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Comment by Mikeb85 | Hacker News Reader

Just need to look at Canada right now...

I am an ignorant American; can you elaborate?

Much of Canada is back to being locked down (ie. businesses and schools closed) for the whole population (not just unvaxxed) due to our healthcare system crumbling.

It's unearthed the sad truth that Canadian healthcare has far less total capacity than either the US or really any EU country as we're now one of the few places on earth back into lock-down.

I'm physically in the Czech Republic right now - life is normal. I know the US isn't locked down. No where in the EU is right now. But Canada is...

What a bunch of nonsense. Do you have any proof of that? I'm in Canada right now and as far as I know, "lockdowns" are not the norm. Ontario yes, much of Canada, no.

BC locked down as well

No it's not.

Source: I'm in BC

Ontario and Quebec account for like 2/3 of the population... Both are locked down.

As for my assertions of Canadian healthcare capacity, OECD keeps stats, we're basically at the bottom.

I guess we can argue what constitutes a lockdown but somehow I think that involves not being allowed to go out which this is not.

Quebec: https://cdn-contenu.quebec.ca/cdn-contenu/sante/documents/Pr...

Ontario: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/public-health-measures

Business closures are the most damaging aspect.

The current level of 'restrictions' if you don't like the word lockdown are harsher than any EU country (except Netherlands) and the US currently.

The strain on Canada's healthcare system is frankly, embarassing. Hell, our healthcare system was embarassing before the pandemic.

That is a good point

Netherlands are in lockdown as well; at the tail end of letting delta run wild and with our health care at it's limits due to that we started it as Omicron was just getting started. Shortage of staff, beds and care has been pretty consistently high and getting worse here as well as in Canada apparently. We basically introduced capitalism into our health care system back in the day with insurers etc. subsequently optimizing away all of the (under normal circumstances) superfluous capacity. Strangely we still don't seem to have made any real improvements to our capacity since Corona started and have mostly just experienced loss of staff instead similar to what this article describes.

Ah, missed that one.

The Healthcare system is not even close to crumbling, even in Quebec where 150% bed occupation rates were normal even before covid. You are mistaking a huge, baseless overreaction with the reality on the ground. And that was the case even before the ridiculous, clownish measures our incompetent government decided to put in place

Source: Both of my parents work in the covid ward of the biggest hospital in quebec ( CHUM)

> even in Quebec where 150% bed occupation rates were normal even before covid

If you don't call that crumbling then what is? The literal walls falling down?

All sorts of medical procedures are being cancelled, Covid tests aren't being done, there's not enough staff, etc... That isn't the norm in developed countries, FYI.

I'm literally in another country, following my partner around as she has a million medical appointments (she's pregnant and hasn't been home in 2 years). Right now, during Covid, their system is working better than Canada's has during my lifetime. She gets appointments within a day. Shows up, no wait. Nothing gets cancelled. The clinics/hospitals aren't close to full. Everything is quick and works well.

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