Dear Editor:
RE: Minimize contacts, MOH urges, Oct. 1.
Dr. Nicola Mercer’s asserted to councillor Stephen Kitras that “Sweden has the highest [COVID] mortality rate.”
As of Oct. 1, Sweden is in 12th position globally with regard to per capita deaths from COVID-19, after Peru, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Spain, Chile, Ecuador, UK, USA, Mexico, and Italy. Also cited by Mr. Kitras as countries where masks are not mandated were Finland (66th) and Norway (73rd). Canada stands in 26th place.
A significant difference between the three countries named by Kitras and Canada is that their societies and economies have remained on a more even keel than those of Canada. In Sweden, businesses, entertainment venues, and educational institutions were not shut down; in Finland and Norway, any closures or restrictions were brief and have long been lifted.
In Canada, the widespread and longer-term closures of all but essential businesses and services resulted in substantial job losses. Numerous sectors of the economy, including live theatre, concert performances, sports events, and restaurants, among others, remain shuttered or face restrictions. Predictions are that a substantial percentage of the lost jobs will not return, or will take the form of part-time rather than full-time employment.
The government assistance programs designed to alleviate these job losses have caused the national deficit to balloon from approximately $34 billion in early 2020 to $343 billion. Financial experts agree that it will be generations before such debt is paid off, if ever.
The best, most succinct, comment I’ve heard on the actions of the various levels of Canada’s government in response to the pandemic came from a friend who has worked as a nurse in local hospitals for decades. She said simply, “The politicians panicked.”
When this pandemic is just as forgotten as the Asian Flu of the 1950s (which killed around 7,000 Canadians) and the Hong Kong Flu of the 1960s (around 4,000), Canadians will still be living with the economic and social fallout of COVID-19.
Olga Domjan,
Elora