Friday April 17, 2020 ~ BC [Updated at 1 pm]
by Mary Brooke, B.Sc. ~ West Shore Voice News
You probably already realize that the GPS in your mobile phone tracks your whereabouts. But here is a graphic example of how that socio-technological capacity will perhaps ultimately serve a positive purpose within the exercise of understanding the spread of disease.
More assuredly, the phone tracking (i.e. the whereabouts of you in real time), has indicated the impacts of orders by government on your freedom to move about.
Seen for the period of this graph (February 17 to March 30, 2020), the use of public transit dropped off almost immediately and the most dramatically of the responses to almost any measure, pretty much in the same pattern as people needing to go to work. Though by mid-March people were getting to work in some cases by means other than public transit.
Once spring break from schools began (last day of classes before the scheduled break in BC was March 13), more people were tracked as being away from their homes while the spike in location goes up for being outdoors. This could happen at any time, regardless of a pandemic.
Activity for grocery and pharmacy shopping increased from March 9 to 16 as people stocked up for either spring break or for early (pre-officially-announced) pandemic planning, but has fallen since then. A few more people went shopping on Sunday March 22, then the number of people shopping for groceries continued to further fall. People are either now adequately stocked up for needed supplies and/or are showing more caution about being in crowded places where they and others may or may not be adequately protected with masks, gloves and distancing.
Today Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry (who ordered many restrictions on social movement which have significantly impacted the economy) and Health Minister Dix said there won’t be any loosening of movement restrictions any time soon.
Dr Henry presented a detailed data modelling report to media in a technical session this morning April 17, 2020 (this is the second one, the first having been delivered on March 27, 2020). The same report was discussed in the public media session as livestreamed on Facebook at 11 am today. The full slide presentation is posted on the BC CDC website here: “COVID-19 in BC – Where we are: considerations for next steps.”
There might be some opportunity for activity in summer months. A return to school in September might have some students in school while others are studying at home. Businesses should expect no travel for conferences, and to be continue doing many meetings remotely with the use of technology. All of this until there is a vaccine (likely no sooner than 18 months, says Dr Henry), as ‘herd’ (community) immunity will not be achievable quickly enough to allow for full release of movement restrictions.
======== COVID Modelling REPORT: as Presented by the BC Public Health Officer, April 17, 2020 – as posted on the BC CDC website.
======== Article by West Shore Voice News on the full April 17, 2020 data-modelling media briefing about COVID-19 [link to come]