Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 6,591,826. (117,702 new+ and significantly up) (Deaths: 388,353 and Recovered: 3,183,788) 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 6:26 a.m. ET on Thursday June 4, 2020:
From Global News, Canada reported 93,074 confirmed cases of COVID-19. (675 new-) 50% of the new confirmed cases come from Ontario, 43% are from Quebec.
The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 29,047 total confirmed cases (338 new-) and 2,312 total deaths. Currently, there are 791 people are in hospital with 127 in ICU. 22,811 cases have been resolved. There are some really cool tracking charts in this article.
Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 51,884. (291 new+)
The Region of Durham reported 1,500 confirmed cases (11 new-) of COVID-19. The site also reports 9 (none new) current outbreaks at Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes with 23 outbreaks having been "concluded." Currently, Clarington is at 88 cases. (2 new+). In Durham Region the community spread rate of the cases currently sits at 20%, with 60% being contracted in institutional settings.
In international news,
All eyes were on this story. The other three officers involved in George Floyd's death have been arrested and charged.
Thomas Lane
J. Kueng
Tou Thao
Arrested. In custody. Charged with Aiding and Abetting.
It appears the protests in the U.S.A. are beginning to slow down and become more calm.
The first of three memorial gatherings for Mr. Floyd is planned for Thursday afternoon in Minneapolis at a service where the Rev. Al Sharpton, the civil rights leader, and family attorney Ben Crump will speak. Mr. Floyd's body will then travel to Raeford, North Carolina, where he was born 46 years ago, for a public viewing and private family service Saturday.
There will be a large service Monday in Houston, where Mr. Floyd spent most of his life. A private burial will follow.
Hopefully the healing can begin and the issues that black people face can be addressed in a meaningful way. I have no solutions, but we need to get on this and not let the issues slip away and be forgotten, again.
In national news,
Everybody should listen to this. Jill Bennett, a reporter from B.C. interviewed Dionte Jelks. It is powerful and upsetting. Dionte Jelks is a School Principal from B.C. and is a black man originally from Chicago. In the interview he talks of life in Chicago, systemic racism there and racism in Canada.
Mr. Jelks is poignant, articulate and he has lived it. He calmly drills down to the issues in a way that made me think about things differently. I've been to the U.S. many, many times and I thought I "knew stuff". After listening to this, I realized that I don't know shit.
In Ontario,
From the "Best of luck to you" file, several agriculture groups that advocate for farmers say a serious labour shortage is putting this year’s harvest in jeopardy. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture, the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, and the Canada Horticultural Council all say farmers are facing province-wide shortages. The groups are urging the provincial and federal governments to provide resources or other support to help farms attract local workers. Sorry, but as long as people can play "Hide and Seek for $500/week" on CERB, they are not going back to work.
Premier Doug Ford says provincial health officials are already holding discussions about the second stage of the reopening plan and he hopes to make a final decision over the next week. In the two weeks since the province entered phase one, the daily number of new cases and the number of tests performed per day has fluctuated. Ford says he hopes to bring forward a plan in the coming days, despite the government previously saying they wanted to see a consistent, two-week decline in new cases before moving on to phase two. Even though the provincial state of emergency has been extended until June 30, Ford says this won’t stand in the way or slow down the reopening process.
An explanation of Stage 2 From the official Ontario website:
Beyond Stage 1
Based on the best practices and lessons learned from Stage 1, the next stages of reopening Ontario will focus on opening more businesses, public spaces and services and enabling more parents to return to work. Public health measures, workplace safety guidance, protections for vulnerable people and working remotely is expected to continue throughout each stage.
Stage 2
In the second stage, we will consider:
-opening more workplaces
-opening more public spaces
-allowing some larger public gatherings
-continued protections for vulnerable populations
From the "This is why it's going to be around for awhile" file, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown is urging residents to stop the "reckless" behaviour after more than a dozen charges were laid in relation to "backyard parties" over the past week. He said between May 26 and June 1, a total of 56 charges were laid against people not following municipal and provincial orders put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. He noted that 19 of the charges related to parties in the backyard of homes in the city.
Local/sportsdesk happenings,
From quaint little Bowmanville, Durham police are investigating after a 15-year-old boy was robbed in Bowmanville while he was walking home. Officers say the boy was walking along Sprucewood Crescent, just off of Mearns Avenue, around 11 p.m. Tuesday. They say the boy was on the phone with his mother when two men came out of an SUV parked on nearby Madden Place and approached him. According to police, the men robbed the boy of his backpack. His mother came out of her house and ran to the area where she says she was able to scare off the suspects.
If anyone knows who these assholes are, call the police. Please.
Uxbridge residents are holding an anti-racism rally Friday. Think about attending, if you are from that area.
The NBA is planning to attempt a return this summer, after a pause of nearly five months. NBA commissioner Adam Silver is to propose a 22-team return-to-play format to the league's board of governors Thursday, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
Musing,
Not all of the fallout from COVID-19 is bad. Algonquin Park sees “large influx” of reservations after re-opening. People are getting outside, getting back to nature and are planning to spend time in the great (Canadian) outdoors. When I go for a run on our local trail I see kids playing in the creek and in the woods. Families are out playing together, walking...doing what we were meant to do. (before the internet)
CERB abuse reporting https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/bscs/l3adz/internet/initial.do?target=login&lang=en&program=qa">can be done here.
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.
1hr/run+battleropes/curls(5)
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