“China eats weird animals disease”

On Thursday, federal Auditor General Karen Hogan released an analysis of the Trudeau government’s COVID hotel quarantine programs. “This was not a success story,” Hogan wrote.

The auditor general was being kind. The Liberals’ quarantine program was an utter failure.

The new Omicron variant may have a greater ability than other strains of the virus to escape immune protection from antibodies produced by previous COVID-19 infection, and potentially vaccines.

That’s according to a new, peer-reviewed study published on Saturday in the journal Emerging Microbes & Infection.

The Omicron variant has caused global panic prompting many countries, including Canada, to impose more stringent travel rules.

For much of the pandemic, opinion polling indicated that Canadians had been largely supportive of government COVID-19 measures. Lockdowns typically received the approval of two thirds of respondents.

But there are now signs that those numbers have been flipped around. It now appears to be the case that while a third of people remain COVID skittish, two thirds of people are done with being afraid and are done with restrictions on their lives. Governments be warned.

Tens of thousands took to the streets of Vienna today to protest against mandatory Covid vaccines and home confinement orders, with unvaccinated Austrians set to be fined and restricted in the coming months.

Police said an estimated 44,000 people attended the demonstration which saw ‘no to vaccine fascism’ signs held aloft, the latest in a string of huge weekend protests since Austria last month became the first EU country to say it would make Covid vaccinations mandatory.

A partial confinement since last month ends on Sunday for the fully vaccinated, but those who have not received the required doses will have to remain at home.

Another huge protest in Vienna today against lockdowns and vaxx mandates. pic.twitter.com/OpCdScze1Q

— Aaron Ginn (@aginnt) December 11, 2021

It’s hard to look that in the eye. But the worst of COVID is yet to come

… It is difficult for the human mind to grasp; part of it is the pure bloody wall of exponential mathematics. The numbers seem imaginary. Sander explains: In places like South Africa, Denmark, Germany and the UK, in different populations, Omicron doubled every three to four days, or faster. That’s about a 400 percent increase in one week. Ontario chief medical officer Dr Kieran Moore said Omicron currently accounts for about 10 percent of recent cases. That would mean about 145 Omicron cases in Ontario on Friday.

With a 400% increase each week, Sander points out that the numbers do something like this: 145 today, 600 in one week, 2,400 in two weeks, 9,600 in three weeks. It would be New Years Eve, and unhindered, that would mean nearly 40,000 cases per day per week after that. We were already on schedule to cancel surgeries with a Delta wave only. Based on predicted growth charts, Omicron could become the predominant variant in Ontario within 10 days, and it will be an Omicron pandemic by early 2022.

“We won’t even have the capacity to test,” says Dr. Andrew Morris, professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto and member of the science table. “And the public is not ready to close the doors tomorrow. Whatever the right thing to do, you can’t do it. But I’m pretty sure everyone in the next six to 12 weeks will be infected with Omicron, unless they live the life of a hermit. It’s just the reality.

This is a Star piece. Lets hope the science is wrong again.