The South Bayview Bulldog

Dr. Talia Stark hears proposal of marriage on her fire escape/CBS capture

There are a million stories in the COVID-19 Naked City. Here are three. We start with the marriage proposal made to Dr. Talia Stark on her Manhattan fire escape during the City’s regular 7 p.m. pan-rattle to salute medical workers. Then, swamped supermarkets are struggling to fulfill food deliveries. The CBC National tells of a Collingwood senior who waited ten days and was then told the order was cancelled. Locally, some retailers are offering curbside and parking lot delivery of phone orders to the trunk of your car. Totally contactless. Lastly, UK prime minister Boris Johnson has reappeared to tell of his personal tussle with the “invisible mugger.”

Empty fridge of Collingwood woman told order cancelled

Parking lot pick up of meat , fruit and vegetables

The Ministry of Health reports 424 new cases of COVID-19 Monday as the number of daily cases continues to creep downward. It is the third day in a row for such a decline. “We are probably at the peak but the peak is not just at one point in time, the peak can last a bit and we don’t want it to go up again,” Associate Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Barbara Yaffe has said.

Premier Ford will hold a news conference at 1.30 p.m. Monday at the Legislature to discuss conditions under which the province might return to normal. In past days, Ford has warned that such a resumption would start with “a trickle” and he urged citizens to  “hang in there” with current restrictions and self-isolation

Keep smiling dear people

And this video of parents rejoicing behind their kids’ backs is hilarious.

Kim Yo-jong, 32

Say hello to Kim Jong-un’s younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, 32. Ms Kim is freshly in the news because her brother may well be dead. No one knows if that’s true, but there are widespread reports that the overweight, chainsmoking Supreme Leader of North Korea expired during or after emergency heart surgery. Or maybe he’s in a vegetative state. Speculation about Kimmy succeeding him is boiling away like a K-steamer. She is said to be brutally tough and since blood-line is everything in whacky Pyongyang politics, the odds seem good that she might succeed her brother in this almost exclusively man’s world. Stay tuned. Wikipedia

• Where is Kim Jong-on?

Photo: Mche Lee/Unsplash

Education Minister Stephen Lecce has announced that all publicly-funded schools will remain closed until at least May 31, 2020. The extension is based on advice from the Chief Medical Officer of Health and health officials on the COVID-19 Command Table. The advice was to extend school closures for an additional period of time to permit updated modelling and data to inform next steps, given the government’s absolute commitment to safety. News release.

East York reporter Joanna Lavoie reports in the Toronto Star that North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will be conducting jet fighter exercises over Toronto Monday morning. According to Lavoie, the exercises will be performed at high altitudes but might also include some landing at local airports. Lavoie says the training exercise, which was developed in co-ordination with NAV Canada and is being conducted under Operation NOBLE EAGLE, which places emphasis on the surveillance and control of airspace over Canada and the United States, will run from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

Ikea releases Swedish Meatball and Sauce recipes

This could be good. Read about it here. Now you can enjoy Ikea’s Swedish meatballs at home. Some assembly required

The Ministry of Health reports Sunday that it has confirmed 437 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. Compared to Saturday’s report (476) this seems to suggest that the spread of the infection is slowing somewhat. Website

• Daily new COVID-19 cases reported Saturday fall to 476

Ernie seems to approve of the cake/Gwen Crampton

Birthday trappings and good wishes/Gwen Crampton

Cul de sac at the end of Leacrest Rd. becomes a party room/Gwen Crampton

Photos published at Ann Brown’s Leaside Chit Chat Facebook account show neighbours on Leacrest Rd. in South Leaside sending hearty social-distance birthday wishes to their friend Ernie.

Metrolinx has released a new video Friday updating the status of the LRT stations being built at Avenue Rd., Yonge St., Mt. Pleasant Rd. and Bayview Ave.

About 100 people protested outside Queen’s Park Saturday in scatterbrained frustration against the world of COVID-19 emergency rules. Members of the small crowd claimed COVID-19 is a hoax. One sign demanded, “No more poisen” (sic). Premier Ford, seen in the video below, called the protesters “yahoos” although they appear more like uninformed, frustrated folks. Many wore masks to protect themselves against the alleged hoax.

More pay for healthcare workers

The Ontario government will increase the wages of most healthcare workers in Ontario for the next four months, Premier Ford said Saturday. Ford said the money will help maintain staffing levels in busy long-term care homes and hospitals due to COVID-19. He called it a “pandemic pay premium.” Premier Doug Ford says nurses, personal support workers, cleaners, correctional service officers and many other classifications of provincial workers will earn $4 more per hour for the next 16 weeks, along with a $250 lump sum each month for most full-time staff. It expected that the bonus will put as much as $3,500 in the pocket of those specified.

The Ministry of Health reported 476 new COVID-19 infections Saturday, a large reduction from the numbers reported Thursday and Friday (640 and 634). Authorities say they would like to see that number drop to 200 or fewer a day before bringing an end to Ontario’s state of emergency. Website

Emerging from den underneath Beaches Boardwalk (Twitter / @carlososorio)

Those five fox cubs born recently under the Beaches Boardwalk have become too popular for their own good, say many people posting at the Leslieville Facebook account.