At last, a long weekend away from. . . the office?

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April 9, 2020 — Good morning, readers. Here's your special Friday-on-Thursday edition of the Daily CurveFlattener, reported (with one hand full of Dad's oatmeal cookies) by Chronicle senior editor John Evans, from a sector of Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada that isn't quite Six Points, and certainly isn't The Kingsway. 

Tomorrow is the Good Friday statutory holiday here in Ontario. Which means a welcome day home from the trenches for grocery store workers and many others in essential industries, and a slightly different menu of activities in front of my laptop screen for me. I am intensely grateful to those who brave retail these days, but I also recognize that for most of them it isn't a choice. With all the good that the Federal and Provincial governments are doing to provide financial support to those in need, some people still just have to go work in public, social distancing or no. If I could get them all home with their families and have robots selling the food, I'd do it in a heartbeat. 

One person who will not be getting the weekend off is the Easter Bunny. Ontario and Quebec Premiers Doug Ford and Francois Legault have declared the fuzzy candy-delivery rabbit to be an Essential Service. The Ontario statement made clear, though, that hare-assisted chocolate distribution is still not allowed in areas closed or restricted due to the pandemic, such as playgrounds and public parks. Because even the Easter Bunny needs to obey social distancing guidelines.

In addition to egg hunts in the living room, another activity for the family this weekend could be making your own face masks. While they are not as protective as a real n95 mask, and more protect the rest of the world from any viruses the wearer may breath out than the other way around. On Monday, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer, said that wearing a home-made cloth mask might lower the risk of asymptomatic people with Covid-19 from spreading the virus when out in public, such as when shopping, CTV News reported.

There are several different techniques for using fabric you may have hand—even an old t-shirt. U.K. newspaper The Guardian has posted a few.

If you have some particularly nice shirts you don't mind sacrificing, you might achieve as fashionable a look as the masks being manufactured by men's fashion chain Harry Rosen, which is repurposing their shirt manufacturing to produce masks for donation to Canadian hospitals for use by visitors, discharged patients, and non-frontline staff.

COVID CHRONICLE 04/09/2020

• While medical mask stockpiles are running low, 3M has reached out to supply Canada, in spite of U.S. restrictions, reports The National Post.
• Individuals with asthma and other respiratory conditions that use medical inhalers for treatment have been stockpiling in the U.K., contrary to requests from the country's National Health Service (NHS) for physicians to only write prescriptions for regular monthly refills. This is leading to 'distressing' shortages of the devices, reports a new article in the British Medical Journal. 
• The number of new cases of Covid-19 in B.C. was at a 3-week low on Tuesday, with 25 new cases reported, compared to 26 cases on April 5, and 37 on April 4. “Let’s keep our firewall strong,” said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, quoted by Global News.“This is our time to care and protect each other and our communities and our families across B.C.”

STORIES CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON TODAY...

Researchers in Quebec have identified some ways dermatologists may be explaining topical corticosteroids to their patients that could be improved in order to alleviate some patient worries and improve adherence to treatments. Chronicle senior editor John Evans (hey, that's me!) has spoken with two of the doctors who ran the study.

RIGHT NOW WE'RE LISTENING TO... 

99% Invisible podcast, episode 386: “Their Dark Materials”. 99PI (as we fans call it) is a podcast about design. Covering anything from graphic design to urban planning, they look at the hows and whys of the art and science which most people only notice when it is done badly. In this episode, the team talk about the world's most light-absorbing material, Vantablack. From the scientific applications of 'the blackest black' to the controversies around its artistic application, this should be a deluminating episode

Vantablack on crumpled metal foil. Photo by Anna Frodesiak via Wikimedia Commons

TONIGHT WE'RE WATCHING...

The Witcher. This Netflix sword-and-sorcery-and-swearing series has been out for a while, and getting good reviews from fans of the books it is based on. I saw the first episode quite a while ago, and it is about time I got down to seeing some more of it. 

TONIGHT WE'RE COOKING...

Spaghetti with improvised sauce. My pasta supplies are holding up well, but I am out of prepared tomato sauce. However, I have Italian sausage, olive oil, tomato paste, red wine, herbs and spices, and a spirit of adventure. Let's see where this goes..

AND HOW ARE YOU DOING?

Please make use of the comments section at the Daily CurveFlattener to let us know what you're up to today. Or feel free to check in via LinkedIn, email, or your choice of connector. Pass this newsletter along to your colleagues, won't you?

That's it. Stay in touch, and stay safe until tomorrow.