Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 15,403,898. (Deaths: 631,003 and Recovered: 9,380,008) 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 6:00 a.m. ET on Thursday July 23, 2020:
From Global News, Canada reported 112,208 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 38,107 (up 165) total confirmed cases and 2,755 total deaths. Currently, there are 128 people are in hospital with 37 of those in ICU. 33,812 cases have been resolved.
Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 57,938. (up 142)
The Region of Durham reported 1,788 (up 2) confirmed cases of COVID-19. The site also reports 1 current outbreak (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) with 34 outbreaks having been "concluded." Currently, Clarington still sits at 102 total cases. (93 are resolved, 2 people are currently in isolation and 7 people have passed away. Hospitalized currently: "Zero")
In international news,
Trump Has Resumed CCP Virus Briefings, Calls on Americans to Wear a Mask. President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening resumed giving regular COVID-19 briefings, coming weeks after they were discontinued. Americans should wear a mask “whether you like the mask or not,” he said. “They have an impact,” he added. “My administration will stop at nothing to save lives … we’ve learned so much about this disease,” Trump said, adding that the “vaccines are coming … sooner than anyone thought possible.” “Some areas of our country are doing very well,” Trump said, adding that it “will get worse before it gets better.” He noted that the U.S. medical supply chain is now well-stocked and suggested there are no shortfalls.
Miami, the area of Florida hit hardest by the Chinese coronavirus, is doubling down on its mask order, reportedly deploying a team of dedicated police officers to enforce the requirements. Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez announced the updated mask order on July 1, requiring masks “in all public spaces inside and outdoors throughout Miami-Dade County.” The order essentially expanded on his April mask order, requiring coverings to be worn outdoors “with few exceptions.”
‘Anyone could be quarantined’: Switzerland repeats advice not to travel abroad. Swiss health officials have defended their decision to retrospectively expand the list of ‘high risk’ countries, saying that anyone departing Switzerland should do so with the understanding that they may be forced to quarantine on their return. On Wednesday, July 22nd, Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health added 15 countries to the mandatory quarantine list while removing two others, bringing the total number to 42. Controversially, the new additions were given retrospective effect, meaning that people who returned before the announcement will now be forced to quarantine - even if they have been in the community for days. Interestingly, Switzerland was slow to lock down in the beginning and took a fairly liberal approach to public health measures. Back on April 8, the Swiss looked to ease the lockdown. Switzerland is hoping to start lifting coronavirus restrictions before the end of the month as the government fears a sharp recession.
In national news,
List of hand sanitizers being recalled by Health Canada is growing.
The agency says some hand sanitizers are made with ethanol or denaturants that are not acceptable for use and may pose health risks. It says denaturants are added to ethanol which makes it unfit for human consumption and the products are being recalled. Other hand sanitizers that contain technical-grade ethanol are also being recalled from the market because they are not compliant with federal regulations and may pose a risk to health.
Alberta's COVID-19 response is fragmenting as a 2nd wave looms. Their top-down approach is changing as more responsibility shifts to municipalities, educators and individuals. It's been a bad couple of weeks for COVID-19 in Alberta. From July 7 to 21, it recorded the most new cases, per capita, of all provinces, according to federally compiled data. Alberta also saw the highest percentage of positive tests over that time, and now has the highest per-capita rate of active cases in Canada. Its hospitalization rate is on the rise and second only to Quebec. Alberta has five broad health zones and, for the first time in the pandemic, significant numbers of new cases have been cropping up in all five at the same time. The largest surge is in the Calgary zone, where physicians have been making impassioned pleas for more government action to limit the spread, and city council suddenly opted to require face coverings in indoor, public places. Edmonton's council is set to consider a similar bylaw at an emergency advisory committee meeting on Thursday. With all this going on at the municipal level, it was striking to see provincial leaders strike a less dire tone this week. At a press conference Tuesday, Premier Jason Kenney said "we should all be very concerned about the recent rise in active COVID-19 cases" while simultaneously announcing plans for a "near-normal" return to classes in September. No class-size limits. No mandatory masks.
Show me the money! Hundreds of thousands of Canadians could get a tax break for working from home during pandemic. Tax experts are calling on the government to clarify the rules for the 'work-space-in-the-home' deduction. Hundreds of thousands of Canadians could be eligible for a lucrative tax deduction as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. But just how many get to claim that deduction could depend on their employers, and on how the Canada Revenue Agency deals with a series of questions raised by the sudden changes that have compelled millions of Canadians to work from home. Armando Minicucci, a partner with the accounting firm Grant Thornton, said he expects a big increase in the number of Canadians able to claim a deduction for turning part of their home into an office." I would say the number would have to be in the hundreds of thousands," he said. CERB got thrown around to Canadians like bags of popcorn, but my guess is the CRA (government) will fight this tax deduction and tighten up the rules so that fewer (working) Canadians can claim the deduction.
In Ontario,
Yesterday, just over 50-percent of COVID-19 cases were found in people under 40. Ontario has added another 165 cases of COVID-19t, a slight decrease from yesterday but still higher than last week. Deputy Premier and Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted that just over 50-percent of the new cases are in people under the age of 40. On Monday, Premier Doug Ford pleaded with young people to stop going to parties and asked people to go back to the golden rule of wearing a mask, and if you don’t have a mask stay two metres apart. Today’s additional cases bring the province’s total to 38,107. Elliott says 28 of the provinces 34 health units are reporting five or fewer cases with 33 in Ottawa, 25 in Peel, and 39 in Windsor-Essex. Eighteen regions are reporting no new cases. There have been 207 people recover in the last 24-hours and two people have died bringing the death toll from the virus to 2,755. Ministry of Health data shows 22,974 tests had been done over the last day.
'It feels like it's over': Psychology prof explains rise in COVID-19 among young people. An expert in psychology believes the sudden rise in COVID-19 cases among young people in Canada is not surprising; and ultimately comes down to their need to build social networks. For the past two days, health officials in Ontario have announced that more than 50 per cent of the new COVID-19 cases in the province are among people under 40 years of age. In total, the province announced 368 new cases of COVID-19 since Tuesday. Steve Joordens, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, called the increase in COVID-19 cases “not really surprising by any means” and pointed to something he called “optimal arousal theory,” which suggests that everyone enjoys a certain amount of social activity in their lives, but a lack of these interactions can build up among people.
It's because business cares about you, silly.....Cineplex Theatres urge Ontario to loosen restrictions on theatre occupancy limits. Executives at Cineplex Inc. are asking the Ontario government to loosen restrictions over how many people can occupy its cinemas at a single time. Dan McGrath, chief operating officer of the Canadian movie theatre chain, says the company has been in conversations with the province's health ministry in hopes of revising limits that allow up to 50 moviegoers inside a single auditorium. Ontario's Stage 3 reopening guidelines, introduced last week, cap a movie theatre's occupancy of 50 guests in the building, regardless of how many screens it operates. McGrath says the existing capacity rules don't make economic sense for the chain. "Unless we can get 50 people per auditorium, we'd be operating at a loss," he said on Wednesday. "We'd like to see higher." Well, I got news for you, Dan. SO WOULD THE REST OF US, but the numbers and public health advice is not in line with you wanting to "see it higher."
'No idea is a ridiculous idea:' Ford open to mostly outdoor learning when students return to class in September.
Premier Doug Ford says that ‘no idea is a ridiculous idea’ when it comes to finding ways to allow children to return to school fulltime amid a global pandemic this fall, including the use of outdoor learning “as much as possible.” The provincial government has asked school boards to create three separate plans for the resumption of classes this fall with those plans being based upon online learning only, a hybrid model with children attending classes in-person on alternating days or weeks and the fulltime resumption of in-person instruction. Officials have said that the different plans are necessary given the still evolving risk posed by COVID-19, however Ford told reporters during his daily briefing on Wednesday that the goal of his government is “to get children back in class safely five days a week,” at least at the elementary level. Canadian parents want kids to go back to school but are worried about them getting COVID-19: poll
In local news,
3 things you need to know as Durham moves to Stage 3 on Friday
(There are still a handful of places that aren't allowed to open)
Durham is finally entering Stage 3 on Friday, July 24, which means public gatherings can increase in size and nearly all businesses and public spaces will be reopening. Here’s what you you need to know about this big step forward, most businesses and public spaces that weren’t included in Stage 2 are allowed to open now including:
— Playgrounds
— Restaurants and bars for dine-in service
— Music lessons, art classes and tutoring
— Libraries, which can re-open for all on-site services as along as materials that have been checked out or used in the library are disinfected or quarantined before being recirculated
— Movie theatres, but audiences are limited to the number of people that can maintain physical distancing of at least two metres, up to a limit of 50 people indoors
— Personal care services that tend to a customer’s face such as facials, eyebrow grooming, eyelash extensions and ear piercing
— Indoor attractions such as bowling alleys, escape rooms, pool halls and arcades
— Live sports events, but spectators are subject to physical distancing requirements and gathering limits
There are a few exceptions:
There are still some places and activities deemed too high risk, even for Stage 3. These include: amusement parks and water parks; buffets at restaurants; table games at casinos; private karaoke rooms; overnight camp for children; dancing at restaurants and bars; “prolonged or deliberate contact” while playing sports; and saunas, steam rooms, bath houses and oxygen bars.
How many people can gather?
Stage 3 allows for indoor gatherings with a maximum of 50 people and outdoor gatherings with a maximum of 100 people. Attendees are still required to keep a two metre distance from others, except for those in their household or 10-person social circle. Gatherings refers to events such as concerts, live shows, festivals, conferences, open houses, sports activities, fairs, fundraisers and parties. Gathering limits also apply to higher risk places where people congregate such as movie theatres, gyms and casinos. People gathering indoors for religious services can continue to fill up to 30 per cent of the capacity of a room.
Sports, Sports, Sports,
The Jays won last night in a rain shortened contest. Dinger by Vladdy. I like the arm on Bo Bichette; but, geez I hate that hair. Still no word on where the Jays will play, but Camden Yards is on the list, as is Buffalo.
Musing,
I just love the work of Dr. Paul Ekman, I subscribe to his mailing list. I mused a while back about whether you know if a person is smiling under the mask, then I received this article in my mailing list yesterday. The Science of Smiling blog tells us this, the common element in most members of the smile family is the appearance change produced by the zygomatic major muscle. This muscle reaches from the cheekbones down and across the face, attaching to the corners of the lips. When contracted, the zygomatic major pulls the lip corners up at an angle toward the cheekbones. With a strong action, this muscle also stretches the lips, pulls the cheeks upward, bags the skin below the eyes, and produces crow’s feet wrinkles beyond the eye corners. (In some individuals this muscle also pulls down slightly the tip of their nose; in still others there will be a slight tug at the skin near their ears). The simple action of the zygomatic major muscles produces the smile shown for genuine, uncontrolled, positive emotions. No other muscles in the lower part of the face enter into this felt smile. The only action that may also appear in the upper face is the tightening of the muscles that circles the eyes. The felt smile lasts longer and is more intense when positive feelings are more extreme. I believe that all of the positive emotional experiences—enjoyment of another person, the happiness of relief, pleasure form tactile, auditory, or visual stimulation, amusement, contentment—are shown by the felt smile and differ only in the timing and intensity of the action.
Does COVID-19 remain on hard surfaces, and for how long? Well, that is a great question. If you search you will find conflicting studies/reports from all around the world. So, if you think you know....you must be reeeaaallly smart. Or, full of s**t.
Did you know there is a liqeur that is labelled as "Unicum?" 'Nuff said.
The whole work-from-home (WFH) thing is going to revolutionize the nature of employment not just in Ontario, but in Canada. Think about it, if you live in Ontario...why can't you apply for a job and work in Nova Scotia, or Vancouver? If you work in manufacturing, etc. shut up. You know what I mean. And, if you don't, then stop reading and leave because you're not smart enough to be understanding any of this.
We have all lost it, at some point in our life. "GET OFF MY BUS" is a great example.
"What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are." (C.S. LEWIS)
On this day in history in 1976; First Cases of Legionnaires Disease
4,000 delegates from the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Legion met at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia for a four-day gathering. Several days after the event ended, many attendees became sick. By August 2nd, 22 people were dead and hundreds connected to the gathering were experiencing pneumonia-like symptoms. The cause was traced back to an aquatic microorganism bacteria at the hotel and the disease was later called Legionnaires disease.
In 1986; UK Prince Andrew Marries (Apparently, he is in the news lately.......)
Prince Andrew married English commoner Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey which has recently celebrated it's 900 year old birthday in London.
There's a "Gorgeous Grandma Day?"
Today is – GORGEOUS GRANDMA DAY – NATIONAL REFRESHMENT DAY – NATIONAL VANILLA ICE CREAM DAY
Bank of Canada unclaimed balances portal
supportontariomade.ca
Here is how to clean your non-medical mask.
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.
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