I don't know. I don't see anyone still wearing a mask here, but I continue to do so. I was planning a flight for June, but now I'm nervous about it again.

I think we'll see numbers climbing everywhere. They're going up here in Aus, in spite of the high vaccination rate. Hospitalization rates are up to, but not to the levels when Delta was around, so that's something.

They are still falling in Canada and in BC, as of last Friday we no longer have a mask mandate. We have just started a 2-week school spring break and I will be wearing mine for the next 3 weeks still. There are a lot of people out and about and some are away and will come back in a week or in 2 and I just want to keep myself safe. Where I was today probably 90% of people are still wearing them.

The link between spikes in Europe turning into spikes here has been pretty solid throughout the pandemic, no? Of course we are less jabbed, and less healthy as a whole and we have abandonned all mitigation efforts, lots of fun in store for us I am guessing.

Add to the list Covid in China and HK and I think we may be in for a new round of shortages to top this all off.

So depressing. I still mask everywhere and am fairly locked down. I have 2 compromised family members. Nice weather is improving my quality of life but I'm still upset about all of this! Between this and the Ukraine, life is really hard right now. Trying to stay positive.

I go by our local positivity rate which, right now is very low, under 3%. Mask requirements in our town and most communities here have been dropped. But I still wear them in very public or busy places.

There are indications that the detection of the covid virus in US waste water is on the increase in some areas. The usual pattern is 2 weeks prior to an increase in known cases.

https://www.google.com/search?q=covid+sewage+monitoring&sxsrf=APq-WBsONX7livaK8oFgWVNW51jzMQXq5A:1647438972637&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjvs4K25Mr2AhUyg3IEHZIoCiMQ_AUoA3oECAEQBQ&biw=1280&bih=606&dpr=1.25

We have to take it a day at a time. I agree with Zalco. I'm just living my life as usual.....not wasting time worrying about what I can't control. I'm jabbed....I carry a mask, wear it when needed. End of story.

There are indications that the detection of the covid virus in US waste water is on the increase in some areas. The usual pattern is 2 weeks prior to an increase in known cases.

I would suggest not swimming in it then :-)

Apparently Pfizer is suggesting a second booster for anyone over 65. I'll be there if and when :-)) Being vaxxed and boosted is the only thing that gives me any peace of mind.

UK news reports the two week decline in cases that lmade the case for relaxed masking is already wiped out by an equal rise in cases. They're back to where they started. China is in terrible shape. I don't see this becoming 'just' *Endemic* yet, only because some nations or parts of nations currently have better numbers. The good news is in the effective vaccines and *treatments* available -- only a distant hope two years ago, but now reality...for some, in some parts of the world.

The Guardian ran an article this week about China locking down a city of 17.5 million people because of a Covid surge. They also mention this:

And then there's Hong Kong: "In Hong Kong the variant has overwhelmed the city and its government’s insistence on sticking to a strategy of elimination over mitigation. On Sunday it reported more than 32,400 cases. Hospitals have been swamped, with patient beds in lobbies and carparks. As of last week Hong Kong had the highest death rate in the developed world, inflaming criticism of the government for failing to adequately prepare for a large-scale outbreak during the two years of being largely Covid-free.

“People should not get the wrong impression that the virus situation is now under control,” said Dr Albert Au, an expert with the government’s Center for Health Protection. “Once we let our guard down, it’s possible that (infections) will bounce back and rise again.”

It was inevitable, and will continue to be so.

And a faction in Congress put the kibosh on continued funding for pandemic relief - specifically $$ to support treatments, shots and testing. A new package is being created to try to overcome that, so there's still some hope.

I honestly am very disappointed in leaders who seem to lack the ability to accurately assess risk, altho I do understand that's a basic human failing for most people.

I'm still wearing a mask, and I had made my colonoscopy appoint for the middle of June, hoping that the pandemic would will have diminished significantly by then - mainly so that the hospital would not be crowded.

I could not get an appointment earlier than June anyway, due to booking problems, but I don't know whether that is pandemic relate or just the current popularity of colonoscopies. Possibly other people have postponed theirs also, and I was supposed to get on last year, as I am on a three year cycle, but I thought that one more year would be okay. I used to be on a five year return cycle.

One city in China had over 32,000 new cases Sunday alone. If anyone thinks it's not going to increase in North America, they're fooling themselves. I continue to wear a mask.

The point about the uptick in detected Covid in wastewater that most caught my eye, was that they are seeing an increasing proportion of the BA.2 subvariant there. The most recent report that I saw said that now about 25% of new Covid positive tests are this new variant.

I still haven't seen a lot of information about what that will mean in terms of severity of illness, although I have read that it seems to be even more contagious than the Omicron variant we just suffered through

Zalco is totally correct, we copy what they do.

I was so sure we'd made it to endemic... DRAT! I have done everything right, I was so ready. I even told one of my bosses I was coming back twice a week. First time in 2 years. I can't believe I'm going to have to back pedal in 6 months. Or less.

I hear ya Rob. I have been so, so very careful. I mask everywhere. I'm jabbed. Those I love are jabbed. A friend who is a teacher said that his school went mask optional 2 weeks ago and their covid numbers have doubled in just these 2 weeks.

Wishful thinking isn't going to do it. We HAVE to learn to deal with reality. It absolutely doesn't matter that you are tired of this and you want it to be over and you are done with dealing with it. Wear your mask.

I agree Patriciae-gw!

The past flare-ups have varied in timing from place to place but the nature of them has been similar. Look abroad to see what to expect in general but it hits the US longer and harder because of lower mask and vac complance. A health matter elsewhere, a partisan political one here.