Mandryk: Latest COVID-19 wave brings old risks
By Murray Mandryk
Well, we clearly aren’t avoiding the fifth wave of this Omicron variant of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But while it is producing a staggering number of cases here in Saskatchewan and everywhere else, it doesn’t quite seem to be producing the same percentage of hospitalizations … or at least the same number of critical ICU cases.
Unfortunately, the sheer volume of Omicron cases means that it’s quite possible more people will be hospitalized, anyway — especially given that Omicron seems to affect even those who have been double and now triple vaccinated.
More fortunately, those who have been vaccinated who do contact Omicron are far, far more likely to have good outcomes. The mantra for 2022 will again be: Get vaccinated if you are not vaccinated; get your booster shot if you are, and get rapid testing if you have the slightest symptoms.
By the way: Happy New Year.
It would be great if we could talk about something else in 2022.
One gets that we are all just sick and tired of this, and this fifth wave seems to already be draining the spirit and resolve from everyone.
But until COVID-19 reaches the point where it’s no longer affecting every aspect of our lives, we will continue to have to follow the best practices we can and keep a careful eye on the numbers. Right now, those numbers are rather depressing almost everywhere.
Here in Saskatchewan, we are now seeing a record average of more than 500 cases a day, although — thankfully, so far — seeing only a minimal increase in hospitalizations and ICU admissions.
This means we are either seeing:
• A more contagious but milder strain that will, as the government hopes, pass through us quickly leaving behind minimal damage to the population or the health system, or;
• The front end of what will be a massive problem to come in which sheer numbers of infected people (even if the percentage of serious infections is lower) will crush our health system through high hospital admissions down the road.
We all hope it will be the latter, and nobody is hoping this more than the Saskatchewan Party government that may again be ignoring the warning and not taking enough preventative measures — what it said wouldn’t do after the fourth wave.
What’s at stake for Premier Scott Moe goes well beyond the health and well-being of Saskatchewan’s citizenry. To guess wrong about this fifth wave will have consequences for a Premier and a government that already took a substantial 18-percentage point hit in the polls after guessing wrong about the fourth wave and removing too many restrictions too quickly.
But Moe and his government may not be the only ones unsure about the best course of action. A lot of people are struggling, including parents with kids going back to school.
As of the writing of this, we await a plan for schools from Education Minister Dustin Duncan and Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab.
Saskatchewan and the Yukon are the only jurisdictions now holding in-class learning during this Omicron wave — surely, a gamble for this government if things go awry and we see rapid spread among children.
It will be especially bad for this government who basically took a two-week hiatus during the Christmas break instead of developing a plan for schools and how to better handle the Omicron wave in general.
The thing is, it’s just not a simple slam-dunk to close schools — a decision that’s created a massive backlash in other jurisdictions like Ontario, where working parents were caught off guard and are now scrambling.
Even Saskatchewan NDP leader Ryan Meili — who has advocated schools be closed another week — admitted in-home learning isn’t popular and didn’t propose many other alternatives.
Dealing with such COVID-19 issues will remain difficult for some time yet.