1/With the 4,456 new official Covid-19 cases in Ontario today and the majority of Covid-19 cases in Canada now being VOCs, maybe it's a good time to update what we know about transmission. Thanks to @DFisman for editing and fact-checking and @realsarahpolley for the inspiration.

2/Transmission:
•Covid-19 is airborne: the virus can hang suspended in the air for hours and travel much further than 2m (6’), especially indoors

3/This includes people who have not yet developed symptoms (pre-symptomatic) and those who never develop symptoms (asymptomatic)
•The majority of Covid-19 cases in Canada are now the variants of concern, which are 1.2-2.2 times more contagious, and 60% more deadly

4/•The highest risk individuals for COVID-19 infection in Ontario are now young, healthy people 10-39,
•1 dose provides protection against severe illness, but you are not fully protected until 2 wks after your second dose; the level of protection may change as VOCs evolve

5/•Cloth masks do not offer enough protection from Covid-19 indoors unless they are lined with polypropylene; use KN95 masks or those with similar levels of filtration
•Mask fit is crucial; even small gaps reduce your protection. Check your fit:

6/•Outdoors is safer than indoors; transmission is greatly reduced (at least 19 times), but transmission can occur in close or crowded conditions and masking further reduces risk

7/Seriousness of Illness
•Young healthy people with Covid-19 are deteriorating quickly at much higher rates
•Brain disorders affect 1 in 3 Covid-19 survivors
•1 in 4 people diagnosed with even mild cases Covid-19 report long Covid-19 symptoms months after recovering

8/•The death toll of Covid-19 is likely much higher than official numbers as evidenced by the much higher than the average expected deaths all over the world

See this w/ footnotes at https://gisele-gordon.medium.com . Drs and scientists: THANK YOU. We are listening. Edits are welcome

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