Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 28,363,561. (Deaths: 914,469 and Recovered: 20,364,964) 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 September 11 2020:
Health Canada reported 134,924 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 6,771 cases are active, there have been 9,163 deaths and 118,990 people have recovered.
The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 43,855 total confirmed cases and 2,814 total deaths. Currently, there are 54 people are in hospital with 14 of those in ICU. 39,474 cases have been resolved.
Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 64,244. (1,847 are active) Quebec's numbers never make sense to me...the case count increases and the active cases then decrease by a larger value?
The Region of Durham reported 1,950 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The site reports 1 current outbreaks (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) with 38 outbreaks having been "concluded." Clarington rose to 119 total cases, which is up two from yesterday. (6 are in isolation, 106 are resolved and 7 people have passed away. Hospitalized currently: "zero")
In international news,
Coronavirus brings Israel to its knees. As a second wave of the virus ravages the country, Israelis have lost faith in their political leaders. Over the last several weeks, Israel has surged to the fore of the global COVID-19 pack in a most inglorious way. And now, the government is bringing down the hammer. In a country with a population of around nine million, there were more than 4,000 new cases reported in Israel on Wednesday, continuing an alarming trend over the last two months. Hospitals are on the verge of collapse and the government has lost control of public health and the people. Round one of COVID-19 in Israel was a case study in national discipline and excellence, only to be undone by political skulduggery and the general public’s consequent loss of confidence in the country’s leadership. Getting Israelis, who are a notoriously irreverent lot, to submit to lockdown measures in late March for a month – and throughout Passover, Easter and Ramadan — was a triumph. The virus was quickly neutralized. By mid-May, there were fewer than 20 new cases a day being reported.
COVID-19 was a boon for some businesses, Oracle revenue, profit beat as cloud business benefits from remote work. Oracle Corp ORCL.N signaled a recovery in client spending as remote work spurred demand for cloud services as well as traditional licensing business, helping it beat expectations for first-quarter results and sending its shares up 5% on Thursday. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid shift to remote work with companies looking to extend it till the next year, benefiting cloud companies that support this move. It comes at a time when Oracle has been pushing into the cloud business that helps companies save cost by renting data centers rather than owning them. Revenue from its largest the unit, that includes its cloud services, rose 2.1% to $6.95 billion. Total revenue rose 1.6% to $9.37 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $9.19 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. The company’s net income rose to $2.25 billion, or 72 cents per share, in the first quarter ended Aug. 31, from $2.14 billion, or 63 cents per share, a year earlier.
In national news,
Not me, I can't wait to enter the ballot box; but, a quarter of Canadians uncomfortable with voting in person during COVID-19 pandemic: poll Despite the uncertainty among Canadians, the pandemic has not stopped election speculation in Ottawa. About a quarter of Canadians say they would be uncomfortable going to the polls if an election was held during the COVID-19 pandemic, a poll by the Angus Reid Institute found. Forty-three per cent of Canadians would be completely comfortable going to the polls, while 30 per cent say they would be more comfortable than uncomfortable. Twenty per cent say they would be more uncomfortable than comfortable going to the polls, while seven per cent say they would be completely uncomfortable, the poll found.
No more effing around in "La Belle Province", Those who don't follow mask guidelines in Quebec will be fined as of Saturday: premier.As of Saturday, Quebecers who do not comply with public health guidelines amid the COVID-19 pandemic; particularly, those who don't wear masks inside public places and on public transit; will be subject to fines. Premier Francois Legault made the announcement at a press conference in Quebec City on Thursday morning alongside Health Minister Christian Dube and the province's director of public health, Dr. Horacio Arruda. "It is important to say that still today there is a very vast majority who follow the guidelines of public health, but unfortunately there is a small minority of irresponsible people who are not following the guidelines, and these people are putting many things at risk," Legault said.
The conspiracy theorist's are going to love this one. University of Waterloo professor calls pandemic 'COVID fake emergency'. Michael Palmer distributed course outline referencing 'the COVID fake emergency' to students. A chemistry professor at the University of Waterloo has distributed a course outline to students, saying his in-class exams aren't mandatory "because of the COVID fake emergency." The goal of Michael Palmer's biochemical pharmacology course is to "gain an in-depth understanding of the biochemical principles of drug action." Palmer received a medical degree with a specialization in microbiology from a university in Germany, although he said in an email to CBC he has "not sought or received accreditation in Canada." The course outline was posted on social media after it was distributed to students this week. In a statement to CBC News, University of Waterloo's Dean of Science Robert Lemieux says Palmer's opinion doesn't align with the university's perspective. "The University of Waterloo respects the academic freedom of our faculty to express their opinions. This representation is not, however, shared by the University of Waterloo or the Faculty of Science," said the statement. "Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to be based on the best available advice from public health officials," the statement went on to say. "In this case, the professor has elected to move the course online." In an email, Palmer said he would not comment on the course outline. This isn't the first time Palmer has expressed his views on the pandemic. In an email from June obtained by CBC News, Palmer sent to the entire faculty a message intended for a colleague about the pandemic. "The real cheating going on is this fake Covid epidemic," wrote Palmer. "Yes, there is a virus and it kills some people, but the panic around it is created with fraudulent data. If you look at real data, it turns out that it is no worse than a flu." "The faked-up scare is used to defraud the economy and rob the people of their freedom," he wrote. He later sent an apology email to the faculty, saying the message was meant for one person. The dean then sent an email to the faculty saying Palmer's views don't represent the university and he was disappointed by the tone.
In Ontario,
It appears the goodwill and camaraderie between the feds and Ford is starting to lessen. Federal health minister fires back at Ford, says provincial police can enforce quarantine rules too. Health Minister Patty Hajdu fired back at Ontario Premier Doug Ford on Thursday, reminding him that provincial police can enforce quarantine rules too. Her comments come after the premier lambasted the quarantine system as "broken" in a Wednesday press conference, saying federal health officers aren’t laying charges against Quarantine Act rule breakers. "I'll just remind Premier Ford that in fact, the OPP, who are participating in enforcing the quarantine with the RCMP, have full authority to lay charges," Hajdu told CTV Power Play Host Evan Solomon during Thursday's episode. "So I would encourage him to speak with the Ontario Provincial Police and tell them that if they feel that charges are appropriate, that they should go ahead and use the Quarantine Act as they’ve been empowered to do so." Hajdu also pointed out that the vast majority of COVID-19 spread is happening within communities, as opposed to being brought into Canada by an outside source. "I would encourage the premier and his team to continue their hard work to build up testing capacity and use the full testing capacity that the federal government is supporting with billions of dollars," she said. Should federal quarantine officers decide to enforce the Quarantine Act, rule breakers could face up to six months in jail and fines up to $750,000. Meanwhile, police forces can issue tickets up to $1,000.
'That is not how it is:' Ontario's top doctor says there has been 'some confusion' around gathering limits. Ontario’s top public health official is conceding that there has been “some confusion” around the limits that have been placed on social gatherings and that it may be leading to a rise in COVID-19 cases in those settings. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams made the comment during his regular briefing on Thursday afternoon. It comes one day after Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown took issue with the province’s decision to permit outdoor gatherings of up to 100 people, calling the policy a “head scratcher.” “I would say with regards to our cases there seems to be some confusion with the public where they assume because we went to 50 indoors and 100 outdoors that means something like a backyard gathering or event can be carried off without any other public health measures. That definitively isn’t’ the case,” Williams said. “We said you could have 50 inside or 100 outside but you have to maintain the public health measures, the six-foot distancing. It doesn’t mean that you can carry on with everyone like it is a big party. That is not how it is.” In March, the province issued an emergency order prohibiting any social or organized gathering of more than five people but it later relaxed the limits as part of the Stage 3 reopening of Ontario’s economy. In recent days, Premier Doug Ford has faced some pressure to consider lowering those limits again, including from Brown who lamented the fact that a weekend gathering of 89 people at a Brampton home was technically complying with the provincial order.
In local news,
Durham Region numbers are definitely trending up. The increase is not dramatic, but it is noteworthy.
Orono Fair drive-in Fireworks Celebration. Mark the cancelled Orono Fair weekend with a distanced celebration. There is a new celebration to take the place of the COVID-19 cancelled Orono Fair. The Orono Agricultural Society is hosting a socially distanced drive-in Fireworks Celebration at the Orono Fairgrounds on Saturday, Sept. 12 (with a rain date of Sunday, Sept. 13). The 2020 Orono Fair, originally scheduled to take place Thursday, Sept. 10 to Sunday Sept. 13, was cancelled in late-April due to the pandemic. For those who still want say farewell to summer with a bang, the Orono Fairground gates open at 7:30 p.m. Only cars and trucks will be admitted — no walk-ins.
Where are people in Durham contracting COVID-19? Many people are asking how and where people are contracting COVID-19 in Durham Region. Is it at the grocery store, a restaurant or a social gathering? However, health officials don’t know where most of the recent COVID-19 cases in Durham are coming from. That’s according to the region’s Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Robert Kyle, who says many cases are classified as “community transmission.” “So in other words, they [the case] are reported to us without there being any known sort of link to an outbreak that’s going on in the community,” explained Kyle. He says many people are unsure where they picked up the virus. For cases that are classified as “contact with a case,” Kyle says that means they were one of the high risk contacts who were around someone with a confirmed case of the virus and then they contracted it. He says overall, given the size of the region and the continued reopening of the province, Durham is doing well. “We have gone from a lull in the summertime of anywhere from zero to say, five cases, to…maybe five to ten cases,” said Kyle. “So it seems like there’s a slight increase in the number of cases. You would expect as the economy reopens, as the gathering limits indoors and outdoors increase and as people, perhaps, are suffering from what I can call ‘pandemic fatigue’ and letting their guard down, you may see more transmission occurring. Having said that, the number are not large and I’m hopeful that most people are continuing to be vigilant with respect to hand hygiene.” He adds people also need to continue to follow other public health measures, like physical and social distancing.
Musing,
Do you remember where you were during 9-1-1? I do and i'll never forget it. We have been to the memorial at the base of the Twin Towers. I can't begin to describe the emotions you feel as you walk around and read the names.
“No day shall erase you from the memory of time.” (VIRGIL)
On this day in history, September 11, 2001, the Twin Towers in New York were destroyed in a terrorist attack on the U.S.A.
At approximately 8:45 a.m. on a clear Tuesday morning, an American Airlines Boeing 767 loaded with 20,000 gallons of jet fuel crashes into the north tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The impact left a gaping, burning hole near the 80th floor of the 110-story skyscraper, instantly killing hundreds of people and trapping hundreds more in higher floors. As the evacuation of the tower and its twin got underway, television cameras broadcasted live images of what initially appeared to be a freak accident. Then, 18 minutes after the first plane hit, a second Boeing 767—United Airlines Flight 175—appeared out of the sky, turned sharply toward the World Trade Center, and sliced into the south tower at about the 60th floor. The collision caused a massive explosion that showered burning debris over surrounding buildings and the streets below. America was under attack.
The attackers were Islamic terrorists from Saudi Arabia and several other Arab nations. Reportedly financed by Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda terrorist organization, they were allegedly acting in retaliation for America’s support of Israel, its involvement in the Persian Gulf War, and its continued military presence in the Middle East. Some of the terrorists had lived in the United States for more than a year and had taken flying lessons at American commercial flight schools. Others had slipped into the U.S. in the months before September 11 and acted as the “muscle” in the operation. The 19 terrorists easily smuggled box-cutters and knives through security at three East Coast airports and boarded four flights bound for California, chosen because the planes were loaded with fuel for the long transcontinental journey. Soon after takeoff, the terrorists commandeered the four planes and took the controls, transforming the ordinary commuter jets into guided missiles.
As millions watched in horror the events unfolding in New York, American Airlines Flight 77 circled over downtown Washington, D.C. and slammed into the west side of the Pentagon military headquarters at 9:45 a.m. Jet fuel from the Boeing 757 caused a devastating inferno that led to a structural collapse of a portion of the giant concrete building. All told, 125 military personnel and civilians were killed in the Pentagon along with all 64 people aboard the airliner.
Less than 15 minutes after the terrorists struck the nerve center of the U.S. military, the horror in New York took a catastrophic turn for the worse when the south tower of the World Trade Center collapsed in a massive cloud of dust and smoke. The structural steel of the skyscraper, built to withstand winds in excess of 200 mph and a large conventional fire, could not withstand the tremendous heat generated by the burning jet fuel. At 10:30 a.m., the other Trade Center tower collapsed. Close to 3,000 people died in the World Trade Center and its vicinity, including a staggering 343 firefighters and paramedics, 23 New York City police officers, and 37 Port Authority police officers who were struggling to complete an evacuation of the buildings and save the office workers trapped on higher floors. Only six people in the World Trade Center towers at the time of their collapse survived. Almost 10,000 other people were treated for injuries, many severe.
Meanwhile, a fourth California-bound plane–United Flight 93–was hijacked about 40 minutes after leaving Newark International Airport in New Jersey. Because the plane had been delayed in taking off, passengers on board learned of events in New York and Washington via cell phone and Airfone calls to the ground. Knowing that the aircraft was not returning to an airport as the hijackers claimed, a group of passengers and flight attendants planned an insurrection. One of the passengers, Thomas Burnett, Jr., told his wife over the phone that “I know we’re all going to die. There’s three of us who are going to do something about it. I love you, honey.” Another passenger—Todd Beamer—was heard saying “Are you guys ready? Let’s roll” over an open line. Sandy Bradshaw, a flight attendant, called her husband and explained that she had slipped into a galley and was filling pitchers with boiling water. Her last words to him were “Everyone’s running to first class. I’ve got to go. Bye.”
Today is - PATRIOT DAY AND NATIONAL DAY OF SERVICE AND REMEMBRANCE – NATIONAL MAKE YOUR BED DAY – NATIONAL HOT CROSS BUN 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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