A quick post from Bambi to tell her mom how much she loves her and misses her (it is Mothers’ Day at her end). She is SO grateful to life because she had the chance to spend time with her in December.
This being said, this pandemic will end. Yes, after the storms, there is always a spring.
May everyone find the patience to go through this journey. May all the people be safe and sound. Across the world, we are all in the same boat.
Talking about boats, here is a song for you, hoping it will make you smile :).
Whether in Brooklyn (USA), Jerusalem (Israel-Palestine),
or Tripoli (Lebanon), over-religious people are literally a danger public to
others in times of pandemics.
The pictures below show people defying strict measures of social distancing, social isolation, and as of tomorrow internal regional isolation (in Lebanon).
Why don’t these people pray at home, virtually (in groups, as needed) or by themselves (meditating)?
We can always think that this may not be a good evolutionary strategy. However, it is not just about them. They are putting others at risk and this is unacceptable in the circumstances.
Taken from the New York Times; March 20, 2020.
Taken from YNet; March 20, 2020.
Taken from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency; March 20, 2020.
“If there
is a place in this crisis where the imperiousness of the Trudeau government
appears, it is at Roxham Road.
Yesterday,
when the Canada-US border was announced to be closed, Ottawa refused to block
this crossing near Lacolle customs, famous since the 2017 migrant crisis.
Through
this, 30 to 80 “irregular” refugee claimants still enter every day
(the figures vary depending on whether it is Ottawa or the customs union
speaking).
The dispute
During a
pandemic, what to do with migrants who come from a country where they are not
in danger within the meaning of international conventions? For health reasons,
wouldn’t it be better to block them?
This is what the Legault government is arguing. He recalls this “patient 31”, in South Korea, who canceled the efforts of the first 30 by not respecting the confinement instructions.
Welcoming migrants mobilizes nurses, police, etc., who could be useful elsewhere in times of crisis. Currently, asylum seekers are housed in a YMCA in downtown Montreal.
The Trudeau government believes, on the contrary, that it is better to let them in. Thus, the “traceability” of possible infected will be easier. Better than if they smuggled through the woods. (Isn’t there still a lot of snow in the forest? And hasn’t Ottawa placed thousands of cameras along the border?)
It is unclear whether Ottawa is really asking the migrants what is required of returning citizens: 14 days of isolation.
Tuesday morning was no. A symptom test would suffice. Later, Ottawa turned around to promise the opposite. TVA News clearly demonstrated on Tuesday that isolation was relative, with asylum seekers leaving and continuously entering the YMCA.
” Not acceptable “
This is what enrages François Legault, who seems to hold back with both hands to let people know. Yesterday, in a press briefing, he still allowed himself this: “Regarding Roxham Road, this is not acceptable. Minister Chrystia Freeland had just promised to “take care” of the migrants? But where? In Trenton? Nothing was yet clear.
Legault, as we know, never liked the federal management of Roxham Road. In August 2017, he deplored that the border was a “colander” under Justin Trudeau, and that the latter had made a mistake by inviting “all the misery of the world”.
At the time, the declaration was daring. Philippe Couillard had accused him of “stirring up concerns”. But today, with the COVID-19 tsunami coming, the picture has changed. As proof, in the Liberal caucus, we support the CAQ PM.
The former minister of the Couillard government, Gaétan Barrette, hastened to tweet yesterday: “About Roxham road @francoislegault is right. Unacceptable. Federal responsibility. New York State is the most contaminated. These people may also come from contagious areas. “
Should Québec send the Sûreté du Québec to Roxham Road to take care of the border, as Valérie Plante [Mayor of Montreal] was forced to send agents to the airport?
Yesterday, Bambi received this very short video from her cousin. She would like to share it with you.
Mind you, at first, she thought the guy was her cousin himself (OK just 30 years younger :). It is not him, she can assure you.
Second, the young man in the video is making fun of how people are becoming too germaphobe due to their fear of contracting COVID-19. He is saying in Arabic: “The situation is not that dramatic. People are becoming too germaphobe. It is a bit too much”. However, whilst saying these words, he is drinking Dettol 🙂 (we can hear the sound of ambulances in the background).
His joke may not be funny to you as much as it was to Bambi who laughed a lot.
Well, just like this guy, Lebanese people are used to laugh at their misery. Silly humour can be quite entertaining at all times, perhaps especially during a scary pandemic.
To be serious now, may this young man be safe as well as all his loved ones. May everyone around the world be safe, including us here in Canada and the Maritimes.
Disclaimer: This is a joke ONLY. The guy is most likely drinking apple juice or something. Please do not drink Detoll. It cannot protect you against COVID-19 and, trust me, it is not meant to be used in that way!
“A Lebanese-American citizen who had faced decades-old murder and torture charges in Lebanon has been freed, a U.S. senator who had pushed for his release announced Thursday.” These are the beginning of an article in Naharnet (March 19, 2020):
Why is the US government going out of its way to that extent to help this man who was accused of involvement in torture at a HORRIBLE prison, called Khiam, during the Israeli occupation?
This story is a borderline case of an American invasion of another country.
An American helicopter carrying the Lebanese-American citizen who faced murder and torture-old charges. Picture taken from Naharnet
One can wonder: why did Lebanon (i.e., Hezbollah) let this happen? What did they get in exchange?
This story makes Bambi remember an adventure one of her Lebanese-Canadian friends had in Spain a few years ago. She and her family members were swimming at their hotel when they saw someone come and steal their bag (it had their camera, passports, tickets, and money). Sadly, they did not have enough time to get out of water and run fast to do something about it. The story happened during a weekend.They called the Canadian embassy for help. Closed for the weekend. They tried the Lebanese embassy. Believe it or not, over the same weekend, the Lebanese authorities did urgent calls to Beirut. They received temporary travel documents and even cash money to allow them to get to the airport to return home :)!
To come back to Bambi’s friends, she is reassured they are safe and sound. However, she is worried about them. She would love to hear that they will be able to come back home (just like Australian citizens who were repatriated to their country). Mr. Trudeau said today that Canada is working hard on this matter. This is promising news. Please work faster. Until then, “bon courage chers amis”! Bambi and her spouse love you :).
Above you can find the latest statistics. Below is a message from the Ministry of Health, Lebanon, as published by Naharnet (article further below, March 19, 2020):
“Lebanon’s Health Ministry on Thursday released its daily
report on the COVID-19 saying the total number of laboratory-confirmed
cases has reached 149.
It added that the tally includes those diagnosed at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital and those reported by other university hospitals accredited by the Ministry.
The report said the Ministry continues to run tests on samples taken from people suspected to have contracted the virus, while identifying and monitoring their contacts, and carefully watching all arrivals from countries experiencing a spread of the virus.
The Ministry is also conducting epidemiological tracking to pinpoint the source of infection for some of the newly diagnosed cases.
The Ministry urged all citizens to adhere to the strict measures issued by the official authorities, especially the mandatory home quarantine, and to refrain from going outdoors unless it is absolutely necessary”.
His name is Ilan. He is from Argentina and he is just 21-year-old. It seems that his initial flight was cancelled. He was lucky to find another alternative. However, to his surprise, he was the ONLY passenger of this Norwegian Air International flight, which took him from Tel Aviv (Israel) to Barcelona (Spain). Well, at least he did not have to wait too long for his meal service whilst having enough space to lie down for a nap :).
Taken from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (March 18, 2020)
Bambi would like to thank her friend Aline for this excellent video (French content). The video explains very well how staying home will help in alleviating extra pressure on the health care system.
Iran and Italy had a delayed response (more mortality rates, between 3 and 5%). South Korea acted fast (less mortality rate, less than 1%).
Let’s learn from other countries and let’s listen to our NB public health authorities!
It is of course likely that eventually (and maybe soon?) a transmission in the community would take place. However, usually public health experts are EXTREMELY careful before declaring with certainty that there are cases now transmitted in the community, that is without link to travels or to close contacts of travellers.
Why is Dr. Hoffman stating this before the official website of the province of Ontario, unless it is not updated yet and Bambi missed that information from other media?
Of note, according to the President of the American University of Beirut’s (AUB), based on data from the AUB Global Health Institute, it looks like Lebanon (at least for the time being, as things could change in the future of course) is containing the transmission of the virus, thanks to its drastic measures of social isolation, of its very good measures of early screening at the airport (even with an initial delay), AND NOW of its two-week total lockdown for 2-3 days. Bravo Lebanon!
If this tiny bankrupt country can do it, Canada can and should too.
Bambi may be wrong but she has the impression that this CBC article seems to be, once again, more political than scientific, like the earlier one she commented on:
The underlying tone of the current CBC article is: Oh well, it is already all over the place, so it is not due to carelessness in airports or at borders.
The danger of this article is making people think that the battle is already lost!
Who knows? Perhaps in a few hours those suspected cases of community transmission would be confirmed… Regardless, Bambi prefers to wait to hear from this province’s Public Health authorities directly.
