Canadian COVID Risk
Like most countries, Canada and our Provinces and Territories have released public health measures to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infections. As part of that, the provinces have dropped the testing providing crucial data that decision-makers and the general public needed to assess the risk. Dr. Tara Moriarty, https://twitter.com/moriartylab, at COVID-19 Resources Canada, provides a tremendous Canadian resource. The national and provincial risk levels based on the available data are displayed on the risk dashboard on the site. This is likely your best resource to assess your COVID-19 risk:
Original Report: https://datastudio.google.com/s/vEWvcuflBew
Masks and ventilation
The increasing prevalence of respiratory illnesses other than COVID-19, including influenza variants like influenza A and B and H3N2, along with high transmission levels of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), make a strong case for wearing an N95 or better mask whenever you are indoors with other people whose vaccination status you are unsure about. Improving indoor air quality by bringing in more fresh air 💨 🪟, adding HEPA filtration, and wearing an N95 or FFP3 respirator or an N95 or P100 elastomeric mask with an exhalation filter 😷 is your best shot at reducing 🦠 transmission. The key is found in Reason’s Swiss Cheese Model 🧀.
The Swiss cheese model of accident causation is used in risk analysis and risk management, including aviation safety, engineering, healthcare, and emergency service organizations, and as the principle behind layered security, as used in computer security and defence in depth. It likens human systems to multiple slices of Swiss cheese, which have randomly placed and sized holes in each slice, stacked side by side, in which the risk of a threat becoming a reality is mitigated by the differing layers and types of defences which are “layered” behind each other. Therefore, in theory, lapses and weaknesses in one defence do not allow a risk to materialize (e.g., a hole in each slice in the stack aligning with holes in all other slices) since other defences also exist (e.g., other slices of cheese), to prevent a single point of failure. The model was originally formally propounded by James T. Reason of the University of Manchester and has since gained widespread acceptance. It is sometimes called the “cumulative act effect.”
[2]
The government of Canada has a good page describing the different types of respirators.
I wear Eclipse Innovations ARC N95 disposable respirators for most day-to-day activities.
https://www.canadianshieldppe.ca/products/csa-certified-eclipse-arc-surgical-respirators
I also wear a 3M 6000 half-face elastomeric respirator with P100 inhalation filters and a 604 exhalation filter for those times when I’m concerned that the viral load may be too high for my N95 or where the duration of exposure may be quite long, say, all day:
3M P100 inhalation filters:
3M 6000 exhalation filter:
If you’re looking to buy a half-mask that is easier to communicate through, both 3M and Honeywell have half-masks with speech diaphragms; however, as far as I can tell, neither product has an exhalation filter.
If you’re in Canada, try these sources:
- The Canadian Shield (they sell Eclipse Innovations masks)
- Canada Strong – Better Masks, Made in Canada!
- Eclipse Innovations
- MSA Safety
There are others, including 3M, North Safety, and Honeywell.
The Clean Air Crew has some good suggestions for elastomeric respirators: https://cleanaircrew.org/masks/
The ACGIH has an excellent guide to protecting workers from airborne viruses here.
Who is Doug Nix, anyway?
Hi there! I’m Doug Nix, and this is my place to express ideas for which I don’t otherwise have a home.
I’m a machinery safety specialist by day and a husband and dog dad by night, and this is my website.
I live in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.
You’re in the wrong place if you’re looking for my professional qualifications or CV. Head over to my LinkedIn page to read that stuff.
If you want to know more about me, you’re in the right place.
In “the before,” pre-COVID-19, I travelled a lot ✈️ for business; now, not at all 🤷♂️. I expect this to change again once we get to “the after,” if we get to the after…
I got my first vaccination shot on 2021-04-10, and I’m queued up for my third booster at the end of October 2022, so for now, I’m one of the “fully vaxxed.”
I was joking with a friend that I hadn’t figured out how to boot the microchips, and he informed me jokingly that I just needed to align myself with the 5G 📡 📱. I’ll have to get on that! 🤣🤣🤣
On the topic of 5G, there is some evidence that hazards related to RF radiation, in general, are being ignored by the international groups tasked with guiding these topics. You can read more about this problem in this comment by Hardell and Carlberg in Oncology Letters Vol. 20, No. 15. The document is freely downloadable in PDF without a fee.
I’ve been to many places over the years (153 cities and towns so far!), and I’ve met many great people. I’m looking forward to being able to do that again.
Most recently, I enjoyed Typhoon Hagibis when it hit Tokyo 🇯🇵 in October 2019, along with a small earthquake. You can read about my adventures in this post.
I visited Thailand 🇹🇭 in January and February of 2020. The virus was starting to creep into Thailand then. I self-quarantined for 21 days when I got home, as there was no public guidance about any pandemic-related precautions then.
Life is what you make of it…
Attitude is everything
Let me explain… I’ve truly come to believe that the most important aspect of life – bar none – is attitude. I don’t mean “having an attitude” or walking around trying to be “all gangsta.” I think Viktor Frankl said it better than I can hope to:
The last of human freedoms – the ability to chose one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances.”
Viktor Frankl
No one can take away a person’s ability to decide how they feel in any circumstance, which amounts to choosing one’s attitude. Do you want to be miserable and downtrodden? Decide to be that way. Feel like a victim all the time? You are choosing to be a victim.
Starting today, make a different choice!
I believe that we bring what we need into our lives. By having an attitude that is conducive to what we want and that is in harmony with our mission in this life, the universe will manifest what we need. I’ve seen it in my own life, and I believe that it happens every day.
Choose to live your best life starting right now – oh, and don’t forget your towel!
So explore around. Check out my ramblings. Get in touch, or not, as you like. I hope you like it or that it makes you think, laugh or shake your head. If I inadvertently offend – sorry, it’s nothing personal.
References
[1] “What’s Swiss Cheese got to do with wearing masks, COVID-19 vaccines and all we do to overcome COVID-19?,” AMS homepage – Anglo Medical Scheme, https://www.angloms.co.za/portal/ams/whats-swiss-cheese (accessed Sep. 12, 2023).
[2] “Swiss cheese model,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_cheese_model (accessed Sep. 12, 2023).
