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Online Casinos & COVID-19- The Beginning Of A New Boom

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The outbreak of the pandemic has changed human lives in the most unexpected ways. No one expected businesses to go remote for several months in a row. And who could have ever thought that people would self-quarantine and shun social outings for such a long time? Still, there is nothing more real than the fact that COVID-19 has made social distancing the way of life. While some businesses have witnessed a complete downfall during this period, others have come ahead as winners.

Of course, healthcare organizations, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and other essential service providers have found opportunities to grow. Apart from the very obvious, there is a surprise winner in the list- online casinos. Again the reason for this boom is very obvious- people are looking for ways to keep themselves entertained while being mandated to stay at home. Let us discover the major factors that have led to the online casino boom in the COVID era.

Amazing source of indoor entertainment

Life has taken an unprecedented turn after the virus struck and things are not likely to change much in the foreseeable future. Even the post-pandemic era will emphasize on social distancing. Movie theaters, bars, and restaurants have shut their doors. Sports arenas, conferences, and concerts have been canceled. No wonder, people are looking for a sense of normalcy and only indoor entertainment can help. They have been indulging in activities like cooking, reading, exercising, gardening, and chatting with friends and family to be busy and engaged. However, when it comes to an amazing and exciting form of entertainment, online gaming definitely takes the cake. More so, online casinos bring the thrill factor of winning as well.

Luck is all one needs to win

When it comes to online gaming, there are a lot of options for people of all ages and interests. But you cannot expect to ace with skill-based virtual games unless you have the right kind of dexterity, expertise, and experience. With casino games, however, sheer luck is what keeps you going and even helps you win. You need not cultivate special skills and gain experience with this category of esports. Just place your bet where your intuition tells you and you can make big money if you are fortunate enough. What’s more, you can access your favorite casino website anytime with just a good internet connection and try your luck!

Opportunity to make a fortune

Perhaps the biggest reason why online casinos are experiencing a major boom in the COVID season is that they give the players an opportunity to make a fortune. Money is tight these days, with pay cuts and job losses being rampant. In such circumstances, even a few dollars made can give your finances all the support and stability they need. You can start with a small gambling bankroll and make it big in no time, if you have luck on your side and learn the basics of betting. And you can even embrace the games for supplementing your income in the post-pandemic period because you can expect economic tightness ahead. Online gambling surely has the potential to be a lucrative and entertaining side hustle.

There are options galore

Versatility is another factor that makes this activity a hot favorite for people looking for great entertainment indoors. It is easy to find a game that gets your adrenaline rushing and brings you big dollars as well. Check leovegas and you can find the incredible range in table games and esports. You have the freedom to play as many as you want to and choose the ones you would want to play again and again. There couldn’t be anything more thrilling than having a new one to try every single day. And you even have the chance to grab a jackpot or two!

Online casinos for everyone

If going to Vegas has always been a distant dream for you, now is the best time to make it true. The wow factor about online casinos is that they are for everyone- you need not be a millionaire to take a luxury flight to a gambling destination and stay at an expensive hotel there. It is easy to access a casino website with just a few clicks, without spending a dollar on being at a physical destination. You can save on the overheads of the trip and splurge on real gambling instead- and have a good chance of making big money too. And that goes for middle-income people who want to fulfill their Vegas dream!

Offers and promotions

While players love online gambling, businesses are also cashing in on the trend and offering the most amazing promotions on the websites. Obviously, you get the opportunity to win more with less. Moreover, online casinos are going the extra mile with the user experience on their website. So you can expect an exciting experience every time you play. There is great emphasis on security as well, so you need not worry about theft of your data and money even as you transact online.

Feel good even in isolation

Social isolation is the biggest impact of the coronavirus as it hits people mentally, even if they save themselves from getting infected. A thrilling activity like online gaming is a great way to beat the lockdown blues and stay happy and motivated even during the crisis. The fact that you have the hope to make big money adds to the positivity, which is a much-needed virtue for everyone these days. And you can probably connect with a group of fellow enthusiasts and create a community where everyone has the opportunity to share their experiences and beat isolation as well.

Certainly, online casinos deserve to be a winning platform because they go a long way in bringing entertainment and positivity for people locked indoors and struggling to stay sane during the crisis situation. The rising figures of traffic to these websites are enough to indicate their popularity and things are going to get only bigger and better in the future. Till then, keep playing and winning!

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From transmission to symptoms, what to know about avian flu after B.C. case

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A B.C. teen has a suspected case of H5N1 avian flu — the first known human to acquire the virusin Canada.

The provincial government said on the weekend that B.C.’s chief veterinarian and public health teamsare still investigating the source of exposure, but that it’s “very likely” an animal or bird.

Human-to-human transmission is very rare, but as cases among animals rise, many experts are worried the virus could develop that ability.

The teen was being treated at BC Children’s Hospital on Saturday. The provincial health officer said there were no updates on the patient Monday.

“I’m very concerned, obviously, for the young person who was infected,” said Dr. Matthew Miller, director of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.

Miller, who is also the co-director of the Canadian Pandemic Preparedness Hub, said there have been several people infected with H5N1 in the U.S.,and almost all were livestock workers.

In an email to The Canadian Press on Monday afternoon, the Public Health Agency of Canada said “based on current evidence in Canada, the risk to the general public remains low at this time.”

WHAT IS H5N1?

H5N1 is a subtype of influenza A virus that has mainly affected birds, so it’s also called “bird flu” or “avian flu.” The H5N1 flu that has been circulating widely among birds and cattle this year is one of the avian flu strains known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) because it causes severe illness in birds, including poultry.

According to the World Health Organization, H5N1 has been circulating widely among wild birds and poultry for more than two decades. The WHO became increasingly concerned and called for more disease surveillance in Feb. 2023 after worldwide reports of the virus spilling over into mammals.

HOW COMMON IS INFECTION IN HUMANS?

H5N1 infections in humans are rare and “primarily acquired through direct contact with infected poultry or contaminated environments,” the WHO’s website says.

Prior to the teen in B.C., Canada had one human case of H5N1 in 2014 and it was “travel-related,” according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

As of Nov. 8, there have been 46 confirmed human cases of H5N1 in the U.S. this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. There is an ongoing outbreak among dairy cattle, “sporadic” outbreaks in poultry farms and “widespread” cases in wild birds, the CDC website says.

There has been no sign of human-to-human transmission in any of the U.S. cases.

But infectious disease and public health experts are worried that the more H5N1 spreads between different types of animals, the bigger the chance it can mutateand spread more easily between humans.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF H5N1?

Although H5N1 causes symptoms similar to seasonal flu, such as cough, fever, shortness of breath, headache, muscle pain, sore throat, runny nose and fatigue, the strain also has key features that can cause other symptoms.

Unlike seasonal flu, most of the people infected in the U.S. have had conjunctivitis, or “pink-eye,” said Miller.

One reason for that is likely that many have been dairy cattle workers.

“At these milking operations, it’s easy to get contamination on your hands and rub your eyes. We touch our face like all the time without even knowing it,” he said.

“Also, those operations can produce droplets or aerosols, both during milking and during cleaning that can get into the eye relatively easily.”

But the other reason for the conjunctivitis seen in H5N1 cases is that the strain binds to receptors in the eye, Miller said.

While seasonal flu binds to receptors in the upper respiratory tract, H5N1 also binds to receptors in the lower respiratory tract, he said.

“That’s a concern … because if the virus makes its way down there, those lower respiratory infections tend to be a lot more severe. They tend to lead to more severe outcomes, like pneumonias for example, that can cause respiratory distress,” Miller said.

WILL THE FLU VACCINE PROTECT AGAINST H5N1?

We don’t know “with any degree of certainty,” whether the seasonal flu vaccine could help prevent infection with H5N1, said Miller.

Although there’s no data yet, it’s quite possible that it could help prevent more severe disease once a person is infected, he said.

That’s because the seasonal flu vaccine contains a component of H1N1 virus, which “is relatively closely related to H5N1.”

“So the immunity that might help protect people against H5N1 is almost certainly conferred by either prior infection with or prior vaccination against H1N1 viruses that circulate in people,” Miller said.

HOW ELSE CAN I PROTECT MYSELF?

The Public Health Agency of Canada said as a general precaution, people shouldn’t handle live or dead wild birds or other wild animals, and keep pets away from sick or dead animals.

Those who work with animals or in animal-contaminated places should take personal protective measures, the agency said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.



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Wisconsin Supreme Court grapples with whether state’s 175-year-old abortion ban is valid

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A conservative prosecutor’s attorney struggled Monday to persuade the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reactivate the state’s 175-year-old abortion ban, drawing a tongue-lashing from two of the court’s liberal justices during oral arguments.

Sheboygan County’s Republican district attorney, Joel Urmanski, has asked the high court to overturn a Dane County judge’s ruling last year that invalidated the ban. A ruling isn’t expected for weeks but abortion advocates almost certainly will win the case given that liberal justices control the court. One of them, Janet Protasiewicz, remarked on the campaign trail that she supports abortion rights.

Monday’s two-hour session amounted to little more than political theater. Liberal Justice Rebecca Dallet told Urmanski’s attorney, Matthew Thome, that the ban was passed in 1849 by white men who held all the power and that he was ignoring everything that has happened since. Jill Karofsky, another liberal justice, pointed out that the ban provides no exceptions for rape or incest and that reactivation could result in doctors withholding medical care. She told Thome that he was essentially asking the court to sign a “death warrant” for women and children in Wisconsin.

“This is the world gone mad,” Karofsky said.

The ban stood until 1973, when the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion nationwide nullified it. Legislators never repealed the ban, however, and conservatives have argued the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe two years ago reactivated it.

Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit challenging the law in 2022. He argued that a 1985 Wisconsin law that prohibits abortion after a fetus reaches the point where it can survive outside the womb supersedes the ban. Some babies can survive with medical help after 21 weeks of gestation.

Urmanski contends that the ban was never repealed and that it can co-exist with the 1985 law because that law didn’t legalize abortion at any point. Other modern-day abortion restrictions also don’t legalize the practice, he argues.

Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper ruled last year that the ban outlaws feticide — which she defined as the killing of a fetus without the mother’s consent — but not consensual abortions. The ruling emboldened Planned Parenthood to resume offering abortions in Wisconsin after halting procedures after Roe was overturned.

Urmanski asked the state Supreme Court in February to overturn Schlipper’s ruling without waiting for a lower appellate decision.

Thome told the justices on Monday that he wasn’t arguing about the implications of reactivating the ban. He maintained that the legal theory that new laws implicitly repeal old ones is shaky. He also contended that the ban and the newer abortion restrictions can overlap just like laws establishing different penalties for the same crime. A ruling that the 1985 law effectively repealed the ban would be “anti-democratic,” Thome added.

“It’s a statute this Legislature has not repealed and you’re saying, no, you actually repealed it,” he said.

Dallet shot back that disregarding laws passed over the last 40 years to go back to 1849 would be undemocratic.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin filed a separate lawsuit in February asking the state Supreme Court to rule directly on whether a constitutional right to abortion exists in the state. The justices have agreed to take the case but haven’t scheduled oral arguments yet.

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This story has been updated to correct the Sheboygan County district attorney’s first name to Joel.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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When to catch the last supermoon of the year

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Better catch this week’s supermoon. It will be a while until the next one.

This will be the year’s fourth and final supermoon, looking bigger and brighter than usual as it comes within about 225,000 miles (361,867 kilometers) of Earth on Thursday. It won’t reach its full lunar phase until Friday.

The supermoon rises after the peak of the Taurid meteor shower and before the Leonids are most active.

Last month’s supermoon was 2,800 miles (4,500 kilometers) closer, making it the year’s closest. The series started in August.

In 2025, expect three supermoons beginning in October.

What makes a moon so super?

More a popular term than a scientific one, a supermoon occurs when a full lunar phase syncs up with an especially close swing around Earth. This usually happens only three or four times a year and consecutively, given the moon’s constantly shifting, oval-shaped orbit.

A supermoon obviously isn’t bigger, but it can appear that way, although scientists say the difference can be barely perceptible.

How do supermoons compare?

This year features a quartet of supermoons.

The one in August was 224,917 miles (361,970 kilometers) away. September’s was 222,131 miles (357,486 kilometers) away. A partial lunar eclipse also unfolded that night, visible in much of the Americas, Africa and Europe as Earth’s shadow fell on the moon, resembling a small bite.

October’s supermoon was the year’s closest at 222,055 miles (357,364 kilometers) from Earth. This month’s supermoon will make its closest approach on Thursday with the full lunar phase the next day.

What’s in it for me?

Scientists point out that only the keenest observers can discern the subtle differences. It’s easier to detect the change in brightness — a supermoon can be 30% brighter than average.

With the U.S. and other countries ramping up lunar exploration with landers and eventually astronauts, the moon beckons brighter than ever.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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