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.
No comments:
Post a Comment