Celebrate Simcoe Day and take a break from Covid angst. Hockey has returned

The NPC Podcast is on the air. The organizers of the National Pharmaceutical Congress are proud to release our new weekly podcast series, hosted by Peter Brenders. Peter's guest this week is Lee Ferreira. Listen here now, or download the episode and play it at your convenience. The NPC Podcast is presented in cooperation with Impres Pharma. (The NPC Podcast is now on Apple iTunes.)

⇒ Issue #87 (In numerology, the number 87 connotes family, organization, and prosperity.)
⇒ Confirmed Covid cases in Canada as of 07/31: 117,667*
⇒ Confirmed Covid fatalities in Canada as of 07/31: 8,974*
⇒ Worldwide Covid cases as of 07/31: 17,321,294*
⇒ Worldwide Covid fatalities as of 07/31: 673,882*

July 31, 2020—Hockey is back! Hockey is back! Oh, and did I mention... hockey is back! Welcome to the last CurveFlattener of July, with your very excited assistant editor Kylie Rebernik at the keyboard.




If you haven't guessed already, I will be spending my weekend watching hockey with my favourite team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, back in action on Sunday versus the Blue Jackets of Columbus, Ohio. If you happen not to be a Leaf fan such as I, you can read about the new format and check if your team made it into the playoffs here.


In the event that you may have not caught the 'pre-season' matches and therefore failed to notice that every time a team scores a goal their home goal-horn provides an audible bleat of triumph, followed by simulated audience cheering (though there is no audience,) And unlike Florida, where Covid-19 testings centers have been closed due to an impending tropical storm (only one day after Florida recorded its highest number of Covid-19 fatalities), the NHL has continued Covid testing preforming 4,256 tests over a seven day period and reporting no cases of Covid among players and team staff.

There may be other news to report today, but somehow I can't get past the mid-Summer idyll and the out-of-context thrill of knowing that hockey is back! Or am I repeating myself?


COVID CHRONICLE 07/31/2020

• In an effort to combat the spread of misinformation, a librarian at the University of Toronto's Gerstein Science Information Centre has put together a new online resource titled "How can I spot misinformation about the coronavirus and Covid-19?" The online resources include weekly fact-checks and address common Covid-19 myths and claims and use evidence-based material to answer questions.
• The Canadian Mental Health Association is reporting that calls to the helpline have increased by 20 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels. Specific branches of the Canadian Mental Health Association are reporting that isolation is hitting youths and seniors the hardest.
• A new article published in British Medical Journal (Jul. 27, 2020) outlines how a majority of U.S. states are not reporting key indicators in the data they publish about Covid-19. According to a report from Resolve to Save Lives, a New York-based non-profit led by former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Tom Frieden, "State reporting on contact tracing is abysmal. Only eight states report data on the source of exposure for cases... source data is routinely reported in countries that are responding effectively to Covid-19."

WHAT CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON TODAY

Our dermatology web portal, www.Derm.city, is getting a makeover. The new and improved Derm.city will launch later today and will include a new blog interface and member area, which will allow you to access our print journals digitally.


RIGHT NOW I AM READING...

I have just finished reading Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and before my book club starts its next book, I have been peer pressured into giving A Court of Throns and Roses by Sarah J. Mass another chance, so here goes nothing.


TONIGHT WE ARE EATING...

Leftover homemade Pad Thai (extra spicy). I got a wok a few months ago as a belated birthday gift and decided to pull it out give it a try. It might be my new favourite thing. Here is a photo of my homemade Pad Thai (if you would like me to send you the recipe, just leave a request in the comments box.)





HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND

That's it for me for this week, CurveFlatteners. If you have any thoughts or comments, we'd love for you to drop them in the comments section below. Please also check us out on LinkedIn and share us around. There's no report on Monday, because of the Simcoe Day statutory holiday in Ontario. My colleague Cory Perla will be back Tuesday.