Omicron
Last Sunday, Canada reported its first two confirmed cases of Omicron found in two people from Ottawa who had travelled to Nigeria. Omicron is the newest variant of Covid -19 and is super contagious. The majority of the world is dealing with the Delta variant but now Omicron is of great concern. Today, Ontario reported more than 1,000 new COVID-19 infections for a second day in a row with 11 now being the Omicron variant. These numbers are similar to the numbers that were found in the spring when everything was shut down including schools. The difference is that less people are in the ICU because more people are vaccinated. However, the numbers have steadily been rising since Halloween. The spread is real. The province's virus-related death toll stands at 10,024 and currently, things remain open. However, we stay home as much as possible. Easton is still unvaccinated, but at least now he is registered to get his first dose, we are just waiting for his turn. This time of year is especially hard as we want to see family and friends. The kids are great about understanding that we choose safety over a nice to have visit. The messaging from the government is absurd. You can meet with up to 25 people indoors as long as when you are eating with masks off, you are 6 feet apart (who has a table big enough to have 25 people six feet apart from each other?) and they also say that all gifts are to be wiped down right after opening and put away. How will this work with kids who want to play with their new toys? People are tired of Covid - 19. They want to relax with their extended family at Christmas and because of that, the government fully expects the ICU's to be full after Christmas. To me, if they expect this, why are they putting our health care system at risk for a dinner with family? I fully understand that people need people, but last year we were not allowed to get together with anyone, so why not just have it so that one household can meet up with one other household this Christmas? Why even suggest big parties in small houses?
I am thankful for my immediate family's health.
I continue to count our blessings.