COVID-19
I understand panic – Dr. Abdu Sharkawy
Dr. Abdu Sharkawy is a Canadian Infectious Disease Specialist
I understand panic. When I first took swimming lessons at the age of 5, it was near impossible to resist the urge to clasp my hands into any part of my instructor, telling myself I would sink and drown otherwise. No matter how many times I survived this harrowing trial of nerves, my reaction was the same. I needed that anchor, that safety post to stave off certain terror. I’m a grown adult now and still not the best swimmer. Every now and then the water gets a little high, my breaths more shallow, my chest and throat tighten. But I don’t give in.
I understand fear. When I climbed Kilimanjaro at the age of 32, I found sepsis, delirium and a dislocated knee to contend with on my descent. And as I pleaded my case in broken Swahili to a group of older men playing cards outside a dusty motel, the response was something between indifference and jest. After all, death is everywhere in the world’s poorest continent. What was so special about me? A privileged tourist, someone sure to have enjoyed more and sacrificed less than most anyone else there. And as I came to the realization I was likely to die of septic shock, I was terrified as much by not being prepared for the moment…as not being cared for while it was happening. But I persevered. A clumsy concoction of bottled water, salt and every conceivable antibiotic I could rustle up from my backpack saved me. Barely.
I am still here. I am thankful and more aware of the privilege of life and health than ever before. I see it each day with every friend taken ill and every patient who dies.
In the coming days and weeks, more public events and organized gatherings will be canceled, or at least postponed indefinitely. The wave of new cases has evoked a sure sense of terror in many. And I understand. I also understand the fear and panic that has only heightened as news outlets everywhere declare new pockets of trauma and death in areas near and far.
This is a rare moment in history. We have a choice to make. We can determine to find helplessness, failure and futility by trying to save ourselves no matter how we see fit. Or we can determine to find survival, resilience and endurance by saving each other. Thoughtfully. Responsibly.
Non-essential travel and crowds of anything much bigger than a walk in closet can fit can no longer be condoned. The risk to the many now outweighs the benefit to you. Until testing can be rolled out more fully and index cases are prevented from spawning clusters and outbreaks, we will have to do without all inclusive resorts, Le Bron James up close and Coachella. We will have to be more creative and resourceful to work, learn and manage other tasks from home.
I don’t know how long this will last. Nobody does. This may dissipate in the summer heat and become an unpleasant memory or slowly percolate into a call for Martial Law.
But we must not fall to fear or succumb to panic. We CAN wash our hands and avoid others when we feel sick. We CAN call a trusted doctor or public health unit to ask for advice before flocking to the ER. And we can help each other with patience, servitude, kindness and compassion.
I’m still surviving swimming pools and plan on climbing Kilimanjaro again one day. I’m not afraid. I’ve already survived.
#patiencenotpanic #altruismnotnihilism
#cleanhands #openhearts #openminds
You don’t have to be afraid but you have to stay at home – From the front line in Italy
COVID-19
Canadian Health Department funds study to determine effects of COVID lockdowns on children
From LifeSiteNews
The commissioned study will assess the impact on kids’ mental well-being of COVID lockdowns and ‘remote’ school classes that banned outdoor play and in-person learning.
Canada’s Department of Health has commissioned research to study the impact of outdoor play on kids’ mental well-being in light of COVID lockdowns and “remote” school classes that, for a time, banned outdoor play and in-person learning throughout most of the nation.
In a notice to consultants titled “Systematic Literature Reviews And Meta Analyses Supporting Two Projects On Children’s Health And Covid-19,” the Department of Health admitted that “Exposure to green space has been consistently associated with protective effects on children’s physical and mental health.”
A final report, which is due in 2026, will provide “Health Canada with a comprehensive assessment of current evidence, identify key knowledge gaps and inform surveillance and policy planning for future pandemics and other public health emergencies.”
Bruce Squires, president of McMaster Children’s Hospital of Hamilton, Ontario, noted in 2022 that “Canada’s children and youth have borne the brunt” of COVID lockdowns.
From about March 2020 to mid-2022, most of Canada was under various COVID-19 mandates and lockdowns, including mask mandates, at the local, provincial, and federal levels. Schools were shut down, parks were closed, and most kids’ sports were cancelled.
Mandatory facemask polices were common in Canada and all over the world for years during the COVID crisis despite over 170 studies showing they were not effective in stopping the spread of COVID and were, in fact, harmful, especially to children.
In October 2021, then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced unprecedented COVID-19 jab mandates for all federal workers and those in the transportation sector, saying the un-jabbed would no longer be able to travel by air, boat, or train, both domestically and internationally.
As reported by LifeSiteNews, a new report released by the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) raised alarm bells over the “harms caused” by COVID-19 lockdowns and injections imposed by various levels of government as well as a rise in unexplained deaths and bloated COVID-19 death statistics.
Indeed, a recent study showed that COVID masking policies left children less able to differentiate people’s emotions behind facial expressions.
COVID vaccine mandates and lockdowns, which came from provincial governments with the support of the federal government, split Canadian society.
COVID-19
Ontario student appeals ruling that dismissed religious objection to abortion-tainted COVID shot
From LifeSiteNews
An Ontario Tech University student is seeking judicial review after the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ruled his beliefs did not qualify as protected ‘creed.’
An Ontario university student who was punished for refusing the COVID shot is contesting a tribunal ruling that rejected his religious objection to the vaccine.
In a November 28 press release, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) announced that a judicial review has been filed on behalf of former Ontario Tech University student Philip Anisimov after his religious objection to the COVID vaccine was dismissed by an Ontario court.
“Mr. Anisimov’s objection to the Covid vaccine was deeply rooted in his religious commitment to live according to biblical precepts,” Constitutional lawyer Hatim Kheir declared. “He hopes the Divisional Court will clarify that his religious objection was protected by the Human Rights Code and entitled to protection.”
In 2021, Ontario mandated that all students in the province show proof of vaccination unless they had an exemption or agreed to attend a COVID jab education session boasting about the shots. The third option was not available at Ontario Tech University, as schools could choose whether or not they would offer such a program to students.
Anisimov had requested an exemption from the experimental, abortion-tainted COVID shots on religious grounds but was denied and deregistered from his courses.
He was then forced to spend an entire extra year to complete his studies. According to his lawyers, Ontario Tech University’s decision to not approve his COVID jab exemption request “not only disrupted his career plans but also violated his right to be free from discrimination on the basis of religion, as protected by the Ontario Human Rights Code.”
The university’s refusal to honor his exemption prompted Anisimov to take legal action in April with help of the JCCF. However, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario rejected his religious objection, arguing that it was not protected as a “creed” under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
Now, Anisimov is appealing the ruling, hoping that his case will serve as a precedent for justice for students who were discriminated against for refusing the abortion-tainted vaccine.
“My hope is that this case helps set an important precedent and encourages Canadians to reflect on the direction our society is taking,” he explained. “My trust is that God does all things for the good of those who love Him, who are called by His purposes.”
COVID vaccine mandates, as well as lockdowns that came from provincial governments with the support of the federal government, split Canadian society. The mRNA shots have been linked to a multitude of negative and often severe side effects in children.
Beyond health concerns, many Canadians, especially Catholics, opposed the vaccines on moral grounds because of their link to fetal cell lines derived from the tissue of aborted babies.
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