The South Bayview Bulldog

Possibly it’s just a side effect of the fear and uncertainty of living through a pandemic. People have stocked on up on essentials and stopped buying non-essentials. It’s logical. But one household staple has outsold others in a way that stuns market experts like Clinton Mahlman, CEO of London Drugs. Toilet paper is made in Canada and manufacturers continue to churn it out. But says Mahlman, the demand exceeds all understanding. Perhaps there are basements full of it on the street where you live.

The Ontario government’s total of new COVID-19 cases announced Saturday is 369, an apparent increase of 58. There is a partial summary of these cases at the ministry site. The number of infections was expected to climb. Serious prevention measures of self-isolation and border controls have not been in place long enough to exhaust the cases which are now appearing following the virus incubation period. The principle of the quarantine and isolation (Q&I) measures now in place is to reduce transmission from infected parties to less than one. If Q&I is done effectively, cases will begin to decline and ultimately disappear. The Chinese started with a much bigger problem but have now begun to see cases recede.

The Ministry of Health’s daily release of COVID-19 cases has added 60 new confirmed infections on Friday. The number was released in two announcements of 50 and then an addt6ional ten. This brings the province’s total of active cases to 311. No information is given for more than half of the cases but among the 24 cases where details are available, only two are located in Toronto. Four cases involve seniors in a Durham  Region nursing home, one of whom is a woman in her 90s. Ministry chart showing new cases

Pleasant turn in the weather

Pleasant conditions Friday will give way to a chilly evening. Weather Network

The Ontario Ministry of Health has announced confirmation of 43 additional cases of COVID-19 infection across the province Thursday. The new number brings the total of active cases to 251. To see the nature of these cases and a tentative history of each go to chart at this emergency site. Some 19 of the new cases have no data as yet. At least eight cases are located in Toronto. Below is a live (ongoing at noon hour) news conference from Ottawa Thursday.

Keeping their distance

Pharmacist at a distance

East York journalist Joanna Lavoie has posted photos gathered by Nakeah Young which show how staff at CTV are using a hockey stick to keep a space between themselves and interview subjects. In times of contagion, it’s called social distancing.

Six feet is suggested

Feeling comfortable?

Chinese medical authorities have claimed a drug used in Japan to treat new strains of influenza appears to be effective for those infected with the coronavirus, Japan’s state broadcaster NHK reported. Zhang Xinmin, director of China’s National Center for Biotechnology Development, said the favipiravir drug had produced positive outcomes during clinical trials in Wuhan and Shenzen. The report on Tuesday said 340 patients had taken part in the clinical trials. “It has a high degree of safety and is clearly effective in treatment,” Zhang told reporters. Patients treated with the drug, which was developed by a subsidiary of Fujifilm, in Shenzen were found to turn negative for COVID-19 after a median of four days, rather than 11 days for those who were not treated with favipiravir, NHK reported.

Ontario reported 23 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday bringing the total of active patients to 206. The cases count three in Toronto, including a man in his 30s who recently returned from Brazil, a woman in her 50s who recently returned from the United States and had contact with a previously confirmed case and a man in his 50s who recently travelled to Japan, the UK and Germany. Four of the cases are from Halton Region, one is from Waterloo, two are from Peel, one is from York Region, two are from Hamilton and one is from Ottawa. There is also one case from Brant County, one case from Simcoe-Muskoka, another case from Grey-Bruce public health unit, one from London-Middlesex and three where no information was disclosed.

Can Canada flatten the curve by the beginning of April?

The start of April is a critical period in the battle to flatten the curve of new cases of COVID-19. We can reasonably expect to know by then if the more stringent efforts put in place within the past few days have had any effect on slowing the spread. The science of declining infection when the bug is unable to spread is indisputable.  But have we done enough? The incubation period is about two weeks. Watch for the numbers as April begins and hope for the best.

Man apparently on fire near Church and Dundas Sts. (Twitter: @Kamakacci_Juice)

Video has been posted of an apparently disturbed man who set fire to himself Tuesday near the Esso service station at Church and Gerrard Sts. The man was chased by police to a Rabba market on nearby Jarvis St. In order to make an arrest, police used a so-called taser to subdue the man. Shortly after that, the man died. In the video, the man is seen walking with what appears to be a collar of fire burning in a controlled fashion. There’s no information on just how this was done. The matter is now with the police review agency called the Special Investigation Unit or SIU.

The Canada-U.S. border will be closed to non-essential traffic in both directions “by mutual consent,” the leaders of both countries confirmed Wednesday as efforts across the continent to contain the widening COVID-19 pandemic continued to upend daily life. Trump disclosed the news on Twitter shortly after stock markets opened, following media reports in both countries that the White House and the federal Liberal government were in talks to limit the cross-border spread of the virus without choking off vital lines of commerce. “We will be, by mutual consent, temporarily closing our Northern Border with Canada to non-essential traffic,” Trump tweeted. “Trade will not be affected.” CBC

Seniors shopping hour at some stores like Loblaws, 301 Moore

Many grocery stores, including Loblaws and Pusateri’s, have instigated a seniors shopping hour between 7 and 8 a.m. for the older but abled-bodied shopper who wants to avoid crowds. A sign appeared Tuesday at Loblaws on Redway Rd. where a customer took this picture.