TORONTO —
An upcoming nightly curfew in Quebec is hogging the headlines, but some public health experts say it’s another plank of Premier Francois Legault’s new plan that other provinces should pay the most attention to.
The measures include a curfew that will affect the vast majority of Quebecers. As of Saturday, anyone caught outside their home between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. for any reason other than work, walking a pet within one kilometre of their home or visiting a pharmacy will be subject to a fine of up to $6,000.
CTV News’ Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Abdu Sharkway told CTV’s Your Morning on Thursday that while the curfew may seem heavy-handed, it is necessary to find a way to reverse COVID-19’s upward trend in Quebec.
“If incentive to do the right thing isn’t working, at some point, when do you have to invoke disincentive to make sure that more people don’t die and that our health-care system doesn’t collapse?” he said.
“We’re really playing with fire at this point in time.”
Places of worship will also be closed around the clock in Quebec, except for funerals with up to 10 people in attendance. Legault additionally said that “non-essential” manufacturing operations will be halted, although discussions are still ongoing to determine what exactly that entails.
WORKPLACE WOES
Even that first hint of a willingness to close non-retail and non-service workplaces is a positive sign that may do more to slow the pandemic than the curfew, Dr. Zain Chagla, an infectious disease specialist affiliated with McMaster University in Hamilton, told CTVNews.ca.
“I think everyone is focusing on the curfew part. The one thing that I think may actually have a big potent effect … is the fact that they’re looking at really ramping down manufacturing,” he said Thursday via telephone.
“It’s showing up more and more that workplaces are becoming a major, major issue.”
As of Dec. 23, 2020 – the last report available – there were 699 active workplace outbreaks in Quebec. In total, they had been directly linked to 3,367 cases of COVID-19. Manufacturing facilities accounted for 27 per cent of those outbreaks and 40 per cent of those cases.
Data released this week by the City of Toronto shows that manufacturing facilities, construction sites, offices and warehouses account for more than 40 per cent of workplace outbreaks in Canada’s largest city during the pandemic – more than three times as many as bars and restaurants.
Despite that, lockdown-like measures to date have largely focused on bars, restaurants and other public-facing businesses, while requiring non-public-facing workplaces only to ensure mask-wearing and physical distancing.
“Many of our lockdowns really haven’t been able to [tackle workplace transmission],” Chagla said.
“If hospitals and long-term care facilities struggle to prevent transmission to their staff for COVID coming in, then a workplace is going to be even harder to try to prevent that type of transmission.”
Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious diseases physician affiliated with the University of Toronto, said Thursday that “upstream drivers” of COVID-19 cases, such as workplace transmission, need to be addressed by any new public health restrictions.
“Otherwise, this is a Band-Aid solution,” he told CTV News Channel.
As for the curfew, Chagla said he is “not 100 per cent certain” about its effectiveness.
Curfews have been used in Australia, France and other jurisdictions as part of successful efforts to flatten COVID-19 curves, but Chagla said there is little proof that the curfews themselves made as much of a difference as other measures introduced around the same time.
“There’s not great evidence to suggest it actually works, other than that when these things get rolled out, they get rolled out as a bundle – so when it works, you don’t know which part of the bundle was actually the component that worked,” he said.
THE ‘CANADIAN SHIELD’ APPROACH
Meanwhile, a group of 17 public health experts and business leaders is calling for other provinces to enact measures far stronger than Quebec’s.
They released a strategy last week that they call “the Canadian Shield,” arguing that Canada should be placed into a “short, sharp” and more severe lockdown until the national COVID-19 active case tally is approximately one-quarter its current size.
Once that has been achieved, they argue, the caseload will be low enough for the World Health Organization-endorsed strategy of testing, contact tracing and isolation to be effective. Restrictions could then start to be relaxed, as long as the number of active cases continues to fall by between 17 and 25 per cent per week.
While the restrictions are in place, the group argues, governments would need to do more than they have done thus far to support the people and businesses most affected by the lockdown.
One of the 17 people behind this strategy is André Beaulieu, the senior vice-president of corporate services for Bell Canada, which owns CTV News.
In a report released last week, the group argued that if their recommendations were followed immediately, the active case total in Canada could fall by 75 per cent by the end of January, the country could see fewer than 40 new cases a day by May 1, and 5,000 lives could be saved. Following the current path could lead to 9,000 new infections per day in the spring, even as vaccines are rolled out, they said.
“Building the Canadian Shield is a challenging strategy requiring quick, decisive actions by government and a whole of society engagement. However, it is achievable, and massively better than the status quo,” they wrote.
Asked for his opinion, Chagla said he can see the Canadian Shield strategy being realistic as far as reducing COVID-19 cases and deaths, but worries it does not account for “collateral damage” such as increases in depression, financial instability, household violence and worsened non-COVID-19 medical outcomes as a result of a more severe lockdown.
“More restrictive measures and that are needed. Supports for essential populations and essential staff are needed. Ramping down manufacturing as much as possible is needed. But to do this bundled approach, to significantly lock down as part of the approach … I have some hesitation saying that’s an ideal plan to roll out,” he said.
“People are so frustrated, so upset, they see a lot of inconsistencies with public health messaging – I’m able to do X but not Y – I don’t think, without huge militaristic support, you’re able to even invoke a plan like this.”
‘THIS SITUATION IS UNTENABLE’
There are also questions around how Quebec plans to enforce its curfew. Existing COVID-19 restrictions have been haphazardly enforced in many Canadian jurisdictions. More than 40,000 people entering or returning to Canada during have been contacted by police about concerns they are not following quarantine restrictions, but only 138 of those interactions had resulted in tickets or charges as of last week.
“A lot of questions arise in my mind around ‘How is this going to be enforced? How do you determine if somebody’s out for an essential reason or not?'” Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious diseases specialist at Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga, Ont., said Wednesday on CTV News Channel.
Whatever the strategy, the experts say it’s important that something be done to stop Canada’s ever-escalating COVID-19 case counts from continuing on their current path.
“This situation is untenable. We simply cannot accept the loss of life that is going on in much of Canada at this time,” Sharkaway said.
Bogoch cautioned that there was ample warning of the current COVID-19 spike “for probably over a month,” and that numbers will likely continue to increase in the near future.
“You’ve got your health-care system in many parts of the country stretched beyond capacity, you’ve got ICUs that are full, you’ve got rising case numbers, rising hospitalizations, rising deaths,” he said.
“This is clearly, clearly an emergency. It is not going to get better. It is probably going to get worse over the next couple of weeks.”
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.
It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.
While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.
Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.
The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen.
“I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said.
Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’
Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.
“It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.”
Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.
But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.
It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.
“There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”
Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media
In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.
White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.
Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he’s on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.
“If it pops up on my page when I’m on social media,” he said, “I’ll just scroll past it.”
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Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
The AP poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
