Hamilton turns to French bulldogs, SoBi bicycles to show physical distancing to young adults

In an effort to reach young people, the city of Hamilton has launched a campaign that turns to images of French Bulldogs and SoBi Bicycles to explain physical distancing. 

The city says COVID-19 cases have been increasing among those in their twenties — especially in the 20 to 24 range — since early June. The group accounts for 44 per cent of new cases since June 12th and 20 per cent of Hamilton's total cases. 

That's why it's launching a campaign, called "Physically Distance Hamilton Style," that uses "Hamilton-specific icons" to show just how far six feet apart truly is. 

Posts on the city's social media accounts mark the distance in coffee cups, French Bulldogs, and SoBi Bicycles. 

Dr. Ninh Tran, the city's associate medical officer of health, said that the campaign was prompted by the emerging trend of increased cases in young people and a need to re-emphasize physical distancing. 

"We're still seeing a slightly higher rate in this 20 to 29 year old group," he said. "When we see higher rates in certain groups, then I think it becomes more important to re-emphasize the protection measures and behaviours."

In a media release, the city says that it hasn't effectively communicated "in a way that resonates with this [age] group," and developed something "in a visual style that appeals to them."

The campaign will also include a website with more detailed messaging on keeping safe during the pandemic. 

Living situations mean carpooling, sharing spaces

The city says the uptick is likely a result of not following physical distancing rules and other preventative measures such as hand washing and gathering limits.

Dr. Tran said that a lot of the cases deal with people's living situations, as young people tend to live in larger groups. 

"One of the actual biggest hot spots is actually living [spaces.] If there's a bunch of young adults living together, and one of them gets it, and then the rest of that household happens to get it too," he said.

"We didn't find any other sort of trends. They happen to live together, they're carpooling together, they happen to work together in the same shifts."

The city also cites as possible reasons the desire of maintaining social bonds, perceiving the virus as "not being a serious threat" and uncertainty of "how to balance physical distancing with social norms." 

Young adults, the city says, are just as likely to get the virus, but will typically experience milder symptoms and are not being hospitalized or dying at the same rate as older adults.

Dr. Tran says that having a decreased perception of risk affects how people might behave when it comes to taking precautions.

But he clarified that seeing the virus as not being serious isn't something that is particular to a young person's perspective. 

"It's certainly not unique, there's definitely people in all age ranges, even those who at are a particularly high risk...that don't think it's that serious," he said. "You even have people that are really healthy that think it's really [concerning] and are avoiding going out at all. So I think it's a variation." 

Dr. Zain Chagla, infectious disease physician at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton and associate professor of medicine at McMaster University, said that there isn't the detailed data to deal with exactly how young people are getting infected, presumably due to patient privacy. 

In an email to CBC News, he said there was a myriad of factors, such as shared living spaces, the number of young frontline workers in health care, and a higher tendency to travel around the Greater Toronto Area, which might mean heading into higher risk areas like Peel or Toronto. 

"My feeling is it's a bit of everything — more high risk front facing jobs, a lack of distancing as normal, roommates and friends hanging out in closer contact settings (a shared house or apartment), travel in and out of the GTA, and potentially associated with some of our prior healthcare outbreaks," he said. 

The city's release doesn't list high traffic front facing jobs, like retail, health care, or grocery stores as a reason for the possible increase. 

Dr. Tran said that in terms of where people might work, if there is higher traffic then "inherently, you might be at higher exposure" but added that it can be mitigated with hand hygiene and physical distancing measures. 

Other tactics of the campaign include reaching a younger audience through local universities and colleges, and collaborating with local hospitals and business development groups to reach workplaces that employ young people.