Texas first state to exceed 1 million Covid cases, Ontario tightens restrictions

The NPC Healthbiz Weekly has launched. It's your weekly briefing on topics pertinent to healthcare marketers and executives published in cooperation with PeakPharma Solutions.

⇒ Issue #135 (In numerology, 135 signifies the time has come for you to be in touch with your inner self.)

⇒ Confirmed Covid cases in Canada as of 11/13: 285,936*
⇒ Confirmed Covid fatalities in Canada as of 11/13: 10,828*
⇒ Worldwide Covid cases as of 11/13: 52,850,543*

⇒ Worldwide Covid fatalities as of 11/13: 1,295,185*

November 12, 2020—Happy Friday, CurveFlatteners. This is Kylie Rebernik here with your end-of-week briefing. 

With Covid-19 numbers reaching a new record yesterday, Ontario will be enacting new restrictions based on a zone system. Although Toronto was originally deemed to be an "orange" zone, according to Toronto's Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, Toronto will now be "red" based on the number of cases this week and will remain red for the next 28 days. Some restrictions include: the continued closing of indoor dining with closure by 10 p.m., meeting and event spaces will remain closed until mid-December, gaming establishments should remain closed, and social gatherings should be limited to members of the same household or up to two essential supporters. You can read more about further restrictions here. 

The recommendations made by Dr. de Villa (pictured left) were supported by Ontario Premier Doug Ford who said, "The only way we're going to be able to beat this is through a targeted approach, and what is good for Toronto isn't always good for [suburban] Peel or York regions, but what our framework does is it creates a baseline."

South of the border, Texas has become the first U.S. state to surpass one million cases. Health officials in Texas say the number is likely higher as many people have not been tested because many people may not feel sick, or may only be experiencing mild symptoms. 

The NPC Podcast is back for another season. The organizers of the National Pharmaceutical Congress are proud to release our new weekly podcast series, hosted by Peter Brenders. Listen here now, or download the episode and play it at your convenience. The NPC Podcast is presented in cooperation with Impres Pharma

COVID CHRONICLE 11-13-2020

• A team of researchers at Brock University has been awarded $200,000 grant from the Canada Foundation for Innovation to look at how cells respond to the Covid-19 infection and the impact of acquired immunity. The research team is being led by Adam MacNeil who is an associate professor of Health Sciences. 
• A new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry (Nov. 9, 2020) has found that in patients with no previous psychiatric history, a Covid-19 diagnosis is significantly associated with an increased incidence of a first psychiatric diagnosis. 
• Scientists at Dalhousie University have published a study that shows certain species of whales, dolphins, seals and other marine mammals could be highly susceptible to Covid-19. Predictions from the study show that 18 out of 21 species of whales and dolphins have the same or higher susceptibility to Covid-19 and eight out of nine species of seals are also susceptible. The study was published in Science of the Total Environment (Oct. 23, 2020). 

TONIGHT WE ARE WATCHING...

I have recently taken on watching "Grey's Anatomy" from the beginning. If you are determined not to leave the house until next May, you can always watch all 16 seasons on Netflix. 

LATER I AM EATING...

Chicken, Brussel sprouts, and asparagus fries. If you have never tried asparagus fires I highly recommend you welcome them into your life, and you can find the recipe here. 

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND...

Daily CurveFlattener will return next Wednesday. Until then, please stay safe out there.