Canadian COVID-19 News

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by AiniA

I think we should invite Hawaii to join, perhaps also Bermuda.

Hey hands off our 50, else we may need to reposition the boundary northward from the 49th to the 50th parallel.

Why not pursue French Polynesia? The Québécois might be of assistance in persuading such.

Happy New Year to all our more northern, yet fellow Americans, from your southern Yanks.

[nwdiver]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

It's not hard to geographically locate an IP address. This is partly why some people choose to use VPNs (Virtual Private Networks).

With a VPN I watch (well once upon a time) my Netflix account from all over the world using a VPN......

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by nwdiver

With a VPN I watch (well once upon a time) my Netflix account from all over the world using a VPN......

Yes, that's one way to avoid being traced. It's a big reason VPN use is on the rise, but it's still a small minority of users who do this.

[AiniA]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Hey hands off our 50, else we may need to reposition the boundary northward from the 49th to the 50th parallel.

Why not pursue French Polynesia? The Québécois might be of assistance in persuading such.

Happy New Year to all our more northern, yet fellow Americans, from your southern Yanks.

It is interesting to compare how French and British colonies faired in post-colonial times. Many of the French ones, including Martinique, Guadeloupe, and La Reunion became parts of France. They have modern infrastructures and sort of look like tropical bits of France. The British ones became countries and lost money transfers from Britain. As a result they are generally poorer and less developed, even though they are very nice places. A tiny example illustrates this. We went to a waterfall in Guadeloupe that had a paved walkway, was wheelchair accessible and a sign saying it had been financed by EU and French money. Went to a similar waterfall with similar terrain in Dominica, formerly British. There was a rough trail, at a very steep spot someone had tied a piece of yacht double braid to a tree so you could pull yourself up. Dominica is a lovely spot with great people but they do not have the money to put in advanced tourist infrastructure. And don't get me started on the difference in roads. French Polynesia is in a unique position. It is not part of France like Martinique and there is a strong push for independence but there is also a strong push to retain ties and funding from France. We were there after the financial collapse in 2008 and they we're struggling financially. Their two big sources of foreign money were tourism (think of $1000 a night hotel rooms (in huts over the water) and pearls - both luxury items and hurting at the time. As a result the pro-French sentiment was growing, no idea what the situation is now, but I noticed French Polynesia is one of the places worst hit by COIVD. They have more on their plate than joining Canada - as nice as that might be for us. BTW, New Caledonia is also caught in the independence/remain French conundrum.

Back to the original point, when Hawaii joins Canada Americans can still visit if they have a valid passport.

[Pelagic]

It is interesting to compare how French and British colonies faired in post-colonial times. Many of the French ones, including Martinique, Guadeloupe, and La Reunion became parts of France. They have modern infrastructures and sort of look like tropical bits of France. The British ones became countries and lost money transfers from Britain. As a result they are generally poorer and less developed, even though they are very nice places.

Not sure which is better.....
Allow people their own self determination
... or prop up a subsidised economy at taxpayers expense.

[hpeer]

If Smallwood had not rigged the election we would have Newfoundland now. Who thinks that would be better for them?

As ling as I am healthy I prefer Dominica, especially because you can run to a French island for supplies, or could before 2020.

If we need health care that opinion may change.

We are finding ourselves partial to smaller communities in reach of modern conveniences.

Pretty selfish I guess.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by hpeer

If Smallwood had not rigged the election we would have Newfoundland now. Who thinks that would be better for them?

Who's "we"?

But yes, it might be better. Maybe our boats wouldn't be held hostage right now if Newfoundland had remained an independent Dominion of Newfoundland.

Hmmm, my father was born in the Dominion. I wonder if I can reclaim original status .

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Who's "we"?
But yes, it might be better. Maybe our boats wouldn't be held hostage right now if Newfoundland had remained an independent Dominion of Newfoundland.
Hmmm, my father was born in the Dominion. I wonder if I can reclaim original status .

The Dominion of Newfoundland was never truly independent.
The Dominion of Newfoundland was governed (from 1934 to 1949) by the Commission of Government, a non-elected body of civil servants, directly subordinate to the British Government in London. Established following the collapse of Newfoundland's economy, during the Great Depression, it was dissolved when the dominion became the tenth province of Canada* on March 31, 1949.
*The results of the second referendum were to join Canada

OOPS! It appears I was WRONG!
From 1855, Newfoundland was self-governing in local matters, and was fully responsible for its own finances. But external affairs were still controlled by the imperial government.

Responsible Government, 1855-1933
➥ https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/...55-to-1933.php

Collapse of Responsible Government, 1929-1934
➥ https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/...government.php

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Who's "we"?

But yes, it might be better. Maybe our boats wouldn't be held hostage right now if Newfoundland had remained an independent Dominion of Newfoundland.

Hmmm, my father was born in the Dominion. I wonder if I can reclaim original status .

“We” is you and I and all of us.

I don't know the answer, but interesting to contemplate.

My Mom was born in Newfoundland and that is how I qualified for Canadian citizenship. But they keep changing the rules.

But if your boat is there maybe you can claim it as your primary residence and then “immigrate” to Newfoundland. Worse that could happens is you would be stuck in Newfoundland.

My Wife howled when I wanted to sail the caribbean, she would never acclimate to the heat. NOW anything under 55 is intolerable. We talk about spending a winter in our cabin but I dont know, might the too much of a shock! LOL

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by hpeer

“We” is you and I and all of us.

I don't know the answer, but interesting to contemplate.

My Mom was born in Newfoundland and that is how I qualified for Canadian citizenship. But they keep changing the rules.

But if your boat is there maybe you can claim it as your primary residence and then “immigrate” to Newfoundland. Worse that could happens is you would be stuck in Newfoundland.

My Wife howled when I wanted to sail the caribbean, she would never acclimate to the heat. NOW anything under 55 is intolerable. We talk about spending a winter in our cabin but I dont know, might the too much of a shock! LOL

I applied for an exemption to enter Newfoundland saying my boat was my only home. They didn't go for it. But that was back when they were even barring non-resident property owners (like you). So I can't really blame them.

I sure hope we can get there this season. I certainly am worried for our little floating home. It's apparently survived on Newfoundland winter OK, but now it's got to last through two. I know the Lewisporte folks are keeping an eye on things, but they aren't concerned about the details.

If things don't open up this summer we might choose to move to The Rock. There are some remote properties we might be able to afford. And if you're ever looking for someone to stay at your cabin over winter, look no further. I'm in!

[hpeer]

Mike,

Think property values have risen a fair bit since my Wife bought our cabin. That said, she got an immediately livable house for about $32k US. She put a roof on, abundance of caution. Recently I replaced the deck and we had someone remodel the interior; move the kitchen, dining room, living room, install a slider and other stuff. That was $16k US. Completely changed the place and made it much more pleasant, not entirely necessary but oh so nice!

Just giving you an idea of costs.

[GordMay]

‘Lockdown light' failed in Canada's hardest-hit regions.
Here's what experts say should happen now.
~ Editorial/Opinion by Adam Miller · CBC News

“... Health experts say Canada's hardest-hit provinces have consistently failed to contain the spread of COVID-19 with inadequate, poorly timed restrictions, leaving little choice but for much more draconian rules to be introduced...

... "Ontario keeps opting for 'lockdown light.' It just doesn't get aggressive enough, and so you have this slow trickle of increase which has just really worn everybody down to the absolute maximum," said Gardam [1]. "Everybody in health care is so exhausted and yet there's more coming and it just keeps getting worse."...

... Ashleigh Tuite, an infectious disease epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto's Dalla Lana School of Public Health, said the problem is that Ontario and Quebec tried to be more strategic with their lockdowns in the second wave.
Non-essential businesses were left open, travel wasn't restricted effectively, and the provinces only reacted when the situation turned dire...

... Gardam says a stricter lockdown in Ontario would likely help drive cases down to manageable levels. He suspects the government's hesitance may be due to the potential political fallout.
"The solution to this is available and it's been proven," he said. "It's just really unpalatable for politicians to do that, and so they keep skirting around it."
Gardam says if Ontario brought in the type of lockdown that Australia successfully used to control the spread of COVID-19 in its first wave, the province would be in a much better situation...

... The key as Dhalla [2] sees it, is to better apply all that we have learned in the past 10 months so we can contain the pandemic once and for all.
"Then, we can manage sporadic, local outbreaks the way they are managed in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, all while we continue to vaccinate people as fast as we can."

More ➥ https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/canad...lure-1.5866948

[1] Dr. Michael Gardam, an infectious diseases expert in Toronto and senior medical adviser for Health PEI

[2] Dr. Irfan Dhalla, vice-president of physician quality at Unity Health, which includes St. Michael's and St. Joseph's hospitals in Toronto.

[TrentePieds]

Quote: "‘Lockdown light' failed..."

Strikes me that Ontario's plight is that "the persons responsible" (read Doug Ford) are entirely unfamiliar with Tommy Malthus's fundamental thesis: That in a battle twixt
a geometric progression (propagation of a virus) and an arithmetic progression (advances in medicine) the geometric progression must always and without exception win, unless it is ruthlessly stomped on, RIGHT NOW before the curves intersect!

Dr.s Williams and Yaffe are well enough educated to understand the problem but are ...uhm..., too wimpy to say so.

As long as the Doug Fords of the world control our welfare, we sailor folk had better get back to sea and avoid breathing air that has already been through someone else's lungs.

TrentePieds

[Mike OReilly]

The major problem I see with Ontario's recent failed attempts was that they locked down slices of the Golden Horseshoe, but left adjacent areas open. So people just carried on a little further down the road and packed the nearby malls even worse than before.

For this to have worked they needed to shut down the entire area, from Kitchener and Brantford, to Oshawa and up to Barrie. Instead, they carved out these little slices of the region. This just drove all the infected people to the nearby neighboring communities.

Of course, people are also idiots when it comes to this stuff. The surging numbers are entirely predictable based on everyone having to get together over X-mas and New Years. We won't see a decrease in new Covid-19 cases for another week. By then the New Years wave will have washed over us, and our numbers will start to decrease -- unless it truly is uncontrollable now.

[Montanan]

Doctors are warning that you should stop using ibuprofen and acetaminophen before getting your COVID vaccine.

The University of California Irvine warns that "taking over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen before receiving a COVID vaccine may reduce its ability to work and blunt your immune response to the vaccine." That's because "these Over The Counter medications work as anti-inflammatories and block a pathway called the cyclooxygenase-2 (cox-2) enzyme," says Ashley Ellis, PharmD, director of clinical operations for Compwell. These enzymes are necessary for your body to be able to produce a high volume of "B-lymphocytes, which downstream make antibodies to COVID, the flu, or whichever pathogen the vaccine is trying to protect against."

Ibuprofen is sold under brand names like Advil and Motrin, while acetaminophen is sold under the brand name Tylenol, among others.