The South Bayview Bulldog

MOH Dr. de Villa warns people not to let down their guard on social distancing/CP24

The Ministry of Health has reported 477 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, the highest number in nearly a week. The number is still off the record 640 cases confirmed on April 24. And as shops begin to re-open, Toronto Medical Officer of Health Eileen de Villa has warned that Ontario is “not out of the woods” in its battle against the virus. She appeared on CP24 urging continued and vigilant social distancing. Ministry website

This morning, @JohnTory placed a lone wreath in memory of the fallen at the Old City Hall Cenotaph to mark the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day. https://t.co/dOhBn9OqCs #VEDay75 pic.twitter.com/xEbkMN12fV

— City of Toronto (@cityoftoronto) May 8, 2020

Mayor Tory has placed a single wreath on the Civic Cenotaph at Old City Hall Friday. Below are shots from a much more boisterous day — May 8, 1945 — when “peace broke out” in Toronto.

A colourful flypast over London by the RAF Red Arrows has marked the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Ceremonies on the ground were sombre and notable for the lack of crowds because of COVID-19 rules. ITV

Cockpit footage from a flypast by the #RedArrows this morning to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Several #London landmarks in sight as the @RoyalAirForce Aerobatic Team paid tribute. Video by Corporal Adam Fletcher. #VEDay75 #VEDay #ThisIsYourVictory pic.twitter.com/ejtk3XHjiz

— Red Arrows (@rafredarrows) May 8, 2020

A Lawrence Park man says he has avenged the theft of Amazon deliveries off of his porch by filling an empty box with dog feces and placing it outside the door. “Fully on board with the idea, I filled a large Amazon box to the brim with the dog poop I collected from my back yard, and I am happy to report that it was stolen today off of my porch. How I would love to see their faces when they open it and find 10 pounds of dog crap produced by two well-fed Labrador retrievers inside.” FB

Brampton rooming house fire/City News Bert Dandy

Two people are dead in a rooming house fire at 5 MIll St. in Brampton overnight. One person was rescued from the roof. Fire service personnel searched the house to find the bodies. CBC

Sidewalk Labs, a Google-affiliated company, is abandoning its plan to build a high-tech neighbourhood on Toronto’s waterfront, citing what it calls unprecedented economic uncertainty. The Quayside project still didn’t have all of the government approvals it needed to go ahead. Many had raised concerns about the privacy implications of the project and how much of the city’s developing waterfront Sidewalk Labs wanted to control. FB

Open limited hours Thursday, Friday and Saturday

Mount Pleasant Cemetery will reopen its gates ahead of Mother’s Day but it plans to close them on Sunday in order to prevent large crowds from paying their respects on what is usually its busiest visitation day. The new hours will be from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday but closed on Mother’s Day on Sunday Toronto news releases

Thursday’s overnight total of new COVID-19 infections is 399. The painfully slow process of lowering new cases thus continues with the daily count in recent days ranging between 450 and 370. CP24 (CTV) quotes Toronto General epidemiologist Dr. Isaac Bogoch as saying that data suggests that it’s time to unwind certain emergency measures, as the Ford government plans to do this week. “By and large testing capacity has increased – everyone is aware of physical distancing measures, there’s no excuse to not adhere to them,” Dr. Bogoch is quoted. “Cases are starting to come down so I think it’s the right time.”

Shops may re-open for curb service — i.e. phone order, pay by card and pick up

Ontario will relax some of its coronavirus restrictions in the days ahead, moving with “cautious optimism” to allow garden centres, nurseries, hardware stores and safety supply stores to reopen so long as they adhere to the same public health measures currently in place at grocery stores, Premier Doug Ford says.

The public will be allowed to shop in these stores as long as physical distancing, contact-less payment and sanitization measures are in place, Ford said at his daily briefing Wednesday.

Select retailers can reopen according to this schedule:

• Friday: Nurseries and garden centres
• Saturday: Hardware stores and safety supply stores
• Monday: Retail stores with street entrances will be permitted to reopen for curbside pickup.

The province will also expand what counts as essential construction with work allowed on condominiums and apartments, Ford said — CBC

The Ministry of Health has reported 412 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday morning. It’s the second increase in two days. But the belief continues that the overall trend in new cases is downward. A record high was 640 cases was registered on April 25. Ministry site

Emergency orders extended from May 12 to May 19

The Ontario government will extend all emergency orders put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 until at least May 19. They had previously been set to expire. The province confirmed the extension in a news release issued on Wednesday morning.

Pharmacists being short-shipped on some drugs

The Canadian Pharmacists Association says ongoing drug shortages mean pharmacies are receiving short shipments from manufacturers, leaving them to try to adjust on the fly. The association first warned of the possibility of looming shortages in early March, when supply chains were disrupted by COVID-19 in China. While Canada has seen a spike in shortages since then, it hasn’t developed into the emergency situation some health officials had feared.

Three of five newly born fox cubs/R. Lautens Toronto Star

Kris Pangilinan

CBC Toronto

Apparently it had to happen. A family of foxes living under the Beaches Boardwalk at Woodbine Beach has become the focus of thousands of citizens, the media and now City Hall. Temporary barriers to stop people from bothering the foxes are apparently insufficient. An additional “fox fence” barrier will be placed around the fox home Wednesday. Twitter

@rlautens just sent me this clip of some kits chilling near Woodbine Beach and I might pass out due to cuteness overload. Watch at your own risk. (Yes, baby foxes are called kits) pic.twitter.com/cDxwkOgljN

— Kelsey Wilson (@kelseyleewilson) May 1, 2020

Tuesday has seen a slight increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases reported by the Ministry of Health. The number fits with statistics indicating an overall trend to a decline in the infection cross Ontario. Ontario reported 370 new cases confirmed on Sunday. Ministry site