Canadian COVID-19 News

[GordMay]

What is my province or territory’s coronavirus lockdown like, and when will it be lifted? A guide
➥ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/cana...g-open-closed/

[rbk]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Are you talking about travel between provinces, or within a province?
Inter- is a prefix that means between two things, and intra- is a prefix which means within or inside one thing.
Between two (or more) provinces would be interprovincial, whilst intraprovincial would be within a single province.

It applies to both. Some communities require 14 day quarantine even if coming from the next town over. Same applies for inter prov travel.

[Montanan]

Canada's reopening won't depend on immunity: Trudeau
AFPApril 25, 2020, 6:01 PM MDT

https://www.yahoo.com/news/canadas-r...225224504.html

Montreal (AFP) - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday that Canada's approach to reopening its economy from the coronavirus shutdown would be "cautious" and not depend on the development of widespread immunity in the population.

"I don't think there are any of the plans that hinge on certain people or individuals being immune or having immunity to COVID-19," he said at a daily news briefing.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned Saturday that there was no proof that people who survive infection by COVID-19 gain immunity to the disease. It cautioned against the idea, being entertained by some countries, of issuing "immunity passports" to such people as one step toward reopening economies. [From a separate article: WHO said it supports antibody testing and is continuing to review research on antibody responses to the virus, which have so far shown that survivors have antibodies to the virus. However, not every survivor has the same levels of antibodies in their blood, "suggesting that cellular immunity may also be critical for recovery," the agency said, adding that the accuracy and reliability of lab tests for antibodies need to be improved.]

Trudeau said immunity is "something we need to have clearer answers to. Until we have those clearer answers, we need to err on the side of more caution."

For now, he added, the emphasis would be on continuing to urge social distancing measures and providing more personal protective equipment.

Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, was even more definitive.

"The idea of sort of generating natural immunity is actually not something that... I think should be undertaken," she said.

"We would, you know, really be extremely cautious of that kind of approach," Tam added.

Authorities in Quebec had last week raised the possibility of gradually building collective immunity -- or herd immunity -- for people in the province.

Trudeau met Friday with provincial leaders to discuss how to wind down weeks of confinement.

Each province will have to make its own adjustments, Trudeau said, while adding that the national government would retain an important coordinating role to avoid confusion.

Also Saturday, the outspoken premier of Ontario blasted a group of about 100 protesters as a "bunch of yahoos" after they rallied in front of the provincial legislature in Toronto to denounce stay-at-home measures and demand businesses reopen.

"It's irresponsible, reckless, and it's selfish. It just burns me up. We've worked so hard and we have a bunch of yahoos out there thinking it's right," Doug Ford said at his daily news briefing.

"They're breaking the law and putting everyone in jeopardy... God forbid one of them end up in the hospital down the street."

Ontario, Canada's the most populous province, has seen 13,900 cases of coronavirus and 901 deaths.

The country overall has recorded 45,031 cases and 2,516 deaths.

[GordMay]

5 things to consider as some provinces look to reopen for business
“... Saskatchewan and New Brunswick will be the first provinces to relax the rules from the COVID-19 shutdown...
... While many countries remain shut down, others have begun easing restrictions including New Zealand, Denmark and the Czech Republic. Every country seems to take a different approach, with Norway prioritizing reopening schools, for instance, while Austria is set to open shopping centres and hotels, but has yet to make a decision about whether to keep students at home.
As provinces introduce their plans, here are some of the key considerations and what to expect in the weeks and months ahead...
There will be outbreaks...
... Some workers can't be protected...
... Knowledge is changing...
... Legal, ethical responsibility...
... Enforcement is key...
More ➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/pro...-pei-1.5544152

Canada's top doctor warns against relying on herd immunity to reopen economy
➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/her...says-1.5545332

[GordMay]

Canadian stars to unite in "Stronger Together" COVID-19 broadcast benefit
Participating broadcasters include Bell Media, CBC/Radio-Canada, Corus Entertainment, Groupe V Média, Rogers Sports & Media, ATN, APTN, Blue Ant Media, Wild Brain, Hollywood Suite, NTV, OUTtv, Stingray, Super Channel, and Unis TV.
Airing commercial-free, across all markets, on Sunday (tonight), April 26 at 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. NT
More ➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainmen...d-19-1.5545452

How to watch ➥ https://www.mtv.ca/how-to-watch-stro...adcast-canada/

[Montanan]

A shout out to jackdale for his post of the notice of the Canadian Coast Guard.
https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...70#post3126070

British Columbia
Canadian Coast Guard asks B.C. mariners to stay home to prevent spread of COVID-19

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...d-19-1.5545405


Snipets from the open letter of Canadian Coast Guard assistant commissioner Roger Girouard.


'The open water is tempting, but we are also navigating uncharted waters right now,'

So far this year, the coast guard has responded to a greater number of search and rescue calls compared to the same time last year.

Each time they respond to a call, search and rescue workers put themselves at risk of exposure to COVID-19 and use personal protective equipment that is needed by critical care workers.

Unnecessary boating trips increase the risk to search and rescue workers,

"Home and within close proximity to health care is the best place you can be right now," he said. "I know that seafarers are both self-reliant and fairly cautious.

"It's time to take those principles to heart, keeping an eye to being on the water without impacting others."

Similarly, in my home State of Montana, the Governor and the law enforcement and Search and Rescue volunteers also are requesting people avoid any and all at risk type outdoor activities so as to mitigate against the potential of needing emergency services. Stay At Home / Stay near home.

[Montanan]

Scientists fear the hunt for a coronavirus vaccine will fail and we will all have to live with the 'constant threat' of COVID-19

insider@insider.com (Adam Bienkov)
Business Insider April 25, 2020,

https://www.yahoo.com/news/scientist...130000552.html

The UK's Chief Medical Officer, Christopher Whitty, told a Parliamentary committee on Friday that there was "concerning" evidence suggesting that it may not be possible to stimulate immunity to the virus.

Whitty told the committee the evidence from other forms of coronavirus was that "immunity [to the virus] wanes relatively quickly."

He said that the world needs "to be careful that we don't assume that we are going to have a vaccine for this disease as we have had for, let's say measles, which once you have it you're protected for life."

"We cannot guarantee success," he added.

"Vaccines are looked for, for every infectious disease, they are not found for all of them."

"The first question we do not know is 'do you get natural immunity to this disease if you have had it, for a prolonged period of time?'" Whitty said.

"Now if we don't then it doesn't make a vaccine impossible but it makes it much less likely and we simply don't know yet.

He said there was "a little bit of evidence that some people have been reinfected with this having had a previous infection."

He added: "That's a slightly concerning situation."

In an interview with The Observer David Nabarro, professor of global health at Imperial College, London said the world had to realise that a vaccine may not be possible.

"You don't necessarily develop a vaccine that is safe and effective against every virus," he told the paper.

"Some viruses are very, very difficult when it comes to vaccine development - so for the foreseeable future, we are going to have to find ways to go about our lives with this virus as a constant threat."

Even if a fully effective vaccine proves impossible, Whitty believes that a partially effective vaccine would still be worth pursuing.

"You can have vaccines that are not capable of providing [high levels of] immunity, but they provide enough protection that people don't get severe disease.

"So we might get a vaccine that is rather less effective but is sufficiently effective, that if we vaccinated everyone at a high level of dying from this... we might well be able to massively reduce fatalities even if there was still natural infections."

[hpeer]

Montanan,

Thanks for that informative post, even if it’s not very reassuring.

[desodave]

This actual CG statement is attached and is less prescriptive than it is being made out to be. As I said on the other thread, it says to "stay close to home", not to stay home. And it ends with "keeping an eye out to being on the water and not impacting others".
It is wishy washy language that does NOT say "stay off the water". It makes reference to larger numbers of callouts already this year - does that mean more idiots on the water? Or?

[hpeer]

I looked and can’t find anything about the recreational cod fishery in Newfoundland. One way or the other.

[GordMay]

Stronger Together: Michael Bublé, Barenaked Ladies, and Sofia Reyes perform "Gotta Be Patient"
➥

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BceIjFq4XN4

Stronger Together: Alessia Cara performs 'You Got a Friend in Me' in support of Food Banks Canada
➥

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bjMVBVSUXQ

Shania Twain “Up” - Canadian "Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble" COVID-19 benefit event
➥

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N3g6jray2g

And, saving the best. for last:
An ensemble tribute to the late Bill Withers with this rendition of “Lean on Me”
Avril Lavigne / Bad Child / Bryan Adams / Buffy Sainte-Marie / Command Sisters / Dan Kanter / Desiire / Donovan Woods / Fefe Dobson / Geddy Lee / Jann Arden / Johnny Orlando / Josh Ramsay / Jules Halpern / Justin Bieber / Marie-Mai / Michael Bublé / Olivia Lunny / Ryland James / Sarah McLachlan / Scott Helman / Serena Ryder / Shawn Hook / TIKA / The Tenors / Tyler Shaw / Walk Off The Earth
Goto ➥ https://youtu.be/athd5_CW_z0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=athd...ature=youtu.be

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by rbk

It applies to both. Some communities require 14 day quarantine even if coming from the next town over. Same applies for inter prov travel.

Inter province travel is discouraged currently but where in Canada is quarantine when travelling between towns happening?

[GordMay]

Ontario and Quebec announce plans for reopening over next few months

Ontario will reopen its economy through a three-stage process in the coming weeks and months, says a document* unveiled Monday afternoon, though it offers no firm date, and few details about when that effort will begin.
On. ➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toron...work-1.5546004
* Reopening Ontario after COVID-19 ➥ https://www.ontario.ca/page/reopenin...038.1581015774
➥ https://files.ontario.ca/mof-framewo...2020-04-27.pdf

In Quebec, elementary schools and daycares will begin reopening on May 11 outside of the greater Montreal region, and on May 19 on the island of Montreal, Laval and in surrounding suburbs.
All other schools — high schools, colleges and universities — won't reopen until late August.
P.Q. ➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montr...l-27-1.5545984

[Montanan]

I'm going to go out on a limb here but I suspect the same analysis will hold true to Canada as it appears to be in the USA.

U.S. deaths soared in the early weeks of the pandemic, surpassing the number of COVID-19 related deaths, as well as the number normally expected for the time period, according to The Washington Post.

The Post compiled overall death data from the National Center for Health Statistics and COVID-19 death counts from state health departments. Expected death estimates were provided by New Haven, Conn.-based Yale School of Public Health's Modeling Unit, which used NCHS data on all deaths between 2015 and early 2020 to estimate the number of deaths normally expected each week from March 1 to April 4.

According to the analysis, an estimated 15,400 excess deaths occurred from March 1 to April 4, nearly double the 8,128 deaths attributed to COVID-19 during that time. The excess deaths estimate was calculated by subtracting the expected seasonal baseline from all deaths.

The excess deaths were not necessarily caused by COVID-19 and include other causes of death, such as suicides, homicides and car accidents. The number also encompasses people who may have died because they were afraid to seek medical treatment for unrelated illnesses. Interviews and 911 call data from several cities indicate a jump in the amount of people dying at home, making them less likely to be tested for COVID-19 or included in official death counts.

Confirmed COVID-19 deaths in the weeks leading up to April 4 fail to capture the full effect of the pandemic, which likely has a much higher death toll than what's been reported, Daniel Weinberger, MD, leader of the research team and epidemiology professor at Yale, told the Post.

Experts say reporting lags and initial counts that only used lab-confirmed cases contributed to an incomplete picture early on.

The national and local number of COVID-19 deaths won't be known with confidence until at least a year from now, Dr. Weinberger said.

http://https://www.beckershospitalre...sis-finds.html

[GordMay]

The Canadian Survey of Business Conditions (CSBC)

More than half of the companies in Canada have lost at least 20 per cent of their revenue because of the COVID-19 pandemic, new numbers from Statistics Canada and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce suggest.
Nearly one-third (32.3 %) of businesses have lost 40% of their revenues during the pandemic. A further 21.2% said revenues were down by at least 20%.
All in all, more than 80 per cent of businesses across the country reported a "medium to high" drop in demand for their products or services.
Across the country, companies are laying people off, or doing other cuts, to reduce staff costs.
Cut Hours or shifts: 38.1%
Reduced salaries or wages: 13.4%
Laid off employees: 40.5%

CSBC survey #5318 ➥ https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/dail...00429a-eng.htm

Canadian Chamber of Commerce ➥ Canadian Chamber/StatCan major survey on business conditions amid COVID-19 shows economic clock is tickingÂ*· Canadian Chamber of Commerce