Why has Canada done better than the U.S. in the pandemic? Apparently by listening to the scientists.

[Tinker Grey]

Not all stats from all countries are created equal.

Indeed. It's not like Chad and Suriname are likely to have the same reporting as Canada.

 

[Richard T]

If you adjust for provinces or population centres, differences still arise.

For example, Alaska has hundreds of active cases and those have been significantly increasing as of late:

View attachment 280768
In contrast, Newfoundland has a single active case of COVID-19 (the first new case in over 40 days). And it turns out it's someone who just recently returned from the U.S. :/

N.L. records 1st new case of COVID-19 in 43 days

It is true that most U.S states have a rise in infections. One thing that seems to help fight off the virus is space. Low density areas do far better as most would expect. Glad to see Newfoundland is doing great.

 

[pitabread]

And meanwhile in the U.S...

White House targets US disease chief Fauci

US infectious disease chief Dr Anthony Fauci is being targeted by the Trump administration as tensions rise between the health expert and the president.

The White House has been increasingly critical of Dr Fauci, and on Sunday, an official shared a list detailing past apparent erroneous comments.

Dr Fauci's changing advice on masks and remarks on Covid-19's severity are among the points from the White House.

The move to undercut him comes as the US continues to see surges in Covid-19.
​

Trump is reportedly rattled by Dr. Fauci's high approval ratings compared to his own poor polling on COVID-19

President Donald Trump is unsettled by Dr. Anthony Fauci's overwhelmingly high approval numbers compared with his poor ratings on the COVID-19 pandemic, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.

On Sunday, The Washington Post and The New York Times reported that the White House was taking more active and overt steps to undermine Fauci's messaging, including restricting his media appearances and even circulating an opposition-research-style document laying out various "mistakes" they said Fauci made at the beginning of the pandemic.​

 

[cow451]

Does that make sense?

Uhhh.... no.

 

[wing2000]

Results speak for themsleves:

Oh Canada!

US and Canada comparison -- new daily cases (7 day avg) as of July 11, 2020 - per 1 million people:
US: 175.5
Canada: 7.4

91-DIVOC : Flip the script on COVID-19 | 91-DIVOC

 

[wing2000]

...apologies for the duplicate graphs.

 

[wing2000]

fyi, John Campbell interviewed a pharmacist from British Colombia....who addressed her impressions of why Canada has done so well to date...
-- uniformity of messaging
-- cooperation from citizens
etc

 

[StromRider]

There is something in the national psyche of Canadians that avoids the rather selfish attitude of many Americans that "I won't follow any order that infringes on MY rights and MY freedoms no matter what the reason."

As a Canadian currently living in the US I can't agree with and emphasize this statement enough. It is exasperating and frustrating watching people protest and complain about something as simple as wearing a mask in public. How can doing something that easy that helps the nation as a whole be bad?

 

[ArmenianJohn]

There is something in the national psyche of Canadians that avoids the rather selfish attitude of many Americans that "I won't follow any order that infringes on MY rights and MY freedoms no matter what the reason." That, and the fact that Canada has found strong well informed leadership under Justin Trudeau.

I would have to disagree with this. I'm American and I don't have that mindset, nor to most people I know, nor do most people in my area and I'm from the largest metro area in the US. People in the other large metro areas tend not to think that way, either. We're seeing people with that mindset being very vocal even though they're a minority in the US. By the same token, I've met many, many Canadians who have the "I'll do whatever I want" mentality, also. As in the US, it is the more rural Canadian population that has that mentality and is also a minority.

Having lived in both countries and in different parts of both countries I'm pretty in tune with how things are and there is no "national psyche" whereby Canadians are somehow less selfish than Americans. Canadians are basically just like Americans, except not so much Quebecois who have a very different culture which is unique to them.

 

[JackRT]

I would have to disagree with this. I'm American and I don't have that mindset, nor to most people I know, nor do most people in my area and I'm from the largest metro area in the US. People in the other large metro areas tend not to think that way, either. We're seeing people with that mindset being very vocal even though they're a minority in the US. By the same token, I've met many, many Canadians who have the "I'll do whatever I want" mentality, also. As in the US, it is the more rural Canadian population that has that mentality and is also a minority.

Having lived in both countries and in different parts of both countries I'm pretty in tune with how things are and there is no "national psyche" whereby Canadians are somehow less selfish than Americans. Canadians are basically just like Americans, except not so much Quebecois who have a very different culture which is unique to them.

Maybe you should read historian Pierre Burton's book "Why We Act Like Canadians".

 

[essentialsaltes]

Niagara Falls ferries:

Canadian ship limited to 6 passengers or 1 moose.
American ship limited to 50% of capacity.

 

[variant]

In the US we spent the money time and effort to have teams of scientists and epidemiologists ready for just this sort of thing.

Then we decided to put someone in charge who would brush them all aside so we could listen to some idiot.

 

[variant]

fyi, John Campbell interviewed a pharmacist from British Colombia....who addressed her impressions of why Canada has done so well to date...
-- uniformity of messaging
-- cooperation from citizens
etc

Their society isn't showing the fault lines of being persistently torn apart by idiots and nonsense issues.

 

[Subduction Zone]

Niagara Falls ferries:

Canadian ship limited to 6 passengers or 1 moose.
American ship limited to 50% of capacity.

I guess that they are lucky that that day was not "mooseday". My question, why even run the boat with so few passengers. Unless they are paying a fortune it would cost them more to run it than to leave the boat parked.

 

[essentialsaltes]

My question, why even run the boat with so few passengers. Unless they are paying a fortune it would cost them more to run it than to leave the boat parked.

Even with the VIP pricing, it hardly seems worth it.

FTA: "However we've made lemonade out of lemons," DiMaurizio said, referring to a new VIP cruise the company has created - a near-empty boat, plus a meal and funicular ride included with the ticket. Health precautions include temperature checks and mandatory masks.

The popularity of the C$69.95 ($52.00) per person cruise has "actually surprised us," DiMaurizio said."

 

[ThatRobGuy]

A couple of different factors are at play...

While I'd certainly agree that Canadians have a more embracing attitude to science in the interest of public well-being, as well as more of the social consciousness to "do the right thing" in many regards...and that certainly plays a part (and they should be commended for it)

Population density can't be eliminated from the conversation either.

IE: An NYC or LA County, following scientific guidelines to a T, is still likely to have more community spread and higher cases (per capita) than most of the rural areas of Canada where social distancing is the norm.

Toronto has less than 3 million in a size of 243.3 mi²
New York City has over 8 million in a size of 302.6 mi²

Overall, we have over 8 times the population density of Canada.

One could easily say that California and NY were following the science more strictly than West Virginia, yet their cases and deaths per 100k dwarf that of WV.

 

[pitabread]

Population density can't be eliminated from the conversation either.

While it stands to reason that population density plays a role, there are areas of the U.S. seeing a surge in cases with relatively low population density (e.g. Alaska, Montana, Wyoming).

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

One could easily say that California and NY were following the science more strictly than West Virginia, yet their cases and deaths per 100k dwarf that of WV.

The Governor in CA was trying to do thinks right. Like listen to science. Trump supporter or Ultra Rights ignored these orders. Trump even told his supporters to protests the Governor. After the Governor protest . People started ignoring orders. Going to the beach. CA should have never reopen. Because people wont do what's right. But CA started re- opening. Then Black life matters protest. Trump, his supporter, Black lives protect. Black lies matter opponents. People not listening to guide lines allowed COVID-19 going. COVID-19 should gone or really declining in the United States. But they failed .Big time. There's no good excuse.

 

[wing2000]

A couple of different factors are at play...

While I'd certainly agree that Canadians have a more embracing attitude to science in the interest of public well-being, as well as more of the social consciousness to "do the right thing" in many regards...and that certainly plays a part (and they should be commended for it)

Population density can't be eliminated from the conversation either.

IE: An NYC or LA County, following scientific guidelines to a T, is still likely to have more community spread and higher cases (per capita) than most of the rural areas of Canada where social distancing is the norm.

Toronto has less than 3 million in a size of 243.3 mi²
New York City has over 8 million in a size of 302.6 mi²

Overall, we have over 8 times the population density of Canada.

One could easily say that California and NY were following the science more strictly than West Virginia, yet their cases and deaths per 100k dwarf that of WV.

....compare Toronto to say Dallas or Phoenix. The latter two metro areas are probably even less dense than Toronto.

I think civic-minded Canadianculture plus uniform and consistent messaging from their national / provincial leaders are the some of the main contributors the relative success Canada has had vs the US.

 

[wing2000]

US: 202.8 cases per 1 million
CA: 22.9 cases per 1 million

7 day average as of 21 July.


An interactive visualization of the exponential spread of COVID-19 | 91-DIVOC