celebration

Wednesday July 14, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday July 14, 2021

Super spreader Celebrations

In late June, Habs fans caused quite the ruckus following the team’s series-winning Game 6 Thursday. The morning after, some voiced their concerns over the potential spread of COVID-19 through the crowd.

November 27, 2020

“Obviously, I was also happy with the results of (Thursday’s) game,” said Dr Jesse Papenburg, an infectious disease specialist at the MUHC. “But I have to say I’m a little bit concerned with these types of mass gatherings.”

Montreal reported just 30 new coronavirus cases on June 25, a continuation of a downward trend of infections in the city.  Still, the virus remains active — especially among those aged 10-40, most of whom have not yet been fully vaccinated. Experts worry continued celebrations could cause infections to spike. (The Montreal Gazette) 

In July, British authorities warned of the dangers of large gatherings for yesterday’s Euro 2020 football final, fearful of the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant that is firing outbreaks across the world.

March 16, 2020

Many nations have been forced to reimpose curbs as they battle outbreaks accelerated by the variant — which was first detected in India — while trying to ramp up vaccinations to allow their economies to reopen.

London was set to host more than 60,000 fans at Wembley Stadium for the virus-delayed Euro 2020 final, the biggest crowd at a British football match since the start of the pandemic, as England take on Italy.

Authorities are particularly concerned about the risk of large numbers at fan zones and pubs to watch England’s first appearance in a major football final in more than half a century.

But the fans do not appear to have been put off. Hundreds converged on Wembly many hours before kick-off, singing and swigging beer.

Health experts have expressed concerns about Euro 2020 events becoming super-spreaders throughout the tournament, especially in Britain and Russia because of the Delta variant.

Authorities in Denmark, Finland and Scotland have already reported infections among fans after they attended Euro matches. (The Daily Star) 

2016 Summer Olympic Games

Meanwhile, The Olympic Games in Japan will be held without spectators at venues in and around the capital after a spike in coronavirus infections. 

Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa made the announcement after talks with officials and organisers on Thursday.

A state of emergency in Tokyo will run throughout the Games, to combat coronavirus.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga told reporters it would run from 12 July and remain in place until 22 August.

Bars and restaurants will not be allowed to serve alcohol and must close by 20:00 (11:00 GMT).

Venues in Tokyo and other areas near the capital city will not be allowed to hold events with fans during the Games.

But stadiums in the regions of Fukushima, Miyagi and Shizuoka will be permitted to have spectators up to 50% of capacity and up to 10,000 people.

Coronavirus infections are rising in Tokyo as the 23 July opening ceremony edges closer.

There has been widespread opposition to the Games in Japan, with calls for them to be postponed or cancelled. (BBC) 

 

Friday May 21, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday May 21, 2021

Golf, tennis, other outdoor sports to open across Ontario as part of 3-step reopening plan

May 18, 2021

Golf, tennis, basketball and other outdoor sports are set to reopen across the province on Saturday as part of a three-step plan aimed at gradually allowing for more indoor and outdoor activities to resume by the end of summer. 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced details on Thursday as Ontario continues to see signs that point to the devastating third wave of COVID-19 in the province receding. 

Under the new plan, restrictions will be eased gradually through June, July and August based on vaccination rates and key public health and health-care indicators.  

The current stay-at-home order will remain in place until June 2, with the exception of these newly announced changes to some outdoor activities. 

Ford said the changes are the result of current restrictions.

“These measures have worked,” he said. “We are seeing increasingly positive trends in key public health indicators.”

The three phases of the province’s plan are: 

November 12, 2020

Phase 1: An initial focus on resuming outdoor activities with smaller crowds where the risk of transmission is lower. This includes allowing outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people, outdoor dining with up to four people per table and non-essential retail at 15 per cent capacity. 

Phase 2: Further expanding outdoor activities and resuming limited indoor services with small numbers of people. This includes outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people, outdoor sports and leagues, personal care services as well as indoor religious services, rites or ceremony gatherings at 15 per cent capacity. All indoor gatherings in this phase will require face coverings. 

Phase 3: Expanding access to indoor settings, with restrictions, including where there are large numbers of people and where face coverings can’t always be worn. This includes indoor sports and recreational fitness, indoor dining, museums, art galleries, libraries, casinos and bingo halls, with capacity limits. (CBC) 

 

Saturday November 21, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday November 21, 2020

Why Trump’s Operation Warp Speed is credited with helping race for COVID-19 vaccine

Operation Warp Speed, a Trump administration initiative to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines as fast as possible, should be lauded as a successful endeavour in what has otherwise been a poor effort to deal with the coronavirus, experts say.

September 10, 2020

“No doubt, Operation Warp Speed is a huge success,” said Tinglong Dai, associate professor of Operations Management and Business Analytics at Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School in Baltimore.

“You can like or hate the Trump administration, but no doubt, it’s a huge success — unprecedented success.”

Jesse Goodman, the former chief scientist of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, agreed that the U.S. government deserves credit for the high priority placed on Operation Warp Speed.

“This is a bright spot in the pandemic response. I mean, the rest of it has been dismal,” said Goodman, who is also director of Georgetown University’s Center on Medical Product Access, Safety and Stewardship.

Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also lauded Operation Warp Speed for being a “success — certainly in the arena of vaccines, it’s been a success” in his remarks at a recent virtual summit organized by the medical news site Stat.

November 14, 2020

Launched in May, Operation Warp Speed (OWS) is a government initiated private/public $10 billion US program to help provide support to companies in the development, manufacturing and distribution of 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, with the aim of having initial doses ready by January 2021. 

Allison Winnike, president of the Texas-based Immunization Partnership, an organization providing advocacy and information about immunization initiatives, said that Moderna benefited tremendously from Operation Warp Speed, in part, by receiving close to $1 billion to support its vaccine development and clinical trials.

As for the role the funding played in the development of Pfizer’s vaccine, that’s a bit fuzzier. Last week, when the company announced it had developed a vaccine that was more than 90 per cent effective, U.S. President Donald Trump said that Pfizer was suggesting “it wasn’t part of Warp Speed, but that turned out to be an unfortunate misrepresentation.” (CBC News)