Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 30,076,429. (Deaths: 945,845 and Recovered: 21,828,319) 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 September 17, 2020:
Health Canada reported 139,747 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 8,105 cases are active, there have been 9,193 deaths and 122,449 people have recovered.
The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 45,383 total confirmed cases and 2,822 total deaths. Currently, there are 44 people are in hospital with 20 of those in ICU. 40,245 cases have been resolved.
Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 65,857. (2,265 are active)
The Region of Durham reported 2,010 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The site reports 1 current outbreaks (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) with 39 outbreaks having been "concluded." Clarington remains at 120 total cases. (7 are in isolation, 106 are resolved and 7 people have passed away. Hospitalized currently: "zero")
In international news,
How a Maine 'superspreader' wedding led to deaths of seven people, none of whom attended. The nuptials began an outbreak now traced to more than 170 reported coronavirus infections, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said. Only about 65 close family and friends were on the guest list for a bride and groom’s rustic wedding celebration in a small Maine town in early August. But the nuptials began an outbreak now traced to more than 170 reported coronavirus infections and also to the deaths of seven people, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday. The cluster of coronavirus infections that originated from the Big Moose Inn outside Millinocket on Aug. 7 continues to grow in Maine, state health officials said, after guests flouted social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines. Now people who have no association with the party have died, including six residents of the Maplecrest Rehabilitation and Living Center in Madison, Maine CDC Director Nirav Shah said in a news briefing on Tuesday. The Millinocket wedding is not the only rule-defying celebration linked to a growing number of cases, as contact tracers and public health officials across the country continue to track down infections that stem from summer “superspreader” gatherings, from a motorcycle rally in South Dakota to a choir practice in Washington.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that coronavirus cases are surging alarmingly in Europe, as a "very serious situation" unfolds across the continent. As Covid-19 infections spike to record numbers, European governments are imposing strict local measures and weighing up further lockdowns in a bid to halt a second wave of the pandemic. But WHO regional director Hans Kluge said at a Thursday news conference that the increase in cases should serve as a warning of what is to come. "Weekly cases have now exceeded those reported when the pandemic first peaked in Europe in March," Kluge said. "Last week, the region's weekly tally exceeded 300,000 patients." More than half of European nations have reported an increase of more than 10% in new cases in the past two weeks, Kluge added. "Of those, seven countries have seen newly reported cases increase more than two-fold in the same period," he said. WHO warns of 'very serious situation' in Europe, with 'alarming rates' of virus transmission.
In national news,
COVID-19 in Canada: What a second shutdown might look like. As countries around the world start re-imposing coronavirus restrictions amid spikes in new cases, Canadian politicians and health officials are warning that parts of the country may soon enter a second shutdown. However, infectious disease physician Dr. Zain Chagla says the second lockdown will not look like the first. "We're very different than we were in March, we had no clue how deep this was going to spread into our communities, there was hospital issues in terms of healthcare utilization, and we really had limited testing and didn't really understand where this disease was transmitted within our community," Chagla explained in an interview with CTV's Your Morning on Thursday. "So we had to really do something very global to get things to work." Now, Chagla said provincial health authorities have a better grasp on what measures work in mitigating the risk of COVID-19. While Canada's case numbers are rising, Chagla said the country has access to reasonable testing, healthcare systems aren't currently overloaded and both the public and officials understand that private, indoor gatherings are largely contributing to the spread of the virus. He added that having these factors under control gives Canada the opportunity to thoughtfully prepare for a second wave and another possible shutdown.
O'Toole slams government over COVID-19 testing after waiting hours at Ottawa site. Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole was later tested at a Quebec site that serves MPs and their families. Conservative Leader Erin O'Toole denounced the current state of COVID-19 testing in Canada after his family waited hours at an Ottawa site Wednesday only to be turned away because of capacity issues. O'Toole, his wife and their two children were tested this morning at a site in Gatineau, Que., which offers priority testing for MPs and their families. The new Conservative leader is in self-isolation after being exposed to the virus; one of his staff members has tested positive for COVID-19. O'Toole had been travelling with this person in Quebec over the weekend and on Monday. "While waiting in the COVID-19 testing line up, I was struck by how many families were waiting just like ours," O'Toole said of the unnamed Ottawa testing centre. "Children are being sent home from school to get tested, and it is hard for moms and dads to keep them calm." The four testing sites in the city of Ottawa have been afflicted by hours-long waits over the last number of days as parents have scrambled to get their school-age children tested. "The Trudeau Liberals have created this mess by refusing to approve other testing methods — despite all our allies having, for months, multiple tests including much faster and less invasive methods," O'Toole said. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved two antigen testing devices in May and July respectively — tests that can deliver results in less than 15 minutes — Health Canada regulators have not yet approved such products for use in this country.
In Ontario,
From the "Well that's just peachy" file, Ontario could see 600 COVID cases daily by Thanksgiving if nothing is done about rising numbers: biostatistician. Despite a slight drop in new cases Tuesday, the COVID-19 numbers continue to climb in the province. Biostatistician Ryan Imgrund says the reproduction rate is above one, which means each case is linked to more than one other positive case. “Having it above one for 35 days is a real, real worry,” said Imgrund. “If it stays at 1.1 for 30 days you expect the number of daily cases to double. We’d be up to 600 cases shortly after Thanksgiving per day.” While the cases and reproduction rate has gone up since the province entered Stage 3, Imgrund doesn’t believe we need to scale back the entire province into Stage 2. “We are seeing some places that have safely opened, gyms for instance, some gyms, where we’re not seeing any cases,” Imgrund said. “I do think it’s unfair just to simply to roll back to Stage 2 because we don’t know what to do. We need to find these businesses which are the troublesome businesses and we need to target those.” He believes the problem is actually social gatherings. “We need to reduce indoor gathers and outdoor gatherings back to just 10 people,” Imgrund said. “As it stands right now you’re allowed an outdoor gathering of 100 people. Mind you that outdoor gathering of 100 people is supposed to be physically distance, masked if possible.” Imgrund thinks the province needs to work on it’s messaging to the public. “It’s very, very misleading when we’re asking people to keep to their social bubble of 10,” Imgrund explained. “We send students back unmasked to a class of 30 and then we say, ‘hey it’s okay if you have an outdoor gathering of 100 people.’ I think the messaging there is very, very confusing and it definitely needs to be tightened up quite a bit or else we’re going to see the cases jump up to 500, 600, by Thanksgiving which noone wants to see.” When looking at the Durham specific numbers, the reproduction rate is sitting above one as well, but it hasn’t been there for the same length as the province’s. “That [reproduction] value would be worrisome if it stays there for a long period of time,” Imgrund said. “It was just last week that we only saw Peel, Toronto, and Ottawa were in really rough shape, but we’re starting to see the other GTA areas start to pick up steam.” Imgrund releases the reproduction rates for the provinces and public health units daily here.
Toronto PHU investigating four weddings linked to 22 COVID cases. As COVID-19 numbers continue to rise in Toronto many of them are being linked to close contact. Toronto Public Health says over the past six weeks, approximately 50 per cent of all infections were the result of exposure to someone whose infection is known, although it may not have been evident when they infected someone else. Close contact can happen anywhere with family, at social events, in bars and restaurants or at work. Toronto Public Health is also investigating and tracking four separate weddings that have, to date, generated 22 infections. The city expects new restrictions will be imposed if the trend in cases doesn’t change. On Tuesday, the city received 34 complaints related to parks use and physical distancing and two tickets were issued. The reproductive number in Toronto right now is 1.2, meaning for every positive case, it’s creating 1.2 other cases.
Ontario planning new social gathering limits as COVID-19 cases rise: source. The Canadian province of Ontario is considering introducing some strict new limits on social gatherings in three hot spots in the midst of a spike in COVID-19 cases, a government source told Reuters on Thursday. A draft plan would reduce the size of indoor gatherings to 10, down from 50, and outdoor gatherings to 25, down from 100, the source said, adding that limits would apply in Toronto, nearby Peel region, and Ottawa. The plan does not yet have final approval. New cases of COVID-19 have risen sharply over the last week in Ontario, breaking through the 300 mark on Monday. The province reported 293 new cases on Thursday.
In local news,
United Way of Durham Region holding socially-distant bike ride for COVID relief. The United Way of Durham Region’s twelfth annual bike ride fundraiser will look very different this year, but the spirit of the event will stay the same. That’s according to the organization, who say everyone is invited to pedal around Durham while helping support vulnerable people in the community during the pandemic. The ride is happening on September 27, but you can connect with other riders virtually and raise money through pledges and donations until then. Health and safety protocols will be in place and you are required to register for the event.
And, don't forget our furry friends! Humane Society of Durham Region holding bottle drive until September 30. For the rest of September, you can donate your empties to the Humane Society of Durham Region. They’re holding a bottle drive to raise much-needed funds and continue their important work. The Humane Society of Durham Region receives no government funding and the pandemic has seriously impacted their typical fundraising events. You can help by dropping off any empty wine bottles, beer cans or liquor containers at the west doors of the shelter, at 1505 Wentworth Street in Whitby. All kinds of alcohol containers are accepted, including TetraPaks. Click here to learn more about the shelter or make an online donation.
Musing,
"Love of fame is the last thing even learned men can bear to be parted from." (TACITUS)
Did you know...typically, Monto Cristo's are fried in butter and topped with powdered sugar. They may contain on average 1,122 calories and 69 grams fat!
On this day in history, in 1976 NASA unveils its first space shuttle, the Enterprise. On September 17, 1976, NASA publicly unveils its first space shuttle, the Enterprise, during a ceremony in Palmdale, California. Development of the aircraft-like spacecraft cost almost $10 billion and took nearly a decade. In 1977, the Enterprise became the first space shuttle to fly freely when it was lifted to a height of 25,000 feet by a Boeing 747 airplane and then released, gliding back to Edwards Air Force Base on its own accord.
In 1967, The Who literally spark an explosion on national television. In introducing them at the Monterey Pop Festival three months earlier, Eric Burdon of the Animals had offered high praise for the up-and-coming British rock band the Who, promising the crowd “A group that will destroy you in more ways than one.” A substandard audio setup that day prevented the Who from unleashing the full sonic assault for which they were already becoming famous, but their high-energy, instrument-destroying antics inspired the next act, Jimi Hendrix, to burn his guitar and announced to the tens of thousands of Festival-goers the arrival of a powerful new force in rock and roll. The rest of America would get its introduction on September 17, 1967, when the Who ended an already explosive, nationally televised performance of “My Generation” with a literal bang that singed Pete Townshend’s hair, left shrapnel in Keith Moon’s arm and momentarily knocked The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour off the air.
Have you ever....made out at a concert?
WTF is "PAWPAW" day, anyway?
Today is - CONSTITUTION DAY AND CITIZENSHIP DAY – NATIONAL APPLE DUMPLING DAY – NATIONAL PAWPAW DAY – NATIONAL MONTE CRISTO DAY – NATIONAL PROFESSIONAL HOUSE CLEANERS DAY
a href="https://ubmswww.bank-banque-canada.ca/en/Property/SearchIndex">Bank of Canada unclaimed balances portal supportontariomade.ca
Here is how to clean your non-medical mask.
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