The South Bayview Bulldog

The Ministry of Health report for Thursday says there are 483 additional COVID-19 infections and 26 more deaths confirmed in the province. Total patients now number 5,759. Deaths confirmed number 200, almost half of them in badly hit nursing homes and residences for the elderly. Cases under investigation crept up slightly to 1208. Website

Here are a few glimpses into the lifestyle chaos we’re all trying to survive. Kate and William are seen chatting by teleconference with kids in a charming video from ITV. Then, a couple of stories on the unprecedented government spending underway to help people who are sick and/or unemployed. Finally, CBC reporter Ali Chiasson in Toronto reviews the complicated new process of grocery shopping. No mention here of the recent Loblaws rule banning your own bags from stores. We don’t really get that one.

Premier Ford has said that grocery stores will be closed Friday and Sunday over the Easter weekend in order to give both employees and their employers a chance to rest and regroup during the ongoing demands of the COVID-19 crisis. “We’ve been listening to business owners and employees – the truth is that everyone working in our grocery stores and pharmacies, our truck drivers and those working the line, they have been working day and night for weeks to keep the food and medicine we need on the shelves,” Ford said at his daily news conference on Wednesday afternoon at Queen’s Park. CTV

This unforeseen moment in history.

The Ministry of Health has reported 550 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection in the province Wednesday. Website

The figure of 550 appears to be the highest daily increase since reporting began in March. Previous

The Ministry of Health has confirmed another 379 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday with 21 new deaths attributed to the virus. The number of tests pending is set at 691, a resurgence of suspected cases over Sunday when pending cases stood at 329. Confirmed new cases bring the total number provincewide to 4,726, including recoveries and deaths. In recent days confirmed new cases numbered 309 on Monday, 408 Sunday, 375 Sunday, 462 Friday, 401 Thursday and 426 Wednesday. That’s a wobbling average of 394 per day over seven days. The daily seven-day average of new cases beginning Wednesday, March 25 was 175. Website

Messy truck rollover on Highway 401 near Ritson Road

OPP at the Highway Safety Division have published these pictures of a big grocery rig that rolled Tuesday on Highway 401 at Simcoe St. in Oshawa near Ritson Rd. Sergeant Kerry Schmidt said a passenger car coming off Ritson got in the way of the transport then hit it causing the truck to roll. No one was injured.

Double transport was carrying groceries

The US government has agreed to a deal with 3M of Minnesota to import more than 166 million respirators from China over the next three months and allow 3M to continue exporting its US-made respirators to Canada and elsewhere.  The agreement breaks a deadlock which resulted in Washington stopping nearly three million of the specialized masks from being exported to Ontario, stirring fears that Canada’s most populous province would run out of supplies for medical staff battling coronavirus by the end of the week.  CBC

The facts of where, when and whether US border guards physically stopped a shipment of masks from entering Canada over the weekend remained elusive Monday afternoon. The prime minister said Canadian officials are still in talks with U.S. officials about reports medical supplies could be blocked from entering Canada. Premier Ford is reported to have said flatly Monday morning that such a blockade occurred Sunday. But Mr. Trudeau would not confirm that a shipment had been blocked. A White House spokesman meanwhile has said: “there will still be some shipments to our friends in Mexico and Canada.”

The Ministry of Health has announced that the Monday total of new virus cases is 309. There have been 13 new deaths and the number of cases across the province is 4,347. Remarkably, the number of cases under investigation is down to 329 from many thousands in recent weeks. Website

This entertaining idea for keeping dogs busy in these difficult times has been posted to Facebook by Ursula Daphne Aitchison at The Dogspotting Society page.