Lygenztia *556 ("We cannot walk alone"..........) Friday August 28, 2020

Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 24,659,337. (Deaths: 836,307 and Recovered: 17,116,712) 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 Friday August 28, 2020:
Health Canada reported 126,848 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 4,921 cases are active, there have been 9,102 deaths and 112,825 people have recovered.

The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 41,813 total confirmed cases and 2,803 total deaths. Currently, there are 48 people are in hospital with 18 of those in ICU. 37,940 cases have been resolved.

Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 62,056.

The Region of Durham reported 1,879 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The site also reports no current outbreaks (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) with all 38 outbreaks having been "concluded." Clarington remains at 108 total cases. (3 are in isolation, 98 are resolved and 7 people have passed away. Hospitalized currently: "zero")

In international news,
Japan's PM Abe resigns as coronavirus hits economy, endangers legacy. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving premier, announced his resignation because of poor health on Friday, ending a stint at the helm of the world’s third-biggest economy in which he sought to revive growth and bolster its defences. Abe has battled the disease ulcerative colitis for years and two recent hospital visits within a week had fanned questions on whether he could stay in the job until the end of his term as ruling party leader, and hence, premier, in September 2021.

Police exempt cyclists from wearing face masks in Paris. Cyclists and people taking exercise in Paris will be exempt from a new requirement to wear masks outdoors to combat a surge in coronavirus infections, police said on Friday.

J&J's Janssen to begin Phase II COVID-19 vaccine trials next week in Spain. Johnson & Johnson’s (JNJ.N) Janssen unit will begin Phase II trials for its COVID-19 vaccine in Spain, the Netherlands and Germany next week, Spanish health minister Salvador Illa announced on Friday, as the U.S. drugmaker expands testing for its experimental shot. The trial will last two months and include 590 participants across the three countries, including 190 people in Spain, Illa told a news conference in Madrid. More than 150 potential vaccines are being developed and tested globally to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, with 30 in human trials. There is so far no approved COVID-19 vaccine, except one authorised in Russia before large-scale trials.

In national news,
Canadians could go to the polls over a weekend if election held amid COVID-19. Elections Canada says it would be able to run a general election amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but is anticipating an uptick in mail-in voting and is eyeing updates to federal elections law to allow more flexibility for voters and those running the vote, including big changes around when people cast their ballots. In an update on their ongoing elections-readiness planning in the context of COVID-19 , the federal elections agency says that, in order to make voting more accessible and safe, the Canada Elections Act could use some amendments. In particular, Elections Canada is suggesting a weekend election, featuring a two-day polling period on a Saturday and Sunday, instead of the traditional one-day vote usually held on a Monday. This would give Elections Canada the ability to set up polling places in larger locations that may not be available mid-week, to enhance physical distancing and help with recruiting poll workers.

A good read by Rex Murphy of the National Post, Trudeau's 'brutal' attempt to use COVID to push his green agenda. An ideological fixation — global warming — is taking over genuine efforts to fix the economy. (Never let a good crisis go to waste, eh justin?)

B.C. sheds new light on where and how COVID-19 is spreading, as health officials announce 68 new cases. As of Thursday, B.C. has 906 active cases of COVID-19 infection. At a news conference held Thursday in Victoria, the province introduced a new map breaking down the location of COVID-19 cases within each of B.C.'s health authorities. B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix also reported 68 new cases of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, as well as one more death, a person in long-term care living in the Fraser Health Region. The death toll from the disease now stands at 204 people. There are 906 active cases of infection in B.C., up from 896 a day earlier. Twenty-two people are in hospital, seven of them in intensive care.

In Ontario,
Some good news for school bus drivers. Ontario school bus drivers applaud decision to renew Driver Retention Program. The SBO says the program will help bring in more drivers for the upcoming school year. “This driver retention program ensures that eligible drivers receive two bonus cheques throughout the school year and rewards them for their hard work in ensuring students get to school and back safely each day,” said Nancy Daigneault, Executive Director of School Bus Ontario. “We are happy to work with the government in delivering this program and are pleased that our drivers are being recognized for their professionalism. The route protection funding will also help keep drivers, monitors and students safe in their return to school.” The group is also thanking the government for the $25-million investment for route protection. “SBO is also pleased with the Ministry of Transportation for helping to get our drivers licenses renewed and processed quickly. The government has listened to our concerns and responded positively with a driver retention plan, PPE, funding for cleaning/sanitizing and route protection. Health and safety is our number one priority at SBO and this will go a long way to ensure a safe September.”

Good news, Ontario's Stage 3 reopening brings no surge in COVID-19 cases after 4 weeks. Rules loosened since late July in most parts of province, but cases haven't soared. Four weeks ago today, Toronto and Peel Region joined the rest of Ontario (with the exception of Windsor-Essex) in Stage 3 of the province's pandemic reopening plan. That means 97 per cent of Ontario's population has been living under looser restrictions for at least four weeks, enough time for trends in new coronavirus infections to emerge. Despite that, the provincial average number of daily new cases has increased only slightly since early August, when the trendline hit its lowest point in months. While it would be absolutely premature for the province to declare victory over the coronavirus, the absence of a spike in new cases suggests it's fair to call the first month of Ontario's Stage 3 reopening a success.

Ford says 'patience is running low' with education unions. Premier Doug Ford says that Ontario’s education unions need to “step up” and “get with the program” ahead of the resumption of school next month. Ford made the comment to reporters as he toured a manufacturing facility in the Ottawa area on Thursday afternoon. He said that while he respects and appreciates Ontario’s public school teachers, his “patience is running low” with unions that he claims have fought his government’s efforts to reopen schools for in-person instruction. “The teachers unions have to get with the program right now and do what everyone else is doing across the country and that is all pulling in the same direction,” he said.

In local news,
Woman suing Ajax long term care home for $30-million after mother dies of COVID-19. The daughter of a woman who died of COVID-19 in Ajax’s Ballycliffe Long Term Care and Retirement Residence is now suing the facility and Chartwell, the company that owns it. Among many claims, the woman says her 93-year-old mother was cared for by staff using contaminated PPE, because they didn’t have enough to use new equipment for each resident. The statement of claim, filed in June, also alleges the facility didn’t put in place proper safety protocols after the outbreak. She is seeking $30-million in damages. None of the claims have be tested or proven in court.

A data issue was the cause of the delay in municipal reporting for Durham’s 10 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. In a statement to Durham Radio News Thursday, the health department says the rest of the cases will be uploaded to the data tracker Thursday and clarified. “There was a data issue with addresses which caused a delay in reporting the municipality,” said spokesperson Glendene Collins. “This has been corrected and the data will be pulled at the regular time today [Thursday].”

Sports, sports, sports,
In as much as art imitates life, sports now imitates politics. Maybe it always did, i'm not sure.

Musing,
Mental Health: Dr. Carole Lieberman spoke on C2C and discussed the detrimental effects of the lockdown on mental health as well as how to deal with paranormal experiences without feeling like you're going crazy. Over the last few months, she said, many people adhering to stay at home orders have experienced anxiety, depression and PTD while, in some cases, the abuse of alcohol and domestic violence has also increased. "It all pretty much started," she observed, "not so much from coronavirus itself, but the lockdowns." As such, she advised individuals struggling with these issues to concentrate on building their immune systems, "putting laughter in your day," and getting exercise in order to alleviate the stress brought about by these difficult living conditions. Read the full article here.

"When words are scarce they are seldom spent in vain." (WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE)

"If you think the world hates you, it's much more likely that you hate the world." (me)

Did you know the Bank of Canada is publicly owned? In many other countries, this is not the case for their national bank/reserve.

Who the heck still places a classified ad in the newspaper. And another thing.......who the heck actually reads them?

On this day in history, in 1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers "I Have a Dream" speech at the March on Washington. On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the African American civil rights movement reaches its high-water mark when Martin Luther King, Jr., speaks to about 250,000 people attending the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

Did you know Martin Luther King once spoke at a Masonic Temple? (It was in 1968, and sadly just one day before he was killed.)

In 1996, after four years of separation, Charles, Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne, and his wife, Princess Diana, formally divorce. On July 29, 1981, nearly one billion television viewers in 74 countries tuned in to witness the marriage of Prince Charles.

It's National Thoughtful Day....think about it.

Today is - NATIONAL THOUGHTFUL DAY – RAINBOW BRIDGE REMEMBRANCE DAY – NATIONAL RED WINE DAY – NATIONAL POWER RANGERS DAY – NATIONAL BOW TIE DAY – NATIONAL CHERRY TURNOVER 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.

Lygenztia *555 (Just because..........) Thursday August 27, 2020

Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 24,363,342. (Deaths: 830,352 and Recovered: 16,895,616) 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 August 27, 2020:
Health Canada reported 126,417 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 4,868 cases are active, there have been 9,094 deaths and 112,445 people have recovered.

The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 41,695 total confirmed cases and 2,802 total deaths. Currently, there are 43 people are in hospital with 15 of those in ICU. 37,863 cases have been resolved.

Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 61,945.

The Region of Durham reported 1,878 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The site also reports no current outbreaks (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) with all 38 outbreaks having been "concluded." Clarington remains at 108 total cases. (4 are in isolation, 97 are resolved and 7 people have passed away. Hospitalized currently: "zero")

In international news,
France adds more than 5,000 new coronavirus cases in one day. France's prime minister said Wednesday that reopening schools is "one of the essential conditions" for a restart of the country's economy, which is hobbled like elsewhere by the coronavirus pandemic. Despite confirmed virus cases rising, Jean Castex insisted that France needs to return to work as well and avoid "falling into an economic and social crisis that would be much more dangerous than the health crisis." Speaking on France-Inter radio, and later at an annual forum of an association of business chiefs, Medef, Castex urged compatriots to wear masks more but insisted that rising coronavirus infections across the country are "nothing to panic about."

Weekly COVID-19 cases in England decline for the first time since July. Some 6,115 new people tested positive for COVID-19 in England in the week to August 19, down 8% on the week before and showing the first decrease since the start of July, figures from the government’s test and trace operation showed on Thursday. A higher total of 7,941 people were transferred to the contact tracing system in the week, in part due to an operational delay in the prior week.

Conflict and coronavirus spark a hunger crisis in Burkina Faso. The number of people in need of emergency food aid in Burkina Faso has tripled to more than 3.2 million – some 11,000 of whom are suffering from “catastrophe” levels of hunger – as the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic hits a country already engulfed by violence. The latest data – which includes famine conditions in a part of the country for the first time in more than a decade – comes in a new food security report from the government and UN agencies. The report was sent to The New Humanitarian by the World Food Programme but is not yet available online. Emaciated children and malnourished mothers are streaming every day into poorly equipped local hospitals, where doctors and nurses who spoke to TNH on visits to northern, western, and southwestern parts of Burkina Faso said they are feeling overwhelmed and bracing for things to get worse. “There are people who have nothing to eat,” said Philomene Sawadogo-Ouedraogo, head of the paediatric ward of the main hospital in the town of Kongoussi in the Centre-North region. While there should be enough food to go around in the country – production increased in recent months by nearly 10 percent compared with a five-year average, according to the report – attacks by extremists and a patchwork of other armed groups have now uprooted one million people, cleaving farmers from their land and leaving crops rotting in fields and granaries.

In national news,
This will piss you off....Up to $22 billion in COVID aid may have gone to high-income Canadians: Fraser Institute study
'There's a whole lot of people, who don't need assistance or whose need is much less, who are not only getting assistance, but they're actually being made better off' Up to a quarter of the payments that went to Canadians during this pandemic could have gone to people in families with six-figure incomes, says a study from the Fraser Institute. The study estimates that as much as $22.3 billion may have gone to people who didn’t need it. During the height of the pandemic the government unveiled several programs designed to help Canadians faced with sharp drops in their incomes. Money went out to students, parents and seniors as well as people who suddenly found themselves out of work as stores, restaurants and other businesses were forced to close due to COVID-19. The government’s largest program was the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB.) Early on, the government said candidly that the focus was on getting the money out the door as quickly as possible. Jason Clemens, executive vice president of the Fraser Institute and a co-author of the report, said that might have been justifiable when the program first launched in April, but with two extensions having happened there is no reason new eligibility rules couldn’t have been put in place.

Why do some people barely get sick from COVID-19 and others seem to never get better? Canada’s long-haulers might hold some of the answers. Doctors don’t understand why some aren’t recovering, and as the first wave of people living with lingering impacts of the new virus, they could hold some of the keys for unlocking some of its mysteries. But many feel ignored by the medical establishment, uncounted in official case tallies, and falling through the cracks of care, instead turning to online communities to crowd-source their own recoveries. Demand has been growing around the world for special post-COVID centres, which have already been set up in New York City, and the U.K. In Canada, a major research study is tracking survivors and can assist in connecting them to help. There are some doctors trying to figure out what’s going on with some people. A massive multi-province study, starting in Ontario, hopes to recruit 2,000 COVID survivors and follow them over time, using questionnaires and blood tests to understand their range of experiences. It will examine antibodies, how the immune system responds, genetics, and blood clotting.
(Interested patients can contact the team at cancov@uhn.ca)
“There are huge variabilities and the problem is we currently cannot tell which ones are going to get really really sick and which ones may just have the flu kind of symptoms,” said Dr. Angela Cheung, an internal medicine specialist at University Health Network and professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. “We don’t know the whole picture right now and that’s why we’re doing the study.” While there are some patients who don’t have symptoms and statistically most just have mild ones, “it’s not only a respiratory illness, the virus can effect other systems and some people have sort of prolonged, sort of residual type symptoms,” she added.

From the "Call me cynical, but" file, Ottawa announces $2-billion for provinces and territories to help with safe return to school. Trudeau announced the funding Wednesday morning. He says it’s on top of the $19 billion Ottawa already promised to provinces and territories to help them cope with the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trudeau adds $112-million is also on the way to First Nations “to ensure a safe return to school on reserves.” He says his government “respect that education is a provincial jurisdiction” and they have made the funding flexible, so “provinces and ultimately schools can use it for what they need most.” Once again, justin rides in on his white horse.....with your money.

From the "Screwed over, yet again..." file, Canadian COVID-19 clinical trial scrapped after China wouldn't ship potential vaccine. Vaccine candidate not approved by Chinese customs to export to Canada, National Research Council says. A collaboration between a Chinese company and a Halifax research team aiming to carry out Canada's first clinical trials of a potential COVID-19 vaccine has been abandoned amid rising tensions between the two countries. The partnership between the National Research Council of Canada and CanSino Biologics was announced by the federal government in May. A team at the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology at Dalhousie University was supposed to work with CanSino to run the first Canadian clinical trials for a possible COVID-19 vaccine. CanSino's vaccine, called Ad5-nCoV, was already being run through human trials in China and has shown promising results. In May, Health Canada gave the go-ahead for the Canadian trials to begin, and the hope was that clinical trials in Halifax could begin within weeks. But in late July, The Canadian Press reported that the Canadian-Chinese partnership was on the rocks, saying China had held up shipments the company was supposed to send to the Halifax researchers by the end of May.

Coronavirus: Alberta continues to struggle with public health messaging to young adults. More than 50 per cent of COVID-19 cases in Alberta from the past week are coming from youth and young adults, and questions are being raised about what is being done to better target this particular demographic. According to data from the province, 356 of the 666 new cases, or 53 per cent, reported from Aug. 18 to Aug. 24 fell between the ages of 10 and 39 years old. Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Aug. 10 that the province is looking at what can be done to reach different age groups and better understand what is standing in the way of their ability to follow public health guidance.

In Ontario,
Ontario outlines back to school plan. Parents will be required to screen their children for symptoms of COVID-19 everyday before sending them to school. The Ontario government has released its guidelines for school boards and educators in preparation for the return to class. All school staff will also need to do a self-assessment health check everyday before deciding to go to work. If a child becomes ill at school, the principal will determine whether to send the child home. If that decision is made then the child will be isolated with a staff ember wearing personal protective equipment and will have to be picked up at the school by a parent or guardian. Although there is no requirement for a student or staff presenting symptoms to have a COVID-19 test, they will not be allowed to return to school until they are symptom free for 24 hours. An outbreak will be declared at a school if there are 2 or more lab confirmed cases of COVID-19 and school boards will work with public health units to determine to manage the outbreak.

From the "I can do that" file, Nowhere to fly? Take a break from work anyway, experts advise. Researchers found that spending a combined total of at least two hours in nature a week can lead to better health in one study involving nearly 20,000 people, for example. Meanwhile, experts have highlighted the deleterious mental health impact of spending too much time on social media, exacerbated in 2020 by "doomscrolling" through social media feeds and reading an endless flow of bad news. Kamkar adds that society also needs to normalize prescribing time for rest. "Finding ‘me’ time ... practicing self-kindness, self-compassion as part of self-care is important," she said. "Setting meaningful activities, appreciating our sense of self, developing a healthy view of ourselves -- all those are our foundation to building our resiliency."

In local news,
10 a.m. bell for most Durham high school students. Bell times will also shift for elementary students, but only by about 10 minutes. Bell times are shifting to accommodate school bus transportation, which has to work around a 2.5 hour in-person school day for secondary students, as well as new rules that allow a maximum of two students per bus seat. A new report from Durham Student Transportation Services — which buses about 30,000 students from the Durham and Durham Catholic district school boards — says most high schools in those boards will start at 10 a.m. and end at 12:30 p.m. (There are a few exceptions.)

The Sheepdogs and Tim Hicks headline two-night drive-in concert series in Peterborough in September. Peterborough Memorial Centre series on September 18 and 19 also features openers Jim Cuddy Band and Jason McCoy. The Peterborough Memorial Centre (PMC) has announced a two-night drive-in concert series, featuring The SHeepdogs with the Jim Cuddy Band on Friday, September 18th, with Tim Hicks with Jason McCoy on Saturday, September 19th. Both concerts will begin at 7 p.m. “This is truly a very exciting opportunity for us to be able to offer the great people of this community such an incredible line up of talent during what has been such a difficult year for so many,” says PMC facility manager Jeremy Giles in a media release. “These concerts will be a fun, safe and responsible way for the people of Peterborough to get out and enjoy some great live music from the safety and comfort of their own vehicle, while still physically distancing from other concertgoers.”

Sports, sports, sports,
The Jays hammered the Bosox 9 -1 last night as ex-Blue Jay Kevin Pilar went 0-4 at the plate. I still miss Superman. Probable pitcher tonight at 6:37 is Ryu who is currently 2-1.

Player boycotts are happening in the NBA and MLB and nobody really knows what the outcome of this social crisis will be. The NHL response has been tepid, at best.

Musing,
I'm not sure how much longer I can listen to talk radio. The (entire) world, is fucked.

Did you know at one time, The Great Farini lived in Bowmanville? His name was William Hunt and while living in Bowmanville, he snuck into a circus that had come to town, and became infatuated with show business. He began developing his muscles and acrobatic talent in secret and became very proficient. He eventually decided to host his own circus in town. It was quite successful, complete with music and various circus entertainment. Since 1859, Niagara Falls has seen nine daredevils successfully make it across the tightrope from Niagara Falls, New York to Niagara Falls, Canada. One of them was The Great Farini. In 1860 he carried a washtub on his back while crossing. He even lowered a bucket to gather water while on the tightrope!

I still get excited when I see a Monarch Butterfly.

"There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will." (EPICTETUS)



On this day in history, Krakatoa explodes!
The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurs on Krakatoa (also called Krakatau), a small, uninhabited volcanic island located west of Sumatra in Indonesia, on August 27, 1883. Heard 3,000 miles away, the explosions threw five cubic miles of earth 50 miles into the air, created 120-foot tsunamis and killed 36,000 people.

Beatles manager Brian Epstein dies.
On August 27, 1967, Brian Epstein, manager of the Beatles, was found dead of an accidental drug overdose in his Sussex, England, home. The following day, the headline in the London Daily Mirror read “EPSTEIN (The Beatle-Making Prince of Pop) DIES AT 32.” Brian Epstein was, by all accounts, the man who truly got the Beatles off the ground, and in John Lennon’s estimation, it was difficult to see how they’d manage to go on without the man who had managed every aspect of the Beatles’ business affairs up until his unexpected death.

WTF is "Pots de creme?"

Today is - NATIONAL JUST BECAUSE DAY – NATIONAL POTS DE CREME 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.

Lygenztia *554 (Hey! What's your name?.........) Wednesday August 26, 2020

Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 24,091,252. (Deaths: 824,177 and Recovered: 16,633,048) 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 Wednesday August 26, 2020:
From Global News, Canada reported 125,969 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 4,829 of those are currently active. 112,050 have recovered.

The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 41,607 total confirmed cases and 2,800 total deaths. Currently, there are 39 people are in hospital with 13 of those in ICU. 37,748 cases have been resolved.

Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 61,803.

The Region of Durham reported 1,868 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The site also reports 1 current outbreaks (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) with 37 outbreaks having been "concluded." Clarington went down to 108 total cases, perhaps a false positive? (4 are in isolation, 97 are resolved and 7 people have passed away. Hospitalized currently: "zero")

In international news,
From Reuters, the city of Berlin has banned demonstrations planned for this weekend to oppose measures imposed to stem the coronavirus pandemic, after organisers of a rally earlier this month failed to ensure marchers wore masks and kept their distance. Andreas Geisel, the Berlin interior senator, said the authorities had to strike a balance between the right to freedom of assembly and the need to protect people against infection. “We are still in the middle of a pandemic with rising infection figures,” he said. Still, to me, this is a little scary....

Myanmar shuts schools after biggest daily climb in coronavirus cases. Myanmar ordered all schools to close after reporting 70 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday, its biggest daily rise, as authorities try to tackle a resurgence of the virus following weeks without confirmed domestic transmission. All but one of the new cases announced on Wednesday were in the western state of Rakhine, found in nine different locations, each linked to an outbreak in the state capital Sittwe, where a lockdown and curfew were imposed last week. Myanmar’s outbreaks has been relatively small compared with other countries in the region, with just six deaths and 574 infections in total, but an increase in COVID-19 cases by nearly 35% in just over a week is causing some concern. “We have called all the schools and instructed them to close from tomorrow,”

From the "Are you kidding me?" file, from Vice News the GOP Launched Their Convention by Pretending Trump Kicked Ass on COVID. Republicans cherry picked the few steps Trump did take to create a whole new narrative around the failed response to coronavirus. The Republican National Convention kicked off Monday with a clear aim: To gaslight voters into believing that President Trump moved fast to ward off the coronavirus. “It takes a true leader to solve problems,” the convention’s primetime began, with a video narrated by actor Jon Voight. “COVID-19: While others criticized without solutions, President Trump’s swift action saved lives. While leading Democrats want to keep businesses closed down, our president is leading the way for a full economic recovery.” Wow...........

In national news,
Extension of COVID-19 spending programs until 2021 a 'credibility risk' for Canada, economists say. 'The more we make these programs feel quasi-permanent, the more there will be a harsher, more critical look at this spending ... it suddenly becomes a structural deficit'. A recent move by the federal government to extend its major COVID-19 assistance program well into 2021 risks turning Canada’s deficit into a structural shortfall, several economists and fiscal experts warn. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced last week that Ottawa would be extending its Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) by another month, then effectively replacing the CERB with a new program — the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) — until September 2021. The new CRB will give $400 a week for 26 weeks to Canadians who are ineligible for employment insurance, compared with $500 per week under the CERB. Ottawa is also tweaking EI rules to make it available to any workers who can demonstrate at least 120 hours of work. Some economists and fiscal experts say the one-year extension goes against months of warnings that Ottawa risks turning temporary COVID-19 spending measures into permanent fixtures, as the pandemic enters its sixth month.

Canadians' confidence in vaccines a key priority heading into fall: Dr. Tam. Canada’s top doctor says increasing awareness of the reliability of vaccination not only against the fast-approaching seasonal flu but also COVID-19 is a top priority for her team moving forward. Dr. Theresa Tam was responding to a new survey by Statistics Canada that shows about one in seven Canadians are either somewhat unlikely or very unlikely to get the COVID-19 vaccine when it’s made available. "Every concern is a valid concern and we do need to address them in more detail, especially as we are working very hard in the provision of a safe and effective vaccine or vaccines for Canadians," she told reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday.

Following a difficult few months that saw consumer behaviour drastically change during the pandemic, Starbucks is now offering one of its most popular drinks earlier than ever in what may be an attempt to lure customers back. Beginning Tuesday, Starbucks customers across Canada and the U.S. will be able to order the famed Pumpkin Spice Latte and a few other fall-themed drinks and treats, including the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, Salted Caramel Mocha, pumpkin scones, and pumpkin cream cheese muffins. It’s the earliest release date for Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte, with last year’s launch occurring on Aug. 27.

In Ontario,
A campus coalition at Canada's largest university is urging the school to listen to its own expert research on COVID-19 and roll back its plan to reopen doors to students and staff in the fall. In an online panel held earlier this week, the University of Toronto Faculty Association discussed what it described as the administration's refusal to address health and safety concerns raised by staff and students despite the school's high-profile health-care advocacy work during the global pandemic. Association President Terezia Zoric said she disagrees with the administrations decision to hold in-person classes, arguing the move carries unnecessary risks for the entire university community. “It is a complete lost opportunity for the university's senior administration not to consult with their own in-house experts who are also being consulted by the World Health Organization and federal provincial governments,” Zoric said.

The Ontario government is investing in a number of advertisements they say will help inform parents and members of the public of the health measures that will be in place as kids return to schools in September. The advertisements, which will run on the radio in both English and French as well as in print, don’t tell parents much they don’t already know. In one of them, the province reiterates that elementary students will be in class five days a week while secondary students will start the year in an adaptive model with “part-time classroom attendance.” “To keep everyone safe, steps are being taken to maintain physical distancing through the use of social groupings, lunch in classrooms and limited interaction among students and staff,” the ad reads. “To learn about other health and safety measures in our schools, please visit Ontario.ca/ReopeningSchools.”

In local news,
After months of virtual visits, friends and family members can now visit their loved ones at Lakeridge Health hospitals in person. Lakeridge closed its doors to most visitors in March due to COVID-19 precautions, with the exception of pediatric patients, labouring women and patients who were close to death. Kim Lawn, director of patient experience, explains more exceptions were introduced in June but it wasn’t until mid-August that visits were allowed for most patients admitted to hospital. The new policy impacts hundreds of people with more than 750 in-patient individuals at five Lakeridge hospitals across Durham Region in Ajax, Oshawa, Whitby, Port Perry and Bowmanville.

Durham’s top doctor says he is in “no position” to second guess the province when it comes to back-to-school plans, and he doesn't recommend mandatory masks for students in kindergarten to Grade 3. Dr. Robert Kyle was on hand to answer questions from Durham District School Board trustees at a special board meeting last (Tuesday) night.

Sports, sports, sports,
Blue Jays: Red Sox pile on in 6th to win. The Red Sox rode a six-run 6th inning to get a 9-7 win over the Blue Jays. Probable Jays pitcher tonight is.....they are not saying. For the Sox, Brewer.

Musing,
"It's easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled." (MARK TWAIN)

If I consistently agree with you, it just means I don't care about your opinion.

On this day in history, in 1939, the First televised Major League baseball game.
On August 26, 1939, the first televised Major League baseball game is broadcast on station W2XBS, the station that was to become WNBC-TV. Announcer Red Barber called the game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York.

In 1978, "Grease" movie soundtrack earns its second #1 hit.
The 1960s was the final decade in which the musical hits of Broadway were routinely and successfully adapted by Hollywood into big-budget screen versions.

National Dog Day eh? "Hey, what's your name?"

Today is - NATIONAL DOG DAY – NATIONAL WOMEN’S EQUALITY DAY – NATIONAL WEBMISTRESS DAY – NATIONAL CHERRY POPSICLE 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.

Lygenztia *553 (Kissing, I can do...........) Tuesday August 25, 2020

Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 23,838,149. (Deaths: 817,626 and Recovered: 16,380,743) 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 Tuesday August 25, 2020:
From Global News, Canada reported 125,647 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 4,870 of those are currently active. 111,694 have recovered.

The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 41,507 total confirmed cases and 2,798 total deaths. Currently, there are 40 people are in hospital with 12 of those in ICU. 37,673 cases have been resolved.

Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 61,741.

The Region of Durham reported 1,867 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The site also reports 1 current outbreaks (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) with 37 outbreaks having been "concluded." Clarington went up again and is now at 109 total cases. (4 are in isolation, 97 are resolved and 7 people have passed away. Hospitalized currently: "1")

In international news,
Scientists say Hong Kong man got coronavirus a second time. University of Hong Kong scientists claim to have the first evidence of someone being reinfected with the virus that causes COVID-19. Genetic tests revealed that a 33-year-old man returning to Hong Kong from a trip to Spain in mid-August had a different strain of the coronavirus than the one he'd previously been infected with in March, said Dr. Kelvin Kai-Wang To, the microbiologist who led the work. The man had mild symptoms the first time and none the second time; his more recent infection was detected through screening and testing at the Hong Kong airport.

A new survey shows those with COVID-19 or with symptoms are more likely to lie about their physical distancing practices. A Brock University study of Americans shows 25 per cent of those surveyed have hidden some of their physical distancing misadventures and that number goes up for those with COVID. Meanwhile, 34 per cent of COVID positive respondents have denied having symptoms when asked by others. The survey had 451 respondents between 20 and 82-years-old. While one of the study’s author believes the numbers are similar in Canada, they plan on doing the study here as well. The full study, ‘Dishonesty during a pandemic: The concealment of COVID-19 information’ can be found here.

In national news,
Nearly two dozen more flights land in Canada with passengers infected with COVID-19. Nearly two dozen more flights have landed at major airports in Canada with passengers infected with COVID-19. According to the federal government, more than 55 flights have landed in Canada between Aug. 1 and Aug. 18 that had passengers who tested positive for COVID-19 after arriving in the country. The vast majority of the flights with COVID-19 passengers have landed in Toronto, but a number of them also touched down in Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary.

As school year nears, some warn Canada 'lagging behind' on approving COVID-19 saliva tests. Researchers, public health officials calling for saliva-based testing for students. Giving a school-aged child an invasive, uncomfortable nasal swab test for COVID-19 might be tricky. Asking them to spit in a cup? It could be a simpler approach. That's the thought process behind calls from both researchers and public health officials to launch saliva tests in schools. But despite international efforts to make this option a reality, there's still no word on when saliva-based testing for COVID-19 will be allowed in Canada. "School is just around the corner, and I feel like we're lagging behind," said researcher Dr. Michael Glogauer, a professor in the faculty of dentistry at the University of Toronto who has been focusing on saliva as a diagnostic tool for the last two decades. "We're further behind than we should be on this." So why isn't it available yet?

In Ontario,
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto is reporting a COVID-19 outbreak in one of their units. The hospital says recently, as they were doing normal surveillance, they identified a patient with COVID-19. That led them to test all of the patients within that unit. In total, four people tested positive for the virus and two of those people are still at the hospital. All other patients in the affected unit tested negative for COVID-19. The unit is currently closed to admissions and visitors are not allowed.

Ontario’s registered nurses have asked the province to cut elementary class sizes to protect students and school staff from COVID-19. The CEO of the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario has made the request in a letter. Doris Grinspun says the province needs to mandate elementary class sizes of no more than 15 students unless larger places like gyms or outdoor classrooms can be used to provide physical distancing. She says the province should provide boards with funding to cut class sizes and calls a plan to allow boards to access their reserve funds to achieve the goal “disappointing”. Grinspun also says all students aged 3 and older should wear masks during school.

Doug Ford defends back-to-school ad campaign, says it will continue despite criticism. Premier Doug Ford is defending a new advertising campaign launched by his government to promote its school reopening plan. Ford says opposition politicians who have criticized the ads are “playing politics” and his government needs to keep parents informed on back-to-school measures. The premier could not say how much the ad buy will cost, but says it will continue despite the criticism. The campaign features print advertisements and a 30-second radio segment touting the government’s efforts to consult widely with health and education professionals to create their strategy.

In local news,
Since the Durham Health department’s previous COVID-19 update on Friday, a total of 10 new cases have been confirmed in Durham. Four of the new cases are in Pickering, four are in Ajax, one is in Whitby and one is in Clarington. The Durham Health Department says there are now 20 active cases in the region. Two people are in hospital with one of them in the ICU. The other 18 cases are being dealt with in home-isolation.

Sports, sports, sports,
Jays won last night off a Grichuk dinger. Off to Stahlen field and the Bosox tonight at 6:37 p.m.

Musing,
One month until duck hunting opens!

Had a nice "staycation" in the Niagara on the Lake with good friends. Amazing time was had, but it was a little depressing at times. So many places closed, nobody around. The craft breweries were busy, which was good for us, but most of the family attractions were closed. Sad.

Did you know, justin ordered 37 million syringes?

Insecurity is actually a recipe, you take:
-1 part jealousy
-2 parts fear
-1 part lack of self confidence
...and there you have it!

"In books we never find anything but ourselves. Strangely enough, that always gives us great pleasure, and we say the author is a genius." (THOMAS MANN)

Today is - NATIONAL KISS AND MAKE UP DAY – NATIONAL BANANA SPLIT DAY – NATIONAL PARK SERVICE FOUNDERS DAY – NATIONAL SECONDHAND WARDROBE DAY – NATIONAL WHISKEY SOUR 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.

Lygenztia *552 (Can't seem to break "100" and i'm not talking golf.....) Monday August 24, 2020

Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 23,612,731. (Deaths: 812,987 and Recovered: 16,103,478) 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 Monday August 24, 2020:
From Global News, Canada reported 124,838 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 4,563 of those are currently active. 111,112 have recovered.

The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 41,402 total confirmed cases and 2,797 total deaths. Currently, there are 41 people are in hospital with 11 of those in ICU. 37,595 cases have been resolved.

Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 61,673.

The Region of Durham reported 1,857 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The site also reports 1 current outbreaks (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) with 37 outbreaks having been "concluded." Clarington went up again and is now at 108 total cases. (4 are in isolation, 96 are resolved and 7 people have passed away. Hospitalized currently: "1")

In international news,
Not really COVID-19, but too cool not to mention,'Space guests': Russian cosmonaut captures possible UFO footage from International Space Station. Ivan Vagner captured video of mysterious lights which 'appear flying alongside with the same distance,' he said in a tweet. A one-minute video captured by Russian cosmonaut Ivan Vagner aboard the International Space Station (ISS) appears to show potential UFOs, Global News reports. While passing over Antarctica and Australia, Vagner was recording video of aurora australis — the southern lights — but he managed to catch something else, too. Visible are the glowing curve of the Earth and the green of the aurora moving across it. The “space guests” Vagner refers to appear from nine seconds into the video and last until the 12-second mark, a string of four to five lights arranged in a diagonal line. Since the video was shot in a time-lapse, the flash of “objects” which quickly appear and disappear in the video actually lasted some 52 seconds. The objects “appear flying alongside with the same distance,” Vagner wrote in further tweets. “What do you think those are? Meteors, satellites or … ?”

Travel guru Rick Steves on why he's not travelling yet, and when tourism will rebound. For the first summer since 1980, Rick Steves is not exploring Europe. Instead, the well-known travel author and TV host is spending the warmer months discovering his hometown of Seattle. “I just toured my hometown cemetery for the first time in my life. It was fascinating,” he told CTV News for the streaming app Quibi in early August. “I’m enjoying every sunset, like a performance. I’m learning how to cook. I’m walking the dogs… there are wonders right here.” Steves said his traveller’s spirit has allowed him to embrace the overlooked attractions in his city as he waits out the pandemic – something he plans to do for a little while longer. Even though many countries in Europe have begun to reopen their borders and welcome back tourists, Steves said he thinks it’s still too early to return to the way things were. “I don’t think I want to go back to Europe until it is good and ready to be able to welcome people safely. That's for their safety as well as my safety,” he said. “The whole nature of the COVID virus and tourism is we've got to be patient.” The expert traveller said he understands that businesses that rely on tourism are struggling right now and eager to find ways to entice visitors to return, but he said it won’t be worth the effort if they’re forced to shut down again because the virus makes a resurgence.

In national news,
Congratulations Erin O'Toole!!!

From the "zero fucks given" file, Victoria police issue COVID-19 fine at same home 2 nights in a row. Police in Victoria have issued another fine for violating B.C.'s COVID-19 rules at the same home where they issued the first one. Officers from the Victoria Police Department were again called to a residence in a multi-unit building in the 1000 block of Fort Street Saturday night, a day after they broke up a party there involving 40 to 60 people in the one-bedroom suite. Friday night's party resulted in a $2,300 violation ticket for the resident who was hosting the party. On Saturday night, they were called to the home for a noise disturbance and encountered 15 people inside the unit, according to a news release.

Quebec health officials announce death of 19-year-old from COVID-19 complications. They say a 19-year-old man has died from complications arising from a positive COVID-19 test. It’s not clear if the young man had any pre-existing conditions that would’ve been exacerbated by an infection. Officials say more than 3,000 Quebecers between the ages of 10 and 19 have tested positive for COVID-19. Of those, 31 people have needed to be hospitalized. Six of them have been in the ICU at some point.

'This shouldn't have happened:' Father attributes son's death to COVID-19 rules. Ogden (his father) said while in hospital before his death, his son told him he was supposed to go for a CT scan in June while still living in Saskatchewan near Yorkton. It was a routine checkup on the stent, but the appointment was postponed because of restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic and never rescheduled. “I didn’t think nothing of it at the time, but I mulled it over … as we watched him decline,” Ogden said. “It hit me. He was trying to tell me: ‘This shouldn’t have happened.”‘ The father believes that had his son’s scan not been cancelled, doctors might have found the blood clot in time. Ogden wants all postponed hospital procedures done immediately. “People’s lives are being lost,” he said. “These COVID rules are way too far.” Ogden believes the Saskatchewan Health Authority bears responsibility for his son’s death.

In Ontario,
Drive-Thru COVID-19 testing centre to be held in Bancroft. There will be two drive-thru testing COVID-19 testing centres held in Bancroft over the next week. The first will be held on Monday, August 24th from 4 to 7 PM, while the second will be held on Saturday, August 29th from 10 AM until 1 PM. Both of them will be done at the North Hastings Community Centre.

Coronavirus puts tenants back in charge of Toronto rental housing market. Landlords are lining up to sign Rees Nam and their partner as tenants, even though the two have already found an apartment in Toronto - a far cry from when Nam was last on the hunt, two years ago. Back then, it took a personal connection for Nam to secure a lease, but this time around they and their partner signed one a week after seeing the apartment, which is both bigger and cheaper than their current unit. “It was very quick,” said Nam, who uses gender-neutral pronouns. “Quicker than what I experienced a couple years ago when I was looking for a place. I found that not only were the rental prices high, but the turnaround was not that fast.” The process was so quick this time that landlords have been following up with Nam and their partner for weeks, calling to see if they're still interested in seeing soon-to-be-vacant units. The economic uncertainty wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic has turned Toronto's rental market upside down, industry insiders said. Power once wielded exclusively by landlords has been passed to their would-be tenants, giving renters the chance to negotiate lower prices - and bigger perks.

In local news,
Durham police delete records accessed from provincial COVID-19 database. Durham police say they are in the process of deleting records their members accessed from a provincial COVID-19 database. The First Responders COVID-19 Risk Look-Up Tool is a web portal the province set up back in April, in order to help first responders identify potential cases of COVID-19. Access to the portal was strictly limited to communications and dispatch centre personnel who, in turn, would advise officers about any potential COVID-19 tests associated with a particular call or location. That would allow the officer to make an informed decision about what precautions they should take to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Sports, sports, sports,
Mike Milbury?? C'mon man it's 2020. Mike Milbury will not appear on NBC Sports' coverage for the rest of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, he said Saturday. The news comes one day after the NHL condemned Milbury's on-air comments that players aren't as distracted because there are no women in the league's bubble as "insensitive and insulting." "In light of the attention caused by my recent remark, I have decided to step away from my role at NBC Sports for the remainder of the Stanley Cup Playoffs," Milbury said in a statement released by the network. "I do not want my presence to interfere with the athletes as they try to win the greatest trophy in sports."

The Jays dropped one to the Rays yesterday. Blue Jays’ pitching staff are facing their biggest test yet, after loss to Rays. “We’ll find a way,” Montoyo said. “But because we have so many games in a row, we’ll have to be creative.”

Musing,
Gonna be a scorcher today.

Three days without internet was....divine.

"A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you." (C. S. LEWIS)

On this day in history, Mount Vesuvius erupts.
On August 24, after centuries of dormancy, Mount Vesuvius erupts in southern Italy, devastating the prosperous Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killing thousands. The cities, buried under a thick layer of volcanic material and mud, were never rebuilt and largely forgotten in the course of history. In the 18th century, Pompeii and Herculaneum were rediscovered and excavated, providing an unprecedented archaeological record of the everyday life of an ancient civilization, startlingly preserved in sudden death.

The ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum thrived near the base of Mount Vesuvius at the Bay of Naples. In the time of the early Roman Empire, 20,000 people lived in Pompeii, including merchants, manufacturers, and farmers who exploited the rich soil of the region with numerous vineyards and orchards. None suspected that the black fertile earth was the legacy of earlier eruptions of Mount Vesuvius. Herculaneum was a city of 5,000 and a favorite summer destination for rich Romans. Named for the mythic hero Hercules, Herculaneum housed opulent villas and grand Roman baths. Gambling artifacts found in Herculaneum and a brothel unearthed in Pompeii attest to the decadent nature of the cities. There were smaller resort communities in the area as well, such as the quiet little town of Stabiae. Today, Mount Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the European mainland. Its last eruption was in 1944 and its last major eruption was in 1631. Another eruption is expected in the near future, which could be devastating for the 700,000 people who live in the “death zones” around Vesuvius.

In 1572, from France the Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
King Charles IX of France, under the sway of his mother, Catherine de Medici, orders the assassination of Huguenot Protestant leaders in Paris, setting off an orgy of killing that results in the massacre of tens of thousands of Huguenots all across France.

In 1821, Spain accepts Mexican independence.
Eleven years after the outbreak of the Mexican War of Independence, Spanish Viceroy Juan de O’Donojú signs the Treaty of Córdoba, which approves a plan to make Mexico an independent constitutional monarchy.

Today is - NATIONAL MARYLAND DAY - NATIONAL PEACH PIE DAY - NATIONAL WAFFLE 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.

Lygenztia *551 (All we are is radio ga-ga.........) Thursday August 20, 2020

Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 22,604,928. (Deaths: 791,565 and Recovered: 15,321,465) 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 Wednesday August 19, 2020:
From Global News, Canada reported 123,433 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 4,562 of those are currently active. 109,822 have recovered.

The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 40,972 total confirmed cases and 2,792 total deaths. Currently, there are 42 people are in hospital with 15 of those in ICU. 37,215 cases have been resolved.

Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 61,316.

The Region of Durham reported 1,849 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The site also reports 2 current outbreaks (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) with 36 outbreaks having been "concluded." Clarington went up one and is now at 105 total cases. (3 are in isolation, 95 are resolved and 7 people have passed away. Hospitalized currently: "Zero")

In international news,
Such a sad story, Haiti's schools re-open but many parents now can't afford them. Haiti’s school children missed class this year first due to months of violent unrest, then the coronavirus pandemic. Now, as schools are finally reopening, many parents can no longer afford it, raising the prospect hard-won gains in education could be lost. “The deadline to pay is next Monday. Without paying, I won’t be able to attend the class,” said Nickerla Etienne, 16, through streams of tears, after being sent home from her private school in the capital, Port-au-Prince, for failing to pay up. While the pandemic has disrupted education worldwide, the situation is especially acute in Haiti, where just an estimated two-thirds of adults can read and write. “We’ve never seen a crisis quite on this scale before,” said Beatrice Malebranche at United Nations children’s agency UNICEF in Haiti.

From Vice news, the NYPD Is Finally Waking Up to Hate Crimes Against Asian Americans. Since the start of the pandemic, hate crimes against Asians have spiked in New York City and around the country. The New York Police Department announced the formation of a task force to handle potential hate crimes against Asians and Asian Americans, amid an ongoing spike in violence linked to the coronavirus pandemic. There were reportedly more than 2,300 racist incidents against Asian Americans between the beginning of the pandemic and July 15, according to the Asian Pacific Policy Planning Council. More than 300 of those incidents were reported in New York, including an incident last month where two men slapped an 89-year-old woman and set her shirt on fire.

Let's face it, COVID-19 was the jump start for the popularity of the Tiger King Netflix series, due to lockdown and boredom. Looks like the saga has ended, at least at the zoo. 'Tiger King' zoo permanently shuts as owner admits animal rights activists have won. The true crime series, set in the world of private zoos and their eccentric owners, became a worldwide phenomenon when it aired in March. The private wildcat zoo at the center of the hit Netflix series “Tiger King” is closing its doors permanently, its owner said, citing pressure from animal rights activists and inspectors. “As of today, we have decided to close the old zoo effective immediately,” Jeff Lowe, the current owner of the Greater Wynewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma, wrote in a Facebook post.

In national news,
American charged under Quarantine Act amid accusations he ignored pandemic safety rules in Banff. John Pennington of Kentucky set to face charges in November. A man travelling from Alaska to the continental United States has been charged with violating Canada's Quarantine Act amid accusations that he failed to follow COVID-19 public safety rules while in Banff — not just once but twice. It started with a call from the Rimrock Hotel to police in late June, Banff RCMP say. "Staff at the hotel were concerned about an American guest they thought was breaching the quarantine," Staff Sgt. Michael Buxton-Carr told CBC News. "He had entered Canada from Alaska a couple of days previously. He was required to travel a direct route on his way to the lower 48 states." While non-essential travel between Canada and the United States is prohibited due to the coronavirus crisis, Americans may come through Canada to get home to or from Alaska.

How to get around Canada's harsh new mortgage rules? “COVID-19 has exposed long-standing vulnerabilities in our financial markets, and we must act now to protect the economic futures of Canadians,” Siddall explained in a statement. It's a lot harder to get the feds to back your mortgage than it was a few months ago....The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) announced plans in early June to reduce borrowing limits, demand higher credit scores and restrict down payments for anyone who needs default insurance from the agency. That kind of insurance is mandatory for “high-ratio” buyers putting less than 20 per cent down on a home. But, there are other ways to get a mortgage. More info here.

In Ontario,
Explore Ontario art at the COVID-safe Apsley Autumn Studio Tour. 27th annual event features 27 artists and artisans in 13 studio locations in North Kawartha and Wollaston townships. It’s great news that the Apsley Autumn Studio Tour is going ahead for 2020 — but with the proper pandemic precautions in place, including requiring physical distancing and face coverings. This is the 27th year of the renowned annual tour, which takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, September 19th and Sunday, September 20th. More details can be found here.

Urban Ontario businesses hurting more than rural counterparts: CFIB. That’s according to a new survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, which found the impact of COVID-19 has hit Ontario downtown cores hard, with significantly fewer urban businesses — about 20% — making normal sales compared to rural businesses at 38%. Canadian cities on average, are seeing only 22% of normal sales at small businesses compared to 37% in rural areas. The CFIB noted small business recovery in Ontario has been largely stagnant over the summer, with figures revealing minimal changes since Aug. 5. Only 62% of small businesses are fully open, compared to 57% two weeks ago. Meanwhile, 38% are fully staffed, only up 1% from two weeks before, and 26% are making normal sales compared to 23% two weeks prior. The federation urges people to go downtown and shop at their local independent businesses.

Maple Leaf temporarily suspends pork exports to China after COVID-19 cases. Maple Leaf Foods Inc. says it has temporarily suspended pork exports to China after a few dozen workers at one of its plants tested positive for COVID-19. The Mississauga, Ont.-based company says in a statement late Tuesday it continues to have rigorous safety measures at the Brandon, Man., plant to prevent workplace transmission, and the plant continues to operate. It notes public health officials have said there is no sign the coronavirus was spread in the workplace. The company says it voluntarily suspended its pork exports to China after the Chinese government adopted new protocols that require Canadian processors who report a positive COVID-19 case to do so. Because China would never export anything to Canada if one of their workers tested positive, right?

In local news,
Information on back to school plans in Durham can be found at the following links:
Durham District School Board
Durham Catholic District School Board
Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board
Peterborough Victoria Northumberland Clarington Catholic District School Board

Sports, sports, sports,
The Jays swept the Orioles in their series. However, nearly a week into this grinding stretch of 28 games in 27 days, a matter of increasing urgency for the Toronto Blue Jays is finding a more balanced distribution of innings among the pitching staff.

Good news for Masai? Video was revealed that allegedly shows a different version of events when he was involved in an altercation as they won the championship last year. There is still more to come on this story.

Musing,
The mask debate for school children continues to rage and I predict there will never be a resolution that is amicable to all.

At the pub last night and noticed some dumb looking dude not wearing a mask. Thought to myself, 'Well, maybe its a medical thing' but the stupid smirk on his face as he moved about the place told me he was just one of those selfish jerks. Look, i'm not crazy about masks either, but we have to consider those that are vulnerable to COVID-19.

Tried booking a hotel in Ontario for a "stay-cation" lately? Good luck with that.

Memory isn't linear, it's in our head in layers.

"A true man hates no one." (NAPOLEON BONAPARTE)

"Do not appease a person while he is still angry." (Avot 4:18).

On this day in history, in 1619, First enslaved Africans arrive in Jamestown, setting the stage for slavery in North America.
“20 and odd” Angolans, kidnapped by the Portuguese, arrive in the British colony of Virginia and are then bought by English colonists. The arrival of the enslaved Africans in the New World marks a beginning of two and a half centuries of slavery in North America. Founded at Jamestown in 1607, the Virginia Colony was home to about 700 people by 1619. The first enslaved Africans to arrive there disembarked at Point Comfort, in what is today known as Hampton Roads. Most of their names, as well as the exact number who remained at Point Comfort, have been lost to history, but much is known about their journey.

In 1911, First around-the-world telegram sent, 66 years before Voyager II launch.
On August 20, 1911, a dispatcher in the New York Times office sends the first telegram around the world via commercial service. Exactly 66 years later, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sends a different kind of message–a phonograph record containing information about Earth for extraterrestrial beings–shooting into space aboard the unmanned spacecraft Voyager II.

National Radio Day. I LOVE radio, I listen constantly. Ball games, talk radio, music. But I wonder with the internet, podcasts etc. how much longer will AM/FM radio exist? Who remembers one of these? Remember adjusting the radio and missing the station by a hair, and having to go back and forth to tune it in?

Today is - NATIONAL CHOCOLATE PECAN PIE DAY - NATIONAL RADIO 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.

Lygenztia *550 (Try explaining that one to your wife.......) Wednesday August 19, 2020

Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 22,457,6060. (Deaths: 787,486 and Recovered: 15,172,106) 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 Wednesday August 19, 2020:
From Global News, Canada reported 123,097 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 4,695 of those are currently active. 109,357 have recovered.

The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 40,972 total confirmed cases and 2,792 total deaths. Currently, there are 42 people are in hospital with 15 of those in ICU. 37,215 cases have been resolved.

Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 61,252. Waaayyy down, for a one day increase in count of 64. Quebec data on how many have recovered is....who knows? They consider recovered way differently than the rest of Canada.

The Region of Durham reported 1,849 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The site also reports 2 current outbreaks (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) with 36 outbreaks having been "concluded." Clarington went up one and is now at 105 total cases. (3 are in isolation, 95 are resolved and 7 people have passed away. Hospitalized currently: "Zero")

In international news,
Through the campaign “Put a stop to contagion!”, which promotes the use of face masks for at least 50 days, the Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex) will deliver face masks in the most vulnerable neighborhoods of Puerto Vallarta to be able to return to everyday life as soon as possible. In an effective and long-term process, Coparmex hopes that by September 30 it will have been possible to put a stop to the pandemic of the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the president of the organization in Puerto Vallarta said at a virtual press conference, Jorge Careaga Jiménez, who was accompanied by several of his advisers.

Massive outbreaks in Israeli schools a 'cautionary tale' for Canada. When Israel opened its schools May 17 after just two months in pandemic lockdown, it seemed the novel coronavirus had been brought under control. But the confidence was temporary and the results were disastrous. The experience of the tiny Middle Eastern nation is serving as a “cautionary tale” for Canadian provinces and school boards ramping up plans for a return to school in September. New cases among Israel’s nine million people had dropped from more than 750 a day in the early spring to low double digits in May.

In national news,
Quebec unveils nine-point plan to prepare for possible second wave of COVID-19. The action plan will focus on the following areas: living environments for the elderly, vulnerable people, the workforce, testing, prevention and control of outbreaks, clinical organization and services, procurement, governance and communications, a press release revealed. Preparations to ready health and social services will be in place by Sept. 30, officials said, adding that it is taking stock of lessons learned from the first wave as it sets priorities for the road ahead.

B.C. records 2 more COVID-19 deaths, 236 new cases since Friday. Two more people have died of COVID-19 in British Columbia and 236 more people have been infected with the coronavirus over the weekend, provincial health officials announced Monday. The new numbers bring the province's total to 4,594 COVID-19 cases and 198 deaths since the pandemic began. Both deaths announced Monday occurred in the Fraser Health region. Meanwhile, Health Minister Adrian Dix says the B.C. government will announce stricter penalties this week for those who flout public health rules as COVID-19 cases climb in the province. Officials announced 236 new cases since Friday during a briefing Monday, including the second highest single-day increase of 100 since the pandemic began.

Nova Scotia reports no new COVID-19 cases; 4 active cases remain.

Quebec reports 46 new cases of COVID-19, six more deaths. Quebec health authorities announced 46 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total amount of cases in the province since the start of the pandemic to 61,252. Tuesday is the fifth consecutive day Quebec has reported under 100 new cases of the virus in a 24-hour period. There are now 5,727 people who have died of COVID-19 in Quebec -- that's up six from the 5,721 reported on Monday. Two deaths took place over the past 24 hours, two were between Aug. 11 and 16, one from before Aug. 11 and another for which the date remains unclear.

COVID-19 outbreak declared at Manitoba care home. Manitoba's top doctor has declared an outbreak of COVID-19 at a personal care home in the province. On Monday, Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, said there were 38 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the province, including one new case at Bethesda Place, a care home in Steinbach, Man. "An outbreak has been declared based on that one case and investigations continue," he said.

Oh, and justin is going to prorogue parliament. May was well, eh? Not much going on this summer.

In Ontario,
From the "Oh my" file, Patron at Toronto’s ‘Brass Rail’ tests positive for COVID-19. Toronto Public Health says a person who visited the ‘Brass Rail’ strip club has tested positive for COVID-19, less than a week after the club said one of their employees had contracted the virus. On Friday, the Brass Rail Tavern told public health that one of their employees had received a positive test. Since the employee, whose position was not revealed, worked several days at the club prior to testing positive, there are fears that up to 550 people may have been exposed. Although public health attempted to get in touch with all of those people, the agency said the Brass Rail wasn’t keeping a proper log of all visitors. An initial investigation also found the tavern wasn’t following other public health measures, like physical distancing. However, Toronto Public Health says they are now adhering to the rules. Public health continues to ask anyone who visited the club between August 4 and 8 to monitor themselves for symptoms. You mean you can catch COVID-19 at a strip club? Geez, who knew?

Family doctors worried about COVID-19 and flu season want clear guidance from public health. Is it a cold? The flu? Or is it COVID-19? Canadian doctors may have no choice but to test everyone with respiratory symptoms this coming fall as students and parents anxiously gear up to go back to school in a few short weeks. Doctors across the country, worried about the daunting unknowns in the weeks and months ahead, are asking for guidance from public health officials as their offices prepare for the potential onslaught of cold and flu season during what is expected to be another wave of coronavirus infections. Part of the concern is over protocol and process, but also access to care for patients should family practices and clinics need to close because of an outbreak. “We are not going to be able to tell the difference between what influenza is, potentially what a common cold is, and what COVID is,” said Dr. Iris Gorfinkel, a family physician in Toronto, with PrimeHealth Clinical Research.

In local news,
Staggered start to the school year for many Durham students. Durham public, Catholic boards plan to phase in elementary students. Some students in Durham will have a staggered start to the school year to help them ease into new COVID-19 rules. The Durham Catholic District School Board announced Aug. 17 that elementary students will have a staggered start over the first week of school, with students attending two out of the four days. The plan is for one third of each class to attend Sept. 8, a different one third will attend Sept. 9 and the final one third will attend Sept. 10. All students will start attending together on Sept. 11.

Sports, sports, sports,
The Jays won last night but....they placed Nate Pearson on injured list with elbow tightness. They play an afternoon game today. I love weekday afternoon games, not sure why.

Musing,
Isn't it a great feeling when you start practicing/learning a new skill and you finally start to "get it."

Being hungry isn't as bad as not taking the time to taste your food.

I'm not sure what scares me more about America, COVID-19 or the upcoming election.

"Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart." (SENECA)

On this day in history, in 1909 First race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
On August 19, 1909, the first race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, now the home of the world’s most famous motor racing competition, the Indianapolis 500. Built on 328 acres of farmland five miles northwest of Indianapolis, Indiana, the speedway was started by local businessmen as a testing facility for Indiana’s growing automobile industry.

In 1964, The Beatles kick off first U.S. tour at San Francisco’s Cow Palace.
The Beatles took America by storm during their famous first visit, wowing the millions who watched them during their historic television appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show in February 1964. But after the first great rush of stateside Beatlemania, the Beatles promptly returned to Europe, leaving their American fans to make do with mere records. By late summer of that same year, however, having put on an unprecedented and still unmatched display of pop-chart dominance during their absence, the Beatles finally returned. On August 19, 1964, more than six months after taking the East Coast by storm, the Fab Four traveled to California to take the stage at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.

Today is - NATIONAL AVIATION DAY – NATIONAL SOFT ICE CREAM DAY – INTERNATIONAL BOW 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.