style mansions and abandoned hospitals on the island by relying on the moon [8 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/games/moon”>moonlight and the faint light of a flashlight.
The story progresses by “touching” places that may call your attention.
From past newspaper articles and notes, you will discover about the past in which abominable incidents happened and unravel the lost memories of the protagonist, and find the truth.
Watch a new trailer below. View a new set of screenshots at the gallery.
NORTH West was spotted in Paris apparently trying to hide from prying eyes in a full face mask.
The nine-year-old was with her mother for Paris fashion week, and shocked onlookers with the hot, leather fashion statement.
5
North West was spotted in Paris with a full leather face mask.Credit: BackGrid
5
Kim Kardashian and daughter North are seen leaving a photo shoot set in Milan.Credit: BackGrid
The daughter of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West opted for the full head covering, only exposing her hair extensions escaping from the mask.
Online, fans were not in favor of the look.
“This makes me so sad,” one person shared.
Another added: “She’ll be scarred for life.
While a third speculated: “The kid is following in (Kim and Kanye’s) footsteps of crazy.”
MASK MAYHEM
It wasn’t exactly clear if the fashion covering was a choice or statement, but it was reminiscent of times both of her parents opted for similar looks.
In July, Kim, 41, was slammed for covering her entire face in a “creepy” mask as part of a Balenciaga look.
The reality star obscured her features with the dramatic black accessory while leaving a dinner for the fashion brand, ironically also in Paris.
Most read in Entertainment
Kim went fully incognito in the mask, which slotted over her entire head and curved under her chin.
She teamed it with a skintight black sequin gown with long sleeves and a high collar.
The mother-of-four had worn the dress earlier in the day, but only added the mask later while leaving the Balenciaga Couture dinner.
Her critics slammed the look and begged Kim to stop going for masked outfits.
The look echoed the controversial head-to-toe covered outfit she wore to the Met Gala last year.
She wore a black curve T-shirt under a dress with jersey boots, Panta leggings, jersey gloves, a dramatic train and a mask that hid her entire face.
KANYE’S COVERING
Rapper Kanye has been known to don several masks over the years that cover his face in its entirety.
The 44-year-old rapper was seen at the Super Bowl LVI on February 13, 2022, wearing the familiar black mask before removing it at halftime.
Ye, started wearing face masks in 2012 during a live performance donning a Balenciaga mask.
The designer has revolutionized fashion since the mid-1900s and works to create styles outside the norm.
The stylistic choice by Ye to wear this face-covering came to light during his concert at the London Film Festival in 2014.
“Don’t embarrass yourself trying to chase your dreams. Save face. Save face. That’s why I got this f***ing mask on, because I ain’t worried about saving face. F**k my face,” he told the crowd during the concert.
“F**k whatever my face is supposed to mean and f**k whatever the name Kanye is supposed to mean, it’s about my dreams! And it’s about anybody’s dreams.
“It’s about creating. It’s not about the idea about being a f***ing celebrity.”
5
Kim covered her entire face in a ‘creepy’ mask as part of a Balenciaga look
5
She also covered up at the 2021 Met GalaCredit: Getty
5
Kanye has been known to wear masks on multiple occasionsCredit: Splash
Singapore: Chinese researchers have developed a mask that lets users know if they’ve been exposed to COVID-19 or the flu, a development that could help vulnerable populations even as the use of face coverings falls and more nations ease virus restrictions.
A sensor built into a mask was able to detect the COVID-19, H5N1 and H1N1 influenza viruses in the air within 10 minutes and send notifications to a device, according to the study led by six scientists working with Tongji University in Shanghai. The peer-reviewed findings were published in the scientific journal Matter on Monday.
An artist’s depiction of the proposed COVID mask.Credit:Matter
While the pandemic prompted the widespread wearing of masks and a proliferation of designs — including a version with a microphone — the easing of COVID-related mandates in most major economies has led to a drop-off in use.
Still, mask use remains widespread in countries including China, which retains a strict COVID-Zero policy, while many people around the world continue to wear them to protect themselves and others from the virus regardless of government rules.
An Axios-Ipsos survey in early September found that 37 per cent of Americans wear a mask outside the home at least sometimes, down from 89 per cent two years ago.
Loading
The new device, which is mounted outside the mask with a rechargeable lithium battery, was tested by spraying pathogens on it in an indoor setting, simulating a likely scenario where someone is talking or coughing. Sensors responded to liquid about 70 to 560 times less than the amount produced in a sneeze, sending alerts to wireless devices like a phone.
The researchers said that the device was best used in enclosed spaces where the risk of infection is high, and are working on shortening the detection times and sensitivity of the device, which can be configured for different viruses if necessary. No cost estimates were published on the accessory.
