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Wednesday October 21, 2020

October 28, 2020 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday October 21, 2020

Lesson from the SpinCo outbreak: Province owns testing and tracing failure

When books are written telling the story of this pandemic — as they certainly will be — it may well be that Hamilton’s “superspreader” episode that began at the SpinCo cycling gym will get its own chapter.

May 16, 2020

The outbreak and its aftermath are a textbook example of why it is vital that testing and contact tracing be at optimal capacity during pandemics like this one. Every public health expert in Ontario has said that repeatedly. Even those of us who are not experts but read what experts say know it.

But knowing that and making it happen are different things apparently. At the time that the SpinCo outbreak was happening it was taking Hamiltonians up to eight days to get COVID test results. One gym client who spoke to Spectator journalist Katrina Clarke said she began to feel sick on Sept. 29 and got tested on Sept. 30. But she didn’t get her test results back until Oct. 5.

In that five-day period, 11 more classes were possibly exposed to the virus. The woman was self-isolating, but because she lives with her mother and sister, they got sick, too.

This is the cost of inadequate testing and contact-tracing capacity. Dr. Zain Chagla, infectious disease specialist at St. Joseph’s Healthcare, confirms this case highlights the need for rapid testing and tracing. Without it, public health officials are flying blind, or close to it. Or as Chagla puts it: “You want to fly into a storm with all your instruments on so you know how to react.”

September 18, 2020

If all this sounds familiar, it should. Media commentary here and across Ontario made the same observations during the first wave of COVID-19.

All the forensics on this superspreader event are not final, but at least one thing is clear. The gym may have done everything right. Local health officials may have made the right moves based on the data they had. But they could not move on data they didn’t have, and they didn’t have it because testing capacity issues slowed the results for so long, rendering effective contact tracing impossible.

Colin Furness, infection control epidemiologist at the University of Toronto confirms this, saying: “Contact tracing only really works if it’s incredibly timely.”

June 9, 2020

It wasn’t timely. As of Tuesday afternoon the result of that failure was  80 cases that sprung from the SpinCo outbreak. Radius restaurant on James Street South now has a six-person outbreak linked to SpinCo. Dozens of secondary households may have been exposed along with eight schools and child-care centres, six health-care facilities and 22 other workplaces.

How could this happen? How, when the Ontario government was warned countless times that a second wave was almost certainly coming?

How, when the government’s own health command table acknowledged the critical importance of being prepared after the first wave?

How, when the government committed to adequate testing, lab capacity and contact tracing resources?

Now, with the barn door open and the horse nowhere in sight, the province says it is “taking immediate action to expand case and contact management to help track, trace and isolate new cases of COVID-19.” That reassurance was contained in a email responding to questions from The Spectator.

Better late than never, right? Except the government had mountains of advice and evidence that could have prevented this outbreak from growing as far and fast as it has. For reasons only the government and its health brain trust know for sure, it didn’t heed the warnings and advice. And here we are. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Posted in: Ontario Tagged: 2020-35, body break, covid-19, Doug Ford, exercise, fatigue, fitness, fitness centre, lockdown, Ontario, pandemic

Tuesday August 16, 2016

September 12, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Tuesday August 16, 2016 Trump suggests Hillary's been sick for a while as he prepares to release 'very, very specific' numbers from his latest physical Ð on Dr. Oz's show Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump suggested that Hillary Clinton has been sick for a while, pointing to her coughing fit last week as evidence that 'something's going on.Õ 'I really just don't just know. I hope she gets well soon. I don't know what's going on,' Trump said when asked about it on 'Fox and Friends' Monday morning. He wished Clinton well after her weekend health scare Ð and revealed he is preparing to release detailed results of his own physical on Thursday. The big reveal will come on Dr. Mehmet Oz's TV show, according to a report from the Fox News Channel. Trump's campaign said last week that he would share his 'health regimen' with the Tv doc, but the planned appearance has gained new significance in the wake of Hillary's collapse on Sunday. Trump was uncharacteristically silent Ð including on Twitter Ð on Sunday, even as Clinton was spirited away from a Sept. 11th ceremony in New York, where was captured on video stumbling on the way to her van before her campaign finally revealed she had been diagnosed with pneumonia.ÊÊ Then he brought up Clinton's prolonged coughing allergy last week, which Clinton jokingly chalked up to a Trump allergy. 'The coughing fit was a week ago, so I assume that was pnemonia also. I would think it would have been. So something's going on.Õ Trump also attended the ceremony in New York, but without incident. 'I just hope she gets well and gets back on the trail and we'll be seeing her at the debate,' he added. Trump indicated he'll be putting out detailed results about his own health. 'I think it's an issue. In fact, this last week I took a physical,' he said. 'I'll be releasing Ð when the numbers come in, hopefully they're gonna be good, I think they're gonna be good. B

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday August 16, 2016

Trump suggests Hillary’s been sick for a while as he prepares to release ‘very, very specific’ numbers from his latest physical – on Dr. Oz’s show

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump suggested that Hillary Clinton has been sick for a while, pointing to her coughing fit last week as evidence that ‘something’s going on.’

‘I really just don’t just know. I hope she gets well soon. I don’t know what’s going on,’ Trump said when asked about it on ‘Fox and Friends’ Monday morning.

He wished Clinton well after her weekend health scare – and revealed he is preparing to release detailed results of his own physical on Thursday.

The big reveal will come on Dr. Mehmet Oz’s TV show, according to a report from the Fox News Channel.

Trump’s campaign said last week that he would share his ‘health regimen’ with the Tv doc, but the planned appearance has gained new significance in the wake of Hillary’s collapse on Sunday.

Trump was uncharacteristically silent – including on Twitter – on Sunday, even as Clinton was spirited away from a Sept. 11th ceremony in New York, where was captured on video stumbling on the way to her van before her campaign finally revealed she had been diagnosed with pneumonia.

Then he brought up Clinton’s prolonged coughing allergy last week, which Clinton jokingly chalked up to a Trump allergy.

‘The coughing fit was a week ago, so I assume that was pnemonia also. I would think it would have been. So something’s going on.’

Trump also attended the ceremony in New York, but without incident.

‘I just hope she gets well and gets back on the trail and we’ll be seeing her at the debate,’ he added.

Trump indicated he’ll be putting out detailed results about his own health.

‘I think it’s an issue. In fact, this last week I took a physical,’ he said. ‘I’ll be releasing – when the numbers come in, hopefully they’re gonna be good, I think they’re gonna be good. But when the numbers come in, I’ll be really very, very specific numbers, Trump said.

To date Trump, 70, has only released a short letter from a doctor, who the Clinton campaign has noted is not an internist but a gastroenterologist. The letter stated he would be the ‘healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.’

Clinton will be 69 when she takes office if elected. (Source: Daily Mail)

 

Posted in: USA Tagged: Donald Trump, election, facade, fitness, health, Hillary Clinton, shadow, strongman, United States, USA

Wednesday December 23, 2004

December 23, 2004 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday December 23, 2004

Fat December

A stroll after Christmas dinner is part of many families’ festive timetable – but heart experts say a pre-dinner walk is a good idea. Glasgow University research for the British Heart Foundation found it could help reduce the damage done by too much Christmas pudding.

It says a 90-minute walk lowers fat levels in the blood and improves blood vessel function.

The study is published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

They said the health benefits of a long stroll remained even after the walker had eaten a high-fat, high-carbohydrate meal.

The researchers studied 10 lean and 10 obese middle-aged men.

Each was tested twice for his response to a fatty meal, with the tests performed a week or two apart.

On the afternoon before one of the tests, each man walked on a treadmill for 90 minutes. In the second test, no exercise was done.

The researchers found that both lean and obese men benefited from taking exercise.

Levels of triglycerides (blood fats) were reduced by 25% both before and after the fatty meal.

The researchers also looked at the endothelium, the inner wall of the blood vessels which provides an important defence against the build-up of fatty deposits inside the blood vessels.

These deposits can disrupt blood flow and lead to a heart attack.

Exercise appeared to improve the function of the endothelium by 25% before the meal and 15% afterwards.

The researchers say that, as well as offering a timely reminder about the counteracting a rich diet with plenty of exercise, their findings suggested some possible explanations for its protective effects.

They said it showed that exercise can both improve the way the body metabolises food and help blood vessels resist the harmful effects of fatty foods.

And that it demonstrated that just one exercise session can provide immediate benefits that last at least a day. (Source: BBC) 

 

Posted in: International, Lifestyle Tagged: christmas, December, Family, fitness, food, gluttony, health, indulgence, weight

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Please note…

This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

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