Quote:
Originally Posted by Nite
The fact that we have a universal health system means that a provincial government will be the one to blame if hospitals can not handle a big outbreak. So it's in the government's interest that Ontarians are as healthy as possible. if we had a two tiered healthcare system the government would have less need in keeping Ontarians healthy. As a result, provincial governments have to act more responsibly than American states. That's why no matter which provincial party is in power they have all acted more or less responsibly when dealing with covid in my opinion.
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The question of what is "responsible" behavior is still a very open one in my opinion. We still have the Swedish approach (no lockdowns, no mandates, just a lot of advice), the Australian approach (try to keep it out with isolation of all incomers to the country and vigorous contact tracing) and what I'll call the British/European approach of strict lockdowns, business closures and the rest.
And in deciding what's most responsible, it's necessary to consider the economic effects and related effects on mental health, suicide rates, poverty, long-term educational effects on children and much more. In general during this pandemic in the developed world, the rich have gotten richer, the middle class has mostly done OK and the poor have survived on massive government benefits which may themselves have long-term consequences on inflation and, as interest rates rise, a negative impact on the ability of governments to both service debt and keep up needed current spending.
I am of the opinion that lockdowns are bad, forced business closures are mostly bad (however whenever possible the outdoor conduct of service businesses should replace indoor activity) but mandatory masks and distancing are good. And now that we have the vaccines, mandatory exclusion of the unvaccinated from indoor public spaces is good. I also think that closure of borders to places where new variants have arisen is good (at least until vaccine effectiveness toward them can be determined) and so is mandatory isolation (and/or testing) of new arrivals. In the case of the US and Europe, this would require much better control of the southern border and coastlines.