Scientists in Los Angeles County have begun examining samples of COVID-19 found in patients to determine if a new, more infectious strain of the virus from Britain has made its way to the West Coast of the U.S.
The new strain is of particular concern given the ease with which it spreads from person to person, though it is unclear if it is more lethal than the strand that have been spreading for months.
Ontario reported more than 2,100 COVID-19 cases on both Friday and Saturday, with 81 new deaths over that 48-hour period, as the number of patients in intensive care surpassed 300 for the first time.
The province detected 2,159 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 2,142 new cases on Saturday.
“Today, there are 541 new cases in Toronto, 344 in Peel, 262 in York Region, 136 in Hamilton and 131 in Windsor-Essex,” Health Minister Christine Elliott wrote on Twitter.
WARMINGTON: Christmas lights show turned off while Pearson runway lights stay lit
Turns out there’s no light at the end of the tunnel after all — or in the middle of it either.
The popular drive-thru Polar Drive light festival in the parking garage of Pearson International Airport has been ordered shut down.
A provincewide lockdown meant to bring down COVID-19 case counts takes effect today in Ontario.
The restrictions will remain in place for southern Ontario until Jan. 23, but will lift for northern Ontario on Jan. 9.
The move was announced on Monday after the provincial government took part in emergency talks last weekend.
They released criminals to protect them from the virus – and locked nursing home patients in with the virus.
In March, Governor Cuomo’s administration ordered nursing homes to accept infected coronavirus patients and prohibited even testing incoming patients for the virus. The same month that Cuomo began the process of infecting countless nursing home residents with the virus, he also began freeing thousands of criminals from prison to protect them from the virus
It’s a few days before Christmas in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and there is plenty of room at Seven Sirens Brewing Company.
The brewery’s 7,000-square-foot tasting room has a fire code capacity of 320, but during happy hour on Monday, there are only about a dozen patrons scattered around the place, sitting in ones and twos at socially distanced tables and sipping beers served by two masked bartenders. Whether they know it or not, everyone here is engaged in an act of civil disobedience, challenging Pennsylvania’s ban on indoor drinking and dining that will continue through New Year’s Day, at least. It’s a policy that assumes all establishments in the state are equally risky—that a tiny, crowded diner or coffee shop is no different than a massive, mostly empty beer hall.
With the UK under some form of lockdown or restrictions since March, many Britons had hoped for a return to normality by Christmas.
However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s reported plans from as early as September to let Britons have a day off from a long-impending second lockdown for Christmas did not augur well for the festive season ahead. And since October, government scientists have threatened death and further waves of lockdown if citizens tried to enjoy the holy season too much.
In spite of warnings from the federal and provincial governments, Canadians are still heading down south for the Christmas holidays.
Flights left from multiple Canadian airports for Mexico, Cuba and other sunny destinations Thursday morning.
“Let’s be clear: this is not the time for a vacation abroad,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a press conference at Rideau Cottage Wednesday afternoon.
Police have charged a Windsor pastor with breaking COVID-19 rules following a church service last Sunday.
On Thursday, Harvest Bible Church said in a news release that lead pastor Rev. Aaron Rock was charged under the Reopening Ontario Act by Windsor police.
“To our knowledge this is the first time that any Ontario pastor has been charged for fulfilling his God-assigned duties at a church,” the news release reads.
While Quebec continues to shatter its COVID-19 daily case records, police around the province are warning the public that they will be out in full force making sure people are abiding by the social distancing measures.
“There will be additional staff that will be deployed in the field in order to respond to calls,” said David Pelletier, a spokesperson for the Quebec City Police Service (SPVQ).
Authorities say officers who will see violations will have a “low tolerance” for people’s holiday gatherings, Pelletier added.
Achieving herd immunity against the coronavirus could require as much as 90 percent of the population to be vaccinated, Anthony Fauci said in an interview published Thursday.
Fauci, the country’s top infectious diseases expert, acknowledged in the New York Times interview that he has been incrementally raising his estimate of herd immunity numbers.
Fauci said he has been increasing the estimates in his public pronouncements because he thinks Americans are now able to handle the message that getting back to normal may take longer than anticipated, and fewer Americans are reporting being skeptical of taking a vaccine.
COVID-19 has tested the Ford government, and Premier Doug Ford has mostly risen to the challenge. Live daily updates, plans, programs, and spending: It has been the main (only) policy issue for ten months. Ford’s COVID-19 response will define his legacy.
Ontario now has 2,250 new acute care beds, which include 1,492 new ICU beds with ventilators. Spring shortages have disappeared. PPE abounds. If the mood strikes, you could bathe in alcohol hand sanitizer, and no one worries about running out of toilet paper. A massive vaccination program has just launched, and untold hundreds of millions of dollars have distracted voter anxieties.
Physicians and family members are raising the alarm over conditions at a Scarborough nursing home, claiming residents aren’t receiving enough water or medication due to a lack of staff amid surging cases of COVID-19.
Tendercare Nursing Home, located near Victoria Park and McNicoll avenues, is currently battling 109 active cases among residents and 49 cases among staff. An additional 26 residents have already died of the virus and 10 remain in hospital.
To date, no resident cases have been deemed resolved.
Is it just me or are we all beginning to realize that vast swaths of our healthcare system are a criminal racket?
I’ll write someday of my take on the palliative care segment. For now silence must rule.
The province set an all-time high for daily COVID-19 cases and a second wave peak for deaths on Thursday, as Ontario remains in a holding pattern ahead of the Boxing Day lockdown.
Provincial labs detected 2,447 new cases on Thursday, beating the previous record high set a week ago of 2,432.
“Locally, there are 646 new cases in Toronto, 502 in Peel, 263 in York Region and 173 in Windsor-Essex County,” Health Minister Christine Elliott wrote on Twitter.
California man ‘kills fellow Covid patient with oxygen tank’
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau detectives are continuing their investigation into the death of an 82 year-old male Hispanic, that occurred inside Antelope Vally Hospital in Lancaster. The initial assault occurred on Thursday, December 17, 2020 at approximately 9:45 a.m.
Detectives have learned that the victim was at Antelope Valley Hospital receiving treatment for Covid-19. He was housed in a two-person room inside the hospital with the suspect, who was also there receiving treatment. The suspect became upset when the victim started to pray. He then struck the victim with an oxygen tank.
The victim succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased on December 18, 2020 at approximately 10:20 a.m. The victim and suspect did not know each other.
The suspect, 37 year-old Jesse Martinez, was arrested and charged with murder, a hate crime enhancement and elder abuse. His bail is set at $1,000,000. He is set to appear in Antelope Valley Court December 28, 2020.
The Canadian Forces has taken away the uniform of one of its members who called on military personnel to disobey orders to help in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine and is now trying to release the man from the ranks.
Officer Cadet Leslie Kenderesi appeared and spoke at an anti-lockdown rally Dec. 5 in Toronto dressed in his Canadian Forces uniform. He spoke out about the COVID-19 vaccine, claiming it was a “killer.”
Canada could see ‘grotesque’ spike in coronavirus cases after holidays: expert
Public health officials and infectious disease experts are urging Canadians to limit their contacts over the holidays to avoid a potentially devastating spike in the number of cases of the novel coronavirus which continues to spread rapidly across the country.
Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto, said Canadians should expect to see a “grotesque” spike in the number of COVID-19 infections after the holidays “because of family visiting.”
