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Some of the people in Calgary, Alberta feel that their fundamental rights and freedoms are being taken away from them. (Excerpts from cbc.ca)

“Hundreds marched through downtown Calgary on Saturday to protest against mandated masks and other public health measures intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the same day record highs in new cases and hospitalizations were reported in the province.

The protests, or “Walk for Freedom,” have been a weekly occurrence in the city and across the country for months, but Saturday was the first since the province’s 10-person limit on outdoor gatherings was announced on Tuesday.

“To see that there is a group of people in the Canadian population that is against masking, and to say that it infringes on their freedom, is taking the word out of context — it’s actually an insult on all those civil rights heroes who fought for freedom,” said Dr. Sajjad Fazel, a public health researcher at the University of Calgary.

“When we look at the word freedom, we’re talking about when people’s rights are taken away … you’re not allowed to drink and drive without any consequences, right? Everything has a consequence … when it’s for the public good, the scenario changes.”

So to protest the measures meant to inhibit the spread of the virus, we’re going yo hold a protest that will actively spread the virus?  I realize the level of intelligence required to vote for false populist neoliberal demagogues isn’t particularly high but these actions, the hyper-spreading of a pandemic level virus, make me wonder if they need to take classes on how to walk and chew gum at the same time.

This from Health Canada.

Respiratory droplets are one of the main vectors of disease transmission. Yet the only masks being worn at the rally looked like this:

Which means the hospitalization rates in Alberta look like this:

This section of the demographic in Alberta are the ones that don’t believe in Public healthcare.  The very same people they regularly demonize and vote against, are the ones keeping these fine individuals alive once the succumb to the virus.  Unfortunately, this cannot go on forever, our doctors and nurses and the care they provide are rapidly burning-out finite resources.

“Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, has warned that the weeks to come are likely to bring dangerous trends.

“In case anyone is wondering, we’re really in deep trouble in hospitals. This can’t continue,” Saxinger said on Twitter. 

“This is a deadly pandemic, but we will be looking at excess deaths because of failure to take appropriate measures.”

Breaking point reached.  I certainly hope our plucky freedom fighters respect the overtaxed doctors right to choose – especially when they have to make decisions as to who lives and who dies based on the lack of medical personnel and resources.