Worldwide stats provided by worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 87,745,336. (Deaths: 1,893,490 and Recovered: 63,213,898)
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 January 7, 2021:
Health Canada reported 626,799 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 79,203 cases are active, there have been 16,369 deaths and 531,277 people have recovered.
The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 200,626 total confirmed cases and 4,767 total deaths. 24,064 are active. Currently, there are 1,463 people are in hospital with 361 of those in ICU. 169,795 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 217,999. (24,607 are active)
The Region of Durham reported 8,205 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (820 active). The site reports 23 current outbreaks (Hospitals, LTCF's and Retirement Homes) with 66 outbreaks having been "concluded." Clarington rose to 591 cases. (64 are in isolation, 519 are resolved and 8 people have passed away. Hospitalized in Clarington currently: "3") School and Child Care Center outbreaks sit at "1", with 34 having been concluded.
In international news,
Not COVID-19, but one of the most remarkable events i've seen in my life. Biden’s Electoral College victory certified -- hours after Capitol chaos. The U.S. Congress early Thursday certified the Electoral College vote that gave Democrat Joe Biden his presidential victory -- after a day in Washington that was marred by pro-Trump protesters storming the U.S. Capitol. Vice President Mike Pence, who had announced he would not overturn the will of voters, confirmed the Biden victory at 3:41 a.m. ET. Lawmakers had returned to the chamber in an act of defiance, with some Republicans who initially vowed to challenge states’ results due to voter fraud concerns announcing they'd instead vote to certify. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called the breach of the Capitol a "failed insurrection," adding that those who "tried to disrupt our democracy" had not succeeded.
"The United States and the Senate will not be intimidated," he tweeted. "We are back at our posts. We will discharge our duty under the Constitution for our nation. And we are going to do it tonight." McConnell announced earlier that once the Senate voted 92-7 to reject the Republican effort to overturn Pennsylvania's vote, the path would be clear for Biden to claim the White House on Jan. 20. Despite growing support among Republicans to challenge the election result, the effort was always seen to have little chance of success.
Dan Scavino, the White House deputy chief of staff, posted a statement from President Trump on Twitter that seemed to call for calm among Americans and demonstrate a functioning government for adversaries."Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th," the statement read. "I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted. While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!"
Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who is projected to lose her runoff in Georgia against the Rev. Raphael Warnock, was among the senators who said they'd changed their minds about challenging Biden's win. "When I arrived in Washington this morning, I fully intended to object to the certification of the electoral votes," Loeffler, R-Ga., said in remarks from the Senate floor. "However, the events that have transpired today have forced me to reconsider and I cannot now, in good conscience, object." Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., also announced she would vote to certify the results. There seemed to be a sense of sadness among lawmakers as it got later into the night. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told reporters it was probably one of the saddest days he had experienced as an elected official. "What normally would have been a tradition in the step towards the peaceful transition of power from one administration to another was marred by violence, thugs, misinformation and clearly should never have happened in the first place," he said.
Detractors of the president criticized him for stoking anger among his supporters and said a violent incident was inevitable. They say the president has been pushing the false narrative about election interference for the past month and his presidency was bound to end in chaos. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram temporarily suspended the president from posting on to their platforms. The Associated Press reported that it was the most aggressive action social media companies had yet taken against the president.
Trump's supporters noted the president had called for calm. They say Trump never had his day in court and there were enough voting irregularities to warrant further inspection. They also criticized the media coverage of the unrest at the Capitol and criticized news outlets to essentially turning a blind eye to the violence that broke out in major cities last summer. Donald Trump Jr. also called for calm in an earlier tweet. "This is wrong and not who we are," he wrote. "Be peaceful and use your 1st Amendment rights, but don’t start acting like the other side. We have a country to save and this doesn’t help anyone." Washington D.C. police said at a news conference late Wednesday that there were four deaths—including a woman who was fatally shot -- and at least 52 arrests during the day's disruption. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat who has clashed with Trump, ordered an extension of the public emergency that was already in place for the next 15 days, which will overlap with Biden’s inauguration. The woman who was shot was Ashi Babbitt, a U.S. Air Force veteran from San Diego, Calif., a friend told Fox News. D.C. police confirmed she had been shot by one of their officers.
In national news,
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole is unhappy with the federal government’s plan to start giving inmates COVID-19 vaccines beginning Friday. O’Toole says not one criminal should be vaccinated ahead of any vulnerable Canadian or frontline health worker. According the the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers, Correctional Service of Canada has sent about 1,200 doses to different federal prisons and they will begin by vaccinating elderly inmates first. Many are criticizing O’Toole for his comments.
Quebec imposes curfew as part of 4-week lockdown. 'Upcoming month is going to be a critical one,' premier says in announcing new restrictions. The Quebec government is imposing an overnight curfew and extending the closure of non-essential businesses for a month in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Premier François Legault said the stricter measures, which he described as "shock therapy," will begin Saturday. Many of them will be in place for four weeks, until Feb. 8. "The upcoming month is going to be a critical one," Legault said at a news conference Wednesday. "We are in a race against time." "Unfortunately we have lost this race in the last few weeks. But we can win it." The new restrictions, however, did not include any limits on the manufacturing or construction sector, nor a prolonged break for schools — areas that have accounted for a large portion of outbreaks in recent weeks.
In Ontario,
(Why didn't the Federal government do this?) The province is launching a new program at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Eligible international travellers coming back to Ontario will have the choice of participating in the free, voluntary program offering them a self-administered COVID-19 test when they land. “With over 60,000 international passengers coming into Pearson airport every week, we can’t take any unnecessary risks,” said Premier Doug Ford. “That’s why we’re putting in place this new pilot program to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and respond to new threats like the recent strain of the virus we’re seeing in an alarming number of countries without the same travel restrictions as the U.K. The test will be free for eligible travellers and I encourage everyone to take the test to protect yourselves and your loved ones.” The program, rolled out in partnership with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority, will offer the tests to international travellers who will be staying in Ontario for at least 14 days. Travellers can pre-register to get a test or get one when they arrive at the airport. They will receive a self-collected lab-based polymerase chain reaction test and a health care provider will watch them administer it either in-person or via video. Switch Health, a health service provider, will be providing the tests in a dedicated spot in the airport. Test results will show up in Ontario’s Lab Information System within 48 hours and local public health units will follow up with anyone who tests positive. International travellers will still have to abide by the federal government’s 14-day quarantine requirement, whether they test positive or negative.
Ontario eyes COVID curfew. The province administered 10,350 vaccine doses Tuesday and 60,380 so far in all. Premier Doug Ford left a possible public curfew on the table Wednesday as the province passed the 200,000 mark in COVID-19 cases. “We’re working with our chief medical officer on that exact item,” Ford said when asked about imposing further measures including imposing a curfew. “We’re doing everything we can. We’re throwing everything at it that we can.” Ford went on to say getting COVID-19 vaccines into Ontarians’ arms is what’s really needed right now. The province administered 10,350 vaccine doses Tuesday and 60,380 so far in all. As both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines require two doses, just 860 people are considered inoculated against COVID-19. Ontario reported 3,266 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases since mid-January to 200,626. Toronto confirmed 805 more cases, Peel Region 523, York Region 349 and Durham Region 145.
Ontario to run out of COVID-19 vaccines by next week. Ontario is running out of COVID-19 vaccines. Premier Doug Ford says the first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine will run out by Friday “at the latest” and a new shipment coming in will be depleted by next week. Ford pleaded with the federal government to give the province more vaccines, “The quicker we get these vaccines into people’s arms the safer we’ll be.” Ford says as soon as the province receives vaccines they will be distributed and denied allegations that there are vaccines sitting in freezers not being administered.
Decision on back to class and more public health restrictions coming later this week, Premier Ford. Parents will know in the next “day or so” if kids will be going back to in-class learning next week. That from Premier Doug Ford Wednesday. He says he will be speaking with the province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health and consulting with his health table on whether kids will return to school amid soaring numbers of new COVID-19 cases.
In local news,
On Wednesday (yesterday) 137 new COVID-19 were confirmed in Durham. Two more deaths were also announced bringing the death toll in the region to 244. Of those who have died 202 were residents at long-term care or retirement homes. To date 8,205 cases have been reported in Durham with 7,141 cases now listed as resolved. There are 820 active cases in the region. Of those 779 people are isolating at home and 41 are in hospital. Thirteen of the people in hospital are in the ICU. It’s important to note that the regional data for 14 confirmed cases is still under investigation. Not all of the cases under investigation are new as of Wednesday. Some of the cases that were added to regional totals are actually from previous days.
These five Durham neighbourhoods have been the hardest hit by COVID-19. (The health department tracks cases for its 50 'health neighbourhoods') The Durham Region Health Department reports COVID-19 data for each of its 50 “health neighbourhoods,” which were created so officials can look at health indicators and demographics, based on geography. The neighbourhood COVID-19 data is based on the number of cases per 100,000 people, and reflects where each person with a confirmed case lives — which is not necessarily where they acquired the virus.
1) BROCK RIDGE, PICKERING 342 cases as of Jan. 1 2,658 cases per 100,000 population
2) AJAX NORTHWEST 421 cases as of Jan. 1 2,403 cases per 100,000 population
3) AJAX NORTHEAST 490 cases as of Jan. 1 2,220 cases per 100,000 population
4) APPLECROFT, AJAX 224 cases as of Jan. 1 1,934 cases per 100,000 population
5) WEST ROUGE, PICKERING 251 cases as of Jan. 1 1,803 cases per 100,000 population
Musing,
The situation in Ontario LTC's (Nursing Homes) are much worse than back in the spring, when the issue was at the top of the news cycle and the military was brought in. But, the issue is barely registering in the news and is not on the radar of the average Ontario citizen. Why is that? Have we stopped caring, are we burned out? Or more tragically, have we simply become indifferent and grown accustomed to the death and suffering of our seniors?
“The struggle you’re in today is developing the strength you need tomorrow.” (Robert Tew)
Have you ever....gone snow-shoeing?
Did you know...Charlie Hebdo is a French satirical weekly magazine?
On this day in history (ironically) the first U.S. presidential election is set.
Congress sets January 7, 1789 as the date by which states are required to choose electors for the country's first-ever presidential election. A month later, on February 4, George Washington was elected president by state electors and sworn into office on April 30, 1789. As it did in 1789, the United States still uses the Electoral College system, established by the U.S. Constitution, which today gives all American citizens over the age of 18 the right to vote for electors, who in turn vote for the president. The president and vice president are the only elected federal officials chosen by the Electoral College instead of by direct popular vote.
In 2015, 12 people die in shooting at "Charlie Hebdo" offices.
Around midday on January 7, 2015, gunmen raid the offices of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, killing 12 people. The attack, a response to the magazine's criticism of Islam and depiction of Muhammad, demonstrated the danger of homegrown terror in Europe.
Today is - NATIONAL BOBBLEHEAD DAY - NATIONAL TEMPURA 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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