Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 11,018,780. (Deaths: 524,828 and Recovered: 6,175,566) 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 6:28 a.m. ET on Friday July 3, 2020:
From Global News, Canada reported 104,753 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 35,370 total confirmed cases (149 new) and 2,680 total deaths. Currently, there are 119 people are in hospital with 40 in ICU. 30,730 cases have been resolved. There are some really cool tracking charts in this article. (Fewer than 200, again yesterday!)
Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 55,593. Quebec, considering much of it has re-opened, must really be doing something right as their new daily cases have been in and around only 50 for the last week, or so.
The Region of Durham reported 1,703 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The site also reports 2 current outbreaks at Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes with 32 outbreaks having been "concluded." Currently, Clarington sits at 96 total cases.
In international news,
To put the situation south of the border in perspective; the United States recorded as many COVID-19 cases in the last two days as Canada has during the entire pandemic. Some people will say "population difference". To that I say; "bullshit". The United States has had the same amount of time to reign in this beast and they are failing, badly.
But hey, the stores are open....a surprising 4.8 million jobs were added in July, as restrictions on many businesses across the nation were lifted. At a press conference at the White House, President Donald Trump said that "80 percent of small businesses are now open."
Life, liberty and face masks: COVID-19 preys on a divided America. If a world leader in science and technology can’t convince its citizenry to wear face masks amid a raging pandemic, that’s a problem. Such is the reality that America faces as a highly transmissible virus runs riot ahead of Independence Day celebrations. With the nation setting ever higher one-day records for infections, which topped 50,000 for the first time on Wednesday, public health experts worry that not enough Americans grasp the risks — or worse, view the crisis through a political lens in an election cycle.
In national news,
What does social science says about convincing people to wear masks during the COVID-19 pandemic? Kim Lavoie, a professor of psychology in behavioural medicine at the University of Quebec at Montreal, is among the experts calling for governments in Canada to consult social scientists on preventive measures like wearing masks as lockdowns lift in the absence of vaccines or effective treatments for COVID-19. While Fisman called Canada "a country of rule followers," there are people who oppose mandating masks, saying it impinges on individual rights and freedoms. But with COVID-19, one person's behaviour affects the next person — the basis for secondhand smoke laws. "It's no more [an infringement] than asking you to wear a seatbelt," Lavoie said. "You're not free to drink yourself under the table and then get behind the wheel. If you don't have a PCR test at your house to test yourself negative, then you have to consider the possibility that you might be infected and not know it and be putting us all at risk."
Trudeau drives straight into another pothole with the WE controversy. It’s like he just can’t resist, and his advisers can’t get to him fast enough to prevent the damage. A week ago the prime minister made one of his near-daily COVID-related spending announcements. It’s hard to hand out money and hurt yourself as a politician, but he seems determined to try. His government, he declared, will give more than $900 million in help to student volunteers this summer. Eligible students will get up to $5,000, depending on the amount of time they work. Huzzah! Another example of Liberal devotion to helping struggling Canadians. But here’s the rub: the program will be farmed out to an organization known as WE Charity, an operation with strong Liberal ties. WE will take in $19.5 million in fees for its work, but the government had no choice, the prime minister asserted: according to the federal bureaucrats, WE alone had the skills and operations to administer the program. Justin says "No one else could possibly handle the job."
In Ontario,
Because commuting doesn't already suck enough as it is......Metrolinx says it’s begun testing new seat dividers to help prevent the spread of germs. The clear plastic screens will be seen on 30 GO buses, starting June 30. They’ll also be on five trains, starting Monday. As well, the organization is testing out one-way doors on some of its trains. Special signage will indicate which doors are for entering and which are for exiting. Floor decals will show riders which direction to walk in.
Premier Doug Ford says efforts to ramp up testing on some Windsor-area farms is behind held up by uncooperative migrant workers. Ford says that it seems like some workers are afraid of being sent home or losing their job if they test positive. He says health officials were at one such farm recently. “We wanted to go back down there and test, but all the workers went and hid,” said Ford. “We were able to re-test three or four out of 190. That’s why I want to emphasize to the workers that nothing will happen [if they test positive], so there’s no reason to hide.” Ford says migrant workers can’t be fired if they get a positive test. If they do test positive and have to isolate, I say give them the CERB, at least they are working.
Popular Wasaga Beach is partially closing after 'human behaviour at its worst' on Canada Day. A popular Ontario beach will mostly close again after reckless crowds packed the tourist destination to a "whole new level" on Canada Day, officials say. In an emergency meeting on Thursday, council said they are partially reclosing Wasaga Beach because of the “blatant disrespect” by tourists visiting on Wednesday. "Last weekend our beachfront was busy but yesterday, Canada Day, it was taken to a whole new level," Town of Wasaga Beach Mayor Nina Bifolchi said in the meeting. Other beaches will likely soon follow suit, as we are in a heatwave and the beach-goers are now going to go somewhere else.....
In local happenings,
After pausing all elective surgeries in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lakeridge Health began ramping up surgeries in early June. John Dickie, chief and medical director of surgery at Lakeridge Health, explains that as a result of the pandemic, all non-emergency surgeries were stopped in mid-March and then shortly after, the hospital began performing time-sensitive surgeries such as cancer surgeries. But it wasn’t until June 8 that Lakeridge was able to begin clearing the backlog of elective surgeries, such as joint surgeries.
Don't forget to water your gardens! Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for Durham Region through Sunday. The heat event is likely to persist into next week and temperatures are expected to reach 35 C most days and 23 C overnight.
Musing,
Why the heck can't drivers simply stop at the designated line when they are waiting at an intersection? Why do some drivers have to pull over the walkways or put their vehicle right into the intersection? Does COVID-19 have a side effect that can take away a driver's depth perception?
The WE Charity controversy is an absolute travesty of democracy and nobody in Canada gives a shit. Almost a billion dollars (in un-tendered contract) to a charity that has ties to Trudeau. Enough of the "state of emergency" in Canada. Let's get our lawmakers sitting again and allow actual debate and not just autocratic federal rule.
The hardest thing an insecure person can ever face....is them self. (Me)
If you seek affirmation; walk with the sheep. If you seek challenge; run with the wolves. (Me)
On this day in history, Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones was found dead of an apparent accidental drowning on July 3, 1969. Two years later to the day, in 1971, Jim Morrison died of a heart failure in a Paris bathtub.
Today is NATIONAL EAT YOUR BEANS DAY – NATIONAL CHOCOLATE WAFER DAY – NATIONAL FRIED CLAM DAY.
Clarington Tourism Businesses and Attractions Directory can be found here.
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.
Hunting/fishing related updates in Ontario can be found here.
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