“China eats weird animals disease”

Ontario is reporting more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases for a second day in a row as the province’s death toll from the virus topped 4,000 on Wednesday.

Provincial health officials logged 2,139 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 43 more deaths, a notable increase compared to the 20 fatalities recorded on Tuesday. The previous single-day high for deaths in the province during the second wave was on Dec. 10 when 45 people died from the virus.

Toronto Mayor John Tory said discussions are underway for greater restrictions across the GTA due to surging COVID-19 numbers.

TORONTO — Toronto Mayor John Tory says a stricter lockdown including more of the surrounding areas of the GTA is being discussed for the holidays as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations hit record levels.

Tory said he is in talks with the Ford government and surrounding area mayors about increasing restrictions in lockstep after Dec. 21, when the 28 day lockdown was scheduled to end.

“Going back to the good old days, as much as we’d want to is just not in the cards, in fact we should be doing more, not less,” Tory told CP24 on Wednesday.

Ontario hospitals warned to prepare surge capacity plans within 48 hours

TORONTO — The CEO of Ontario Health is calling on hospitals in the province to be ready to activate their surge capacity plans within 48 hours as a spike in COVID-19 cases threatens the health-care system’s ability to care for patients effectively.

The government is watching “a number of threat indicators” as coronavirus vaccine doses arrive in Canada and travel into different communities, according to the man who is leading the charge on Canada’s vaccine distribution plans.

Threat indicators are the behaviours that are consistent with a threat.

“As I indicated before, there are a number of threat indicators that we are closely monitoring between the agencies, intelligence service, the law enforcement agencies,” said Maj.-Gen. Dany Fortin, speaking to reporters on Tuesday.

Ontario reported nearly 2,300 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, in part due to timing changes in how numbers are gathered, shattering all previous records for case growth in a day.

But Tuesday’s data also revealed troubling increases in hospitalizations, test positivity and hospitalizations due to COVID-19.

Majority of Canadians in favour of holiday lockdown to help fight coronavirus surge: poll

A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians support the idea of a lockdown on non-essential businesses and services during the holidays to fight a surge in new COVID-19 cases across the country.

Sixty-five per cent of respondents in the poll conducted by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies said they supported a general lockdown in their province during Christmas and New Year’s to tackle the pandemic versus 29 per cent who opposed the idea.

A Toronto restaurant is allowed to reopen its takeout and delivery services after its owner was charged for openly defying provincial COVID-19 orders to close last month.

Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto’s medical officer of health, released a statement on Dec. 14, lifting the requirements of the Section 22 order under the Health Protection and Promotion Act (HPPA) that ordered the closure of Adamson Barbecue in Etobicoke.

I’m a pandemic skeptic. I know that the Wuhan virus is real and dangerous for some people. Still, I cannot get excited about a disease with an average 99% survival rate. I believe that the Democrats weaponized the virus to defeat President Trump, and I think Democrats are still working the virus to weaken working- and middle-class Americans (i.e., Trump-supporters) while enriching the Democrats’ corporate cronies. I’m cynical, paranoid, or a realist — or all three. This weekend, information emerged supporting my viewpoint.

Influence, persuasion, and communication are complicated matters that politicians must navigate to limit the spread of COVID-19. Most people feel a strong responsibility to reduce the spread of infection. This has given authorities legitimacy to introduce strict measures, such as harsh restrictions and punitive penalties aimed at companies, organizations, and individuals. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and other politicians don’t obey the intrusive restrictions they place on others. Yet the coercive power displayed through such restrictions as business lockdowns and stay-at-home orders frequently leads to increases in drug use, suicide rates, depression, unemployment, and economic ruin.