A year after “15 days to flatten the curve” began our lockdowns, we have enough data to answer the classic question about lockdowns (which still exist a year later in many places, including much of California): cui bono?
“China eats weird animals disease”
LILLEY: End the doctatorship, elected politicians must be in charge
When all of this is said and done — when COVID-19 and the restrictions brought in by politicians no longer dictate our days — there’s one major change we need to make to our public health laws and regulations.
We need to strip public health doctors of some of their arbitrary powers to ensure we never live under a doctatorship again.
White House says it’s ‘carefully’ considering vaccine requests from Canada and Mexico
A White House spokesperson says the United States is carefully considering requests to eventually ship that country’s excess supplies of COVID-19 vaccines across the border to its neighbours in Canada and Mexico.
But she cautions that nothing is confirmed at this point.
The comments come amid mounting anticipation of what might happen to the stockpile of doses in the U.S. after that country has enough supply for all its residents, likely by late May.
Sounds more NO than Yes.
FUREY: My son just turned three — all he knows are lockdowns
Last year we didn’t get up to much for my son’s second birthday. Ontario hadn’t yet gone into total lockdown by that point in March, but the schools had already shut down and it was clear there was more to come.
Oh well, we thought. He’s only two. He doesn’t know what he’s missing, so he’ll be content with a few presents and cake. We’ll make sure to do something extra next year.
What School Shutdowns Have Wrought
Parents are exploring new educational options for a post-pandemic America.
Though Covid-related restrictions are easing across the country, fewer than half of America’s students are back in school full-time, according to Burbio, a website tracking school reopenings. A look at the national map shows that the most populous state, California, is also the most locked down, while the third-most populous, Florida, is almost completely back to normal. In October 2020, Brown University reported that politics and teachers’ union strength best explain how school boards approached reopening. In a September 2020 study, researchers Corey DeAngelis and Christos Makridis found that school districts in places with strong teachers’ unions were much less likely to offer full-time, in-person instruction in the fall.
Ontario reports 1508 new Covid cases … and that app is a flop for some mysterious reason
Ontario is reporting 1,508 cases of #COVID19 and over 49,100 tests completed. Locally, there are 542 new cases in Toronto, 253 in Peel and 107 in York Region.
As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 1,301,334 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.
— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) March 17, 2021
96% of Canadians who test positive for coronavirus aren’t using COVID Alert app properly
The Canadian government said the COVID Alert app was the next great hope in the struggle against the novel coronavirus.
But new statistics suggest so few people are using the app correctly that it has almost no effect on slowing or limiting the spread of COVID-19.
That’s terrible! They should make people walk around with a big C sewn onto their clothes.
Ford says new age recommendations for AstraZeneca vaccine ‘messes everything up’
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said that while new recommendations saying the AstraZeneca vaccine can be used on people older than 65 is “good news,” it also “messes everything up” logistically.
More than the Second World War: Here’s the eyewatering debt Canada is racking up
Remember when, in the 2015 Canadian general election, candidate Justin Trudeau made the controversial pledge to run up a $10 billion deficit? The Conservatives hated it, of course, but even the NDP accused the Liberals of spending on the “shoulders of future generations.”
Fast forward six years, and Canada’s deficit for fiscal year 2021 is projected to top out at an eyewatering $381.6 billion. We’ve all gotten used to massive quantities of borrowed money being thrown around during COVID-19 (particularly when the Americans keep approving trillion-dollar spending bills) but Canada is currently burning through borrowed money at a rate that is unprecedented in our history.
The new normal: Don’t expect a return to pre-pandemic life, experts say
It’s been a year since COVID-19 was labelled a pandemic, lockdown measures became the norm and the terms social-distancing, contact tracing and flattening the curve became part of the global language.
Pandemic fatigue has set in for many, exhausted by stress and anxiety and feeling isolated from friends and family.
And while there have been glimmers of hope that 2021 might bring a relaxation of health regulations and a return to a kind of normalcy for parts of the economy, some believe this pandemic and its legacy will be with us for a very long time.
Prepare yourself for the post-lockdown dystopia
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council is bringing in drones to police its beaches this summer.
It is spending millions of pounds preparing for the easing of lockdown restrictions – hiring Covid marshals and deploying drones – as it expects a surge in tourist numbers. Thankfully, reports suggest that the drones will be ‘unarmed’.
Are we even going to have a summer?
Guess Which Group Noticed The Most “Positive Benefits” From The Pandemic
Maybe a better question might be how anybody is seeing positive benefits from the pandemic. But that’s the question that Scott Rasmussen put to a wide cross-section of Americans recently. He asked respondents if they “can think of any positive benefits in their life” as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ontario reports 1,074 new Covid cases … 3rd wave anyone?
Ontario is reporting 1,074 cases of #COVID19 and over 28,500 tests completed. Locally, there are 313 new cases in Toronto, 199 in Peel and 101 in York Region.
As of 8:00 p.m. yesterday, 1,243,132 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.
— Christine Elliott (@celliottability) March 16, 2021
The never ending lockdown…
Ontario now in third wave of COVID-19, province’s hospital association says
Ontario has entered a third wave of COVID-19, the province’s hospital association says.
In a tweet published on Monday, the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) said that variants of concern are steeply rising and the number of patients in intensive care is trending upwards.
“We’re now in wave three,” the OHA said, adding that “strong adherence to public health measures is urgently needed to prevent overwhelming hospitals.”
Was China playing 3D chess with the pandemic?
With the threat of a third wave looming, and governments reluctant to relinquish power, Sheila wondered if the actions first taken by the Chinese Communist Party was all something of a psy-op — an act of 3D chess — put forward by the Chinese government to drive western economies to a standstill.
Democrats Want ‘Vaccine Passports’ Required To Attend Concerts, But No IDs Required To Vote
While Democrats aim to eliminate voter ID laws under the 800-page election bill H.R. 1, also known as the “For the People Act,” they contrarily flirt with the idea of mandating citizens show proof of COVID-19 vaccine or testing results.
According to H.R. 1, states are to be prohibited from requiring voter identification, including things like witness signatures, and notary stamps. This would ultimately overturn laws in 36 states, as noted by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Trudeau offers reassurance on AstraZeneca safety as European countries suspend use
Trudeau said Health Canada regulators are constantly analyzing all the available information about vaccines and have guaranteed those approved in Canada are safe for use.