Many neighourhoods have been free of COVID-19 infections for at least three weeks

Many neighbourhoods in the City of Toronto have been free of COVID-19 for more than three weeks. Others have had only single-digit cases in the same period. But the City remains in Stage 2 until at least until the end of the month because of the continuing spread of the infection in the far west and east parts. An interactive map shows the numbers. Map (an additional link to reach map at City site is necessary).

137 cases reported in Ontario on Sunday

The Ministry of Health reports 137 new COVID-19 cases for the 24-hour period ending at midnight . Daily summaries

Come have some lemonade

There’s a neighbourhood yard sale Sunday morning on Glenside Ave. (two streets east of Greenwood Ave between Walpole Ave and Gerrard East). Sarah Bakuti has posted a FB notice that her kids are selling ice-cold lemonade (while it lasts) until noon. Be there.

The $5 million jackpot in Saturday night’s Lotto 649 draw was won by a lottery player from the Prairies. And the draw’s guaranteed $1 million prize went to an Ontario ticket holder. The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on July 29 will again be $5 million.

A high-definition trail camera in Oxford County, Maine has captured what we’re calling the bear boogie. That’s what it looks but as the video progresses, it’s plain this big bruiser is trying to scratch its back. Then, we’re not sure if you can get a ticket to the stadium, but the Blue Jays will be playing in Buffalo this year. The Bisons are the Jays triple-A team. Below that, efforts are underway to re-stage the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo next summer. Interesting that so many folks in the Japanese capital don’t care. Finally, no more fast-food ads on TV before 9 p.m. as the UK government declares that too many stout-hearted Brits are just plain fat.

Unmasked people turned away

Area resident Willem Klumpenhouwer has posted word of people trying to enter Hollywood Gelato without virus masks Friday night. He says the owner “stood firm and turned away some yokels.” Similar incidents are occurring all over the country as sensible people try to prevent a second wave of coronavirus infection caused by careless under-40s. Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam had a sterner than usual warning to young Canadians to stop fuelling the spread of the novel coronavirus. She delivered that pre-weekend warning because of the worrying trend of rising infections among people aged 20 to 39. This age group accounted for the highest incidence rates for COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks.

Seven-day average rising again

Dr. Tam outlined how the daily national case count, based on a seven-day average, is rising again across the country after falling earlier this summer. She said the seven-day measure is the best way to assess the trend in the number of infections. She says it stood at a high of 1,800 per day in early May, then dipped to 273 in early July, but in the last seven days the average daily count rose to 487. The 20-to-39 age group accounted for 60 percent of those cases, and one-third of them had to be hospitalized, said Tam.

The Ministry of Health reports 195 new cases of COVID-19 Friday for the 24-hour period ending at midnight. It is a substantial spike over Thursday’s 103 and is assigned by many experts to careless socializing by under-40s. Others scoff and say 195 cases out of a population of 14.57 million isn’t much. And it isn’t. But it’s that kind of thinking that created a daily death toll of more than 500 a day in the US so far in July.

A video posted this week (left) shows carefree crowds mobbing the midway-row called Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls. Clifton Hill is a long-standing street of independent games and food operators. A rather pompous narrator on the video lectures the premier about the COVID-19 risk. It also seems the video has a connection to places like Canada’s Wonderland, which remains shut down. At right is a CTV video showing the stark difference in rules on each side of the border for Niagara tour boats.

Protesters wearing COVID-19 face masks and using a megaphone brought a groundbreaking event at Queen’s Quay and Parliament St. to a halt Thursday and ultimately drove Mayor Tory to quit the scene. They were demanding that the mayor create a City-wide ban on evictions. From the video above the protester seem to number 15 or 20.

The Ministry of Health reports 103 new COVID-19 infections Thursday for the 24 hour period ending at midnight. It is a welcome drop from recent higher levels (203 and 165) reported earlier in the week. Daily summaries

Mask confrontation at Valu Mart at Bayview and Davisville.

There’s been a curious confrontation at the Valu Mart at 1500 Bayview Ave Wednesday morning as two men tried to push their way into the store without masks. The events are recorded on FB.