How Far The Mighty Have Fallen

Which is a good thing.  If you live in Toronto.

The rest of Canada had been cluck-cluck-clucking about how dreadful things were in the Big Smoke.

Nobody wanted Torontonians coming to their neck of the woods.  Especially if those woods had nice lakes.

So let's look at the 7 day average of COVID cases in Toronto and in the ROC (Rest Of Canada) as it stands now.

[Click on this graph to zoom in and see the amazing recovery of Toronto!]

While we had been getting daily lectures and finger wags from the medical officers of our Western provinces, we had been slowly getting our act together.

Sure, early on we were off the charts.  But.....

So Canada overall......

Too early to tell if we've turned the corner, again, as we did in the beginning of May.

But a lot of it is up to those young'uns.  Unfortunately, I don't have a lot of faith in their intelligence.

Ouff......

Everything Wrong With The World Today

Kids that have never been told "No".

Kids that think the world revolves around them.

[Ed. Note: Okay, Boomer.]

Kids that....what?!

Okay, almost 70% of the COVID cases in Ontario Saturday were people under 44. [But less than 40% of the population is under 44.]

So those young'uns need to follow the rules.

And be given some tough love.....

[Mr. Boffo, from Joe Martin.]

Have Seen This Movie

Canada's trend in new COVID cases continues to go in the wrong direction.

[As always, click on any graph to zoom in.]

It ain't no California or Florida - yet.

But almost every region in Canada is contributing to the increase.

And we all know why.  BC, Alberta & Quebec have all re-opened in the last month.  And most parts of Ontario have also re-opened recently.  And even in Ontario, it shows.

Although, as Shaggy sings, it wasn't me.

As has been the case for a while now, Toronto is not the source of all of Ontario's woes.  COVID woes anyway.

Toronto is now below the 4 Day average for Ontario.

Even the whole world seems to be on fire right now.  Here is a chart of 3 Day rates (per million population).

Canada is (at least for now) tucked away in the bottom there.  Well below the World average (orange in the middle).

The USA (and Florida, of course) is right up there with Brazil and Israel (Israel?)

Although other continents seems to have grabbed many of the top spots - as highlighted below.

South & Central America have a whole heap of trouble on their hands.

So Canada is in pretty darn good shape.  But we need to keep our guard up - and our masks.



But on a sad note......

A Plague of Locusts O'er The Land

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse in Florida......

Ouff.....

The most common symptoms of dengue are fever with nausea, vomiting, rash, aches and pains, including eye pain, typically behind the eyes, muscle, joint, or bone pain.

Well, I guess them skeeters aren't locusts, and it's not COVID, but dengue fever doesn't sound like much a treat either.

So how is the Sunshine State doing?

New cases are still high, but I guess you have to stop going up before you can start going down.

Too early to tell, but at least things seem to have leveled out in the short term.

But I'll tell you who is not going in the right direction.

Canada.

So is there a solution to COVID and locusts?

Maybe.  Maybe not....

Batten Down The Hatches

Canada's COVID trend line continues to move in the wrong direction.

This 7 day average not seen since early June.  [As always, click on any graph to zoom in.]

And multiple areas are full contributors.

Calgary being the epi-centre for problems in Alberta and now Kelowna (essentially cottage country in the BC interior) being blamed for the BC uptick.

Of course, Montreal and Toronto....hey not so fast about Toronto!  Montreal is the source of new infections in Quebec, but Toronto is even further down the list down in Ontario.

Windsor still continues to lead the pack.  [Windsor, Chatham, Sarnia and Niagara all contain large farming areas.]

But now joined by York region, the region north of Toronto.  And York is also one of the regions that has recently moved to the next stage in re-opening - indoor bars and restaurants.  As has Ottawa, just a bit below perennial bad boy Peel region (Brampton & Mississauga).    

The common theme?

Young people + partying = grandpa gets it.

Mask wearing is increasingly seen as critical to stopping the spread. But only when done correctly.

But you need to be smart.  Even newspapers.

The front page of today's Toronto Star front page shows shoppers lined up, diligently wearing masks. 

From the caption (As Ontario moves forward health experts in Western Canada warn that ignoring rules could lead to explosive growth) this picture is perhaps wagging a finger at the rest of the country, indicating this is what good little shoppers need to do.

Oh, and the Toronto Star is like your know-it-all friend that excels at wagging fingers.

Except that everybody knows......

Well maybe not everybody......

Sheesh.....

Good God, Maude!

What the H-E double hockey sticks is going on with Canada's COVID cases?

[As always, click on any graph to zoom in.]

Well, I'll tell you.  Or show you, anyway.

Alberta is blowing up in our face.  As is Quebec, and also BC to a lesser extent.

Ontario has had a slight uptick, but that is due to the farming regions, as shown yesterday.

Page down to see the chart.  Oh, are you that lazy!?  Okay, here it is again.

So it ain't Toronto.

But as everyone gets excited about the next phase of re-opening, be careful what you wish for,

But there is some good news; deaths due to COVID are down dramatically.

Maybe that's because this time, it's all the young punks getting the disease.  And they are immortal!!

I've used this picture so much I've worn it out.


But when the time comes for them, maybe I can recommend a good doctor.

[Mr. Boffo, from the mind of Joe Martin.]

The Usual Suspects

As mentioned yesterday, Ontario has stumbled a bit in its COVID flattening efforts.

Here is the Ontario picture.  The last two days uptick courtesy of the usual suspects in the south west.

So who are they?  This is a chart of three days of cases. And, as usual, some old bad actors are still at it.

Except that usual bad actor, Toronto, is way down the list.

Well, I guess not way down, but 5th.  Right around the Ontario average.

So could today be the day the Premier releases the hounds - to go to bars - at least for Toronto?

While we are waiting for that answer, I'm guessing no one answered this question correctly in 2015;  "What do you see yourself doing five years from now."

Just When You Thought Florida Couldn't Get Any Worse

...or stupider.

Sure, everybody is having COVID parties.  But these seem to be more industrial strength,

Upwards of 400 people mass on the streets.  Orchestrated by local gangs.

Like most COVID parties, the objective is to...well...catch COVID.

I'm not sure what the gangs are getting out of this, though.  Its not like they're seven year old boys sticking boogies on your neck.  Heh, heh, heh.....

Anyway...it's Florida. That's all you need to know.

And to re-quote a good friend of mine.....

And you also need to know that in the last seven days, the Miami/Palm Beach/Ft Lauderdale area has had.....

...35,000 cases!  The entire country of Canada, since this whole thing has started, has had 110,000 cases.

Sure, those south-eastern cities make up a lot of the population.  But this area and the Tampa/Orlando area account for 70% of all the cases in Florida.

So there's something funkadelic going on there.

And let's take a look at those 110,000 cases in Canada.

As previously reported, a bit of a toe stub recently as some precincts have re-opened bars and restaurants.  So let's hope they can tamp down any flare ups.

Because we certainly don't want to end up like our good friends to the south.  Luckily we have some of the finest minds at work to keep us safe.

[Another Mr. Boffo, courtesy of Joe Martin.]

Be Careful What You Wish For

So everybody wanted to get back in the sandbox and have fun.  And everybody mocked Ontario for not being mature enough to handle the responsibility.

Ontario was COVID on-fire at the time and all the other provinces smugly wagged their fingers at them.

So what's happened now that all those Chads & Stacys are back in their bars?

[As always, click on any graph to zoom in.]

Sweet mama!

Apparently, Alberta's problem is that the Calgary bar scene is out of control.  Similar issues with Vancouver and Montreal.

So....as most of Ontario gets set to re-open bars and restaurants today, be careful.

Because I can't believe we are really all that much smarter then the rest of the country.

But as we do venture out to patios, seeing friends for the first time since the lock-down, get ready for some interesting stares.

"Hey, Chad, you're looking...er...uhh..yeah, you're....anyway, good to see you."

Been there!  Been told that!

But you (or me) are not the only ones getting older.  Here are a few then and now pics of some famous folk.

You might ask, what about the ladies?

Well, for all the actresses, for the life of me I could barely tell which was the "Then" and which is the "Now", so gave up.

For the guys, not so hard....

And for you ladies out there....

Ah, the good old days......