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Tla'amin Nation COVID-19 survivor warns virus spreads easily and recovery is difficult – Yahoo News Canada

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Brandon Peters was keeping his bubble small this summer.

The Vancouver resident planted a “COVID garden” and planned on playing it as safe as possible during the pandemic. Those plans were derailed, and so was his health, after attending the funeral of a loved one on Tla’amin Nation territory on the north Sunshine Coast near Powell River, B.C. 

Peters, a member of the nation, was diagnosed with COVID-19 within days of the visit. After spending most of September in bed fighting the virus, he is now speaking out publicly to warn people just how hard that fight can be.

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<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content=""I opened myself up for just a minute, a couple people hugged me, and I got sick within a couple of days," said Peters Thursday on On The Island.” data-reactid=”15″>”I opened myself up for just a minute, a couple people hugged me, and I got sick within a couple of days,” said Peters Thursday on On The Island.

He said when he left the north Sunshine Coast, he was so overcome with fatigue he could not complete the 80 kilometre drive to the Langdale Ferry Terminal to catch a ferry to the Lower Mainland. Instead, he had to pull over and sleep.

Peters did make it back to Vancouver though, only to have a horrible night where he said he felt “deep pain” throughout his body and had an excruciating headache. 

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="Down for the count” data-reactid=”18″>Down for the count

The next day he got tested for COVID-19. The day after that, he learned he was positive.

For the next few weeks, Peters lay in bed so overcome with exhaustion he said he couldn’t eat anything and drank only water.

“The fatigue was so intense I would have to gather my gumption just to go to the washroom,” he said.

In a recently uploaded video on the Tla’amin Nation’s Facebook page, Peters says he wondered every day while bed-ridden if he was going to make it to see another week.

Fortunately, Peters was never hospitalized and says he now has about 80 per cent of his strength back. Now he wants to tell others his story to try and prevent anyone from going through the harrowing ordeal he did — or worse.

The video is part of sharing that story.

“People might look at me like a leper over the next little while but I think if I help a couple people it will make the video worthwhile,” said Peters.

He said it is important to him that people take the risks of the virus seriously and stop engaging in activities that could put themselves or others at risk.

“This is going to be with us for a while and we need to make those responsible decisions.”

According to a media release from the Tla’amin Nation, there have been 36 positive COVID-19 cases reported in the nation since September 7.

The community is currently in a state of local emergency and non-approved visitors are restricted from Tla’amin land.

<p class="canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)–sm Mt(0.8em)–sm" type="text" content="To hear the complete interview with Brandon Peters on On The Island, tap here.” data-reactid=”30″>To hear the complete interview with Brandon Peters on On The Island, tap here.

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New England College of Optometry Issues Safety Advisory for Solar Eclipse – New England College of Optometry

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NECO Issues Safety Advisory for Solar Eclipse – New England College of Optometry


Watching the celestial event safely is possible with the right equipment and some preparation.

With the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, the New England College of Optometry (NECO) urges the general public to observe this celestial phenomenon safely. Solar eclipses are rare events that spark widespread interest and excitement. To ensure everyone can enjoy the eclipse without risking their vision, NECO is sharing crucial guidelines for proper viewing.  

“Solar eclipses present a wonderful opportunity for communities to engage with astronomy, but it’s vital that safety is a  priority,” says George Asimellis, PhD, Msc, MBA, Professor of Vision Science at NECO. “Viewing a solar eclipse without appropriate protection can result in solar retinopathy, which can cause lasting damage to the eyes. You must take proper precautions to view the eclipse.” PLEASE NOTE: NECO recommends that individuals who have recently undergone eye surgery or who have chronic eye conditions should refrain from viewing the eclipse. 

Student helps patient pick glasses frame

To prevent eye injuries and ensure a memorable experience, NECO advises the following: 

  • Always use solar viewing glasses. “When gearing up to watch the magical solar eclipse, it’s important to use specialized solar filters known as ‘eclipse glasses,’” says Alina Reznik, OD ’16, NECO Alumni Liaison. “These viewers adhere to the international safety standard ISO 12312-2 for safe viewing.” The ISO certification should be visible somewhere on the product. Ordinary sunglasses, even those with UV protection, are NOT safe for looking directly at the sun. They transmit thousands of times too much sunlight to be used for solar viewing.
  • If you wish to capture the event, do not look at the sun through camera viewfinders or phone cameras, as this can also lead to serious eye damage and can even destroy a phone. 
  • The safest way to view the eclipse is to create a camera obscura by finding a piece of cardboard and piercing a small hole in the center. With your back to the sun, hold the cardboard at shoulder height. In your other hand, hold a sheet of paper and align it with the cardboard until you see a tiny image of the sun projected onto the surface of the paper. You can even put cardboard around the “screen” to block out ambient light and see the eclipse image more clearly.

NECO will host an eclipse viewing party on Monday, April 8, from 2:00-4:00pm at their main campus located at 424 Beacon Street in Boston’s Back Bay. Media are welcome to attend and receive a free pair of eclipse viewing glasses. Faculty will be present to talk about the science behind safely viewing an eclipse.

The map below (courtesy of NASA) shows the eclipse’s path of totality.

For those who reside outside the path of totality: The Boston area is outside the eclipse’s path of totality. However, we will be able to view a partial eclipse starting at about 2:10pm. Our area will experience moderate darkness and a drop in temperature during the partial eclipse, which will last two hours. Eclipse glasses must still be used to protect  your eyes from the harmful rays of the sun, even during a partial eclipse!

Our vision experts are available for comment and additional information on eye care during this astronomical event. Please contact our Marketing Department by calling (617) 587-5609, or email [email protected].

For more information from national experts on the April 8 solar eclipse, visit NASA or the American Optometric Association.

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Changing the way people see the world

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Global wildlife study during COVID-19 shows rural animals are more sensitive to human activity

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Plant-eating animals more active, carnivores more cautious around humans 

One of the largest studies on wildlife activity—involving more than 220 researchers, 163 mammal species and 5,000 camera traps worldwide—reveals that wild animals react differently to humans depending on where the animals live and what they eat.

Bigger herbivores—plant-eating animals like deer or moose—tend to become more active when humans are around, while meat-eaters like wolves or wolverines tend to be less active, preferring to avoid risky encounters.

Urban animals like deer or raccoons may become more active around people, as they get used to human presence and find food like garbage or plants, which they can access at night. But animals living farther from cities and other developed areas are more wary of encountering people.

Wildlife during the pandemic ‘anthropause’

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Dr. Cole Burton

The new study, a collaboration across researchers from 161 institutions, used data from before and during the COVID-19 lockdowns to examine wildlife behaviour amid changing human activity levels.

“COVID-19 mobility restrictions gave researchers a truly unique opportunity to study how animals responded when the number of people sharing their landscape changed drastically over a relatively short period,” said lead author Dr. Cole Burton, an associate professor of forest resources management at UBC and Canada Research Chair in Terrestrial Mammal Conservation.

“And contrary to the popular narratives that emerged around that time, we did not see an overall pattern of ‘wildlife running free’ while humans sheltered in place. Rather, we saw great variation in activity patterns of people and wildlife, with the most striking trends being that animal responses depended on landscape conditions and their position in the food chain.”

In Canada, researchers monitoring areas such as Banff and Pacific Rim national parks, Cathedral, Golden Ears and South Chilcotin Mountains provincial parks, and the Sea-to-Sky corridor in B.C. found that carnivores like wolverines, wolves and cougars were generally less active when human activity was higher.

In several of these parks, and in cities such as Edmonton, large herbivores often increased their activity but became more nocturnal with the presence of more humans. Large carnivores were notably absent from the most human-dominated landscapes.

A coyote warily investigating a camera trap in Malcolm Knapp Research
Forest, British Columbia, Canada. Photo credit: Dr. Cole Burton, UBC WildCo

Preventing conflict through smart conservation measures

These findings highlight the importance of measures to minimize any detrimental effects of human disturbance on wildlife, including reducing overlaps that might lead to conflict.

Dr. Kaitlyn Gaynor

“In remote areas with limited human infrastructure, the effects of our actual presence on wildlife may be particularly strong. To give wild animals the space they need, we may consider setting aside protected areas or movement corridors free of human activity, or consider seasonal restrictions, like temporary closures of campsites or hiking trails during migratory or breeding seasons,” said study co-author and UBC biologist Dr. Kaitlyn Gaynor.

She added that strategies must also fit specific species and locations. In more remote areas, keeping human activity low will be necessary to protect sensitive species. In areas where people and animals overlap more, such as cities, nighttime is an important refuge for wildlife, and keeping it that way can help species survive. Efforts may focus on reducing human-wildlife conflict after dark, such as more secure storage of trash bins to reduce the number of animals getting into human food sources, or use of road mitigation measures to reduce vehicle collisions.

The findings are particularly useful amid the surge in global travel and outdoor recreation post-pandemic, Dr. Burton added.

“Understanding how wildlife respond to human activity in various contexts helps us develop effective conservation plans that have local and global impact. For that reason, we are working to improve wildlife monitoring systems using tools like the camera traps that made it possible to observe animal behaviours during the pandemic.”

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Three Canadian Student CubeSats Set for ISS Launch

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Longueuil, Quebec, – On , three CubeSats designed and built by Canadian students will launch to the International Space Station (ISS).This is the fourth and final launch of miniature satellites under the Canadian CubeSat Project. The teams finalized preparations of their CubeSats in at the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The teams are:

  • QMSat – Université de Sherbrooke
  • Killick-1 – Memorial University
  • VIOLET – University of New Brunswick

Live coverage of the launch will air on NASA Live.

/Public Release. This material from the originating organization/author(s) might be of the point-in-time nature, and edited for clarity, style and length. Mirage.News does not take institutional positions or sides, and all views, positions, and conclusions expressed herein are solely those of the author(s).View in full here.

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