Worldwide stats provided by Worldometers put the global COVID-19 number of reported cases today at 112,232,804. (Deaths: 2,484,169 and Recovered: 87,678,046)
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 p.m. ET on Tuesday February 23, 2021:
Health Canada reported 845,642 confirmed cases of COVID-19, to date. 31,375 cases are active, there have been 21,674 deaths and 792,603 people have recovered.
The official Province of Ontario website is reporting 294,144 total confirmed cases and 6,861 total deaths. 10,371 are active. Currently, there are 646 people are in hospital with 280 of those cases currently in ICU. 276,936 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.
The Region of Durham reported 11,639 confirmed cases of COVID-19 (277 active). Clarington rose to 866 cases, of which 24 are active. Hospitalized in Clarington currently: "3", total deceased: "14"
In international news,
Switzerland plans to take the first steps towards relaxing coronavirus restrictions from March 1st. Non-essential shops, museums and libraries will reopen and private events will be allowed outside for up to 15 people. The obligation will still be to work from home. The exit strategy is primarily about easing the situation for children and young people and the government says it will review making further relaxations each month as long as infection rates remain low. Health Minister Alain Berset said the situation in Switzerland is improving but urged caution. "It remains a risk, but it is improving, we have projections for the next weeks and months, we can therefore begin to relax the restrictions, slowly, carefully. We try to do it reasonably, and if we pay attention now, then we'll manage the next step at the beginning of April then beyond." Restaurants are bars are to remain closed. Only terraces will be allowed to reopen from April 1st with more extensive openings of restaurants planned after the Easter holidays which takes us up to mid-April. Nearly 543,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Switzerland (population 8.6 million), while more than 9,000 people have died. More than 100,000 people have already received both their anti-Covid vaccine doses.
In national news,
(Cry me a river) International air passengers grumble as they're forced into quarantine hotels on new rule's first day. 'I don’t think it’s necessary' was a common sentiment Monday as Canada put into motion one of its most dramatic COVID-19 measures yet. “I don’t think it’s necessary because I could have quarantined in my basement,” said the 31-year-old, Pearson’s tarmac and parked airliners visible over her shoulders. “It’s a full-fledged house.” It was a common sentiment Monday as Canada put into motion one of the most dramatic measures yet to control the spread of COVID-19, a rule that has prompted talk of constitutional challenges and complaints of unlawful confinement. Similar scenes were playing out in Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver, the only other airports allowed to accept international flights under new federal rules. There was also widespread grumbling about a telephone booking system for the stays that were reportedly swamped by demand. After three days in a hotel room, travellers are required to complete their 14-day quarantine at home, so long as the COVID test they took on arrival comes back negative. The government says the measure was needed to try to curb the importation of variants of the coronavirus that are more easily transmissible. Australia and other countries with far more success than Canada at handling the pandemic have forced travellers into two-week quarantines in such facilities for months now.
It's a renters market for businesses that believe the office will make a comeback post-pandemic. With supply on upswing, prospective tenants face wide range of workplace choice. Empty offices left behind by newly minted remote workers and other upheaval caused by the pandemic have begun to show up on the rental market, and it's presenting some prospective tenants with opportunities they couldn't have imagined prior to COVID-19. "They're getting the red carpet rolled out," said Darren Fleming, an Ottawa-based commercial real estate broker. It's almost a year into the pandemic, and Fleming and his team at Real Strategy Advisors are seeing companies that were on the fence about what to do with office space that's been sitting empty now starting to downsize. "It's to either get rid of about half their space or go [fully] virtual," said Fleming, the firm's CEO. That's an even bigger shift than he expected just six months ago, when he estimated clients would shed about 25 per cent of their space.
In Ontario,
Toronto's getting out more, and Tory doesn't like it. Mayor Tory scolded Torontonians for leaving their homes, warning that increased infection numbers could delay re-opening even longer. Don’t let the low numbers fool you. Data shows people are starting to move around the city again, prompting Mayor John Tory to express his displeasure over the latest trend. “We know, from the latest traffic and mobile phone data that, in fact, people are starting to move around more,” Tory said Monday. “Perhaps thinking, incorrectly, that improved case counts mean that is OK. Unfortunately, that is not OK.” Numbers are indeed decreasing as Toronto only reported 366 new cases on Monday, with 10 new hospital admissions and 64 patients in intensive care wards. Traffic data from the city’s transportation department shows morning peak volumes and average travel times have increased “significantly,” he said. “The lockdown has been working to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases in our community, but please don’t get complacent or give up on this work.”
Province's 34 public health units must design, carry out their own COVID-19 vaccination plan, Ford says. Each of Ontario’s 34 local public health units will be responsible for coming up with and carrying out their own plan to vaccinate residents in their region, the province confirmed on Monday. The provincial government has already provided guidance on which priority groups to inoculate in each phase of the vaccination program but details on how and when to vaccinate those groups will be left up to the individual public health units. “We are ensuring through our vaccine distribution that the people (who work) most closely to their communities, the public health units, are making the decisions on what is the fastest, and easiest, and most equitable way to ensure that people get the vaccines they need,” Sylvia Jones, Ontario’s solicitor general, said at a news conference at Queen’s Park on Monday. “It is why we’ve empowered 34 public health units to do that and we’ve ensured by doing a distribution based on population, that as a larger public health unit comes online and needs vaccines, we distribute it from the province based on population.” The Ford government has said that each local medical officer of health has submitted a plan to the province on how they will administer the vaccine to priority groups in the coming weeks and months. Local public health units will be responsible for designing their own plan, contacting residents to communicate their strategy, and administering the vaccines to residents in their respective communities.
In small town news,
(People camp...in March?) Algonquin Park Delays Opening Overnight Camping Sites. Those hoping Ontario Parks will offer overnight camping will have to wait a bit longer. Algonquin Park will not allow overnight visits until March 8th due to COVID-19. The halt on overnight camping was set to expire today. They say those scheduled for overnight accommodation will receive a full refund with no penalty. Ontario Parks still remain open for local day use, for hiking, skiing and snowshoeing. They are also discouraging travel between Public Health Regions.
Musing,
Starting to see the odd spring like temp in the forecast. Trees to be tapped......
"Carry as little as possible, but choose that little with care." (Earl SHAFFER)
Did you know...your staircase balusters are named after a popular fruit.
Have you ever....used someone else's condiments from the office fridge?
WTF is ...............Metatarsalgia?
On this day in history, Formula One champ kidnapped.
On February 23, 1958, five-time Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio of Argentina is kidnapped in Cuba by a group of Fidel Castro’s rebels. Fangio was taken from his Havana hotel the day before the Cuba Grand Prix, an event intended to showcase the island nation. He was released unharmed several hours after the race. The kidnapping was intended to bring international embarrassment to Cuban President Fulgencio Batista, whose government Castro would overthrow on January 1, 1959.
On February 23, 1885, English authorities attempted to hang convicted murderer John Lee. Despite three attempts at execution, the hanging gallows would not work. Bewildered by this turn of events, the court considered the unexplained malfunction to be an "act of God" and spared Lee's life.
Today is - NATIONAL BANANA BREAD DAY - NATIONAL DOG BISCUIT DAY - NATIONAL TILE DAY - WORLD SPAY 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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