Mural portrait of George Floyd by Eme Street Art in Mauerpark (Berlin, Germany). Floyd's death has spurred a reawakening about racism in the United States. Photo from Wikimedia.
Racism and police brutality shockwaves continue to rock both Canada and the United States, overshadowing the covid-19 pandemic, but doing nothing to eliminate it.
In Canada, very disturbing video was released of Allan Adam, Chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation since October of 2007, being violently arrested after he got upset at the police blocking his way out of a casino in Alberta in March. Dashcam video from the police car shows an officer running up to Adam, plowing him over and punching him, without so much as a word when the officer arrives on the scene.
This news comes just after Chantel Moore, 26, an Indigenous mother, was shot and killed by police during a wellness check, and just before Rodney Levi, an Indigenous man, was shot and killed by police in the same province. South of the border, the deaths of young Black folks at the hands of police are infamous and continue to pile up.
Anti-racism protests and calls to revamp how the police operate continue across the continent, while the pandemic surges in many areas.
Canada now has more than 100,000 covid-19 cases, or 2,654 cases for every million Canadians. The country has had more than 8,000 deaths.
Meanwhile, the United States has more than 2.2 million cases and has had more than 120,000 deaths. The pandemic isn’t slowing down in the U.S. or globally – cases have surpassed 145,000 new cases in a single day. Global hot spots include the U.S., Brazil, Russia, India and Pakistan.
Here in British Columbia, we verge on forgetting about covid-19. Vancouver Island has had no new cases in weeks and the province as a whole usually has about a dozen new cases each day. There have only been two deaths in the past two weeks. Our number of active cases is stable – 183 last week, 190 this week.
Even though B.C. is trending down in cases, there have been outbreaks related to family gatherings, an unnamed fast food restaurant and two new healthcare outbreaks. Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, says that shows the virus is still here in B.C. and we need to continue to be vigilant.
On Monday, more modelling and projections will be released. Dr. Henry has promised results from our provincial survey, which 380,000 people completed, in the next week to 10 days.
Meanwhile, the changes continue, unabated. Here’s my list for this week:
- "Rebuilding our economy after the outbreak is going to be a massive job," B.C. Finance Minister Carole James said this week. More than 300,000 people in B.C. have lost their jobs, with women and youth the hardest hit, she said.
- The province of B.C. closed Peace Arch Park, a park that straddles the Canada-U.S. border, where both Canadians and Americans have long been free to mingle without crossing the border. It was closed during the early days of covid-19, but reopened in mid-May and cross-border families have been using it to reunite. The province says traffic in the park has more than doubled and that it must close the park again for safety reasons.
- Trudeau announced the Canada-U.S border will remain closed until at least July 21.
- Families continue to speak out, asking the province of B.C. to allow visitors to long-term care homes. They've been banned, except for end-of-life visits, since the beginning of the pandemic. But outbreaks continue to happen in these homes, making the province reluctant to allow visitors.
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the province of Ontario will be testing an app that will help with contact tracing for covid-19. Trudeau said it will be voluntary, but it will be most effective if many people have it. If a person tests positive for covid-19, health authorities will enter that information into the app, which will then let other people who have been in the same vicinity, know that they may have been exposed to covid-19. Trudeau said privacy will be protected.
- People will have to have their temperature checked before boarding a plane in Canada or a plane headed to Canada, beginning this summer, the Canadian Press reports.
- There’s a new outbreak in China, centred around a market in Beijing. So far, there are more than 150 linked cases.
- The U.S. Open tennis tournament will go ahead in late August, but without spectators.
- The 2021 Academy Awards will be postponed to late April 2021 instead of February.
- With the Canada Emergency Response Benefit slated to max out for many people in July, Trudeau has promised an eight-week extension.
- Scientists in Britain announced that a readily available steroid drug, dexamethasone, cut the numbers of deaths for covid-19 patients who are hospitalized and need ventilators or oxygen.
- After weeks with zero cases, New Zealand now has two covid-19 cases, both found in international travellers.
- Canadian grocery stores have been paying workers an extra $2 per hour during the pandemic, but this week, they’ve said they’re cutting that back, despite all the extra business.
- Greenhouse gas emissions are growing as coronavirus restrictions are lifted around the world.
- An adult who worked at an independent school in the Fraser Valley has covid-19, Dr. Henry announced on June 18. Health authorities don’t think any children are at risk and the school will close now for the year. “This is not unexpected and it doesn't change our assessment of the risk. The risk is very low.”
- B.C.’s Health Minister Adrian Dix said the province’s surgical capacity is now back to normal and all 500 long-term care homes in the province now have all staff members working in only one home.
While attention is directed towards fixing a racist system in Canada and the United States, the virus continues unabated. The economic costs are massive, yet still largely unknown. Trudeau has promised a fiscal “snapshot” in early July. Steel yourselves and stay safe.
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