Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 25,925,550. (Deaths: 861,668 and Recovered: 18,209,780) 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 September 2, 2020:
Health Canada reported 129,425 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 5,686 cases are active, there have been 9,132 deaths and 114,607 people have recovered.
The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 42,421 total confirmed cases and 2,812 total deaths. Currently, there are 65 people are in hospital with 17 of those in ICU. 38,369 cases have been resolved.
Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 62,614. (1,414 are active)
The Region of Durham reported 1,904 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 rose to 112 total cases. (2 are in isolation, 103 are resolved and 7 people have passed away. Hospitalized currently: "zero")
In international news,
A bit of sad news from Boston; Cheers closed. The bar that was the inspiration for the hit show is closing. We once visited Cheers while in Boston. The interior of the place bears no resemblance to the set used on the TV show, but it's still cool to see. Now, gone...thanks to COVID-19.
In recent months, there has been a sharp increase in people leaving New York City. Driven by the CCP virus pandemic and subsequent lockdown, combined with an increase in crime, many New Yorkers have decided to leave. Epoch Times reporter Petr Svab spoke with more than a dozen professionals to understand what is driving people out of the city. As the dust of the pandemic lockdown settles and restrictions gradually ease, the contours of the ruin caused in New York City are emerging. Restaurants bankrupted, culture paralyzed, and gun crime harkening back to the mid-1990s. The rich and middle-class are leaving in droves. The poor are stuck. A homelessness crisis looms on the horizon. Those who stay cling to rickety hopes—perhaps the vaccine will come soon, perhaps the city and state bring leadership. Instead, politicians are talking more taxes.
Out of the COVID-19 "bubble"? Pope all smiles at first public audience in six months, prays for Lebanon. Pope Francis held his first weekly general audience in public in six months on Wednesday, smiling and chatting with some of the crowd as they pressed forward to greet him. The audience, at which the pope announced a day of prayer and fasting for Lebanon, was held in the San Damaso courtyard of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. Nearly everyone among the audience of 500 or so wore masks and sat in seats arranged to ensure social distancing. “After so many months, we resume our encounters face to face and not screen to screen, face to face, and this is beautiful,” he said to applause at the start of the audience.
In national news,
If Canadians want things to get back to normal as soon as possible, they need to be ready to roll up their sleeves as soon as an effective COVID-19 vaccine is widely available. That’s according to some of the country’s top doctors and health officials, including Dr. Theresa Tam and Dr. Howard Njoo, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer and her deputy. They’re offering the strongly-worded advice just after the government announced a plan to pre-purchase tens of millions of doses of potential vaccines and signed deals with a pair of American companies. Tam and Njoo both say there is no hope of returning to a pre-pandemic state of life unless there is widespread immunization. The doctors wouldn’t say exactly what percentage of the population needs to be vaccinated to achieve a broad enough collective immunity, but did say a vaccine could be available sometime in 2021. In fact, Njoo says a vaccine could be ready as early as the spring. “Widespread vaccine uptake is the best shot Canadians have of regaining some of what we’ve lost,” concluded Tam.
The 40th Annual Terry Fox Run will go ahead this year, but like many other events, it will be virtual due to the pandemic. The Terry Fox Foundation says they will be marking the anniversary of Fox’s original Marathon of Hope with an online event in support of cancer research. You can sign up online and then walk, run or bike around your neighbourhood on September 20 to take part. There is also a new Terry Fox app that lets you link up with other participants, track steps and show your progress on a virtual map that mimics your own journey across Canada. You can register for the event either as an individual or as a virtual team. Click here for more info.
COVID-stricken cross-border trucking finally returns to normal, signalling liftoff for economic recovery. 'Trucking is a good, live indicator. It gives a good sense of where consumption is going in real time,. And what we see is the consumer is back in a pretty strong way'. Cross-border truck traffic between Canada and the United States — that dropped steeply when the pandemic hit — is returning to near-normal levels, signalling liftoff for economic recovery. The latest border travel data means more than just good news for the trucking industry. It suggests that while COVID-19 remains a dangerous menace, we’re shaking off the economic malaise that came with it. Although the Canada-U.S. border has been closed to most travel since March 21 to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, no restrictions were placed on commercial shipments between the two countries; but commercial truck traffic plummeted anyway. It was largely a reflection of demand dropping, production stopping and travel uncertainty.
COVID-19 outbreak at Edmonton Walmart, as Alberta records 426 new cases in three days. On Aug. 29, the province recorded its highest single-day increase since April 30.
In Ontario,
With just over a week to go until school starts, NDP leader Andrea Horwath was in Oshawa Monday morning making an “urgent” appeal for smaller class sizes. Speaking at a media conference outside Eastdale CVI, she said the government has “handed over” infection control responsibilities to educators, parents and students, and that it will be a struggle to keep things safe with regular class sizes. “How can a teacher help each little one wash their hands properly if there are nearly 30 kids in the class?” Horwath asked. “How can we expect kids not to share pencils or trade lunches when their desks are only a foot or two apart? How can we expect school bus drivers to ensure 70 kids keep their masks on, when they’re supposed to be keeping their eyes on the road?” The NDP leader was joined by Oshawa MPP Jennifer French and two concerned local parents.
Schools, private 'pandemic pods' could be held liable for COVID-19 outbreaks, legal experts say. As parents and students grapple with the risk of COVID-19, legal experts warn that schools and those operating private at-home ‘pandemic pods’ could be held liable in the event of an outbreak. Experts say it’s a complex issue compounded by the fact that neither the federal nor provincial governments have given school boards immunity from legal action in the event that a student contracts COVID-19 on school property. Toronto-based personal injury lawyer Jasmine Daya says that if a child contracts the virus at school and spreads it to vulnerable family members who then experience loss of income or complications from the disease, the school or school board may be held liable. (However, she notes that a claim would likely only be successful if it could be proven that the school acted negligently.)
Ontario’s four major teacher and education worker unions are filing appeals over the return to school. In a press release, the unions says the appeals are being filed because the Ministry of Labour has failed to adequately respond to requests for appropriate health and safety standards in publicly funded schools. The four unions, including the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario and the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, represent over 190-thousand teachers and education workers. Each union will be filing an appeal with the Ontario Labour Relations Board. They say the appeals are being filed because the Ministry of Education’s “Guide to Re-opening Ontario’s Schools” does not take every reasonable precaution to protect workers.
Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug says he’s begging the teacher’s unions to work with the province when it comes to returning to school. The request comes after four major teachers unions announced they are filing a challenge with the Labour Relations Board for the province’s return to school plans. Ford says he’s asking for cooperation and he says front line teachers have apologized to him repeatedly for the way the union is acting. Ford says he has confidence in the school boards bringing kids back to school safely.
In local news,
Six new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Durham Health’s Tuesday update. Five of the new cases were reported in Pickering, the other one is in Clarington. To date 1,904 cases have been reported in the region. Of those cases 1,682 are listed as resolved. There are currently 41 active cases in Durham, with two people in hospital, both in the ICU.
If you use Durham Region Transit (DRT), there’s a new, contactless way to buy your bus tickets from your smartphone. The PRESTO E-Tickets app is now available for DRT users on any Android and iOS phones. You can use the app to set up a PRESTO E-Tickets account, then pay your fare through the app. No cash is needed and you don’t have to use a kiosk, PRESTO machine or speak to anyone in person. When you launch the app, you can book a trip ahead of time or pay your fare at the bus stop with quick validation. You’ll be able to pull up your virtual bus ticket on your phone and fare inspectors can verify the ticket visually, at a distance. Click here for more information.
Musing,
"When someone laughs at another person's misfortune, it exposes the darkest depths of their soul." (me) To wit, Schadenfreude. Ironically, this German word was first found in english texts in 1895. It is though to have originated in 1740.
Have you ever noticed that the guy that wears an Underarmour hats backwards at the pub..... is never an athlete?
"Don't use words too big for the subject. Don't say infinitely when you mean very; otherwise you'll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite." (C. S. LEWIS)
On this day in history, in 1945, Aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Japan formally surrenders to the Allies, bringing an end to World War II.
By the summer of 1945, the defeat of Japan was a foregone conclusion. The Japanese navy and air force were destroyed. The Allied naval blockade of Japan and intensive bombing of Japanese cities had left the country and its economy devastated. At the end of June, the Americans captured Okinawa, a Japanese island from which the Allies could launch an invasion of the main Japanese home islands. U.S. General Douglas MacArthur was put in charge of the invasion, which was code-named “Operation Olympic” and set for November 1945.
This one blew me away! In 1969 the first ATM opens for business.
On September 2, 1969, America’s first automatic teller machine (ATM) makes its public debut, dispensing cash to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville Center, New York. ATMs went on to revolutionize the banking industry, eliminating the need to visit a bank to conduct basic financial transactions. By the 1980s, these money machines had become widely popular and handled many of the functions previously performed by human tellers, such as check deposits and money transfers between accounts. Today, ATMs are as indispensable to most people as cell phones and e-mail. Don Wetzel, an executive at Docutel, a Dallas company that developed automated baggage-handling equipment, is generally credited as coming up with the idea for the modern ATM. Wetzel reportedly conceived of the concept while waiting on line at a bank. The ATM that debuted in New York in 1969 was only able to give out cash, but in 1971, an ATM that could handle multiple functions, including providing customers’ account balances, was introduced.
I have literally never eaten a blueberry popsicle in my life.
Today is - NATIONAL V-J DAY – NATIONAL BLUEBERRY 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.
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