The coronavirus is entirely natural. And there’s no reason to think otherwise. Apart from how much the outbreak benefited China. And how relentless it is in silencing reporters, medical professionals, and… bat researchers.
“China eats weird animals disease”
The Year in which Comforting American Myths Were Ravaged
Thanks in large part to Covid lockdowns, this year has left vast wreckage in its wake, with ten million jobs lost, more than 100,000 businesses and dozens of national chains bankrupted or closed. Up to 40 million people could face eviction in the coming months for failing to pay rent, and Americans report that their mental health is at record low levels. But the casualty list for 2020 must also include many of the political myths that shape Americans’ lives.
Perhaps the biggest myth to die this year was that Americans’ constitutional rights are safeguarded by the Bill of Rights.
We are putting woke idiocy above saving lives
Retired doctors are apparently required to undergo diversity training before they can help administer vaccines.
After a year of the Covid pandemic, the rollout of the vaccine promises to be the light at the end of the tunnel. And while the work to develop and test the vaccines has been done successfully and at record speed, the rollout poses an enormous logistical challenge.
In the UK, retired doctors are volunteering to become Covid vaccinators to speed up the process. But the bureaucratic hurdles to volunteering are bordering on the absurd.
Wish you were in Wuhan? Pandemic epicentre celebrates
Unmourned but never to be forgotten, 2020 started passing into history today with scaled-down festivities around the world as humanity bids good riddance to the year of the pandemic – although there were balloons and revelry in Wuhan where the virus began its trail of destruction 12 long months ago.
China, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and South Korea are among the countries who have already greeted the dawn of 2021, with the rest of the planet set to cross the invisible threshold in the coming hours.
Some healthcare workers refuse to take COVID-19 vaccine, even with priority access
They are frontline workers with top-priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine, but they are refusing to take it.
At St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Tehama County, fewer than half of the 700 hospital workers eligible for the vaccine were willing to take the shot when it was first offered. At Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, one in five frontline nurses and doctors have declined the shot. Roughly 20% to 40% of L.A. County’s frontline workers who were offered the vaccine did the same, according to county public health officials.
So many frontline workers in Riverside County have refused the vaccine — an estimated 50% — that hospital and public officials met to strategize how best to distribute the unused doses, Public Health Director Kim Saruwatari said.
Rex Murphy: Turns out, we’re not all in this together
Lockdown for thee. No lockdown for me.
No Christmas vacation for thee. Grab the swimsuits and call the limo for me.
What is going on?
Why do we listen to them?
Ontario Tourism and Hospitality Industries to Lose $2 Billion in Revenue With More People Staying Home on New Year Eve: Survey
Waiters, bartenders, and workers in the tourism industry are once again feeling the impact of the pandemic-related closures on New Year’s Eve, as more Ontarians plan to welcome 2021 at home.
An online survey of 1,091 adults revealed that Ontarians spend an average of $366 on New Year Eve in a typical year. But on the last day of the tumultuous 2020 year, residents in the province plan to spend an average of $170.
‘Admitting mask/lockdown policy was a fail would be political SUICIDE’
Government, stop trying to make COVID panic happen for policy … it’s not happening.
Very interesting…
Toronto plans further restrictions on businesses as city braces for COVID-19 surge
Toronto is bracing for surging COVID-19 rates in the new year, starting with further restrictions on businesses.
Dr. Eileen De Villa, the city’s chief medical officer of health, said on Wednesday that Toronto will announce new restrictions on businesses early next week in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Teetotal Tam lectures Canadians on their alcohol intake in year-end message
On a day frequently marked by celebrations involving large amounts of alcohol, Canada’s chief public health officer is again asking Canadians to go easy on the drinking as they turn the page on 2020.
“As the new year approaches, many of us will be looking for ways to celebrate. For some, these festivities will include serving and drinking alcohol, while others may find this season difficult due to distance from friends and family,” Dr. Theresa Tam said in a media statement issued Friday.
Oregon Mayor Leads the Charge to Open Businesses on Jan 1, Despite Lockdowns
The mayor of a small town in Oregon has had enough. Stan Pulliam, the Republican mayor of Sandy, Oregon, has heard from business owners. He’s heard from citizens. He’s even heard from the governor. He has asked the question, over and over, where’s the evidence that lockdowns and the related economic devastation has worked to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic?
Closer to home…
Sainted Irish Mother is in Hospital.
She was scheduled to be transferred to another facility this week, until Covid broke out in the department she was headed for.
So she was being held in place until an alternate destination could be found.
Today I received a call saying she has been placed in isolation for 14 days after being exposed to a covid positive staffer.
She is fine and covid free – so far but she is 95 with underlying conditions so that is worrisome.
Ugh.
Woman arrested after video filmed at near empty Gloucestershire Royal Hospital
A woman in the UK was arrested by police after she filmed a video inside an almost completely empty hospital and posted it online.
The clip shows the woman walking through virtually empty corridors and filming empty wards at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.
H/T T
Ontario reports record 3,328 new Covid cases
Ontario is reporting 3,328 cases of #COVID19 and nearly 63,900 tests completed. Locally, there are 888 new cases in Toronto, 431 in Peel, 418 in York Region, 257 in Windsor-Essex County and 194 in Ottawa.
— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) December 31, 2020
Province needs to call in the military again to help Ontario’s long-term-care homes, says health coalition head
Measures taken to protect those in Ontario’s long-term-care homes have been a failure and the military should once again be sent into the facilities, says the executive director of the Ontario Health Coalition.
Natalie Mehra said, as the second wave of COVID-19 continues to ravage Ontario, the conditions inside long-term-care homes for the elderly are at an all-time low.
B.C. introduces emergency order to stop liquor sales at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve
In an attempt to cut down on the spread of COVID-19, B.C. health officials are stopping liquor sales provincewide at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.
The emergency measure includes liquor sales at bars and restaurants.