Coronavirus

Facing Face Masks

(Graeme is currently enjoying a Summertime respite from his usual duties drawing editorial cartoons. In the meantime, please enjoy this illustration highlight of things on offer for purchase through his Redbubble online shop. Graeme’s daily satire returns on September 1, 2020.)

Redbubble introduced face masks as a new product available for artists to design and sell a month of two after the WHO declared a COVID-19 pandemic. At first I held off adding them to my shop, skeptical knowing they aren’t medical grade PPE and wondering if they only provide false senses of security. The evolving opinions oscillating among varying degrees of effectiveness delayed my enthusiasm until the push back began against a solidifying scientific consensus that they actually do work in controlling the spread of the virus. A mouth covering whether medical grade, homemade, or in the form of a novelty mask as in the case of what’s on offer at Redbubble, the bottom line is that any mask that covers the nose and mouth will be of benefit. 

April 14, 2020

I’m firmly in the trust science camp when it comes to my own existence living through a pandemic. Experts have been for years predicting the scale of what’s happening right now in the world and there have been plenty of recent scares to prepare us for these times from SARS, H1N1, swine flu, and Ebola to name a few.

The biggest one of all in modern history was the Great Pandemic of 1918, with an uncanny number of similarities to the Pandemic of 2020 as I pointed out in this post of newspaper clippings from a hundred years ago. Then as now, were the skeptics, the contrarians, the religious zealots, the anti-science kooks, and the lunatic political fringe, all rallying against public health & safety measures, calling them a conspiracy, a hoax, a plot against rights & freedoms, an over-reaction leading to the destruction of the economy. 

To me the pandemic skeptics delight in showing themselves as skeptics by acting like stubborn refuseniks shunning face masks in public. One sees them all the time when out and about, with their masks hanging below their ears and chins in shows of defiance of mandatory rules.

Meanwhile, people are dying because of this infection.

If any authority is going to realize those deaths more than any other authority it’s going to be government. It’s government (most of them, anyway) that’s telling us to keep a distance from one another, and government is telling us we need to wear masks, because they are being guided by scientists. There’s always an inclination to mistrust government in many other areas, but advice on how to protect oneself during a pandemic isn’t one of them.

My answer is masks are going to be here for a while, so as we’re using them to protect us and others, why not get on the growing bandwagon to express ourselves?  I am happy to help, and here’s a few to consider:

JFK mask
Shakespeare
Washington mask
Oscar Wilde
Pope of Mope
Nixon mask
Darwin
HRH

Please have a look to see the many more masks of this particular style on offer through the MacKaycartoons store with quotes and without. If you think you have a particular statement that might go well with one of the personalities I’ve drawn do let me know and I’ll post it up.

Did you hear about the famous person who shared a photo of themselves wearing one of my mask designs? Oh, well let me tell you…

Thursday August 6, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 6, 2020

Audit Finds Most American Public Schools Need Major Repairs

July 25, 2020

The majority of public school districts in the U.S. are focusing their budgets on security to prevent shootings instead of widely needed building repairs, a federal watchdog found in a new report.

The Government Accountability Office, an independent federal agency that monitors how tax dollars are spent, said in a report released Thursday that school districts’ highest priorities for their facilities were improving security, expanding technology and addressing health hazards.

The report, based on a survey of hundreds of districts, shows that about half of the school districts in the U.S. need to update or replace multiple systems like heating, ventilation, air conditioning or plumbing.

April 30, 2020

One-third of schools need HVAC system upgrades, which could result in air quality or mold problems if not addressed, according to the watchdog. Additionally, one-quarter of districts reported a need to repair or replace lighting fixtures in at least half of their schools. A similar number of districts need repairs to roofing, security, plumbing or windows in most of their schools.

The GAO report shows images of crumbling schools around the country, including some that hold standing water, are full of asbestos or require bottled drinking water.

“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, outdated and hazardous school buildings were undermining the quality of public education and putting students and educators at risk,” House Education Committee Chairman Bobby Scott, D-Va., said in a statement responding to the report. “Now, the pandemic is exacerbating the consequences of our failure to make necessary investments in school infrastructure.”

Life in a Pandemic

Schools that serve low-income communities are especially affected. Local government funding in more affluent areas made up 72% of overall funding for building costs, while in schools in low-income areas only received about 35% of their facilities funding from the local government. (Courthousenews) 

 

Wednesday August 5, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 5, 2020

Family Fears

January 16, 2019

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Sunday expanded its recall of onions from the United States linked to 17 salmonella hospitalizations in Canada.

The department said the recall now includes red, yellow, white and sweet yellow onions that are distributed by the company, Thomson International in California. It was initially only red onions.

Since the initial recall on July 30, there have been six additional reported illnesses of salmonella linked to the onions, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) said in a statement. The cases were in Saskatchewan and Quebec.

There are a total of 120 cases of salmonella in Canada linked to the onions, the agency said. The impacted provinces are British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and Prince Edward Island.

The agency warned Canadians not to eat, use, sell or serve any red, white, yellow and sweet yellow onions from Thomson International, or any products made with these onions.

There have been no reported deaths. (Global) 

April 13, 2018

Meanwhile, Tens of millions of American users will wake up today, Saturday, to the news that U.S. President Trump will ban TikTok as threatened—the details are not yet clear, but the intent could not be more so. The president told reporters on Air Force One late Friday that he intended to act as soon as Saturday (August 1), telling them, “as far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States.”

As another week of speculation around TikTok’s future came to an end, all the talk hadbeen around a rushed sale of the app by parent ByteDance, with the likely suitor being Microsoft, according to reports, instead of the platform’s U.S. investors. A trade acquirer was apparently seen as better able to absorb the platform and its management. (Forbes) 

Saturday August 1, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday August 1, 2020

Beaches, masks, and bulges during a mid-Summer weekend in a pandemic

July 18, 2020

With weddings postponed and offices shut, business was bleak at Woodside Tailor Shop in Queens during the long months of pandemic lockdown. There was no need for party dress alterations, or any pressure for slacks to be hemmed.

But about three months in, things started picking back up in June, with one particular service in sudden demand: People needed a bit more breathing room in their clothing. 

In a city where gyms are still closed, and Netflix and couch the safest evening entertainment, the phenomenon of stay-at-home weight gain — playfully called the Quarantine 15 by some — has brought an unexpected windfall for some tailors. Some say they have seen business rise by as much as 80 percent, with customers asking for buttons to be moved, waistbands lengthened and jackets made more roomy.

“Everybody got fat!” said Porfirio Arias, 66, a tailor at Woodside. “It’s not only in New York. It’s all over the world that people got fat.” (New York Times) 

August 1, 2013

Meanwhile, Goderich Ontario’s mayor isn’t pulling any punches this weekend.

He fully expects to have to close the beach to visitors at some point on Saturday.

“I caution people because in all likelihood we’re probably going to close the beach very, very early on Saturday. It could be 11 o’clock in the morning that we close,” says John Grace.

Twice this summer, Goderich has turned people away from their beaches due to overcrowding. With the long weekend upon us, Grace anticipates closing it for a third time.

Life in a Pandemic

“We will be very strict this weekend as we’re expecting a lot of people. We will not allow any groups over 10,” says Grace, who joins OPP officers, staff, and bylaw officers in monitoring the beach on weekends.

In Sauble Beach, where they could see as many as 80,000 visitors this weekend, they’re closing Main Street to vehicles, to allow greater social distancing.

Near Grand Bend, officials are closing Waterworks Road to try and stop people from sneaking down to Port Blake beach. And in Grand Bend, they’re asking rule-breakers to stay home. (CTV) 

Wednesday July 29, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday July 29, 2020

NHL returns after months-long hiatus due to coronavirus pandemic

May 15, 2020

NHL hockey returns Tuesday after a months-long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Montreal Canadiens are in Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers meet the Calgary Flames at Rogers Place as part of Tuesday’s three-game exhibition schedule that kicks off Phase 4 of the league’s return-to-play plan.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers square off in Toronto in Tuesday’s other game.

Edmonton and Toronto are serving as hub cities for the 24 NHL teams that are returning to action, though the Canadiens and Flames are listed as the home teams Tuesday night.

Each team will play an exhibition game at Scotiabank Arena or Rogers Place between Tuesday and Thursday before the playoff qualification round begin on Saturday.

The NHL suspended its season March 12 due to the spreading global pandemic and announced its four-stage return plan May 26. (Global)