Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 22,077,423. (Deaths: 778,071 and Recovered: 14,813,527) 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 18, 2020:
From Global News, Canada reported 122,815 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date.
The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 40,745 total confirmed cases and 2,789 total deaths. Currently, there are 32 people are in hospital with 16 of those in ICU. 37,036 cases have been resolved.
++UPDATE++ 10:32 a.m.
Ontario health officials are reporting the highest number of new COVID-19 cases since the end of July. Health officials confirmed an additional 125 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, which is the highest number since July 31 when the province reported 134 new cases.
Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 61,206.
The Region of Durham reported 1,848 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The site also reports 1 current outbreak (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) at Harwood Retirement Residence with 36 outbreaks having been "concluded." Clarington remains at 104 total cases. (2 are in isolation, 95 are resolved and 7 people have passed away. Hospitalized currently: "Zero")
In international news,
A conservative South Korean pastor who has been a bitter critic of the country's president has tested positive for the coronavirus, health authorities said Monday, two days after he participated in an anti-government protest in Seoul that drew thousands. More than 300 virus cases have been linked to the Rev. Jun Kwang-hun's huge church in northern Seoul, which has emerged as a major cluster of infections amid growing fears of a massive outbreak in the greater capital region. Officials are concerned that the virus's spread could worsen after thousands of demonstrators, including Jun and members of his Sarang Jeil Church, marched in downtown Seoul on Saturday despite pleas from officials to stay home.
Some good news from Puerto Vallarta, the positivity rate for coronavirus testing at the Diagnostic Center of the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) in Puerto Vallarta has decreased for the second consecutive week, according to Dr. Jesús Aarón Curiel Beltrán, who oversees the center. In his weekly report, the doctor released the figures that have been generated with respect to the tests carried out in the diagnostic center installed in the University Center.
Trump's 'COVID surge' claim is false: New Zealand. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern hit back on Tuesday against U.S. President Donald Trump for saying her country is experiencing a "big surge" in COVID-19.
From Britain, Britain's M&S to cut 7,000 jobs in latest blow to retail sector. Marks & Spencer will cut a further 7,000 jobs, it said on Tuesday, as the COVID-19 crisis deals another blow to Britain’s beleaguered retail sector. “It is clear that there has been a material shift in trade and whilst it is too early to predict with precision where a new post-COVID sales mix will settle, we must act now to reflect this change,” M&S said. Clothing and home trading in its stores remained well below last year though online and home delivery were strong, said the retailer, which has a UK workforce of about 78,000. The 136-year old M&S is seeking to reinvent itself after decades of failed attempts.
In national news,
Those looking to immigrate to Canada should be prepared to face extensive delays, says a Toronto-based immigration lawyer, citing pandemic-related hurdles causing a backlog of applications. Chantal Desloges told CTV’s Your Morning on Monday that it’s been difficult to advise clients about the processing timeline due to the unpredictability of COVID-19. "Before COVID-19, it would take you about a year if you applied for citizenship, now with these delays, I would say if you budgeted between a year and two years it would probably be more accurate," she said. "Especially for people like refugees, many of whom are separated from their families while they’re waiting for a hearing, this kind of a backlog is absolutely devastating for them."
Less than two years after winning a minority of the seats in the provincial legislature, New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has called an election for Sept. 14. "The choice was made last week when the Liberals walked out of our meetings," Higgs said. The premier said the Green Party and the People's Alliance of New Brunswick (PANB) were willing, but the opposition party was not willing to agree to prop up the Higgs minority government until September 2022, or until the pandemic had been declared over.
COVID-19: Exposure alert issued after Alberta prayer gathering leads to 17 cases. Northern Health said 12 individuals who attended the It Is Time Canada prayer gathering between July 20 and Aug. 2 in Deadwood, Alta. were infected. Since then, seven of the 17 infected people have recovered, while 10 remain active cases as of Monday. Contact tracing has also identified 24 close contacts of those infected, and the 24 individuals are now in self-isolation and being monitored daily by health officials. The majority of the cases are in the Fort St. John area, however, Northern Health warns that the exposure alert applies to the entire northeastern B.C. region.
In Ontario,
Ontario ends police access to COVID-19 database after legal challenge. Ontario has ended police access to a COVID-19 database after a legal challenge was filed by a group of human rights organizations. Aboriginal Legal Services, the Black Legal Action Centre, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and HIV & AIDS Legal Clinic Ontario were all parties to the lawsuit. The groups argued that allowing police to access personal health records violates individuals' constitutional rights to privacy and equality.
Dr. Bogoch (from Toronto) is a really interesting doctor that has become a bit of a media darling with his COVID-19 updates. He is interviewed regularly and here is one of the clips, if you have not seen him yet.
An opinion piece from Brian Lilley of the Toronto Sun. Docs and teacher unions at odds over back to school.
In local news,
4 things you need to know about school in Durham this fall. Durham school board considers changes for safe reopening during COVID-19.
Here’s four changes that could have a big impact on students this fall:
1. Face masks encouraged for all
2. Staggered first days for kindergarten
3. Bus transportation worries
4. No exceptions made for small rural high schools — yet
5 questions answered on Catholic board back-to-school plan for Clarington. PVNC Catholic schools give families until Aug. 20 to decide on in-school or remote.
Question: Will at-home learners be learning the same curriculum as those who are in school?
Answer: Yes, the same curriculum will be taught and the same amount of time learning each day will be expected.
Q: What are the school expectations for at-home learners?
A: Students need to log in to the online classes every day — attendance will be taken for elementary students. There will be real-time class learning and independent study. There will be daily learning tasks and frequent live contact with teachers.
Q: How will in-school learning be different?
A: There are many ways that in-school learning will be different this fall. Here are just a few of the highlights: Face masks will be encouraged for all students and required for those in Grades 4 to 12. Schedules will be adjusted to minimize the number of contacts for students. No lunch drop off for elementary kids, and no leaving the school property for high school students. Cafeterias and libraries will not be available as common spaces. Outdoor learning spaces will be used as much as possible.
Q: Why just a week to decide if a child is going to be learning remotely from home?
A: To plan for the successful return to school on Tuesday, Sept. 8 for 15,000 students, the school board needs to know how many students will be attending school or opting for remote learning, to adjust staffing and assign some teachers to provide remote learning for students at home.
Q: Will students be able to switch between in-person and remote learning?
A: Students can’t immediately transfer between remote and in-person learning because changes in enrolment impact class sizes and staffing. Moving between remote and in-person learning can happen at the end of each term for elementary and each quadmester for high school. At other times, individual requests to move between remote and in-person learning will be examined on a case-by-case basis.
Sports, sports, sports,
The Jays win and come through with an ideal response after sloppy weekend. The Jays take the field tonight at 7:35 in Baltimore and the likely pitcher is Pearson. Luckily, Bo Bichette’s knee injury is considered minor after a second opinion.
I've tried, but I just can't get fired up about NHL hockey. The games just feel...."fake" to me. By the way, how about Elliott Friedman's beard! Awesome.......
Musing,
I can't help but wonder what things will look like in November. And, yes, it makes me nervous.
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” (Willie Nelson)
It's National Mail Order Catalog Day. Who remembers the Sears Wishbook? Or Consumers Distributing, that never had what you ordered.
Enjoy the weather folks, while it lasts. A few cool mornings lately........summer ain't over yet, but it is getting long in the tooth.
On this day in history, in 1991, Soviet hard-liners launch coup against Gorbachev.
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is placed under house arrest during a coup by high-ranking members of his own government, military and police forces. Since becoming secretary of the Communist Party in 1985 and president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1988, Gorbachev had pursued comprehensive reforms of the Soviet system. Combining perestroika (“restructuring”) of the economy–including a greater emphasis on free-market policies–and glasnost (“openness”) in diplomacy, he greatly improved Soviet relations with Western democracies, particularly the United States.
In 1590, Roanoke Colony deserted.
John White, the governor of the Roanoke Island colony in present-day North Carolina, returns from a supply-trip to England to find the settlement deserted. White and his men found no trace of the 100 or so colonists he left behind, and there was no sign of violence. Among the missing were Ellinor Dare, White’s daughter; and Virginia Dare, White’s granddaughter and the first English child born in America. August 18 was to have been Virginia’s third birthday. The only clue to their mysterious disappearance was the word “CROATOAN” carved into the palisade that had been built around the settlement. White took the letters to mean that the colonists had moved to Croatoan Island, some 50 miles away, but a later search of the island found none of the settlers.
Today is - NATIONAL FAJITA DAY - NATIONAL ICE CREAM PIE DAY - NATIONAL MAIL ORDER CATALOG 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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