Chinanews.com, November 30th, title: National War Epidemic: Winter is approaching, Canada's "shadow epidemic" is quietly prevalent

　　Author: Dong Hanyang

　　Autumn in the "Country of Maple Leaf" Canada was originally a season for admiring red leaves. However, in 2020, this northern country will not only be red maple leaves, but also included in the epidemic prevention and control due to the raging new coronavirus The highest-level "red area".

　　Since the first case was reported on January 25, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in Canada has so far exceeded 300,000.

When the red leaves fade, how will this country survive this rare "winter"?

On November 23, local time, the landmark lights were lit up at the City Hall Square in Toronto, Canada, but there were few tourists on the square.

On the same day, Toronto and its neighboring Peel area were classified as the "gray area" with the highest level of epidemic prevention, and the ban was re-implemented for at least 28 days.

　　["She survived the massacre, but died of the new crown"]

　　In early November, in a nursing home in Toronto, when Jeff Shabbs in protective clothing saw his mother Malvina Shabbs for the last time, the mother with dementia was being haunted by childhood nightmare - she Worried about missing the train leaving Poland.

　　In September 1939, Nazi Germany blitzed Poland and also began the massacre of Jews.

The 10-year-old Malvina was forced to jump on the train with her grandparents and younger brother and fled to a labor camp overseas.

There, there is no food, and every day is frightened for survival.

Fortunately, she survived.

　　After the war, Malvina returned to Poland and then went to settle in Canada.

She met her loving husband there and gave birth to two children.

Even if she was admitted to a nursing home after suffering from dementia, "her appearance has always been perfect, and her hair and nails are always well trimmed."

　　But I never thought that this old man who had survived the massacre and spent more than half a century long years will encounter the final catastrophe of his life in 2020.

In just a few days, her illness deteriorated sharply, and she was finally taken away mercilessly by the new coronavirus.

　　Malvina's story is just the tip of the iceberg of tragedy.

Among the tens of thousands of new crown deaths in Canada, more than 70% are from people over 80 years old, and elderly care centers are definitely the hardest hit.

On April 16, local time, outside the Herron Nursing Home in Quebec, bouquets of flowers were placed in memory of the old people who died unfortunately due to the new crown.

　　“There was a foul smell in the nursing home, urine and feces everywhere.” In April, the Herron nursing home in Quebec had confirmed cases, but apart from a few masks, there was almost no protective equipment.

　　In just three weeks, 38 people died in the nursing home.

The nurse Rolandana Mill who came to support said, “This nursing home with nearly 150 beds has only two nurses left to take care of it. The other employees all fled after the outbreak.”

　　"This is a tragedy, but I am not surprised that the long-standing problems in aged care facilities make it an extremely vulnerable place." pointed out Nathan Stewar, a geriatric expert at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

"If the government still does nothing, the same disaster will happen again."

On August 23, local time, a beach-themed streetside open-air restaurant in Toronto, Canada attracted customers to enjoy the summer weekend.

　　Soon after, summer arrived, and the Canadian epidemic curve was flattened in July and August.

All provinces are busy restarting social and economic activities, and people who have been depressed for a long time relax their vigilance.

The parks in downtown Toronto gathered thousands of citizens for picnics and fun, and clubs and bars were crowded with young people.

　　But the new crown virus will not "holiday".

Beginning in September, the epidemic quickly countered, and red spots symbolizing confirmed cases began to appear one after another on the map of this country.

Hundreds, thousands... This time, the population with the highest infection rate has changed from the elderly to the young people under 40.

　　From reporting the first confirmed case to the number of cases exceeding 100,000, it took 145 days in Canada. After that, after 123 days, the number of confirmed cases increased to 200,000, but it increased to 300,000. It took only 28 days.

　　"We may have opened up the economy prematurely, and then the number of cases got out of control," said De Orlanden, an epidemiologist at the University of Ottawa. "The Canadian government failed to prepare for the second wave of outbreaks when the number of confirmed cases decreased this summer. ."

　　Since November, the number of new cases in a single day in Canada has exceeded 4000 for several consecutive days.

The virus spread unscrupulously, from the bustling city of Toronto to the remote and vast Nunavut region in the Arctic.

As the number of infections among the indigenous people continues to increase, the local government announced that it will enter a two-week lockdown period starting on November 18.

　　[Two ships, and a border wedding]

　　In addition to the blockade in many places within the territory, there is another place where Canadians want to be tightly sealed, and that is the Canada-US border with a total length of over 8,800 kilometers.

　　This longest "undefended" border in the world has been closed for 8 months due to the outbreak.

Today, the restraining order has been extended for another month until December 21.

Preventing "neighbors" has become one of Canada's top priorities in fighting the epidemic.

On March 21, local time, the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, a famous scenic spot at the junction of Canada and the United States, had very few visitors.

　　In the hot summer of July, when the cruise ship on the American side of Niagara Falls was crowded with tourists, there were only a few people on the cruise ship deck on the Canadian side.

No wonder Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau once said bluntly, “Canada is doing a better job of controlling the epidemic than its allies, including neighboring countries.”

　　"Ontario's strict social distancing regulations require us to carry only 6 passengers at a time." Niagara's "trumpeter" cruise company vice president Dimaurizuo introduced.

In contrast, the American "Maid of the Mist" cruise ship, which can accommodate about 500 people, is allowed to operate at 50% of its capacity.

　　At present, the number of confirmed cases in the United States has exceeded 13 million. Many Canadians said that given the high infection rate in the United States, they would rather continue to close the border for several months.

　　Some businesses began to investigate parking lots and reported vehicles with American license plates.

Canadian citizen Lisa Watt was followed and harassed twice because her car had a Texas license plate.

　　In this case, love across borders seems extraordinary.

At the beginning of October, on the banks of the Saint-Roy River in Canada, the bridegroom Lecky and the bride Crowe, under the blessing of their families in the United States and Canada, respectively, said the sacred vow of the wedding: "I do.

　　Lacky is from Canada, while Crowe grew up in Maine, USA.

This time, Crowe’s grandparents took a boat to the river near the Canadian side to witness the happy moments of their granddaughter and chatted with the groom’s grandparents from a distance.

　　"Although the wedding is not what you dreamed of... But relatives and friends have witnessed the wedding from different angles. This will be a long-lasting memory of the family." Klow said.

[Is the "shadow epidemic" a pandemic?

】

　　However, in Canada, along with the new coronavirus, there is another virus-racism.

　　"Racism is a pandemic." At the end of May, anti-racial discrimination activities triggered by the police "kneeling and killing" African American Freud spread all the way to Canada.

On June 28, local time, an African-American demonstrator held a placard that read "Black people's fate is also fate" when attending a rally in Toronto City Hall Square.

　　At that time, the new crown epidemic spread rapidly, but in Vancouver, Montreal and other cities, thousands of people gathered in the streets to demonstrate with placards that read "Black people's fate is also fate" and "No justice, no peace."

　　A man at the protest, Alexandra Kane, said, "Racism is happening here, and we have remained silent for too long."

　　Under the epidemic, lack of money in their pockets, crowded living, and inconvenient travel have become the biggest stumbling blocks for many African Canadians.

Before being diagnosed with the diagnosis, Asli Farah, a woman working in the factory, had to take a bus to the hospital. The language barrier made her seeing a doctor particularly difficult.

　　According to statistics, in Ontario and Quebec, the death rate of new crowns in communities where ethnic minorities gather is three times that of ordinary people.

　　The epidemic has torn apart the racism “hidden in a smile” in Canada. The “shadow epidemic” that came with the new crown has caused many people with psychological scars no less than those of infection.

　　Nurse Catherine Chang works in one of Toronto's busiest emergency rooms.

One day, while she was waiting for a meal with her roommate, a woman in her 60s suddenly approached, yelled at them, hit them with an umbrella, and spit on Zhang's face.

　　"This is because I am Asian and wearing a mask." Zhang said.

　　Since the outbreak, nearly one-fifth of Canadian minorities believe that harassment or assault incidents based on race have increased; a recent statistics by the Vancouver police also shows that since 2020, Vancouver’s hatred against Asians has been violent. Increased to 116, almost 9 times the number in 2019.

　　"During the pandemic, we have no antidote or vaccine. People are afraid of it. They want to blame someone who is different from them." Sandra, a professor at McGill University in Canada who studies racism during the epidemic · Hyde, pointed it out sharply.

On July 5, local time, in Graffiti Alley in Toronto, Canada, the portrait mural of George Floyd, an African American man, was quite eye-catching.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Yu Ruidong

　[The Kingdom of the North "Winter is Coming"]

　　With the advent of the cold winter, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Tan Yongshi recently warned that “fires (of the epidemic) are burning in many areas.” She predicts that by early December, the number of new crown cases in Canada will exceed 10,000.

　　Many places have fallen into a "sickbed crisis."

"We are losing the battle against the epidemic!" 260 doctors in Saskatchewan recently issued a joint letter stating that the number of patients in the intensive care unit in the province has exceeded 30%.

　　In Manitoba, which was hit by the second wave of the epidemic, Darlene Jackson, president of the Nurses Association, said that members are working crazy overtime.

The emergency room was crowded with patients, and some patients with mild illnesses had to wait on a stretcher in the corridor.

"This is a nightmare, in fact I hope that the blockade can continue."

　　The doctors on the front line of the epidemic also "fall down" one by one.

　　In Manitoba’s latest list of new crown deaths, one is a worker at Victoria General Hospital.

After about 20 doctors and nurses in this hospital were diagnosed, many doctors and nurses began to self-isolate, and their intensive care capacity for patients declined.

On April 26, local time, a stadium in Montreal, Canada was converted into a mobile "square cabin hospital", which will assist the medical center to treat patients with new coronary pneumonia for a long time.

　　However, in addition to experiencing the "severe winter" of the epidemic, the economic dilemma has also entangled Canada.

Despite the introduction of a series of economic assistance programs, the unemployment rate in the country during the worst period of the epidemic was as high as 13.7%, a 44-year high.

　　The Canadian Hotel Association recently estimated that half of the country’s more than 8,000 hotels may close down without assistance, most of which are individuals and family business owners.

Prior to this, the high-end down brand "Canada Goose" also announced the reduction of hundreds of employees.

　　"The longer the pandemic lasts, the more people will be completely unemployed," warns Odra Bowles, professor of economics at the University of Western Ontario.

　　Right now, the second wave of the epidemic has arrived, and the most brilliant season of the year in the "Maple Leaf Country" is about to pass.

This northern country must stand up and face everything with a vigilant attitude.

This is probably the "most difficult winter" in many years.

(Finish)