masking

Wednesday August 31, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday August 31, 2022

Western University mandating COVID-19 booster shots, masking ahead of fall term

Western University is implementing vaccine and masking requirements this September for students, faculty, staff and some visitors. 

October 21, 2020

The London, Ont., university is requiring those returning to campus to be vaccinated for COVID-19 twice with an additional booster. There is also a mask mandate in place in classrooms and seminar rooms for the first five weeks of class followed by a reassessment. 

 “Considering that the general population is at 50 per cent in terms of their booster shot, we think it’s not too much of an effort to get where we want to get,” said Florentine Strzelczyk, provost and vice-president (academic). 

The policy takes effect as of Monday, however the campus community has until October 1 to submit current proof of vaccination to the university.

Wednesday April 13, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 13, 2022

Just how bad is COVID-19’s sixth wave?

Hamilton’s public school board is writing a letter to the provincial government asking for the now-lifted mask mandate to be restored. Halton is back to having outbreaks at long-term-care facilities and at least one Haldimand-Norfolk LTC facility is back to restricting visitors, again due to COVID.

July 25, 2020

Further afield, some schools in the London area are reverting to online learning because their staff and student ranks are so hard hit. And one hospital in Waterloo Region is closing its emergency room overnight because it no longer has staff to keep it open.

Anecdotally, more and more of us are saying we now see more COVID among our families, friends and networks than at any other time during the pandemic. And, most ominously, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths are climbing — again.

Saturday April 2, 2022

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday April 2, 2022

Ontario’s sixth COVID-19 wave being driven by eased restrictions, science table head says

April 24, 2020

The head of Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table says it is “very clear” that Ontario is now in the middle of a sixth wave of the pandemic driven by a relaxing of restrictions in the province.

“Oh, we’re in the middle of it,” Dr. Peter Juni told CP24 Tuesday night when asked whether he thinks the province is in the midst of a new wave. “When you look at our wastewater, it’s very clear. You can call it whatever you want, you know; whether it’s a resurgence of the Omicron wave we had or a sixth wave, the point is really to understand this is not a BA.2 wave.”

He said the highly infectious Omicron subvariant cannot be blamed for Ontario’s rising case count and said it has much more to do with “throwing caution to the wind.”

“The point here really is it’s entirely our responsibility what we’re seeing and we just got a little bit too much ahead of ourselves and here we are,” Juni said. “And we just have our task at hand to keep the slope of the wave upwards relatively flat so that we are not challenged again in our hospitals.”

Tuesday November 23, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 23, 2021

Crossing The Canada-US Border For Shopping & Visiting Family Is About To Get So Much Cheaper

October 14, 2021

Crossing the Canada-U.S. border for short trips like shopping or visiting relatives is about to get a whole lot cheaper, thanks to an update to Canada’s travel restrictions.

On Friday, November 19, federal officials confirmed that COVID-19 testing requirements will be dropped for eligible travellers who are leaving Canada for 72 hours or less.

From Tuesday, November 30, fully vaccinated people with right of entry to Canada will be able to skip the pre-entry molecular test, meaning they’ll be able to return home without forking out hundreds for a PCR test.

This applies to people travelling via land or air, as long as they’re able to demonstrate that they’ve been out of the country for three days or under.

November 27, 2020

As the COVID-19 tests approved to enter the country can cost at least $100, this update means taking short trips just got much cheaper.

It also means those driving across the Canada-U.S. border will no longer be required to spend any money on COVID-19 testing, as the American land border does not require fully vaccinated travellers to take a COVID-19 test prior to entry.

It’s worth noting that people flying into the United States will still be required to take a test before arriving, although rapid antigen tests are accepted.

Unfortunately for people dreaming of lengthy vacations, the rules will not change for people leaving Canada for over 72 hours. In this case, passengers will still be expected to take a pre-entry molecular test before arriving. Rapid antigen tests are not accepted.

If you do still need to take a molecular test, Rexall Pharmacy sells a take-home test starting at $200, while Costco sells do-it-yourself PCR tests for $120. Air Canada has its own version priced from $149. 

Some U.S. pharmacies do offer free PCR testing, although there are some risks to be aware of. (Narcity) 

 

Thursday November 11, 2021

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday November 11, 2021

Remembrance Day should only be about remembrance

In no small irony in the context of today’s ridiculousness, we owe a debt to the world wars for the advancement of vaccines.

May 5, 2000

Prior to the Second World War, soldiers were as likely to die from disease as battlefield injuries — a five-to-one ratio in the Spanish-American War and a two-to-one ratio in the American civil war, according to a piece on theconversation.com . And then came the outbreak of the 1918 Spanish flu that “accounted for roughly half of U.S. military casualties in Europe.”

By the Second World War, the American army “forged a new partnership with industry and academia” that resulted in the development of the flu vaccine and “targeted influenza, bacterial meningitis, bacterial pneumonia, measles, mumps, neurotropic diseases, tropical diseases and acute respiratory diseases,” according to The Conservation article by Kendall Hoyt, an assistant professor of medicine at Dartmouth College.

This victory in the advancement of science is a lesson that needs to be applied today. However, we also shouldn’t lose sight of the soldiers of days gone by who rolled up their sleeves like they always did in service of a greater good.

They didn’t blink at the notion of taking an “experimental” vaccine that most of them surely would have thought was of less consequence than the bullets whizzing by. As Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe noted this summer while encouraging today’s generation to get vaccinated: “We’re not asking you to storm the beaches of Normandy.”

November 11, 2020

Now, think back to just one year ago when these now 90-year-old men and women — all masked, because this is what we asked them and everyone else to do — stood without complaint in the cold in front of cenotaphs across this nation to honour those who they left behind so many years ago.

They will do the same thing in this second  pandemic  Remembrance Day. They will do this for as long as they can … which, sadly for us, won’t be much longer.

They will soon be gone, but we should always honour their duty and decency on Nov. 11. This day should never be co-opted for some other cause or political message.

August 28, 2021

The thought crosses one’s mind this Remembrance Day for several reasons — the most significant being the disgustingly hideous memes and social media messages floating around the Internet tying the sacrifice of these men and women to the “freedom” of not getting vaccinated.

This is actually the antithesis of the what the greatest of generations stood for when they went overseas and fought and died to preserve our values, freedoms and way of life. Their sacrifices are why idiots of today get to wrap themselves with the flag and say  pretty much whatever they please without repercussion.

But no one gets to say they are doing this on behalf of veterans or those who died for freedom. (Continued: Regina Leader-Post)