Worldwide stats provided by Worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 104,493,752. (Deaths: 2,296,354 and Recovered: 77,193,406)
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 February 5, 2021:
Health Canada reported 793,734 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 47,714 cases are active, there have been 20,513 deaths and 725,507 people have recovered.
The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 273,660 total confirmed cases and 6,393 total deaths. 16,330 are active. Currently, there are 1,101 people are in hospital with 323 of those cases currently in ICU. 250,937 cases have been resolved. The Ontario government has previously said that when the number of COVID-19 patients in the ICU exceeds 300, it becomes nearly impossible for health-care workers to provide care not related to the disease.
Quebec continues to have the highest reported cases in the country with 266,672. (12,962 are active)
The Region of Durham reported 10,907 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (744 active). Clarington rose to 795 cases, of which 33 are active. Hospitalized in Clarington currently: "3", total deceased: "12"
In international news,
Joe Biden’s ‘America First’ Vaccine Strategy. Although the new administration has reversed many of the isolationist policies of its predecessor, the United States’ commitment to its own vaccine procurement remains unchanged. When it came to shifting the United States’ pandemic posturing, Joe Biden wasted no time. Within hours of his inauguration, the president retracted the previous administration’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization and signed executive orders mandating mask wearing on federal property and public transportation. The next day, his chief medical adviser, Anthony Fauci, confirmed that the U.S. would also be supporting COVAX, the international initiative aimed at equalizing vaccine distribution around the world. The moves were widely received as a necessary corrective to American isolationism under Donald Trump. With Biden in charge, the U.S. appeared to finally be resuming its role as a global leader—one that, as the president pledged in his inaugural address, would “lead not merely by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.” The reality, however, has proved far less poetic: Within a week of the WHO and COVAX announcements, the Biden administration also said that it hoped to ramp up the U.S.’s vaccine rollout to 1.5 million vaccinations a day—an effort that will be buoyed by the purchase of a further 200 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. The new deals put the country’s projected vaccine supply at 1.2 billion doses, according to the Duke University Global Health Innovation Center’s vaccine-procurement tracker—enough to inoculate the American population twice over.
In national news,
Premiers blast Trudeau on vaccines as PM calls for calm. A desperate Justin Trudeau pleaded with Canada’s premiers to take a “Team Canada” approach and not turn the vaccine shortage into a partisan wedge issue during a tense phone call late Thursday. Trudeau has been battling bad headlines all week over delays in vaccine deliveries, Canada turning to a program to help poor countries as a way to get doses and a failed announcement on producing vaccines in Canada that won’t pay off until 2022. It’s a bit rich, though, for Trudeau to ask premiers not to become partisan. It was just a day earlier that the PM was in the House of Commons blasting conservative premiers for not using rapid tests. His MPs regularly blame conservatives and attack provinces run by conservatives
Five NHL teams shut down due to COVID, so far. The latest being, Avalanche games postponed through at least Feb. 11 due to COVID protocols.
In Ontario,
More than five per cent of positive COVID-19 cases collected last month in a major Ontario study tested positive for highly infectious coronavirus variants of concern, according to a new report. Of the 1,880 positive samples from January 20 that were analyzed, 103, or 5.5 per cent were confirmed or highly likely to be either the UK B.1.1.7 or South African B.1.353 variants of concern. Of those, 89 were from the Simcoe-Muskoka public health unit, with 85 of those directly linked to the Roberta Place long-term care home outbreak where 66 of 129 residents of the home have now died.
Randall Denley: Ford's getting ready to loosen Ontario's lockdown. But is he ready for the blowback? Ford routinely says he only acts on the advice of Ontario's top doctor. But based on Dr. Williams criteria, Ontario could stay locked down indefinitely. At last, Ontario is going to start reopening its economy. Either Monday or Tuesday of next week, Premier Doug Ford is expected to announce an end to the stay-at-home order and a reintroduction of the province’s colour-coded restrictions system, according to information coming out of Queen’s Park. That will mean reopening areas like Ottawa, eastern Ontario and northern Ontario first, followed by later reopening for areas with higher COVID-19 caseloads, such as Toronto and some GTA municipalities. Expect the new plan to follow the same pattern as the province’s staggered reopening of schools. The government is expected to allow all retail to reopen, perhaps with a slightly tighter capacity limit of 20 per cent.
In small town news,
If you wanted to visit a loved one in a Quinte Healthcare hospital, you will now be able to visit them despite COVID-19 protocols. The Group has announced that their hospitals will now offer virtual visits. They are offering ways via Zoom, FaceTime or other methods so that patient visits can be done online. Virtual visiting hours for North Hastings Hospital will occur seven days a week from 8 AM to 8 PM. To get set up, click here.
Musing,
Can a Prime Minister be impeached in the Canadian parliamentary system? Asking for a friend....
"Forgiveness is a needle that knows how to bend." (JEWEL)
In terms of vaccine procurement, Canada is being treated like a "developing country" by vaccine manufacturers. True story, simply look up "COVAX", it's all right there. Canada is the ONLY G-7 country that will receive the vaccine from the COVAX program, which was initially meant for poor countries.
Looks like Ontario is getting set to ease restrictions on small business. That's good news, or is it an announcement? Not sure..........
Did you know....the U.S.A. vaccinated more people yesterday (in one day) than Canada has in total, to date?
Have you ever....read the Rebel News? A lot of weird, but interesting stuff. It's kind of like Vice, but a "made in Canada" version.
WTF is ...............primogeniture?
On this day in history, Georgia constitution abolishes primogeniture and entail.
On February 5, 1777, Georgia formally adopts a new state constitution and becomes the first U.S. state to abolish the inheritance practices of primogeniture and entail. Primogeniture ensured that the eldest son in a family inherited the largest portion of his father’s property upon the father’s death. The practice of entail, guaranteeing that a landed estate remain in the hands of only one male heir, was frequently practiced in conjunction with primogeniture. (Virginia abolished entail in 1776, but permitted primogeniture to persist until 1785.)
Today is - NATIONAL WEAR RED DAY - NATIONAL WEATHERPERSON’S DAY - NATIONAL SHOWER WITH A FRIEND DAY - WORLD NUTELLA DAY - BUBBLE GUM DAY
The Bank of Canada unclaimed balances portal can be found here.
COVID-19 vaccination approximate dates here.
Lakeridge Health Mental Health Clinic 905-440-7534 or toll free at 1-833-392-7363 (Monday-Friday 9am-4pm)
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