The South Bayview Bulldog

Provincial officials say they did their best to guide hospitals to administer early COVID-19 vaccines only to those who actually provide care to patients, but concede the hospitals may have given doses to people who really shouldn’t have gotten them. Three GTA hospitals offered vaccines this month to back office administrative staff, volunteers, clinical researchers and information technology staff. In southwestern Ontario, a hospital network administered doses of vaccine to its executive team, some of whom are able to work from home. The hospital network defended the decision saying the doses would be wasted on the day they were administered if they were not used — CP24

Veteran John Boyd will be 108 on January 26/SHSC

Sunnybrook veteran John Boyd, 107, received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine today. As his life-extending shot was given, Mr Boyd recalled that he had survived another nasty pandemic, the Spanish flu ordeal of 1918 to 1920. Read the story on the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Facebook page.

Canadian Press says the government is expected to provide details Wednesday on how its stay-at-home order, which takes effect Thursday, will be enforced. The province says it will publish the “legal parameters” for the order online and offer more clarification on the measure. The order requires residents to stay home except for essential purposes such as grocery shopping, accessing health care and exercising. A tweet from Cynthia Mulligan of City News says those who live alone will be permitted to visit other households.

Just checked. Yes people who live alone can still join another household. https://t.co/QQTosgZOU8

— Cynthia Mulligan (@CityCynthia) January 12, 2021

The Ontario government has issued an extraordinary stay-at-home order to all citizens which requires everyone to remain at home with exceptions for essential purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services, for exercise or for essential work. The expectations created by the 24-four hour order stretch the mind. It looks like a curfew by a different name. The order will doubtlessly have a different meaning for different people and how the police are expected to respond is not clear. News release

• Premier’s news conference Tuesday (34 minutes)

Summary of new restrictions

New restrictions

• All non-essential retail stores, including hardware stores, alcohol retailers, and those offering curbside pickup or delivery, will not be allowed to open earlier than 7 a.m. or close after 8 p.m. Stores that primarily sell food, pharmacies, gas stations, convenience stores and restauraunts open for takeout or delivery will be exempted.
• Outdoor public gatherings and social gatherings of more than five people will be prohibited. Previously, up to 10 people were allowed to gather outdoors.

Schools

• Schools in Toronto, Peel Region, York Region, Hamilton and Windsor-Essex will not return to in person instruction until at least Feb. 10
• The Chief Medical Officer of Health will advise the Ministry of Education by Jan. 20 on which public health units elsewhere in southern Ontario will be allowed to resume in-person learning the following week
• Students in Grades 1-3 will now be required to wear masks. Masks will also be required outdoors when physical distancing cannot be maintained. The province is also expanding screening protocols and targeted testing at schools

Child care

• Child care centres for non-school aged children will remain open
• Child care remains suspended for school-aged children in areas where in-person learning is on hold, with the exception of emergency centres for the children of essential workers

Workplaces

• Each person responsible for a business or organization that is open shall ensure that any person who performs work for the business or organization conducts their work remotely except where the nature of their work requires them to be on-site at the workplace
• The Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development will conduct a workplace inspection blitz with a particular focus on “areas of high transmission, including break rooms
• The province will provide up to 300,000 rapid COVID-19 tests per week to key sectors such as manufacturing, warehousing, supply chain and food processing, as well as additional tests for schools and long-term care homes

Other

• The province is now recommending that residents wear masks outdoors when they can’t maintain two metres of physical distance
• The government is issuing a stay-at-home order requiring everyone to remain at home with exceptions for essential purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services, for exercise or for essential work

Closed til further notice

Good times at McSorley’s

McSorley’s Saloon at 1544 Bayview Ave. has announced that it will close until further notice in the face of business and regulatory bad times. A letter sent Monday says that after “10 months (of the pandemic) we think we deserve a little vacation from all this mess.” It looks forward to “the warmer weather (when) maybe the majority have been vaccinated, we will all have a street filled with unique shops, activities and restaurants for us to enjoy.”

Remembering Georgia

This photo was posted Sunday showing a bouquet and card remembering the late George Walsh. The little girl was 7 when she was killed in a motor accident at the corner of Millwood Rd. and McRae Drive as she made her way home from the playground. FB

• May Georgia’s playground delight kids, keep memories new

A ticket holder in Ontario won Saturday night’s $8.7 million Lotto 649 jackpot. The draw’s guaranteed $1 million prize also went to a lottery player in Ontario. The jackpot for the next Lotto 649 draw on January 13 will be approximately $5 million.

The Quebec curfew law has gone into effect. The rules will see most residents face police questions or fines of up to $6,000 if they’re out between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. for the next four weeks. There are exceptions for essential workers, people walking the dog near their homes and those who have medical reasons to be out, such as a doctor’s appointment.

New location of Your Clothes Friend/Bulldog

Long-time women’s wear retailer Your Clothes Friend has moved north to a new location at 1633 Bayview Ave. beside Pagnello Antiques. For many decades Your Clothes Friend was located at 1575 Bayview.

Donald Trump has conceded the election but didn’t mention his successor Joe Biden by name. Amid mounting calls for his removal from office, Trump finally denounced Wednesday’s violence that left five people dead, including a police officer. In a video released on Thursday evening, the Republican president also promised a smooth and orderly transition of power later this month, although he stopped short of abandoning his claims of fraud. He’s also said he won’t attend the inauguration ceremony, a time-honored custom that acknowledges the importance of democracy.

Canadian prison inmates vaccinated

CTV says that starting Friday, hundreds of federal inmates will begin to receive COVID-19 vaccines as part of a pilot project. Its source is the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers (UCCO). This interesting act of love and equality has sparked debate among federal and provincial politicians about who is being prioritized in the early stages of the mass vaccination campaign. As part of the initial vaccine rollout, 1,200 doses of COVID-19 vaccines will be delivered to prisons across the country. In all, 600 inmates will receive vaccinations, with each inmate getting the required two doses over a few weeks. The Moderna vaccine will be used for this immunization effort.

Hyundai to build an e-car with Apple?

Hyundai and Apple have announced a partnership to make the Apple car, aka Project Titan. Specifically, it’s said that Hyundai will be leading the battery design for the electric vehicle.