COVID-19 'Pandemic'

[spaminator]

Nerve changes in eyes can help confirm 'long COVID': Study
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Nancy Lapid
Publishing date:Jul 28, 2021 • 10 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
A doctor examines the eye of a man who is suffering from Mucormycosis, also known as black fungus, at a hospital in Ahmedabad, India, June 28, 2021.
A doctor examines the eye of a man who is suffering from Mucormycosis, also known as black fungus, at a hospital in Ahmedabad, India, June 28, 2021. PHOTO BY AMIT DAVE /REUTERS
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The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19.

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Changes in eyes help confirm long COVID diagnosis


Changes in nerve fibres in the eyes can help confirm a diagnosis of “long COVID” – debilitating symptoms that persist more than four week after recovery from the acute illness, according to new findings. Because nerve fibre damage is suspected to underlie some of these lingering symptoms, ophthalmologists used a non-invasive technique called corneal confocal microscopy to check for nerve damage in the cornea. In their study of 40 COVID-19 survivors – most of whom had not been sick enough to need extra oxygen – and 30 uninfected individuals, the researchers found “significant associations” between nerve fibre loss in the cornea and the presence and severity of long COVID symptoms related to nerves, muscles and bones. The corneal changes were most evident in patients with persistent neurological symptoms, such as loss of taste and smell, headache, dizziness, numbness and nerve pain, according to a report published on Monday in the British Journal of Ophthalmology. Corneas of patients with long COVID also contained more immune cells called dendritic cells, reflecting the body’s response to injury. “We believe corneal confocal microscopy … will allow clinicians to make the diagnosis of long COVID with greater confidence,” said coauthor Dr. Rayaz Malik of Weill Cornell Medicine Qatar.

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Mental health issues tied to higher COVID-19 death risk

COVID-19 patients with mental health disorders are more likely to die from the virus than patients without psychiatric or cognitive diagnoses, according to two new analyzes. One study, published earlier this month in The Lancet Psychiatry, reviewed previously reported data on nearly 1.5 million COVID-19 patients. The risk of death was roughly 75% higher in patients with substance use disorders or intellectual disabilities and developmental disorders, and it was roughly doubled in those with psychotic or mood disorders. COVID-19 mortality risk was also linked with use of certain medications, such as antipsychotics, anxiety drugs, and antidepressants. The other study, published on Tuesday in JAMA Psychiatry, analyzed data on more than 19,000 patients and found similar patterns. Dr. Bowen Chung of the University of California, Los Angeles, who was not involved in either study, said patients with mental health disorders tend to have other risk factors as well, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and respiratory disease, some of which can be linked to their medications. “Antipsychotics in particular, have lots of metabolic effects, including obesity and high cholesterol,” Chung said, and anxiety drugs can affect breathing. These individuals “also tend to have lower incomes and to not have as good access to health care.”

Association Between Mental Health Disorders and Mortality Among Patients With COVID-19 in 7 Countries

This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesizes whether patients with mental health disorders are at increased risk of COVID-19 mortality compared with patients without mental health disorders.

jamanetwork.com

DEFINE_ME

Corneal confocal microscopy identifies corneal nerve fibre loss and increased dendritic cells in patients with long COVID | British Journal of Ophthalmology

Nerve changes in eyes can help confirm 'long COVID': Study

The following is a roundup of some of the latest scientific studies on the novel coronavirus and efforts to find treatments and vaccines for COVID-19.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

Charges laid for alleged removal of door handles at seniors home
The former general manager of White Cliffe Terrace Retirement Residence faces two counts of unlawful confinement

Author of the article:Chris Doucette
Publishing date:Jul 28, 2021 • 8 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
Criminal charges have been laid after reports surfaced that residents of White Cliffe Terrace Retirement Residence, in Courtice, had their door handles removed to prevent them from leaving their suites.
Criminal charges have been laid after reports surfaced that residents of White Cliffe Terrace Retirement Residence, in Courtice, had their door handles removed to prevent them from leaving their suites. PHOTO BY JACK BOLAND /Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network
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The former general manager of a Courtice retirement home — where door handles were allegedly removed from some residents’ rooms during the COVID-19 pandemic — now faces criminal charges.

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Durham Regional Police launched an investigation after receiving a complaint about staff at White Cliffe Terrace Retirement Residence on Hwy. 2 — east of Oshawa — in February.


“It was alleged that during the COVID-19 Pandemic, staff members had removed door handles to some units in the residence,” Sgt. George Tudos said in a statement released Wednesday.

He said investigators “worked with community partners and oversight bodies” and arrested a man who was the general manager at the time.

When the troubling complaint first surfaced more than five months ago about door handles had been removed — allegedly to prevent seniors from leaving their rooms — the company that operated the retirement residence issued a swift apology and promptly placed the home’s general manager on leave.

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An investigation is under way after reports surfaced that residents of White Cliffe Terrace Retirement Residence, in Courtice, had their door handles removed to prevent them from leaving their suites.
Retirement home removed door handles to residents' rooms during COVID outbreak
An investigation is under way after reports surfaced that residents of White Cliffe Terrace Retirement Residence, in Courtice, had their door handles removed to prevent them from leaving their suites.
Police investigating missing door handles at retirement home
Pnina Ptasznik with her mom Freda Rosenblatt, 88, a residents of L'Chaim Retirement Home who was hospitalized because of acute kidney failure and dehydration and died June 6, 2020.
LEVY: Daughter on mission to make retirement homes more accountable

“We are connecting with residents and family members to let them know what happened, how truly sorry we are, and the steps we are taking to prevent this from happening again,” Diversicare Canada’s President and CEO David Bird told the Toronto Sun in a statement at the time.

“We are thankful no residents were harmed due to these actions, and I am thankful that this serious incident was brought to our attention,” he added.


Ontario’s Ministry of Seniors and Accessibility also released a statement of condemnation at the time, stating the removal of door handles from seniors’ rooms was “completely unacceptable” and would “not be tolerated.”

Tawab Karimi, 40, of Oshawa, is charged with two counts of unlawful confinement. The accused has since been released from custody on an undertaking.

cdoucette@postmedia.com

On Twitter: @SunDoucette

Charges laid for alleged removal of door handles at seniors home

The former GM of a retirement home in Courtice where door handles were allegedly removed from rooms during the pandemic faces charges.

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

U.S. shipped AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada, Mexico before adequate plant inspections
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Allison Martell and Carl O'Donnell and Cassandra Garrison
Publishing date:Jul 29, 2021 • 15 hours ago • 4 minute read • Join the conversation
A man receives a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, during a mass vaccination program in Monterrey, Mexico April 12, 2021.
A man receives a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, during a mass vaccination program in Monterrey, Mexico April 12, 2021. PHOTO BY DANIEL BECERRIL /REUTERS
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Canada and Mexico imported millions of doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and offered them to the public without health officials properly inspecting the operations of the U.S. manufacturer, according to inspection records and the regulators involved.

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The Baltimore plant belonging to Emergent BioSolutions Inc was producing vaccines for both AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson under a $628 million U.S. government contract.


In late March, under pressure to help other nations access COVID-19 vaccines, the Biden administration released 1.5 million AstraZeneca doses to Canada, and 2.5 million to Mexico.

European regulators had certified Emergent’s factory as complying with “good manufacturing practices,” and on that basis both Canada and Mexico began using the vaccine, regulators in both countries told Reuters.

But the European Medicines Agency (EMA) told Reuters that the certification was based on a remote inspection that focused on a part of the facility that was not actually producing the AstraZeneca shots – a fact that has not been previously reported.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration halted production at the factory three weeks later, after J&J’s vaccine was found to be contaminated with material used in the AstraZeneca shots.

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In this file photo taken on Jan. 4, 2021, a vial of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine is held at the Pontcae Medical Practice in Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales.
AstraZeneca CEO hopeful COVID-19 vaccine may still have role in U.S.
A man receives his third dose of COVID-19 vaccine at Sheba Medical Center on July 14, 2021 in Ramat Gan, Israel.
Israel to offer Pfizer booster shots to people over 60: Reports

FDA inspectors later documented unsanitary conditions and poorly-trained staff at the plant, which had been rapidly overhauled to make vaccines during the pandemic. Production had remained halted, with tens of millions of doses of both vaccines in regulatory limbo.

Emergent said on Thursday the FDA was allowing it to resume production of J&J doses at the Baltimore plant after completing additional regulatory reviews.

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No reports of illness have been linked to vaccines manufactured by Emergent, and regulators have not alleged that contaminated vaccines were given to anyone. Emergent said there has been no evidence of contamination in the AstraZeneca shots produced at its site.

But details of the flawed approval process show blind spots that can develop when national regulators share responsibility for overseeing a complex global pharmaceutical industry. Those were only exacerbated given the urgency of the pandemic.

“It’s a risk, because who knows what the standards are that are being applied?” said Joel Lexchin, a Canadian professor and expert in drug regulation. Health Canada typically relies heavily on foreign regulators, he said. “It’s a gap that exists outside of crisis times.”

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Emergent said in a statement that it “has worked with health officials around the world to ensure any vaccine drug substance we manufactured meets strict safety and quality requirements before being released.”

AstraZeneca said vaccines manufactured by Emergent were subject to more than 40 tests to meet its requirements for safety, purity and quality, and that its manufacturing standards “are rigorously assessed and independently verified by regulators.”

Health Canada told Reuters it is confident the vaccines it received were safe, pointing in part to AstraZeneca’s quality control systems. Mexico health regulator COFEPRIS said it remains “confident that the approval process was carried out with all the necessary rigor.”

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Canada signed deals to formally recognize some other regulators’ certifications as early as 2003, and the United States and Europe reached similar deals in 2019.

A EUROPEAN INSPECTION

Early in the vaccine rollout, the European Union was due to receive doses of the J&J vaccine made by Emergent. In early February, Italian officials conducted a remote inspection of the plant that only focused on areas where J&J production was taking place “and not the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was not manufactured at Emergent for the EU market,” EMA said in a statement.

Health Canada said it assumed both products would be made to the same standard. “The quality systems assessed by the EMA for this product would be applicable to all similar products made at this site,” it said in a statement.

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This is the wrong approach, according to University of Ottawa professor Amir Attaran, who studies drug policy, including Health Canada’s reliance on foreign regulators.

“It’s precisely because they were similar (products) that cross contamination is a risk,” he said. Canada was “out on a limb” approving AstraZeneca doses from the facility before the FDA, he said.

Health Canada said it reviewed test results and quality control steps for every vaccine lot sent to Canada.

Initially, Mexico’s COFEPRIS told Reuters the FDA was responsible for certifying U.S. operations, but later confirmed that the factory had been certified by European regulators.

When Reuters shared the European regulators’ statement that it had not assessed AstraZeneca production specifically, COFEPRIS said it would review the file, but remained confident in the approval process.

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The Mexican regulator said vaccines went through quality control systems at Emergent, and twice more during the vial filling process handled by another contract manufacturer.

“When evaluating vaccines, the product and its entire production process are considered and examined,” it said in a statement.

Emergent’s contract with the U.S. government is the focus of a Congressional investigation, which unearthed documents that highlight early concerns about the Baltimore plant.

Soon after the Trump administration announced Emergent’s contract last summer, its own vaccine officials visited the plant and wrote a report flagging inadequate staffing and training. The report warned of the need to strengthen quality oversight, a process that would “require significant resources and commitment.”

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The FDA, following a February 2021 visit to the plant, noted in a June memo that Emergent staff turnover was high and record-keeping inadequate. While European regulators said they were aware of that visit, Health Canada said it did not learn about it until last month.

An FDA spokesperson said the agency works closely with international partners, and that it notified various health authorities of its findings after its April 2021 inspection of the Emergent facility.

Emergent said it is still working with the FDA to release more of the already produced COVID-19 vaccine batches.

“We have manufactured tens of millions of doses that could be used to help vaccinate people around the world as the pandemic shows no signs of slowing down,” the company said.

U.S. shipped AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada, Mexico before adequate plant inspections

Canada and Mexico imported millions of doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and offered them to the public without health officials properly inspecting the opera…

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

'WAR HAS CHANGED': U.S. CDC says Delta variant infectious as chickenpox
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Jul 30, 2021 • 15 hours ago • 3 minute read • 10 Comments
A band plays for the crowd on Bourbon Street as Louisiana's COVID-19 cases rise amid Delta variant, in New Orleans, La., July 23, 2021.
A band plays for the crowd on Bourbon Street as Louisiana's COVID-19 cases rise amid Delta variant, in New Orleans, La., July 23, 2021. PHOTO BY KATHLEEN FLYNN /REUTERS
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The “war has changed” against COVID-19 because the Delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox, can be passed on by vaccinated people and may cause more serious disease than earlier strains, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

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An internal CDC document, titled “Improving communications around vaccine breakthrough and vaccine effectiveness,” said the fast-spreading variant required a new approach to help the public understand the danger.


It said the unvaccinated were three times more likely to become infected and more than 10 times more likely to become seriously ill or die, it said.

“Acknowledge the war has changed,” it said. “Improve communications around individual risk among vaccinated.”

It described the Delta variant as no less transmissable than chickenpox and more transmissible than a host of other diseases, such as MERS, SARS, Ebola, smallpox, the common cold and seasonal flus, including the flu that caused the 2018 pandemic.

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It recommended prevention measures that included making vaccines mandatory for health care professionals to protect the vulnerable and a return to universal wearing of face masks.

The CDC confirmed the authenticity of the document, which was first reported by the Washington Post.

While vaccinated people were less likely to become infected, once they contracted such “breakthrough infections” they might be just as likely as the unvaccinated to pass the disease on to others, the document said.


‘VIRUS HAS BECOME FITTER’

The World Health Organization said hard-won gains in battling COVID-19 were being lost as the Delta variant spreads but that vaccination could still save lives.

“The vaccines currently approved by the WHO all provide significant protection against severe disease and hospitalization,” the global health body’s top emergency expert Mike Ryan told a news briefing. “We are fighting the same virus but a virus that has become fitter.”

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The fastest-spreading and most formidable version of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has upended assumptions among virologists and epidemiologists about the disease, even as vaccines have let many countries lift social restrictions. Delta has become the dominant variant globally, documented in 132 countries to date, according to the WHO.

On Tuesday, the CDC, which had advised vaccinated people months ago that they no longer needed to wear masks, reversed course, saying even the fully vaccinated should wear face coverings in situations where the virus was likely to spread.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

People exit Bank underground station during morning rush hour, amid the COVID-19 pandemic in London, July 29, 2021.
COVID vaccine protection highly likely to wane over time: U.K. advisers
Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam listens to a question during a news conference in Ottawa, Jan. 12, 2021.
Federal modelling warns of fourth COVID wave driven by Delta if reopening is too fast

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On Thursday, U.S. President Joe Biden urged local governments to pay people to get vaccinated and set new rules requiring federal workers to provide proof of vaccination or face regular testing, mask mandates and travel restrictions.

“The main thing that does change (because of Delta) is that masks will still be used and that in countries where this requirement has been lifted, it will have to be re-introduced,” said Carlo Federico Perno, head of microbiology and immunology diagnostics at Rome’s Bambino Gesù Hospital.

ASIAN COUNTRIES TIGHTEN RESTRICTIONS

Countries in Asia, many of which avoided the worst outcomes that hit Western nations in 2020, have been particularly hard hit in recent weeks by the spread of Delta, first detected in India. Australia, Japan and the Philippines were among countries to announce tighter COVID-19 restrictions on Friday

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“We know from the research that it (Delta) has a viral load 1,000 times higher than previous variants, that’s why we see more cases because it transmits more easily and faster,” Dicky Budiman, an epidemiologist from Griffith University in Australia’s Queensland state, told Reuters.

He said Delta appears to cause more severe symptoms, especially regarding breathing difficulties.

Australia, which had previously kept infection under control but has been far slower than other rich countries to vaccinate the public, has been imposing lockdowns. From Monday, army personnel will help police its biggest city Sydney, checking that people who have tested positive are isolating.

The Philippines announced a plan to put the Manila capital region, home to more than 13 million people, in lockdown for two weeks.

India reported its highest number of daily cases in three weeks.

'WAR HAS CHANGED': U.S. CDC says Delta variant infectious as chickenpox

The “war has changed” against COVID-19 because the Delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox, can be passed on by vaccinated people and may cause more serious di…

torontosun.com

 

[spaminator]

BONOKOSKI: Beating back of sensical thinking during pandemic crisis
Author of the article:Mark Bonokoski
Publishing date:Jul 31, 2021 • 14 hours ago • 3 minute read • 30 Comments
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 10, 2019.
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 10, 2019. PHOTO BY BLAIR GABLE /REUTERS
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The trumping of common sense by politics has always been a bane.

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What makes no sense is suddenly sensible — at least to the political party in power trying to jerry-rig a crisis.


No party exemplifies this today better than the Trudeau Liberals.

It should come as no surprise that the average Canadian, more steeped in common sense than political savvy, thought it was outrageous the Trudeau Liberals were so slow to shut down the border when COVID-19 was ramping up to become a worldwide pandemic.

A recent in-house Liberal report, uncovered by Blacklock’s Reporter, has Canadians upset that Canada did not restrict air traffic until ten weeks after the first COVID death was reported in Wuhan.

“In terms of what the federal government got wrong, many felt the government should have closed the borders sooner than it did,” said a Department of Finance report. “Many also felt any sort of travel in and out of the country should have been more limited.”

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The first coronavirus death in China was publicly reported on Jan. 11, 2020. Taiwan restricted travel from China on Jan. 26 followed by the United States on Jan. 31, Australia on Feb. 1, and South Korea on Feb. 24.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

(Getty Images file photo)
BONOKOSKI: No internet, no Wi-Fi, no television, no life
The CBC building at Front and John Sts. in Toronto.
BONOKOSKI: The CBC always complaining but never thankful
A Dundas Street West sign is pictured in Toronto, Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
BONOKOSKI: The dim-witted posse out to get the 1790s Henry Dundas

Canada, meanwhile, was still dilly-dallying. The Public Health Agency as late as Jan. 29, 2020, had maintained it was still safe for Canadians to travel to China and for others to come here from the Wuhan region — which 1,796 did.

On Feb. 10, Health Minister Patty Hajdu was cautioned by staff against sending “any signal to Canadians that the government believes the risk within Canada is changing and other measures are necessary.

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“It will be important to underscore that this is not the case.”

Two days later, Hajdu’s briefing notes from staff again warned against raising public alarm.

“We remain concerned about social anxiety, misinformation and discrimination in the Chinese-Canadian community with the coronavirus,” wrote staff.

As late as March. 9, 2020, two days before a global pandemic was declared, Hajdu was given Question Period notes claiming a pandemic outbreak in Canada was unlikely.

“The risk of spread of this virus within Canada continues to remain low at this time,” she was advised. “We continue to believe that Canada’s public health system is well equipped to contain cases coming from abroad, limiting the spread in Canada.”

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As of this week, Canada has seen 1.4 million COVID-19 infections, including variants, and more than 26,500 deaths.


A department of finance opinion survey, based on 10 focus groups nationwide, found Canadians were critical of the slow introduction of travel bans from infected areas.

“One of the more common concerns that participants raised with the government’s performance during the pandemic pertained to its management of international travel and borders,” said the survey Qualitative Research On The State Of The Economy.

“Many felt the government should have closed the borders sooner than it did,” wrote researchers. “Many also felt any sort of travel in and out of the country should have been more limited.”

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“As disruptive as the COVID-19 pandemic has been for nearly one full year, it remains central to the lives of Canadians and plays a significant role in how they view the federal government and the role it should be playing in the short and medium term,” said the report.

But let’s go back.

On Jan. 29, two days before the U.S. shut down its borders, Canada’s Public Health Agency was also saying healthy passengers need not wear masks when disembarking in China or visiting quarantine-blocked cities within that country.

Common sense was overtly missing, trumped by politics.

And looked what happened.

markbonkoski@gmail.com

BONOKOSKI: Beating back of sensical thinking during pandemic crisis

The trumping of common sense by politics has always been a bane.

torontosun.com

 

[Blackleaf]

Australia Bring In Army For “Zero Tolerance Lockdown” Most Worrying This So Far…​

 

[taxme]

BONOKOSKI: Beating back of sensical thinking during pandemic crisis
Author of the article:Mark Bonokoski
Publishing date:Jul 31, 2021 • 14 hours ago • 3 minute read • 30 Comments
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 10, 2019.
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 10, 2019. PHOTO BY BLAIR GABLE /REUTERS
Article content
The trumping of common sense by politics has always been a bane.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

Article content
What makes no sense is suddenly sensible — at least to the political party in power trying to jerry-rig a crisis.


No party exemplifies this today better than the Trudeau Liberals.

It should come as no surprise that the average Canadian, more steeped in common sense than political savvy, thought it was outrageous the Trudeau Liberals were so slow to shut down the border when COVID-19 was ramping up to become a worldwide pandemic.

A recent in-house Liberal report, uncovered by Blacklock’s Reporter, has Canadians upset that Canada did not restrict air traffic until ten weeks after the first COVID death was reported in Wuhan.

“In terms of what the federal government got wrong, many felt the government should have closed the borders sooner than it did,” said a Department of Finance report. “Many also felt any sort of travel in and out of the country should have been more limited.”

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

Article content
The first coronavirus death in China was publicly reported on Jan. 11, 2020. Taiwan restricted travel from China on Jan. 26 followed by the United States on Jan. 31, Australia on Feb. 1, and South Korea on Feb. 24.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

(Getty Images file photo)
BONOKOSKI: No internet, no Wi-Fi, no television, no life
The CBC building at Front and John Sts. in Toronto.
BONOKOSKI: The CBC always complaining but never thankful
A Dundas Street West sign is pictured in Toronto, Wednesday, June 10, 2020.
BONOKOSKI: The dim-witted posse out to get the 1790s Henry Dundas

Canada, meanwhile, was still dilly-dallying. The Public Health Agency as late as Jan. 29, 2020, had maintained it was still safe for Canadians to travel to China and for others to come here from the Wuhan region — which 1,796 did.

On Feb. 10, Health Minister Patty Hajdu was cautioned by staff against sending “any signal to Canadians that the government believes the risk within Canada is changing and other measures are necessary.

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

Article content
“It will be important to underscore that this is not the case.”

Two days later, Hajdu’s briefing notes from staff again warned against raising public alarm.

“We remain concerned about social anxiety, misinformation and discrimination in the Chinese-Canadian community with the coronavirus,” wrote staff.

As late as March. 9, 2020, two days before a global pandemic was declared, Hajdu was given Question Period notes claiming a pandemic outbreak in Canada was unlikely.

“The risk of spread of this virus within Canada continues to remain low at this time,” she was advised. “We continue to believe that Canada’s public health system is well equipped to contain cases coming from abroad, limiting the spread in Canada.”

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

Article content
As of this week, Canada has seen 1.4 million COVID-19 infections, including variants, and more than 26,500 deaths.


A department of finance opinion survey, based on 10 focus groups nationwide, found Canadians were critical of the slow introduction of travel bans from infected areas.

“One of the more common concerns that participants raised with the government’s performance during the pandemic pertained to its management of international travel and borders,” said the survey Qualitative Research On The State Of The Economy.

“Many felt the government should have closed the borders sooner than it did,” wrote researchers. “Many also felt any sort of travel in and out of the country should have been more limited.”

Advertisement
STORY CONTINUES BELOW

Article content
“As disruptive as the COVID-19 pandemic has been for nearly one full year, it remains central to the lives of Canadians and plays a significant role in how they view the federal government and the role it should be playing in the short and medium term,” said the report.

But let’s go back.

On Jan. 29, two days before the U.S. shut down its borders, Canada’s Public Health Agency was also saying healthy passengers need not wear masks when disembarking in China or visiting quarantine-blocked cities within that country.

Common sense was overtly missing, trumped by politics.

And looked what happened.

markbonkoski@gmail.com

BONOKOSKI: Beating back of sensical thinking during pandemic crisis

The trumping of common sense by politics has always been a bane.

torontosun.com

It's gawd time for they the sheeple out there to end all of this covid nonsense and bullshit now. It is time to get back the good old normal days and take back our lives and live as we all once did just two years ago. This f'n covid bullshit will never end as long as there are those dummies and buffoons out there who will still believe and are made shit scared and put in a constant state of fear and panic over something that was not that serious at all. More people in the past have died from some regular flu virus than have died from covid. The covid numbers of people dying from covid were all just manufactured numbers thanks to the unreliable PCR tstsing.

The PCR tests have now been proven to have been used to try and make it appear as though covid was a real pandemic and those PCR tests have now been shown to be unreliable. The CDC even said that this is so. This fake covid pandemic/plandemic has been a disaster for the people of the world who have suffered immensely as a result of this covid lie and hoax. It is high time for people like you to grow up and stop trying to keep this covid plandemic going. It is people like you that are making life difficult for those of us who do want to get back to the good old normal days.

If everyone stopped talking about covid and would stop listening to the lying politicians and the lying MSM about covid for awhile, this plandemic would be gone by tomorrow. It is those two mentioned that are trying to keep this covid lie going. Woke up and stop listening to the liars, who by the way, have made billions of extra profit from selling their lies and hoax. There have been many new billionaires that have been created thanks this covid lie and hoax. The likes of Bill Gates and his globalist ilk buddies have got themselves mighty rich from the many fools who still believe their lies. Helo out there/ Are you listening or trying to get it yet? Just asking.

 

[DaSleeper]

Another conspiracy theory.....
All the people that died in nursing homes died of an imaginary disease....In french, it's called "Mal Imaginaire"

 

[spaminator]

Chipmunks with the plague shut down Lake Tahoe beach
Author of the articleenette Wilford
Publishing date:Aug 03, 2021 • 17 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
Close up of angry chipmunk; Lassen Volcanic Park National Park, Northern California
Close up of angry chipmunk; Lassen Volcanic Park National Park, Northern California PHOTO BY SUNDRY PHOTOGRAPHY /Getty Images
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Parts of Lake Tahoe’s south shore in California were closed off to visitors after chipmunks in the area tested positive for the plague.

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Kiva Beach, as well as the Taylor Creek Visitor Center, and their parking areas in South Tahoe, were shut down while the National Forest Service completed “eradication treatments.”


The infected chipmunks did not have any contact with humans, El Dorado County spokesperson Carla Hass told the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

The plague is “naturally present” in parts of the state, said El Dorado County Public Health. A press release from last year stated that “human cases of plague are extremely rare, but can be very serious.”

In 2020, a South Tahoe resident became the first Californian in five years to test positive for the plague.

Five years prior, two people were exposed to infected rodents or their fleas in Yosemite National Park, reported the Associated Press. Both were treated and recovered.

The plague has also been found in New Mexico, Arizona, southern Oregon, western Nevada, and Colorado. A child “died from causes associated with plague,” after the 10-year-old became infected with the plague in Colorado’s La Plata County in July.

The plague is treatable with antibiotics if the disease is caught early. Symptoms include fever, nausea, and swollen lymph nodes.

Colorado 10-year-old dies as health officials investigate plague activity | CNN

The death of a 10-year-old in Colorado has been linked to plague as state health officials warn they are investigating reports of the bacterial infection in animals and fleas.

cnn.com

Positive plague tests results leads to closures in South Tahoe

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[spaminator]

 

[spaminator]

July highest-ever month for COVID-infected international flights to Canada
Despite rules requiring negative COVID-19 tests before boarding, last month saw 435 flights land in Canada carrying positive cases

Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume
Publishing date:Aug 04, 2021 • 5 hours ago • 3 minute read • 52 Comments
The flight arrival lineup at Toronto's Pearson International Airport located in Terminal One on Feb. 22, 2021.
The flight arrival lineup at Toronto's Pearson International Airport located in Terminal One on Feb. 22, 2021. PHOTO BY JACK BOLAND /Postmedia Network
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Despite the ongoing ban on passenger flights from India, Canada recorded its highest-month ever in international arrivals carrying COVID-19 infected passengers last month.

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While July’s numbers will still be posted to Health Canada’s online database until Aug. 15, data available as of Aug. 3 shows 435 flights arrived last month with passengers or crew infected with COVID-19.


That’s a marked increase from previous months, including 287 recorded in April, the last month that permitted flights from COVID-wracked India and included 66 arrivals from that country.

Infected arrivals dropped off in May, recording only 130 such flights, followed by 174 in June.

For comparison, Canada was averaging between 80 and 120 infected flights every two weeks in the last four months of 2020.

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Toronto Pearson International Airport on July 22, 2020.
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Most of July’s infected flights arrived from the United States, with 133 reported.

Los Angeles was the largest source with 21, followed by Dallas with 19, Fort Lauderdale with 18, Denver with 10 and Chicago with 9.

For overseas flights, Amsterdam was Canada’s largest source for infected planes with 31, followed by the Moroccan port city of Casablanca with 29, Paris with 28, Istanbul with 25, Frankfurt with 23, Mexico City with 21, Doha, Qatar with 22, and London with 17.

With all airports combined by nation, Mexico was Canada’s largest non-U.S. source with 32 flights from Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta and Cancun.

While Health Canada doesn’t make public specific data on each flight’s infections, including how many tested COVID-positive, their nationality or in what city they began their journey, they do provide ranges of rows where an infected person may have sat — three rows for economy and two rows for business/first class.

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Rows are listed as ‘unknown’ if officials aren’t able to determine where the person sat, or if one of those who tested positive was a crew member.


The flight with the most infected rows last month was Royal Air Maroc Flight 208. According to Health Canada it flew from Casablanca to Montreal on July 28 with 27 of the Boeing 787’s 33 economy rows recorded as ‘impacted’ by positive COVID-19 infections, along with an undetermined number of ‘unknown’ impacted rows.

Other flights on that same route show large swaths of infected rows, including 18 on July 25, as well as 14 and 16 between two flights on July 29.

Royal Air Maroc operates two regular flights between Casablanca and Montreal — Flight 208 operates daily, while Flight 206 operates five to six days per week.

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Earlier this year, four flights — three from Haiti and one from Jamaica — were reported as ‘all rows’ being impacted by infected passengers.

Top 10 sources of COVID-infected flights to Canada, July
Amsterdam: 31
Casablanca: 29
Paris: 28
Istanbul: 25
Frankfurt: 23
Mexico City: 21
Doha: 22
London: 17
Cancun: 9
Dubai: 9
Addis Ababa: 8

Total U.S. arrivals to Canada infected with COVID-19, July
Los Angeles: 21
Dallas: 19
Fort Lauderdale: 18
Denver: 10
Chicago: 9
Atlanta: 8
Houston: 7
New York: 6
Orlando: 6
Detroit: 5
Seattle: 5
Charlotte: 3
Las Vegas: 3
Newark: 3
San Francisco: 3
Washington D.C.: 3
Phoenix: 2
Minneapolis: 1
Palm Springs: 1

Total infected international arrivals per Canadian airport, July
Toronto: 182
Montreal: 142
Calgary: 59
Vancouver: 51

(Source: Health Canada)

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
On Twitter: @bryanpassifiume

July highest-ever month for COVID-infected international flights to Canada

Despite rules requiring negative COVID-19 tests before boarding, last month saw 435 flights land in Canada carrying positive cases

torontosun.com

 

[B00Mer]

It’s kinda crazy that an island nation like Australia can’t control the spread of a virus, they are going into their 6th lockdown .. I mean New Zealand did..

It’s also sad that so many have been sucked into conspiracy theories regarding the vaccine..

It seems to be Liberals who are the most anti-vaccine.. with it's; "My body" bull shit, same line for abortions.

The Liberals or Liberal thinking will destroy Australia, The USA, the World

 

[B00Mer]

 

[taxme]

Another conspiracy theory.....
All the people that died in nursing homes died of an imaginary disease....In french, it's called "Mal Imaginaire"

Pretty much all the elderly people that have died in nursing or care homes died after they took the covid vaccine shots. Covid did not kill them. The covid vaccine did that. Of course the many buffoons out there will always believe what the MSM lying buffoons will tell them, that they died because of other health problems that they had and never from the covid vaccine. That is blasphemy do dare say such a thing.

 

[DaSleeper]

If I get hit by a car and just happen to have had a covid19 vaccine what should they put as cause of death in your opinion?

 

[taxme]

If I get hit by a car and just happen to have had a covid19 vaccine what should they put as cause of death in your opinion?

Put down your death as having died from covid. They have done that many times now already to many people who have died from natural causes but did a swipe of the mouth and up came covid. That guy/gal died from covid. Story finished. You died from covid.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

Pretty much all the elderly people that have died in nursing or care homes died after they took the covid vaccine shots. Covid did not kill them. The covid vaccine did that. Of course the many buffoons out there will always believe what the MSM lying buffoons will tell them, that they died because of other health problems that they had and never from the covid vaccine. That is blasphemy do dare say such a thing.

Your so full of crap. Here the news about the deaths was long before they even had a vaccine.

 

[Blackleaf]

GB News

Nigel Farage's Talking Pints

Nigel questions Senator Ted Cruz about why US citizens can visit the UK but Brits can't go to the US​

 

[Serryah]

But Covid isn't as bad as people think, it's fake, it's 'just the flu' and all that bullshit...

 

[Blackleaf]

Day 500 of 14 Days to Flatten the Curve