Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 5,704,173. (96,447 new+) (Deaths: 352,671 and Recovered: 2,447,445) I emphasize reported because there is a wide variance in testing and manner of reporting from country to country and place to place.
As of 6:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday May 27, 2020:
From Global News, Canada reported 86,636 confirmed cases of COVID-19. (1,036 new+)
The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 26,191 total confirmed cases (287 new-) and 2,123 total deaths. Currently, there are 848 people are in hospital with 143 in ICU. 19,958 cases have been resolved. Yesterday, Ontario reported the lowest number of new COVID-19 cases in nearly two months. (287)
Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 48,598. (614 new+)
The Region of Durham reported 1,399 confirmed cases (17 new-) of COVID-19. The site also reports 9 (none new) current outbreaks at Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes with 21 outbreaks having been "concluded." Currently, there are 84 (1 new+) cases in Clarington. In Durham Region the community spread rate of the cases currently sits at 20%, with 60% being contracted in institutional settings.
In international news,
Trump vs. Twitter (round 1) Twitter labeled Trump tweets with fact check(s) for the first time. For the first time, Twitter called tweets from Donald Trump "potentially misleading" — a decision that prompted the president to accuse the social media platform of election meddling. On Tuesday, Twitter highlighted two of Trump's tweets that falsely claimed mail-in ballots would lead to widespread voter fraud, appending a message the company has introduced to combat misinformation and disputed or unverified claims. "Get the facts about mail-in ballots," read the message beneath each tweet.
Hong Kong police fired pepper pellets to disperse protests over a new security bill. Hong Kong riot police fired pepper pellets to disperse protesters in the heart of the global financial centre on Wednesday, as new national security laws proposed by Beijing revived anti-government demonstrations. Police also surrounded the Legislative Council where a bill was due to be debated that would criminalize disrespect of the Chinese anthem, amid soaring tensions over perceived threats to the semi-autonomous city's freedoms.
From the BBC, it looks like travel is set to resume in much of Europe. Spain set to stop quarantining arrivals into the country effective July 1st. Several airlines including EasyJet, Jet2 and Ryanair have announced that they plan to resume flights and holidays soon. Easyjet will be resuming flights from 22 airports across Europe from 15 June, as well as regional flights across the UK. But there will only be one international flight from the UK - from Gatwick to Nice in France.
Here’s a rundown on the current status of Canada, Mexico, and certain Caribbean destinations. While Americans wait, six European countries are cautiously reopening—and, for travel purposes, the British still will be treated as EU citizens, Brexit notwithstanding.
In national news,
From the "drunk with power" file, the NDP and Liberals cut short the debate on how the House of Commons should function during the COVID-19 pandemic. The House of Commons full powers were pushed to the side Tuesday leaving parliament on the sidelines until September. The house voted on the Liberals proposal to suspend full parliamentary sitting until September just before 8 p.m. and it passed the house with NDP support. Some MPs will still sit in Ottawa, four days a week well into June as part of a special COVID-19 committee that will include multiple hours of questions on the pandemic from opposition leaders.
Democracy is...dying. Justin is killing it in the name of his (own) sense of self-righteous morality. The pandemic is just a convenient ally.
Social assistance recipients are being allowed to double-dip on CERB payments, depending on province they live in. Conservative governments are among the more generous and some Liberal-run provinces are taking the toughest stance. The federal government’s emergency-response benefit was originally pitched as a buffer for employed people who lost their jobs because of the pandemic and lockdown. But thousands of Canadians on welfare and disability benefits are also receiving the $2,000-a-month payments, prompting a patchwork response from the provinces — and widely varying incomes for recipients across the country. For some provincial governments, the little-known social assistance version of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) has even meant a sudden windfall, courtesy of Ottawa. Welfare and disability benefits recipients are only eligible for CERB if they made $5,000 in work income over the previous 12 months, and have lost most or all of that due to the pandemic. Still, those who receive it are often making more than they were before.
Ontario happenings,
Absolutely staggering news about the state of (some) Long Term Care Facilities in Ontario. A military report released Tuesday shed light on the "gut-wrenching" conditions of five long-term care homes in Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) report, written by Brigadier-General C.J.J. Mialkowski, outlines the grim state inside the facilities, claiming not only that there were staffing shortages and lack of personal protective equipment (PPE), but also that there were bug infestations, old food trays stacked inside resident rooms and that patients were observed “crying for help with staff not responding.” Last month, Canadian soldiers were sent to facilities in Ontario to help staff struggling to deal with severe COVID-19 outbreaks that resulted in resident deaths.
The homes included Orchard Villa in Pickering, Altamount Care Community in Scarborough, Eatonville Care Centre in Etobicoke, Hawthorne Place in North York and Holland Christian Homes' Grace Manor in Brampton. Based on two weeks of observation, the CAF said they identified a number of medical, professional and technical issues at all five long-term care homes.
Among them were significant allegations claiming that staff used the same PPE—gloves, masks and gowns—while treating multiple patients. In at least one of the homes, the CAF said that patients who were COVID-19 positive were allowed to wander through the facility. Military members said they witnessed residents “crying out for help” while waiting anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours for a staff member to respond. The report also claims that some residents were force fed to the point where audible choking could be heard. In two of the homes, military members reported seeing bug infestations, including ants, cockroaches and flies.
In an emotional press conference, the premier then proceeded to promise “justice for these residents and their families” and said that the government has launched a full investigation into the allegations, including an investigation by Ontario’s Chief Coroner. “The results of these investigations will be shared with police to look into any possible criminal charges and I will also make the results of these investigations public,” he said.
In local/sports news,
Environment Canada says the heat wave will continue into Thursday. Environment Canada says it’s going to feel like its in the upper to mid-thirties Wednesday afternoon and Thursday afternoon.
A quick pivot to face shield manufacturing saves jobs at Oshawa and Bowmanville companies. Two Durham companies that quickly transitioned to making face shields in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have found success and increased employment in a time of great economic uncertainty. 10West Commercial Graphics located on Farewell Street in Oshawa and Canadian Rubber Group in Bowmanville made transitions to manufacturing face shields.
From the sportsdesk, the NHL unveiled its return to play plan and hopes to start playoffs in August. The plan would see the 24 teams ( Every team except for Anaheim, Buffalo, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Ottawa and San Jose) return to their home cities for training beginning July 1 at the very earliest. They would then head to two hub cities (yet to be determined) for the playoffs. Each hub will play host to the top 12 teams in each conference with one based in an Eastern Conference city, and another in the West. The league has narrowed its focus of hub cities to 10, and will make a final decision based on approval from local health officials.
Musing,
I'm not sure who possesses the greatest hatred for each other.....CNN vs. TRUMP or Breitbart vs. BIDEN? I wonder how you could measure that?
To book a COVID-19 test in Durham Region, click here.
Lakeridge Health Mental Health Clinic 905-440-7534 or toll free at 1-833-392-7363 (Monday-Friday 9am-4pm)
Live coronavirus map of Canada: Tracking every case of COVID-19 in the country.
Wait times in grocery (and other) stores can be found here.
Hunting/fishing related closures in Ontario can be found here.
Town of Clarington COVID-19 updates can be found here.
Province of Ontario COVID-19 updates can be found here.
Government of Canada COVID-19 updates can be found here.
World Health Organization updates/information can be found here.
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