The Bridge with Peter Mansbridge - What's Your Plan For The Winter? Better Get One.

Episode Date: October 20, 2020

Whatever Happened to the flattened curve? That and a lot more -- including a special ending!

and hello there peter mansbridge here with the latest episode of the bridge daily it's tuesday of week 32 and we got kind of a grab bag today. We got a bunch of stuff. All stuff that hopefully you will find interesting. Keeping in mind that the next couple of days, they're going to be big ones. Tomorrow night, the race next door with Bruce Anderson. The night before the final presidential debate. We'll have a special guest with Bruce and I tomorrow.

With Bruce and me tomorrow. With Bruce and me tomorrow. I always get that wrong. I've got that wrong since, well, I started doing Ease and Eyes. Great school for me. I always get it wrong. Anyway, onward. Special guest tomorrow on The Race Next Door. And then we'll also have a Friday tomorrow on The Race Next Door. And then we'll also have a Friday edition of The Race Next Door.

Probably have a special guest on that one too as we try to break down first tomorrow what could happen in the debate and on Friday what did happen in the debate. So we're looking forward to that. But in the meantime, we've got stuff to talk about. On our other major topic that we've been covering for 32 weeks now, and that, of course, is COVID-19. This was not a good day on the COVID-19 front in Canada.

You're looking at spikes, new peaks in most parts of the country. And we've been seeing that building up over the last little while to the point at which you've got a situation where if you look at the graphs on new cases, you know, like the graphs they make up, and you can go to, you know, just Google Canada COVID, and you come up with the official government site, and you, you know, go through a few links, and you'll get the graphs for breakdown, province by province by province.

And the graphs show spikes in almost, or they show going up rapidly in some cases in almost every province of the country. The exceptions where it's kind of flatlined are Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. But everywhere else, even little PEI, the graph's showing an upward movement. And the biggest, fastest climb, Manitoba. But, you know, you've got the graph going upwards in Saskatchewan, Alberta, BC, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick. And PEI.

Not good. Not good. And today in Ontario, today's Ontario numbers are puzzling. You know, and some of the things about Ontario lately have been puzzling. It's the whole Halloween thing that we talked about yesterday on the podcast, and I see there's been a lot of people talking the same way I was talking last night. And they're, you know, they just think.

They're thinking that you've got to trust kids. If we can trust them at school, why can't we trust them with certain conditions on Halloween? Anyway, the numbers in Ontario today, 821 new cases. That's up about 100 cases from yesterday, but, you know, it's kind of been in that ballpark now for the last week or 10 days, 700, 800 in there. But what was different today was the positivity rate.

So that's based on the number of tests you do and the number of positives you come up with. And the positivity rate you want to be under, it's generally accepted, you want to be under 2.5%. Well, Ontario's been well under that for a long time now. You know, we're down to, you know, less than half of one percentage point during the summer. But it's recently gone up fairly quickly. And yesterday, I think it was somewhere around 1.5, which is still considerably below 2.5.

However, what changed today was the number of tests that were done yesterday. After we've been averaging in Ontario somewhere around 40,000, 42,000 a day, it was only 24,000 yesterday. So you know what that means. That means your positivity rate's going to be going up. And up it went today, 3.42%. Once again, the number you want to be under is 2.5. And usually, at least the old rules were,

if you were over 2.5, man, they were going to bang in the whole new restrictions. Nothing's happened on that front yet today. There have been a number of new restrictions, as Ontarians know, in the last week or so, as has happened in other provinces. But then some odd things happen. You know, like on the day they announced these restrictions about Halloween,

they also say, okay, well, let's open dance studios or dance classes. Doesn't seem to kind of make sense. What's the overall number, the positivity rate for the country? It's 2.2%. So that's under the 2.5. That makes us look great. A lot of other countries would trade their positivity rates for ours. A lot of states in the U.S. would trade their positivity rates for the positivity rate in any Canadian province. There are some horrific numbers in the states.

Overall, the big numbers, we are approaching 10,000 dead in Canada as a result of COVID-19. We're a couple of hundred away from that. That will happen. It's going to happen. It's going to happen in the next month or less. In the States, they passed 220,000 last night or this morning. So the ratio there is, what, 22 to 1.

Remember our population ratio? It's about 10 to 1. However, 10,000 dead in Canada within the next month. Number of new cases yesterday, 3,300 across the country. Number of new cases in the States, I didn't see what yesterday was, somewhere around 60,000. But 3,300 in Canada is a lot more than it was a couple of weeks ago. So as everybody's telling us, we're definitely into the second wave, and we're looking at it face-on, hard,

for the next month or two. They figure the restrictions that they've placed in certain hotspot areas in Canada will make things plateau, you know, flatten the curve. Let's hope they're right. But whatever way you look at it, we're into this. We're into this for a while yet. And I'm going to say something about that when we get closer to the end.

Now, we're not alone. Europe is not doing well. Listen to this story out of Europe today. Bars and restaurants across Belgium shut down for a month, and a nighttime curfew took effect on Monday as health authorities warned of a possible tsunami of new virus cases in the hard-hit nation that hosts the headquarters of the European Union. It's Belgium. People have been ordered to work from home wherever possible and thousands of students have been affected. Several universities have decided that only one seat in five in lecture halls hosting more than 50 people can be occupied. Now, some of that's already happening here. But is more of that going to happen here? People being ordered to stay home.

That's your full lockdown. Nobody talking that here yet. Nobody's talking about a full lockdown in the States. Their situation is horrific. And you've got your super spreader bouncing around the country encouraging even more numbers by his actions. All right, here's your vaccine story for today. In The Atlantic, the online edition of The Atlantic magazine,

they explore the mind of the anti-vaxxer. And this is an important piece because at the moment, when surveyed, Americans, only half of Americans say they will take the vaccine when it arrives. Now, that's not enough to accomplish vaccine effectiveness in, I hate to use this term, because it's kind of association with it of late, but for vaccines to work, the percentage of those who actually use it has got to be quite high to kick in an immunity

across the herd, okay? And they usually talk about 75 to 80 percent. So sitting at 50 percent, you got a problem. It's probably about the same here in Canada, and I know that some government officials are already talking about how are they going to deal with this? How are they going to try and encourage people to take the vaccine while at the same time, and that's what this article argues, respecting those who are hesitant or more. Vaccine advocates, says the Atlantic, should understand that most of the vaccine-hesitant people want to be heard, not mocked,

and their concerns should be addressed with unbiased, apolitical, and serious investment towards gaining their trust. And here's an interesting, somewhat related thing. In California, an 11-person panel specializing in topics such as epidemiology, biostatistics, and infectious disease will review any vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration before it is distributed to state residents.

So that's yet another level of checking. The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, announced that just yesterday, arguing that this will increase the safety review of the new coronavirus vaccines in the state, and it will increase trust. Well, that's certainly the hope. A couple of weeks ago, we talked about the situation that was occurring in some banks and other retail outlets, where the minority of customers, the vast minority, okay,

like 90, 95% of people who go into banks or retail stores where the signage is clear, you must wear a mask to come in here. There's that small percentage that refuse to and get quite, not defensive, they get quite aggressive about defending their position of not wearing a mask. So this is an issue, right? The New York Times has a piece that talks about how store workers of the biggest U.S. retailers

are now getting new training on how to handle conflicts, arguments, and fights over wearing masks. And it's spearheaded by the National Retail Foundation in the U.S. The online training program teaches employees how to recognize what stage of a crisis a consumer may be in and what they can do to diffuse the situation. Now, this is interesting because they're not saying to the stores

and their security people and their managers, okay, you've got to be aggressive. You've got to physically throw them out. They don't want to do that. They're not interested in doing that. They want to try to have a reasonable conversation. And one of the ways they're being trained to have a reasonable conversation is to kind of leave the power in the hands of the person who is refusing to wear a mask.

Allow them, if not force them, to make a decision. And so one of the ways of doing that is you say, would you mind stepping out of the line for a moment, and I will answer your questions. So in other words, put the onus on them to step out of the line and tell them that you're going to listen to them and you're going to answer their questions. If that doesn't work, you try, would you like to meet the manager of the store

and talk to her or to him about the situation and ask those questions? The belief is this lowers the temperature and it puts the onus on the person who's upset, puts the onus on them to make a decision, which is, okay, they're not throwing me out and they're offering to explain things to me or they're offering to give me the manager to talk to.

And those who do these kind of negotiations say that is not 100% guaranteed that it's going to work, but it has a better chance of working than getting in some verbal slugfest with somebody in the middle of the store, in the line, with everybody else standing around. Excuse me, standing around. So, I don't know, maybe that'll work. I hope it'll work. We'll give it a try. Okay. Okay.

Now, a couple of other things. One in particular they're going to end on today, which is going to be very different. But here's one. The last thing that's different is also about masks. This isn't. You know, 32 weeks ago when all this started for us in March, we went through the season of spring, right?

It was kind of the end of the last part of winter, last, you know, few weeks, last month of winter. Then we did spring. Then we did summer. Now we're closing out on fall. And winter's coming. And in some parts of the country, as you well know, winter's already here.

But it's coming for everybody, and it's coming. And in some parts of the country, as you well know, winter's already here. But it's coming for everybody, and it's coming soon. So at that point, we will have seen all four seasons of the calendar year. We won't have been in this for a year, but we will be in the season that will take us to the one-year anniversary of living through a pandemic. And with each season, you have great hope that, you know, the next season is going to see the end of this. I'm sure none of us thought in March, 32 weeks ago, that we wouldn't be in a much better place by now than we were in.

Well, we're not, and it's not over yet. And while it will end someday, it's not going to end any time soon. So, this story is about how we're going to get through the winter. In many ways, it's the toughest season, right? And there are some things about it that are beautiful. But it's a tough season because you're indoors quite a bit. It's cold, and it's dark more than it's light. And so what are you going to do to keep your spirits up keep your energy up to keep your mind

going well one of the ways and we've kind of toyed with this idea through the last 32 weeks but now is the time to really think about it. And that is to start or learn something new, like totally new for you. Now, a couple of my friends, and Bruce is one of them. Now, he started this a couple of years ago, but he's really developed a passion for it over the last 32 weeks. And so was another friend of mine, Don Spandier, who's an executive producer at the CBC, smart guy,

who's, you know, got a great mind. Always thinking of new ways of doing television. But he's been basically locked up in his home for 32 weeks. And he started doing what Bruce had already been doing for a while, but both of them have developed into pretty good painters. Now, initially, when I first looked at their stuff, and, you know, believe me, I can't draw. I got stuck in grade school. The same time around I was doing the me and I stuff.

I got stuck with, you know, I could never draw a horse. It was impossible for me to figure out how to do that. So I kind of gave up on drawing or painting. Cynthia's a great artist. She's been a great artist for a long time. But getting back to the point here, starting something new, Bruce finessed painting.

He'd say he's still not there yet, but I just look at his work. He puts it online. He puts it on his Instagram account quite a bit. And so does Don Spandier. And Don, who initially, to me, looked like a paint-by-numbers exercise, he's now like, he's fantastic. So I use them both as examples of what's possible, right? Now, it doesn't have to be painting.

It could be sewing. It could be whatever. Something you've not done before. A new challenge. Something different. Say, you know what? This winter, I'm going to learn to blank, whatever it is. And go for it.

What do you got to lose? But think of something new and different. I mean, when this all started, I said, if you've never done diary, now's the time to do a diary because it'll go through the generations of your family and your descendants. It'll always look back to this moment. And I still believe that.

And that diary could be written. It could be digital. It could be video. It could be any number of things. But anyway, there's lots more than diaries and painting and sewing. Right? So, why don't we think about that? Learn or start something new.

And I saw this in an article. I think it was in the Huffington Post. It was in the Huffington Post. And they quote a Dr. Claudia Pastides saying, all these things are positive tasks or hobbies that you can put your energy into and make you feel good at the end.

Motivation comes from inside us all. We're in charge of creating it and holding on to it. So there you go. That's my idea for you for this winter. Now, I said we're going to try something special, something new to end today's podcast. And we will. But first, I want to remind you about tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the race next door. Bruce Anderson will be with us, as he always is. But we're also going to bring in another guest as well, a special guest. You'll find out who that is tomorrow. As we try to preview where we are in the U.S. election on the race next door, especially as it is the night before the final presidential debate. And then we'll have another edition of The Race Next Door on Friday after that final debate. Debate's Thursday, so tomorrow night, Wednesday, hump day, and Friday.

Special editions of The Race Next Door. There's how we're going to close out. Do you like musicals? We love musicals in this house. Because, you know, Cynthia's been a star of any number of different musicals at the Stratford Festival down the street here. So we love musicals at the Stratford Festival down the street here. So we love musicals.

Ever heard of Noah Lindquist? He's kind of a, he's very much a musical guy, kind of an opera guy. And he runs a thing called a Lyric Opera in Chicago. And there was a piece on him this week in the Kansas City Star. And it included a link to something he's done. And it's a catchy little tune. You'll recognize it. The music comes from a certain musical

that those of you who love musicals will know right away. But Noah wrote this and performs it because he believes in wearing masks. And as you know, so do I. Mask wearing may be the single biggest thing we can do to stunt the growth of this virus, to protect you and to protect others around you. Right?

Right? So, I'm going to play you this to close out today's podcast. It's called Wear a Mask. All right? So enjoy this. Here you are. Wear a mask. Wear a mask. Here you are. Such a chore! No, these mandates aren't malicious. All your theories are fictitious. Stop the lies, stop the fights.

No one's taking away your rights. All this speculation makes me need a flask. Come on and read some data. All you masturbators wear a mask. Wear a mask. Wear a mask. It's a mask. It's a mask. Heaven's sakes, it's just a mask, wear a mask. It's a mask, it's a mask.

Heaven's sakes, it's just a mask. Such a shame that asking folks to follow rules gets you harassed. You can shout, you can glare, but listen, Karen, I don't care. Never seen folks so dramatic over a f***ing piece of fabric. Hard to breathe, feels too hot. Quit your bitching, there's a thought. Suck a tub and don't you give me any sass. We've got a lot to do and it's not just the flu. So wear a mask.

Wear a mask. Wear a mask. Wear a mask. Wear a mask. Wear a mask. Get your head out of your ass. Try to think of someone other than yourself. It's all we ask.

While you sit watching Fox ignoring science and the docs wow your ignorance is showing as the death toll keeps on growing case by case test by test don't forget you're not oppressed till we put put this damn pandemic in the past. Try not to be so grouchy. Have some faith in Fauci. Wear a mask. Wear a mask. Wash your hands.

And wear a mask. Was that fun or what? Noah Lindquist. You recognize the tune from Beauty and the Beast. Now, if you go on Google, just Google Noah Lindquist, you'll see that pop up because there's a whole animation with it as well. And it's kind of fun, especially if you like musicals. And if you don't like musicals, well, that's unfortunate. Anyway, that is our kind of a special edition of the Tuesday night podcast.

Hope you enjoyed it. We'll be back tomorrow, all right, with the race next door. Bruce Anderson, as always, plus a special guest to give us some kind of insight, some sense of what to be thinking as we watch that final debate on Thursday night between Trump and Biden. Alright, I'm Peter Mansbridge. This has been the Bridge Daily. A little musical action in the end. We'll see you again in 24 hours. Thank you.