Coronavirus outbreak

[Junkyard Dog]

Just got back from Walmart. Guy at till informed me that starting next Monday they will be implementing a mask policy to shoppers. I wonder if they will be like Costco and give out masks.

[stawns]

31 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said:

Just got back from Walmart. Guy at till informed me that starting next Monday they will be implementing a mask policy to shoppers. I wonder if they will be like Costco and give out masks.

Mask Wars II:  Karen Comes to Canada

[Gurn]

56 minutes ago, stawns said:

jesus christ what is wrong with the people in that country?

They aren't the only country with a  problem.

Lots of non maskers up here in Canada as well.

[stawns]

Just now, gurn said:

They aren't the only country with a  problem.

Lots of non maskers up here in Canada as well.

it's the hallway jammed full of teenagers that shocks me........the lack of masks was the second wave

[RUPERTKBD]

4 hours ago, gurn said:

They aren't the only country with a  problem.

Lots of non maskers up here in Canada as well.

Case in point:

 

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/lifestyle/whats-hot/alberta-man-goes-on-angry-racist-rant-over-a-liquor-stores-mask-policy/vi-BB17z91F

 

(Warning NSFW language in the video)

[samurai]

Masks in most places are not mandatory for a reason.  It's based on the lack of research in actual non-lab settings to support their use.  Said it many times Japan is a mask wearers heaven and yet infections are going up, same with other mask lover paradises.   If a store wants people to wear masks fine - no shirt no service.  But people should just respect someones decision on the issue and keep their social distance and mind their own business.  

[Junkyard Dog]

1 hour ago, samurai said:

Masks in most places are not mandatory for a reason.  It's based on the lack of research in actual non-lab settings to support their use.  Said it many times Japan is a mask wearers heaven and yet infections are going up, same with other mask lover paradises.   If a store wants people to wear masks fine - no shirt no service.  But people should just respect someones decision on the issue and keep their social distance and mind their own business.  

For sure. If there are places that don't require masks you shouldn't be hassled if you choose not to wear one. Just mind your own business.

 

However you have to respect private policy of companies that implement a mask policy too however. If a store requires shoppers to wear masks you have to abide by that if you want to shop there.

 

Most of the time I don't wear one but if there rules in place I will follow them. I have no problem with that.

 

TBH there are a lot of dumb people on both sides with people hounding others for not wearing masks when they don't have to and then people refusing to wear masks when private policy states so in order to shop there.

[Russ]

2 hours ago, Junkyard Dog said:

For sure. If there are places that don't require masks you shouldn't be hassled if you choose not to wear one. Just mind your own business.

 

However you have to respect private policy of companies that implement a mask policy too however. If a store requires shoppers to wear masks you have to abide by that if you want to shop there.

 

Most of the time I don't wear one but if there rules in place I will follow them. I have no problem with that.

 

TBH there are a lot of dumb people on both sides with people hounding others for not wearing masks when they don't have to and then people refusing to wear masks when private policy states so in order to shop there.

BINGO!  This is what people need to understand.  There is not provincial or federal rule for it, there is only store policies.  If a store requires it then they risk loosing out on buisness because people won't want to wear one and won't go there.  If stores don't require it they risk loosing buisness as people that really want masks might not feel as safe there. 

 

Just like you, for me if I go somewhere and they say "ok you need a mask to enter" well sure I will throw on a mask.  Where I am there hasn't been any cases coming from grocery stores, etc. as far as I have been able to see so I still feel safe walking into those stores without a mask.  I got a young family and if for a second I didn't feel safe I would up my PPE but as of now, even with these spikes I still feel fairly safe for the little bit I do wander outside of work/stores, not like I am chilling at beaches at drum circles or anything

[stawns]

3 hours ago, Russ said:

BINGO!  This is what people need to understand.  There is not provincial or federal rule for it, there is only store policies.  If a store requires it then they risk loosing out on buisness because people won't want to wear one and won't go there.  If stores don't require it they risk loosing buisness as people that really want masks might not feel as safe there. 

 

Just like you, for me if I go somewhere and they say "ok you need a mask to enter" well sure I will throw on a mask.  Where I am there hasn't been any cases coming from grocery stores, etc. as far as I have been able to see so I still feel safe walking into those stores without a mask.  I got a young family and if for a second I didn't feel safe I would up my PPE but as of now, even with these spikes I still feel fairly safe for the little bit I do wander outside of work/stores, not like I am chilling at beaches at drum circles or anything

If people and businesses respect social distancing, group limits etc, we should "need" masks.  However, it's been a summer of not respecting that and having large get together and pretending we're not in a pandemic, so we might just have to accept more restrictive measures.

[kingofsurrey]

A second-grade student in Georgia tested positive for the coronavirus after attending the first day of in-person classes, according to a report.

 

Sixes Elementary School in Cherokee County informed parents of the outbreak just two days into the new school year, news station 11Alive reported.

 

The classroom will be closed temporarily as the teacher and 20 other students are now ordered to self-isolate for two weeks, the outlet reported.

 

“The teacher, who is symptom-free, will teach the class online from home through our Canvas learning management system,” district spokeswoman Barbara P. Jacoby told the outlet. “The classroom will be deep-cleaned after school today.”

Since-deleted photos on the school’s Facebook page showed classrooms with some students who had returned for in-person not wearing face masks.

Jacoby had previously said that masks would not be mandatory for students, saying they were only “strongly encouraged and recommended,” the outlet reported.

 

https://nypost.com/2020/08/05/georgia-student-tests-positive-for-covid-19-after-first-school-day/

[thedestroyerofworlds]

 

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/made-in-canada-vaccine-passes-animal-testing-hurdle-seeks-government-funding-1.5051347

Made-in-Canada vaccine passes animal testing hurdle, seeks government funding

 

TORONTO -- A Canadian drugmaker says it has produced “compelling” early results from animal testing of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, but the government hasn’t responded to its application for funding that would allow it to advance to human clinical trials.

Calgary-based Providence Therapeutics, which designs cancer drugs using a technique called mRNA, announced Wednesday that the “preclinical” data from testing in mice showed more promising results than other notable COVID-19 research conducted with mRNA vaccines.

 

“I would gladly test our vaccine head-to-head against any out there,” said Chief Scientific Officer Eric Marcusson in a press release. “It is always difficult to compare preclinical results, however, I believe our results compare extremely favorably to preclinical results reported by other companies.”

Researchers at the University of Toronto conducted tests on mice and found that the vaccine candidate PTX-COVID19-B produced “robust” neutralizing antibodies, which are needed to defend cells from invading pathogens such as the novel coronavirus.

“The results coming from our first animal experiment showed that the vaccines are resulting in a strong immune response,” said Dr. Mario Ostrowski, an immunology professor at the University of Toronto, in a press release. “In particular, the vaccine against the S protein produced neutralizing antibodies at higher titers than the results announced by other mRNA vaccine manufacturers.”

Brad Sorenson, president and CEO of Providence Therapeutics, told CTV News that these results show their vaccine has shown to be “equivalent or better” than those from much larger firms in the vaccine race. 

“We expected that it would work, but the results were even greater than we expected, so we were very pleased about that,” he said. “We're very anxious to repeat this in real-life patients.”

Another notable mRNA vaccine is by U.S. biotechnology company Moderna, which has received hundreds of millions in funding from the U.S. government and entered final-stage testing last month when the first of some 30,000 Americans received the shot.

But Providence, which says it’s one of Canada’s leading mRNA vaccine producers, hasn’t heard from the government since late May and has yet to receive funding for the next stages of its testing after it submitted a $35-million proposal in April. That same month, the federal government committed more than $600 million to vaccine manufacturing and research in Canada, including clinical trials. Among projects already funded as part of that pledge is a partnership between China’s CanSino Biologics and Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia.

Sorenson said his company is expecting to be able to produce 5 million vaccines by next summer, but without help from the federal government, they are hamstrung.

“The challenge that we're facing is, we're not a large pharma company,” he said. “We have really good technology, fantastic scientists … but for us to go into human trials, we either need to raise more money -- which we can do if we've got a government that is indicated that they're interested in what we're producing -- or we need a government to sponsor those clinical trials.”

Sorenson added that if the Canadian government does not help fund their human trials, they might have to find another government that will.

“We're at a point in a company that if the Canadian government doesn't want to do it, we're going to start looking elsewhere, and that's just the reality,” he said. “We've got a world-class vaccine and if it's not going to be for Canadians, it's going to be for somebody else.”

Sorenson said he has already had “preliminary discussions” with other governments about their vaccine, primarily from individual provinces.

Meanwhile, health professionals and politicians alike are urging the government to speed its funding process for homegrown vaccines so that Canadians won’t have to wait in line for another country’s COVID-19 shot. Among those adding their voice was Alberta Sen. Doug Black, who said pressure should be kept on the government to act.

“I see the commitment that's being made by the European and American governments to this identical technology and I'm saying, 'Hmm, why in the name of goodness aren't we pursuing this aggressively in Canada?’” he told The Canadian Press earlier this week. “No stone should be left unturned in pursuit of a made-in-Canada COVID solution.”

Industry Canada, which is charge of administering the $600 million to vaccine manufacturing and research in Canada, has not responded to a CTV News request for comment.

[NewbieCanuckFan]

8 hours ago, samurai said:

Masks in most places are not mandatory for a reason.  It's based on the lack of research in actual non-lab settings to support their use.  Said it many times Japan is a mask wearers heaven and yet infections are going up, same with other mask lover paradises.   If a store wants people to wear masks fine - no shirt no service.  But people should just respect someones decision on the issue and keep their social distance and mind their own business.  

Population density is likely a major cause for that (infections) I would gather.  I look it as like playing BlackJack.  Following’basic strategy’ doesn’t guarantee you’ll win; what it does do is cut down the house percentage.  
 

Wear a mask.

Edited August 5, 2020 by NewbieCanuckFan

[thedestroyerofworlds]

 

https://globalnews.ca/news/7251593/canada-pfizer-coronavirus-vaccine/

Canada inks deals with Pfizer, Moderna for coronavirus vaccine candidates

The Canadian government has signed new deals with pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and Moderna to secure millions of doses in 2021 of the coronavirus vaccine candidates each company is currently developing.

Procurement Minister Anita Anand made the announcement on Wednesday morning after Pfizer had tweeted news of the deal shortly before markets opened earlier that day.

“We are increasingly focused on the next stage of our recovery, including preparing Canada for mass vaccinations,” said Anand in a press conference, stressing the need to diversify supply chains.

“Today we are taking an important step forward.”

Pfizer is currently working on four experimental coronavirus vaccines and Moderna is also working on what’s been described as among the leading candidates for a vaccine.

Pfizer also last month inked a deal with the U.S. government to supply the first 100 million doses of the vaccine it is developing in December.

Anand said the agreements will be for “millions of doses” but didn’t specify an exact amount, adding that the goal is to make sure “Canadians are at the front of the line when a vaccine becomes available.”

Any vaccine would still need to be approved by Health Canada before being rolled out.

“The contracts reflect the requirement for Health Canada approval, and in particular, once that has occurred, we are expecting deliveries, if all goes well, in 2021,” Anand said.

She was pressed several times on why she would not give the amount of vaccine being ordered.

Anand said the government is taking an approach that includes both firm orders and also options on purchasing more from suppliers, but said she will wait to share details on doses ordered while negotiations with other suppliers are ongoing.

“We are very, very intensely negotiating multiple agreements with multiple suppliers,” she said.

“The information on doses will come.”

News of the vaccine supply deals comes after Canada’s top doctors on Tuesday cautioned that the restrictions in place to prevent the spread of the virus could need to remain for two or three years, even if a vaccine is found, because it will not be what Dr. Theresa Tam called a “silver bullet.”

“We’re going to have to manage this pandemic certainly over the next year, but certainly it may be planning for the longer term on the next two to three years during which the vaccine may play a role,” Tam told reporters.

Howard Njoo, deputy chief public health officer, offered similar words of caution.

“People might think that if we get a vaccine then everything goes back to normal the way it was before. That’s not the case,” he said.

“All of the measures we’ve put in place now will still have to continue with the new reality for quite some time.”

Anand said what the top doctors explained was true.

“There is not one solution to carry Canadians and the Canadian economy out of the pandemic. Multiple efforts on multiple fronts must be made and followed, and so in terms of the vaccination, that would likely not be mandatory as Dr. Tam has mentioned,” Anand said.

“It is an added protection that will hopefully be available to Canadians who are taking monumental efforts now to wear PPE (personal protective equipment), to stay at home, to social distance.”

Innovation and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains added at the press conference that the government will also be injecting more funding into both vaccine research as well as research into treatments in the form of a new task force.

“Until we can immunize all Canadians, we must also focus on treatments for those who contract the virus,” said Bains, adding no decision has been made on whether any vaccine would be mandatory.

Bains was asked whether the government is working on a plan for who will get the vaccine first if one does become available.

He said those decisions will be made in consultation with provincial and public health leaders.

“It’s still early stages. Much of the work is in clinical stages so it’s important we manage expectations,” he said. “This vaccine will not be developed overnight.”

Anand said it’s likely vulnerable populations would be at the top of that list.

[nuckin_futz]

France coronavirus cases rise at the fastest pace in two-months

Wed 5 Aug 2020 18:08:27 GMT

 

Troubling rise in French virus cases

Cases in France today rose by 1695 today compared to 1039 yesterday. Today's rise is the worst in two months.

 

This isn't an isolated incident. So many countries are seeing an uptick after relaxing lockdown measures and reopening bars/restaurants.

The next big challenge will be schools. Photos from Georgia were doing the rounds yesterday showing kids packed in high school hallways.

 

[-DLC-]

 

I love these two (and their take on things).  "I will not wear your COVID burka".  

 

 

[Canucks_since_birth]

"Covid 19" is fake and had always been fake. You'll never catch me wearing a mask. If the government wants me to they'll have to force it on via force. 

[bishopshodan]

1 minute ago, Canucks_since_birth said:

"Covid 19" is fake and had always been fake. You'll never catch me wearing a mask. If the government wants me to they'll have to force it on via force. 

Haha, thanks for the visual of some government heavies pinning you down and strapping a mask on your face while you squirm and struggle yelling 'It's all fake! wake up sheeple!"

 

Made my day. Hahaha

[Shift-4]

39 minutes ago, Canucks_since_birth said:

"Covid 19" is fake and had always been fake. You'll never catch me wearing a mask. If the government wants me to they'll have to force it on via force. 

I hope the government doesn't do that to you.

Because you might not be able to breathe via breathing.

[Junkyard Dog]

4 hours ago, stawns said:

If people and businesses respect social distancing, group limits etc, we should "need" masks.  However, it's been a summer of not respecting that and having large get together and pretending we're not in a pandemic, so we might just have to accept more restrictive measures.

 

3 hours ago, NewbieCanuckFan said:

Population density is likely a major cause for that (infections) I would gather.  I look it as like playing BlackJack.  Following’basic strategy’ doesn’t guarantee you’ll win; what it does do is cut down the house percentage.  
 

Wear a mask.

If their private policy implemented sure. I have no issue with that. But if it is not required of me to wear a mask I probably won't wear one.

 

That doesn't mean I don't respect what's going on and am not taking other measures like socially distancing, having a mask available when following private policy is needed, not touching face in public, not using cash, washing hands and having a bottle of sanitizer on me at all times.

[stawns]

31 minutes ago, Junkyard Dog said:

 

If their private policy implemented sure. I have no issue with that. But if it is not required of me to wear a mask I probably won't wear one.

 

That doesn't mean I don't respect what's going on and am not taking other measures like socially distancing, having a mask available when following private policy is needed, not touching face in public, not using cash, washing hands and having a bottle of sanitizer on me at all times.

Agree completely