Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 40,327,145. (Deaths: 1,118,869 and Recovered: 30,138,053)
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 Monday October 19, 2020:
Health Canada reported 198,148 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 21,276 cases are active, there have been 9,760 deaths and 167,112 people have recovered.
The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 64,371 total confirmed cases and 3,046 total deaths. 5,954 are active. Currently, there are 247 people are in hospital with 71 of those in ICU. 55,3711 cases have been resolved. (Hospitalizations in Ontario are steadily rising and of note, the total capacity number for ICU beds is 350. ICU bed utilization is the number to watch, not the total cases.)
Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 93,391. (8,794 are active) Quebec case numbers continue to rise at the highest rate in Canada.
The Region of Durham reported 2,574 confirmed cases of COVID-19. The site reports 3 current outbreaks (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) with 41 outbreaks having been "concluded." Clarington rose to 172 cases. (14 are in isolation, 149 are resolved and 7 people have passed away. Hospitalized in Clarington currently: "2")
School and Child Care Center outbreaks remain at "6", with 1 having been concluded.
In international news,
South Africa's health minister gets COVID-19. South Africa's health minister, Zweli Mkhize, and his wife have tested positive for COVID-19, his office said late on Sunday. Soraya Ali reports.
From Breitbart, Grieving New York Families Hold ‘Funeral’ for Andrew Cuomo’s Coronavirus Book at Nursing Home. Outraged New Yorkers who lost family members in the state’s nursing homes staged a mock funeral Sunday for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) recent book, in which he touts his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, despite thousands of deaths among senior citizens. Cuomo’s book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, has drawn widespread criticism. In late March, Cuomo issued a directive requiring nursing homes to accept coronavirus patients, despite the availability of other options, including the U.S.N.S. Comfort and an Army field hospital at the Jacob Javitz Center. After thousands of deaths, plus exposure by conservative radio host Mark Levin, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, Cuomo reversed his directive — some six weeks later. Thousands of people had died in the interim — deaths that critics say were preventable.
In national news,
More than 1.3-million people move onto EI as CERB program expires. Now that the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) program is over, Ottawa says that more than 1.3-million people have been transitioned onto the new, simplified employment insurance (EI) program. Government data shows that, in a single day this month, more than 246,000 claims for EI were handled. Back in the spring, some were worried that the huge influx of applications brought on by the pandemic would cause the EI system to break down. However, things seem to have went smoother than expected. The first EI payments were sent out earlier this week and just over 84 per cent of applicants have received benefits. Experts say that number is a positive sign for the overall transition from CERB to EI. On the other hand, it shows that many Canadians still need government assistance to get through the pandemic. Canada is still around 700,000 jobs short of pre-pandemic levels.
Oh, and while we are at it with CERB....from the Toronto Sun, Gangsters using CERB to buy guns, protect turf: Sources. Gang members are cashing taxpayer-funded CERB cheques to buy illegal handguns to protect their turf, property and drugs in the ongoing wars waged on our city streets, according to sources. Dozens of gang members have been exploiting the $500 weekly government cheques to obtain illegal handguns smuggled into the country from the U.S., sources told the Toronto Sun. “We have learned of dozens across the GTA who are doing this. This enables them to buy more handguns, ‘dirty weapons’ (previously used in crimes) for between $400 and $800, and new Glocks, which are reliable and have strong stopping power, for $3,000,” the source said. The increased firepower has led to more shootings as gangsters — often packing firearms with extra-capacity magazines — wreak havoc on enemies from other neighbourhoods, a source said.
COVID-19 cases near 200,000: Conservatives say Trudeau Liberals botching the second wave. 'We are looking for answers as to why the federal government left Canadians unprepared to deal with this second wave,' Michelle Rempel Garner says. Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner, shown in the House of Commons on Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, says the Liberal government was caught flatfooted despite expectations that there would be a resurgence in the number of coronavirus cases in the fall and winter. Canada’s COVID-19 caseload edged closer to the 200,000 mark on Sunday after a weekend in which Quebec had the majority of new infections and public health officials urged Canadians to remain united in their efforts to combat the pandemic. The country reported 1,827 new cases Sunday, for a total of 198,151 infections. The federal Conservatives on Sunday called for the House of Commons’ health committee to investigate Ottawa’s preparations for a second wave of COVID-19, with Tory health critic Michelle Rempel Garner accusing the Liberal government of being caught flatfooted despite expectations that there would be a resurgence in the number of cases in the fall and winter. “As businesses are closed in another series of COVID related economic shutdowns, we are looking for answers as to why the federal government left Canadians unprepared to deal with this second wave,” Rempel Garner said during a news conference as MPs prepared for the resumption of Parliament on Monday. “We need these answers so that we can move forward and keep Canadians safe while also keeping things open.” (Amen, sister.)
In Ontario,
An op-ed from Don Martin, CTV news. Don Martin: Resistance grows against lockdowns driven without data. The mild-mannered city council in Ottawa is not the sort of confrontational group to lead the resistance against heavy-handed provincial authority. But after Premier Doug Ford shut down indoor restaurants, gyms, sports and theatre venues as coronavirus feeding centres in the red-zoned national capital region, Ottawa councillors retorted with a unanimous challenge on Wednesday: Prove it. And the authorities can’t. Or won’t. The city’s public health officer says eight per cent of positive cases mentioned a restaurant or gym as a pitstop in their recent travels, but she gulped on further details. After all, it’s impossible for her to clarify causes when her overwhelmed operation has given up on contact tracing, leaving ‘no information’ and ‘no known source’ listed as two of the top three sources of infection. This sort of mess is unfolding across the country as federal and provincial leaders put on a public face of unity designed primarily to protect their butts from blame as the widely-predicted second pandemic wave hits governments which act like they were caught by surprise. This general failure to anticipate and take timely preventative precautions is driving a rebellion in the real world that wasn’t there last spring.
York Region added to list of “hotspot” COVID-19 areas. Another Toronto area municipality is rolling back to a modified Stage 2 of public health restrictions. York Region joins Toronto, Peel Region, and Ottawa for the next 28 days effective Monday morning. Those restrictions include closing gyms, ending indoor dining, and closing casinos and cinemas. The rollback to Stage 2 comes after York Region saw a spike in COVID-19 cases on Thursday. Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott says the numbers in York Region are “heading in the wrong direction.” Premier Doug Ford says he was up all night worrying about the impact the decision will have on businesses in York Region but the spread of COVID-19 has to be stopped, “I hate doing this. You have no idea how much I hate doing this.”
Southern Ont. restaurants consider banning patrons from COVID-19 hotspots. Some southern Ontario restaurants are making the tough financial choice to bar out-of-town customers from indoor dining as COVID-19 cases surge in nearby hot spots. Ramshackle Industries, which owns four restaurants and bars in Stratford, Ont., first introduced the policy when restaurants reopened in June, slowly dialing it back as the pandemic waned this summer. Now that the province has reintroduced tighter restrictions in Toronto, York and Peel regions and Ottawa amid the second wave of COVID-19, Ramshackle owner Jessie Votary said the rule is being enforced again. Tourists are a “huge part” of the customer base in Stratford, especially in the summer months, but Votary said the safety of employees at the worker-owned businesses had to come first. “We want the people to come, we just are also wary and sensible about what potential infection of our team could mean, and what potential infection of our community could mean,” Votary said in a telephone interview. The restaurants have been explaining the rules before seating customers, with staff checking IDs in a handful of cases, and some non-locals have been turned away from indoor dining. Votary said reactions have ranged from understanding to upset.
In local news,
Durham’s health department reported 26 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. This update comes with 19 more resolved cases, bringing the active case count to 168. Since March, the region has seen a total of 2,574 cases (including those under investigation), with 2,224 of those now considered resolved. In total, 182 deaths have been linked to COVID-19 infections. There are currently five people in hospital, including three in intensive care. Here is the regional breakdown as of Sunday:
Pickering — 756 total cases, 25 active (one new case)
Ajax — 725 total cases, 43 active (nine new cases)
Whitby — 352 total cases, 39 active (six new cases)
Oshawa — 410 total cases, 41 active (seven new cases)
Clarington — 172 total cases, 16 active (three new cases)
Uxbridge — 114 total cases, one active (no new cases)
Scugog — 26 total cases, zero active (no new cases)
Brock — 17 total cases, one active (no new cases)
The Durham health department has confirmed a resident of the region with COVID-19 has died. The deceased was a resident of long term care/retirement home. The death was included in Friday’s update and is the first COVID-19 death in Durham since July 9. It brings the region’s death toll to 182.
Musing,
“The world you desire can be won, it exists, it is real, it is possible, it is yours.” (AYN RAND)
Have you noticed cases are way up, but hospitalizations and deaths are way down? (Compared to April/May) So, is COVID-19 weakening, as some experts propose, or are we getting better at treating it? The latter does not make sense to me, as there is no treatment regime for COVID-19, other than monitoring the patient, IV fluids, giving oxygen an intubation?
I beleive that COVID-19 is real. I also believe we are being had, but to what end I do not know.
Have you ever....heard a long forgotten song you used to love, then thought to yourself 'Why the Hell did I like this song?'
Did you know....over 10,000 scientists have signed the Great Barrington Declaration?
On this day in history, 1987, Stock market largest-ever one-day crash on "Black Monday". The largest-ever one-day percentage decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average comes not in 1929 but on October 19, 1987. As a number of unrelated events conspired to tank global markets, the Dow dropped 508 points—22.6 percent.
On this day in history, 1985, First Blockbuster store opens.
On October 19, 1985, the first Blockbuster video-rental store opens, in Dallas, Texas. At a time when most video stores were small-scale operations featuring a limited selection of titles, Blockbuster opened with some 8,000 tapes displayed on shelves around the store and a computerized check-out process. The first store was a success and Blockbuster expanded rapidly, eventually becoming one of the world’s largest providers of in-home movies and game entertainment.
Today is - NATIONAL CLEAN YOUR VIRTUAL DESKTOP DAY – NATIONAL KENTUCKY DAY – NATIONAL SEAFOOD BISQUE DAY – NATIONAL LGBT CENTER AWARENESS DAY
The Bank of Canada unclaimed balances portal can be found here.
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.
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