Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 85,909,913. (Deaths: 1,857,498 and Recovered: 60,738,431)
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 4:00 p.m. ET on Monday January 4, 2021:
Health Canada reported 601,633 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 26,422 cases are active, there have been 15,865 deaths and 504,976 people have recovered.
The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 194,232 total confirmed cases and 4,679 total deaths. 23,611 are active. Currently, there are 1,190 people are in hospital with 333 of those in ICU. 164,775 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 210,304. (22,501 are active)
The Region of Durham reported 7,791 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (992 active). The site reports 25 current outbreaks (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) with 61 outbreaks having been "concluded." Clarington rose to 549 cases. (67 are in isolation, 472 are resolved and 8 people have passed away. Hospitalized in Clarington currently: "2") School and Child Care Center outbreaks sit at "1", with 34 having been concluded.
In international news,
From Reuters, England goes into new lockdown as COVID-19 variant rampages. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday ordered England into a new national lockdown to contain a surge in COVID-19 cases that threatens to overwhelm parts of the health system before a vaccine programme reaches a critical mass. The announcement came just hours after the government hailed Britain’s success in becoming the first country to begin rolling out the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca against COVID-19. Johnson said a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in the United Kingdom and now present in many other countries was spreading at great speed and immediate action was needed to slow it down. “As I speak to you tonight, our hospitals are under more pressure from COVID than any time since the start of the pandemic,” Johnson said in a televised address to the country. “With most of the country already under extreme measures, it’s clear that we need to do more together to bring this new variant under control,” he said.
New York, Florida tell hospitals to dispense COVID-19 vaccines quicker or lose supply. New York state will begin fining hospitals that do not administer allotted COVID-19 vaccines within a week of receiving their supplies and will decline to provide them with further doses, Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a news conference on Monday. The U.S. federal government has distributed more than 13 million vaccine doses to states and territories around the country, but only around 4 million have actually been administered, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last updated on Saturday. New York Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker notified hospitals of the potential actions in a letter on Sunday, Cuomo told reporters. “I don’t want the vaccine in a fridge or a freezer, I want it in somebody’s arm,” he said. “If you’re not performing this function, it does raise questions about the operating efficiency of the hospital.”
In national news,
Airlines slam 'confusion' over Canada's new COVID-19 testing rules. Airlines say a slew of questions remain about the federal government’s decision to require passengers returning to Canada to show negative results on COVID-19 tests taken abroad. Transport Minister Marc Garneau announced Thursday that air travellers overseas will have to present proof of a negative molecular test — known as a PCR test, conducted with a nasal swab — that was taken within 72 hours of departure, unless the testing is unavailable in that country. National Airlines Council of Canada chief executive Mike McNaney says the Transport Department has yet to provide a list of foreign agencies whose tests are considered acceptable or to establish how airline employees should determine whether a test document is valid. He says the new rule, which mandates a 14-day quarantine in Canada regardless of the test result, will cause “confusion” and “frustration” for carriers and passengers alike.
Alberta cabinet minister, premier's chief of staff resign over holiday travel, other MLAs demoted. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has accepted the resignations of Grande Prairie MLA Tracy Allard as minister of municipal affairs and of Jamie Huckabay, his chief of staff. They join a growing number of politicians across Canada who have admitted to travelling outside the country despite pandemic restrictions, leading to resignations in some cases. They include former Ontario finance minister Rod Phillips, a Progressive Conservative; Liberal MP Kamal Khera; and New Democrat MP Niki Ashton. In a Facebook post on Monday, Kenney said he has also demoted five other United Conservative Party MLAs who travelled internationally over the holidays. Calgary-Klein MLA Jeremy Nixon has been stripped from his position as parliamentary secretary for civil society, while Red Deer-South MLA Jason Stephan has been removed from Treasury Board. Three MLAs — Calgary-Peigan's Tanya Fir, Tany Yao of Fort McMurray-Wood Buffalo and Lesser Slave Lake's Pat Rehn — have been removed from the legislature committees they sat on.
In Ontario,
Ontario's education minister confirms school start dates for January in-person learning. Ontario’s education minister has confirmed the start dates for in-person learning at schools will not change amid a rising number of COVID-19 cases over the holidays. In a letter sent to parents on Saturday, Stephen Lecce reiterated that “schools are not a source of rising community transmission” and that the institutions have been protected in part due to the extended holiday break. Ontario went into a provincewide lockdown as of Dec. 26, forcing non-essential businesses to close and prohibiting in-person dining at bars and restaurants. Among the restrictions, the province announced that publicly-funded elementary schools would be closed until at least Jan. 11. Students will instead participate in remote, virtual learning during the first week of the month. In northern Ontario, all schools are scheduled to reopen on that date while in southern Ontario, secondary school students were told they would not be returning to the classroom until Jan. 25. The lockdown itself is scheduled to last until at least Jan. 23 in southern Ontario, pending an extension order by the government.
New data shows the types of workplaces where COVID-19 outbreaks have been reported in Toronto. The City of Toronto will now publicly identify the location of some COVID-19 outbreaks in workplaces as it seeks to improve transparency amid a surge in infections. Medical Officer of Health Dr. Eileen de Villa announced the change on Monday afternoon, as she reported an additional 974 new cases of COVID-19 in the city over the last 24 hours. She said that starting today Toronto Public Health will release the location of workplace outbreaks on a weekly basis in circumstances where there is rampant or “sustained transmission” and “the workplace is large enough that the risk of privacy concerns are mitigated.” She said that Toronto Public Health will also be providing more detailed information about the sectors where outbreaks are being reported. Previously Toronto Public Health grouped all workplaces together but going forward it will put them into 11 different categories – bars and restaurants, event venues and religious facilities, non-institutional medical health services, personal care service settings, recreational fitness facilities, retail settings, farms, food processing plants, offices, warehouses, construction and manufacturing settings and other workplaces. The data released on Monday afternoon shows that of the 302 workplace outbreaks reported during the pandemic, nearly half (132) fell into a broad category made up of offices, warehouses, shipping and distribution facilities, manufacturing facilities and construction sites.
COVID-19 outbreaks reported at one-third of Ontario’s LTC homes; new record says ministry. The province says one-third of long-term care homes in Ontario are dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks. The Ministry of Long-Term Care says a record 207 facilities are in outbreak. There are a total of 626 facilities in Ontario. However, there are fewer cases now compared to the peak of the first wave in May. A spokeswoman for the ministry says right now, 1,140 long-term care residents have COVID-19, compared to 2,538 in May. According to the Durham health department’s COVID-19 data tracker, there are currently 25 active outbreaks at institutions in the region, which include long-term care, retirement homes and hospitals.
In local news,
3 new cases of UK variant of COVID-19 detected in Greater Toronto Area. Ontario health officials are reporting three more cases of the UK variant of COVID-19 detected in the province. All three of people with the new variant are residents of the GTA and all of them either travelled or had close contact with a person who had recently traveled, Ontario's Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe said at her daily briefing Monday. The first person is a York Region resident who recently travelled to the United Kingdom. The second person is a Peel Region resident who had close contact with a person who recently travelled to Dubai. The third person is a Toronto resident who recently travelled to the UK. “Case and contact management is being performed by the relevant public health units,” Yaffe said. “I do want to take this opportunity to remind Ontarians that they should travel only if absolutely necessary. And if you do travel, you must maintain your quarantine for 14 days upon return to the country. “I cannot emphasize how important this is. COVID-19 does not know borders.” The UK variant of the virus is more contagious and has spread rapidly through southern England. It has also been detected in a number of other countries recently, including Canada.
Dozens of Loblaw employees in the GTA tested positive for COVID-19 since Christmas Eve, including four in Durham. Loblaw says at least 69 of their employees in the GTA have tested positive for COVID-19 since Christmas Eve. Loblaw is the parent company of a number of stores, including Shoppers Drug Mart, Real Canadian Superstore, Fortinos, No Frills and more. The exact number of infected employees is unclear because on their website, they say “multiple team members” at the Fortinos on Highway 7 in Vaughan have the virus. The four cases in Durham are at three different stores. On December 28, they reported a worker at the Real Canadian Superstore at 200 Taunton Road West in Whitby tested positive for COVID-19. The worker was last on the job December 23. On January 3, they announced a case in a worker at the Shoppers Drug Mart at 1105 Kingston Road in Pickering. The employee last worked December 29. The other two cases were also reported January 3 at the Shoppers Drug Mart at 95 Williamson Drive West in Ajax. The last time those workers were on the job were December 24 and 26.
COVID-19 outbreak over at Whitby's Sunnycrest Nursing Home; 29 lives lost. The COVID-19 outbreak is finally over at Sunnycrest Nursing Home in Whitby, but at a tremendous cost in lives. According to the latest Durham Region Health COVID-19 data tracker, 29 residents died during the outbreak due to COVID-19. There were 195 cases, of which 163 have been resolved, since an outbreak was declared on Nov. 23. One person remains hospitalized. The nursing home entered into a temporary 90-day voluntary management contract on Dec. 3 with Lakeridge Health during which Lakeridge will provide care for residents, support and training for staff, ensure adherence to proper infection prevention and control (IPAC) protocols, and keep families informed about their loved ones.
Musing,
Interesting, when the common Joe breaks the rules, they are ridiculed, called "wahoos" and/or hit with fines. But, when a politician breaks the rules they are "hard working" and they "just made a mistake". COVID is not going away anytime soon and things are only going to get worse, because people have just given up and do not know what to believe or who to trust.
Have you ever....eaten Iguana meat? (And, yes. It is gross.)
Did you know....the IIHF World Junior Championship tournament begain in 1974? (Canada has won it 18 times.)
On this day in history, L.B.J. envisions a Great Society in his State of the Union address. On January 4, 1965, in his State of the Union address, President Lyndon Baines Johnson lays out for Congress a laundry list of legislation needed to achieve his plan for a Great Society. On the heels of John F. Kennedy’s tragic death, Americans had elected Johnson, his vice president, to the presidency by the largest popular vote in the nation’s history. Johnson used this mandate to push for improvements he believed would better Americans’ quality of life.
In 1999, The euro debuts.
New Year's Day is the dawn of a new era in Europe, as 11 nations adopt a single currency, the euro. Now the official currency of 19 members of the European Union, as well as the nations of Kosovo and Montenegro, the euro's introduction had a profound effect on the global economy and was a watershed moment in the continent’s history.
Today is - NATIONAL THANK GOD IT’S MONDAY DAY - NATIONAL MISSOURI DAY - NATIONAL SPAGHETTI DAY - NATIONAL TRIVIA 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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