TO WEAR A MASK IN PUBLIC OR NOT?
- 99% of residents in Hong Kong (population 7.5 million) wore masks during the COVID-19 outbreak; Hong Kong recorded only 4 deaths. (vs NYC population 8.4 million with 28,000+ deaths)
- 2 hairstylists in Missouri saw 140 clients last month while symptomatic with COVID-19, masks were worn by the hairstylists and no new cases of COVID-19 have been linked back to the salon through contact tracing.
- Cambridge and Greenwich Universities research suggests that routine wearing of face masks by at least 50% of the population would reduce the spread of COVID-19 and permit less stringent lockdowns.
- Mathematical Bioscience study from Harvard, Arizona State, U of Florida, and U of New South Wales, Australia, shows mask wearing would reduce the spread of COVID-19 by 30%.
- German study shows that wearing masks can reduce COVID-19 spread by 40%.
- Toronto says that masks are mandatory on public transit and will hand out 1,000,000 masks to riders.
OTHER COVID-19 DEVELOPMENTS
- As of June 7th, 95,699 Canadians have been diagnosed with COVID-19; only 35% are still sick
- 7,848 (8%) have died, as many as the flu, pneumonia and bronchitis do COMBINED in an average year.
- 72% of deaths are those age 80 and older but they only represent 18% of cases
- Those under 59 make up 65% of cases but only 3% of deaths
- Ontario and Quebec account for 95% of deaths and represent 61% of Canada’s population
- 7,848 (8%) have died, as many as the flu, pneumonia and bronchitis do COMBINED in an average year.
- Alberta enters stage 2 of relaunch today, a week earlier than expected and with additional restrictions lifted:
- K-12 schools, for requested diploma exams and summer school
- Libraries, with some restrictions
- Places of worship
- Personal and wellness services (massage, esthetics, manicure, pedicure etc)
- Movie theatres, theatres, community halls, concerts, casinos, bingo halls, with restrictions
- Team sports
- Provincial campgrounds can operate at full capacity
- Fitness centres including gyms and swimming pools, with measures in place
- Albertans can obtain free masks using A&W, McDonald’s or Tim Hortons drive-thrus.
- 20% of minorities in Canada said they feel that ‘race-based’ harassment has increased since the beginning of the pandemic. Nearly 1/3 of Asian Canadians said harassment has increased.
- Houston is looking at re-imposing ‘stay-home’ orders as cases surge.