NHL evaluating options and Emergency departments feeling strained; In The News for March 12

The NHL expects to make a further announcement Thursday.

“We just heard, it’s still a little fresh and we haven’t had time to digest or anything,” Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid said after his team lost 4-2 to the visiting Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday.

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Also this …

Hospitals are scrambling to prepare for more COVID-19 cases as Canada’s count climbs past 100, and emergency departments are already feeling the strain.

Increased visits by coronavirus-fearing patients may soon overwhelm the system, warn doctors who would like to see public health officials find out-of-hospital solutions for COVID-19 testing.

“We’re already seeing an impact on the pediatric emergency department,” says Dr. Jocelyn Srigley, medical microbiologist and clinical assistant professor at the University of British Columbia.

The number of children registering in the emergency department with flu-like symptoms is far above what is expected for this time of year, says Srigley. According to data from the BC Centre for Disease Control, this has been the case for the past five weeks.

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What we are watching in the U.S. …

U.S. President Donald Trump is slamming America’s door on most foreign nationals who were recently in Europe — a drastic step in response to an accelerating global pandemic that, should it proceed, could pose a serious threat to commerce and travel between Canada and its largest trading partner.

Trump, in a rare televised Oval Office address, sounded nervous and ill at ease Wednesday as he sought to assure Americans that his White House was taking decisive steps to slow the march of the novel coronavirus.

“To keep new cases from entering our shores, we will be suspending all travel from Europe to the United States for the next 30 days,” Trump declared into the camera, his fingers latticed before him on the Resolute Desk.

“There will be exemptions for Americans who have undergone appropriate screenings, and these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things as we get approval. Anything coming from Europe to the United States is what we are discussing. These restrictions will also not apply to the United Kingdom.”

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What we are watching in the rest of the world …

Iran said Thursday it had asked for an emergency $5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to help fight the spread of a new virus that’s swept across the country, infecting more than 10,000 people and killing hundreds.

Iran’s Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour announced in a now-daily televised news conference that 75 people had died in the past 24 hours and more than 1,000 new cases of infection had been confirmed, pushing the death toll to 429 and confirmed cases to 10,075.

In a tweet Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif urged the IMF to “stand on right side of history & act responsibly” by releasing the funds through the international lender’s Rapid Financial Instrument. Iran’s Central Bank chief Abdolnasser Hemmati said Thursday he made the request for $5 billion last week in a letter to IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva. The IMF has said it stands ready to support countries battling the virus.

Zarif has urged countries to assist Iran with N95 face masks, ventilators, surgical gowns, testing kits, portable digital X-ray machines and other needed medical supplies. The World Health Organization recently sent a shipment via an Emirati cargo plane full of medical gear to Iran, including 1,100 virus testing kits that can test more than 105,000 people.

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ICYMI …

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — The remains of two Indigenous people have been returned to Newfoundland from Scotland after being stolen from a grave site on the island almost two centuries ago.

Representatives from five Indigenous groups in Newfoundland and Labrador as well as Premier Dwight Ball participated in a small ceremony at The Rooms provincial archive in St. John’s on Wednesday, where the remains of Beothuk people Nonosabasut and Demasduit had arrived hours earlier.

National Museums Scotland announced last year that the remains would be transferred to Canada following a federal government request.

The remains will stay at The Rooms so they can be preserved, but not displayed, until a final burial site is decided on by Indigenous leaders.

Chief Mi’sel Joe of the Miawpukek First Nation, who led efforts for the return starting in 2015, described it as a sacred moment for the island’s history.

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Weird and wild …

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. — A cow is on the loose in South Florida.

It’s not considered dangerous, but police have been trying to corral it for weeks.

The Pembroke Pines Police Department says the animal has been spotted near Interstate 75 in southern Broward County. Somehow it has eluded capture since late January.

The police department put out a tweet: “Wanted: Unknown Cow.”

Followed by this: “Description: Female cow. Brown with a white head. Faster than it looks. Talented fence jumper. Enjoys pools.”

Police spokeswoman Amanda Conwell says officers and wranglers have been unable to catch the animal and have backed off when it gets too close to heavily travelled roads.

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Know your news …

Federal prosecutors say Vancouver businessman David Sidoo will plead guilty to paying US$200,000 to have someone take a college entrance exam in place of his two sons as part of a admissions cheating scheme. What sport did Sidoo play professionally?

(Keep scrolling for the answer)

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On this day in 1964 …

Ontario Education Minister Bill Davis abolished the law segregating white and black schools.

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Entertainment news …

SYDNEY — American actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are isolated in stable condition in an Australian hospital after contracting the new coronavirus.

Hanks, a double Oscar winner, is easily the most famous person yet to disclose they have COVID-19.

Hanks said he and Wilson, his wife, had felt tired, with colds, aches and slight fevers before testing positive.

He added they’ll be “isolated for as long as public health and safety requires.” Hanks was in Australia working on an untitled Elvis Presley biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann. It has suspended production.

Australian officials say people who’ve been in close contact with Hanks and Wilson will have to self-quarantine.

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Know your news answer …

Football. Sidoo, who is known for his philanthropic causes in British Columbia, played in the Canadian Football League for six years for the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions, his website says.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2020.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

NHL evaluating options and Emergency departments feeling strained; In The News for March 12

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