An informed guide to the pandemic, with the latest developments and expert advice about prevention and treatment. |
(Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.) |
 | | Daily reported coronavirus cases in the United States, seven-day average.The New York Times |
|
For the last two years, the fear of a potentially fatal disease has spurred many Americans to make drastic changes to their lives. But a wave of new polls taken during the Omicron wave show that the public's resolve is waning. |
While a majority of American voters remain concerned about the virus, recent polling suggests that the desire for normalcy has approached or even overtaken alarm about the virus itself. |
- 70 percent of Americans agreed with the statement that "it's time we accept Covid is here to stay and we just need to get on with our lives" in a recent poll by Monmouth University. Support for vaccine mandates dropped to 43 percent from 53 percent in September, and support for masking and social-distancing guidelines dropped to 52 percent from 63 percent over the same period.
- A recent Yahoo News/YouGov survey found that 46 percent of respondents thought Americans should "learn to live with" the pandemic and "get back to normal." By contrast, 43 percent thought "we need to do more to vaccinate, wear masks and test."
|
- A Republican firm, Echelon Insights, found that 55 percent of voters thought Covid-19 should be "treated as an endemic disease that will never fully go away," like the flu, while 38 percent said it should be "treated as a public health emergency."
- The Monmouth University survey also found that support for vaccine mandates dropped to 43 percent from 53 percent in September, and support for masking and social-distancing guidelines dropped to 52 percent from 63 percent over the same period.
|
People are still worried about the virus, with daily cases, hospitalizations and even deaths near record highs. But Nate notes that the larger worries about the virus have not translated into greater support for measures to stop its spread. |
Instead, fears of the virus apparently have been outweighed by mounting frustration with the inconveniences of the pandemic. |
Many Republican politicians have long opposed virus restrictions, and many Democratic governors have moved to roll back masking and other mandates in recent days. But it may not be easy for the Biden administration to change its approach: A majority of Democratic-leaning voters continue to support a more vigorous response to the pandemic. |
We recently asked readers if they were ready to "live with the virus" and nearly 2,000 of you have written in. You can tell us what you think here. We'll be featuring some of your comments in the coming days. |
The protests roiling Canada |
Meanwhile, north of the border, an unruly occupation by truck drivers who oppose coronavirus restrictions has paralyzed Ottawa, the Canadian capital, for the past 11 days. The protests have also become a rallying cry for powerful far-right groups around the world. |
In copycat convoys this week, thousands of people in vehicles crossed New Zealand and Australia. American truckers are in the planning stages of launching their own convoy, from California to Washington. |
To understand more about the chaos in Ottawa, I spoke to my colleague Ian Austen, who covers Canada. |
What have the last few days been like? |
Until last night, the truckers were blowing horns day and night. Aside from the noise, you basically can't get around downtown Ottawa, and you can't easily get over to Quebec. Hospitals have had to open up residences so employees can stay overnight because the city is just gridlocked. |
But it's also evolving. During the week, it's been maybe 400 or 500 trucks. On the weekends, it's frenetic. Last weekend, another thousand trucks of various sizes showed up for the day, and about 5,000 more people showed up. There's also sort of a party scene — if you can stand the cacophony — next to the hotel I'm using as an office. There was a circle of tractor-trailer trucks and there was a D.J. in the middle of it. |
What are residents telling you? |
Downtown Ottawa is compact and you don't have to get very far away from Parliament to be in residential neighborhoods. And for those people, when I've interviewed them, their life is just complete turmoil. A number of them have been afraid to go out. I was roughed up by one protester the first day, and a lot of residents are being yelled at and heckled for wearing masks. Most shops in the downtown area, including a major shopping mall, have just given up and closed. |
This all started out as a group of truckers who were irritated because the federal government mandated vaccines for all truck drivers — Canadian and American — crossing the border into Canada. Now, there are various people who seem to be leaders of the protest, but it's fuzzy — not all of them are connected to the trucking industry. |
One woman is a former country musician who was a founder of a political party that was initially devoted to separating Alberta and Saskatchewan from the rest of Canada. It's now become a sort of far-right party — the Maverick party. |
There's another group called Canada Unity that purports to be an organizer of the protest. It is trying, for the second time, basically to convince the governor general, who represents Queen Elizabeth, and the Senate, which is an appointed body, to overturn the elected government and then collaborate with them on pandemic measures and various other things. It's a bizarre, totally unconstitutional desire to overthrow Justin Trudeau's government. |
What are the protesters telling you they want? |
Basically, they want Trudeau to overturn all pandemic measures in the country. The issue is that most pandemic measures, because health care is principally a provincial responsibility, are imposed by provinces, the majority of which are under conservative government. So Trudeau doesn't have the authority, and he certainly does not have the inclination. |
But there is also a mess of conspiracy theories and incoherent demands. There was recently a flag burning ceremony involving a woman who claims to be Queen of Canada, and who was detained by the police in December for posting on social media that everyone should go out and shoot health care workers. |
What does this protest tell us about Canada and its experience with the pandemic? |
Well, I'm not sure these groups represent a substantial body of Canadians. One poll showed that just under 70 percent of Canadians said they had nothing in common with the people in the convoys. Canadians also have very high vaccination rates. |
It's a question that the police chief, the mayor and the federal public safety minister are being asked, and no one has a clear answer. |
Canada has no equivalent of the National Guard. And the military, while it helps with natural disasters, has only twice in modern history been involved in basically policing civilians. |
But in the last few days, the police have made a little bit of progress. They started towing some vehicles, they shut down a fuel depot, and they persuaded the demonstrators to dismantle a canteen they built downtown. But the core groups of trucks are still there and getting more and more snow-covered every day. And given that yesterday the police chief said he desperately needed more police officers, however it's going to end, that does not seem to be imminent. |
What else we're following |
I am double vaxxed and boosted and recently recovered from a breakthrough infection so I am as Covid bulletproof as one can be. My infection came with zero symptoms. I am a diligent mask wearer and will continue to be long after Covid has reached endemic status. I feel to do otherwise would exhibit a callousness towards others I do not feel. We will all eventually learn to live with Covid. Will we all eventually learn to live with consideration for each other? — Ken Hoffman, Bayside, Calif. |
Let us know how you're dealing with the pandemic. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter. |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment