Database? We don’t know nothing about no database

The NPC Healthbiz Weekly has launched. It's your weekly briefing on topics pertinent to healthcare marketers and executives. From Chronicle Companies, organizers of the 14th National Pharmaceutical Congress, which begins Oct. 21. More info at pharmacongress.info

⇒ Issue #108 (In numerology, 108 signifies great leadership skills, new beginnings, intuition, and a sense of entitlement.)
⇒ Confirmed Covid cases in Canada as of 09/10: 136,135*
⇒ Confirmed Covid fatalities in Canada as of 09/10: 9,204*
⇒ Worldwide Covid cases as of 09/10: 27,897,904*
⇒ Worldwide Covid fatalities as of 09/10: 904,364*

September 10, 2020—Today’s edition of the Daily Curve Flattener is coming to you from Chronicle World headquarters in Etobicoke, Ont., where Chronicle editorial director Allan Ryan has stopped by the office to check on the status of the network computers. Oh, and water the plants, too.

In Ontario, the Covid-19 database established under the Emergency Measures and Civil Protection Act in April by the provincial government—which contains the names, addresses, birth dates and other information of anyone in the province who has tested positive for the virus—has been routinely accessed by police forces for reasons unrelated to the pandemic, critics charge. Access to the database can violate an individual’s rights to privacy and equality, they say.



Although police access to the database was revoked by the province on Aug. 17, it is just now being revealed how frequently the law enforcers tapped the list. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA) and other groups including Aboriginal Legal Services and the Black Legal Action Centre filed a legal challenge against the use of the database. The CCLA says the list was searched by police in Ontario over 95,000 times during that period. The Thunder Bay, Ont. cops accessed the database over 14,800 times—in an area where there have been only 100 positive Covid cases reported. That’s the highest per capita search rate in the province.

According to the provincial government’s stated intention, the purpose of the database was to protect police, firefighters and paramedics by providing the Covid-19 status of individuals with whom they had been in contact.

At the time the database was established, Minister of Health Christine Elliott said: “The information disclosed will be limited to an individual's name, address, date of birth, and whether the individual has had a positive COVID-19 test result. Strict protocols will be enforced to limit access to this information and will only be used to allow first responders to take appropriate safety precautions to protect themselves and the communities they serve.”

COVID CHRONICLE 09/10/2020:

• The International Commission on Microbiological Specifications for Foods (ICMSF) says it is highly unlikely that food could be a source of transmission for Covid-19. "To date, there has not been any evidence that food, food packaging or food handling is a source or important transmission route for SARS-CoV-2 resulting in Covid-19," the organization said in a statement.
• A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that plumbing in a high-rise building in China may have contributed to the fecal spread of coronavirus. Earlier, separate groups of researchers noted possible aerosol transmission of the novel coronavirus through rising vapours from human feces in high-rise plumbing in China, according to a study published in the Environment International journal
  In a related matter, Canadian scientists believe that wastewater outflow could provide public health units with an early warning system for Covid-19 infection. 
• Researchers at Ontario Tech University in Oshawa, Ont., believe the system—in addition to helping identify the area of a community where the infection may be present—could even detect the virus before people begin to show symptoms and help officials minimize the infection.
• Dermatologists are reporting a rise in stress-related hair loss cases as Covid-19 continues its march. According to this release on Newswire, the increase of cases of telogen effluvium can be related to issues such as confinement and emotional stress, or even after recovery from Covid-19 infection. Dr. Antonella Tosti of the University of Miami said, “The stress associated with Covid, and the infection itself, as well as the drugs utilized to treat the infection, can all contribute to causing hair loss. Telogen effluvium is temporary and can last three to four months, however, it is not always reversible.”
  
  WHAT CHRONICLE IS WORKING ON TODAY
  
  Editorial assistant Jeremy Visser is preparing an article for Pediatric Chronicle exploring the association between mental illness in parents and the risk of injury in children and adolescents
  
  TONIGHT WE ARE LISTENING TO...
  
  A Perfect Storm of Disinformation. A friend recommended this podcast (and she’s only steered me wrong a few times during our long association), so will check it out tonight. If you’re wondering about the lies and distortions and disinformation shaking up political campaigns and news organizations and even family life, this is certainly a worthwhile take.
  
  HOW IS YOUR WEEK GOING?
  
  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. By all means, pass this newsletter along to your colleagues.