The South Bayview Bulldog

Snowbird lowered from fire truck to ambulance/Castanet News

Capt Jenn Casey

The RCAF says one member of the Snowbirds aerobatic team has died and another member is gravely injured after one of the planes crashed in a residential area of Kamloops Sunday. Capt. Jenn Casey, a public affairs officer with the Canadian Forces, died in the incident, the Department of National Defence said Sunday night. Capt. Richard MacDougall, the pilot of the aircraft, was being treated for his injuries that the Snowbirds said are not life-threatening. The crash sent neighbours pouring onto the street where they said debris was scattered and a house was on fire. Many reports tell of two persons ejecting from the aircraft moments after take off. A tweet at about 7.30 p.m. ET said:

It is with heavy hearts that we announce that one member of the CF Snowbirds team has died and one has sustained serious injuries. We can confirm that we have contacted all primary family members of those involved. More information will be communicated in the near future.

Health Canada has approved clinical trials for a possible COVID-19 vaccine by researchers in Halifax at the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology at Dalhousie University. Similar human testing is already underway in the US.

Bayview extension at Rosedale Valley Rd.

The City, as part of its ActiveTO initiative is closing roads to permit walking, jogging, cycling and related COVID-19 pastimes. The Bayview Ave Extention is a target this weekend. Bayview is closed between Rosedale Valley Road and Mill St. It is also said that access from the Bayview Ave exit to River Street is closed as seen in this official language.

Victoria Day Weekend closures (beginning Saturday May 16, 2020 at 6 a.m. and ending Monday May 18, 2020 at 11 p.m.

• Bayview Avenue from Mill Street to Rosedale Valley Road, as well as the portion of River Street from north of Gerrard Street East to Bayview Avenue (Full closure)

Anyone with photos of their activities on this car-free section of Bayview invited to send their pictures. Here is the CBC story

Walking the closed-to-cars section of Bayview Ave today was awesome. Space to move! pic.twitter.com/cBRHgFL2pd

— Matt Elliott (@GraphicMatt) May 16, 2020

I'm happy to see our #ActiveTO plan up and running to give our residents the space to get outside and be active while at the same time respecting physical distancing measures. pic.twitter.com/ZlRsp87Cot

— John Tory (@JohnTory) May 17, 2020

The Ministry of Health Sunday reported 340 new cases of COVID-19 across Ontaro. The number fits with recent figures in the mid-300s which are interpreted as a sign of a decline in the spread of the infection in Ontario. Ministry site

The first person to show up at a home near Hanna Rd. and Eglinton Ave. Sunday morning can claim a pretty good-looking bicycle. FB

Free bicycle to someone

The Ministry of Health reports 391 new cases of the COVID-19 Saturday. The number is higher than those reported in recent days and may be seen as evidence of the inevitable back and forward battle against the infection. How the spread of COVID-19 may be affected by the re-opening of businesses remains an open question. MInistry site

CBC has organized a national singalong. Here is the result and how it is described: “We called, and you answered. First, we asked what song Canada should sing together, and you chose Blue Rodeo’s Lost Together. Then, we asked you to submit videos of yourselves performing the song in social isolation so that we could make a supercut of the singalong, complete with Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy leading the way. The result: the most heartwarming thing you’ll see on the internet today. Proving that few bonds are as strong as Canadians and their music, the country joins Blue Rodeo’s Greg Keelor and Jim Cuddy in this spectacular video with recorded performances of their hit Lost Together.”

This longish piece from the CBC National tells how Canadian public opinion of the government of China has sunk to new lows during the COVID-19 pandemic. This new disapproval centres on the alleged failure of politburo bigwigs to honestly report the nature of the coronavirus until it got so bad they had to tell the truth. The report says people of Chinese extraction of all citizenship continue to be held in high esteem. Another issue with the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) is that of so-called wet-markets where viruses are sometimes communicated from animals to humans.

The Ministry of Health says that Thursday’s promising total of new COVID-19 cases was misstated and is in fact 345, not 258. That figure seems to align with Friday’s reported total of 341. Both numbers are in keeping with the general average of cases seen in recent days. It’s a bitter pill for citizens restricted largely to their homes hoping for a meaningful downturn in the spread of the virus. Some solace may be found in the continuing high numbers of tests being performed. Friday’s figure is 18,354. Ministry

Frayed nerves

The social-distancing challenge to frayed nerves and in some cases common sense is seen in the Facebook post here. This person waited 40 minutes to get into a store and then has a shouting encounter with other customers about getting too close while passing in the aisle. Everyone can understand the need to stay calm but we humans do have our weaknesses. It’s the kind of unknown that authorities face as smaller places of business are given the green light to open next Tuesday, May 19. See below.

Shops and stores across Ontario can open this coming Tuesday but only if they observe the tricky business of social distancing for customers. This relaxation of COVID-19 measures applies only to stores that have a front entrance on the street. The decision is a calculated roll-of-the-dice based on how customers appear and behave. As seen at large grocery stores, there is a lot of personnel assigned to ensure that people keep a metre apart. Golf courses and marinas may reopen as of Saturday. The province will also allow all construction projects to resume as part of this phase. Schools and childcare centres remain closed but Premier Ford has promised an announcement next week. “Businesses should reopen only if they are ready, and the truth is that this is all dependent on the numbers,” he said Thursday. “As we get more and more people back to work, the risk of flare-ups is real so we need to be vigilant.”