Monthly Archives: May 2020

Chronicling Covid-19 (17): Agnus Dei

30 Saturday May 2020

Posted by in Canada, Covid-19, Pandemic

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Agnello di Dio, particolare della Crocefissione di Matthias Grünewald (it.wikipedia)

I have already reported that thousands of young people flouted the rules on Saturday 23 May, in Toronto. It has been suggested that the lockdown had flustered these young people. The lockdown has been difficult for all of us, but despite the gradual relaxation of confinement measures, the coronavirus remains and the young people had to obey regulations. Transmission of the novel coronavirus is rapid and, in too many cases, deadly. I hope the students will now join or cheer the people fighting Covid-19.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/canada-surpasses-7000-coronavirus-deaths/ar-BB14Okk6

https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2020/05/30/montreal–letat-durgence-renouvele-jusquau-4-juin

See the source image

Montreal (mtl.blog)

https://www.mtlblog.com/things-to-do/canada/qc/montreal/covid-19-in-montreal-sparks-balcony-concert-this-friday

The pandemic in Canada is making more victims. Quebec still leads and Premier Legault has asked the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, to deploy the military. It is not altogether normal for the Military to work in long-term care facilities. Their role had to be defined.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/troops-on-pandemic-duty-to-get-benefits-paid-to-soldiers-serving-abroad/ar-BB14MClK?ocid=msedgdhp

Quebec is currently recruiting a large number of orderlies who will receive a decent salary. Their training will be condensed, the need being enormous and urgent. The province is hiring a small army of health care workers.

As you know, their syndicate negotiated for medical doctors, fees up to 2,500$ (1,635.25 Euros) per day, which the government cannot afford. Day-care is also very inexpensive in Quebec, and tuition fees are the lowest in Canada. Combined, such programmes may not be sustainable.

There are Covid-19 cases in the education system. Schools were reopened outside Montreal, but no parent should allow his or her child to attend school. It means hiring help, but help may not be too expensive. There’s no point. One infection multiplies into several infections. Although lockdowns are a form of paralysis, they may be required if citizens do not see that precautions are the freedom they possess. We need certain services and, although the governments are generous, people want to return to work.

Our Prime Minister does not want to offend others, but Canada should not open its border to the United States. Both the United States and Canada need to protect their citizens. A New Brunswick doctor travelled to Quebec and returned to New Brunswick without respecting the 14-day quarantine. He or she had to be suspended. That doctor is a possible and probable source of infection. One does not travel to Quebec, especially Montreal. It’s not safe.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/2-new-coronavirus-cases-in-nb-doctor-connected-to-outbreak-in-campbellton-suspended/ar-BB14LHIj?ocid=msedgdhp

One cannot say that the pandemic has benefits, but Covid-19 has exposed flaws in the system and monsieur Legault spoke to the press in both French and English. Both Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Quebec Premier called in the military. I don’t know how Ontario doctors responded, but, to my knowledge, Quebec could not recruit the medical doctors it needed. I realize that there were risks. Yet, circumstances were and remain dire.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/ford-says-hes-done-taking-bullets-for-union-members-who-wouldnt-id=msedgdhpocid=msedgdhpnspect-care-homes/ar-BB14Ipwr?ocid=msedgdhp

The world is being tested, but if we work together, all will be normal and, perhaps, better than it has been.

—ooo—

The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 2:35 p.m. ET on May 30, 2020:

There are 90,161 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

  • Quebec: 50,651 confirmed (including 4,439 deaths, 16,070 resolved)
  • Ontario: 27,533 confirmed (including 2,247 deaths, 21,353 resolved)
  • Alberta: 6,979 confirmed (including 143 deaths, 6,218 resolved)
  • British Columbia: 2,562 confirmed (including 164 deaths, 2,170 resolved)
  • Nova Scotia: 1,056 confirmed (including 60 deaths, 978 resolved)
  • Saskatchewan: 641 confirmed (including 10 deaths, 570 resolved)
  • Manitoba: 283 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 278 resolved), 11 presumptive
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 255 resolved)
  • New Brunswick: 128 confirmed (including 120 resolved)
  • Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)
  • Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
  • Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
  • Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
  • Nunavut: No confirmed cases
  • Total: 90,161 (11 presumptive, 90,150 confirmed including 7,073 deaths, 48,068 resolved)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 30, 2020.

The Canadian Press

Love to everyone💕

Mozart’s Coronation Mass
MOZART. KARAJAN. POPE JOHN PAUL ii. CORONATION MASS. AGNUS DEI. LIVE. KATHLEEN BATTLE: Soprano. WIENER PHILHARMONIKER. 06/29/1985.

Agnus Dei, c.1635 - c.1640 - Francisco de Zurbaran

Agnus Dei de Francisco de Zurbarán (wikiart.org)

© Micheline Walker
30 May 2020
WordPress

 

Quote

Coloratura

29 Friday May 2020

Posted by in the Sublime

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

, , ,

Empezamos por la aria “Caro nome” (Querido nombre), de la ópera de Giuseppe Verdi Rigoletto (1851). Por esta aria siento especial predilección y la incorporé a la ‘banda sonora’ de mi novela El corto tiempo de las cerezas, pues la hija del protagonista, Camila, es soprano. Quien la interpreta en este primer vídeo es la soprano estadounidense Nadine Sierra en un concierto celebrado en el marco del NDR Klassik Open Air, festival que se celebra todos los años en el Maschpark de Hannover (edición de 2017). Dirige la NDR Radiophilharmonie la canadiense Keri-Lynn Wilson.

(…) Únicamente aquellas sopranos con un gran dominio de la coloratura pueden con él. Kathleen Battle, soprano estadounidense nacida en 1948 –cuyo repertorio abarca melodías francesas, lieder alemanes, música sacra, jazz y espirituales–, es una de ellas. Su interpretación del mismo durante el Concierto de Año Nuevo de Viena, que dirigió Herbert von Karajan en 1987, es realmente espléndida.

via Coloratura

This post is Manuel Cerdá’s, A mi manera. I wanted to share it with you. A soprano coloratura is a rare gift to the world as is the basso profundo. I thank our colleague for this beautiful post.

Covid-19 (16): The Freedom we have …

28 Thursday May 2020

Posted by in Canada, Covid-19, The Armed Forces

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Dr Li Wenliang (Photo Credit: The Standard, UK)

a group of people standing in front of a crowd: A statement released by the City late Saturday night says thousands of people packed Trinity Bellwoods Park on one of the first warm days of the year, flouting physical distancing regulations.

© Dr. Eileen de Villa / Twitter A statement released by the City late Saturday night says thousands of people packed Trinity Bellwoods Park on one of the first warm days of the year, flouting physical distancing regulations.

Looking at the photograph above, I cannot help remember earlier posts. You  may recall that once the lockdown was being lifted, Quebec Premier François Legault urged Montrealers returning to the workplace to wear a face mask. The province was about to reopen, but the virus had not gone away. A lady, a journalist I suspect, stated that the Premier, monsieur Legault, was walking a fine line. He wasn’t. I believe the lady was referring to Quebec’s Bill 21, which imposes complete secularization. But the wearing of a mask is a health measure.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford listens to speakers at the opening of a new Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto on Monday, May 25, 2020.

© THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn Ontario Premier Doug Ford listens to speakers at the opening of a new Daily Bread Food Bank in Toronto on Monday, May 25, 2020.

Freedom

  • an anecdote
  • flouting rules
  • Trinity Bellwoods Park

I once told my students that they had kept me awake most of the night and that they should know better. It was frosh (first year students) week. Someone objected that students were adults and that consequently they were free.

Free, I exclaimed? First, I said that since they were adults and therefore free, I would no longer telephone campus security, but the RCMP (the Royal Canadian Mounted Police). Second, I explained to them that one’s freedom ended where the freedom of others began and that this they had to remember for the rest of their life.

On 23 May, thousands of sun worshippers gathered in Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods Park defying all regulations. They did not stand at a distance from one another and they did not wear a mask, which is now recommended by Canada’s top doctor. Premier Doug Ford had to extend the state of emergency.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/trinity-bellwoods-park-to-get-painted-physical-distancing-circles/ar-BB14HWRN?ocid=msedgdhp

We were unprepared, but they knew…

When outbreaks of Covid-19 reached Canada, we were not prepared. But last Saturday, if a person did not know about aggressivity and transmissibility of novel coronavirus, that person had spent the entire lockdown in a coma. Therefore, it would be my opinion that these  young people were engaging in reckless endangerment of human life, no less. There was a flare-up, une flambée, which forced Premier Ford to extend the state of emergency. 

https://www.cp24.com/news/it-s-selfish-officials-disappointed-to-see-large-crowds-at-downtown-toronto-park-amid-pandemic-1.4951953

Canadians have received a great deal of information regarding Covid-19. At no point, did anyone say that the pandemic was over. On the contrary, Premiers and top doctors stated, in both English and French, that Covid-19 was here to stay and recommended the wearing a mask after the lockdown. It may be that Covid-19 will never go away completely. In Montreal, the situation is still critical, but I have not heard of violations of regulations. People wear their mask. In fact, persons using public transportation will be given a face mask and subways will not be crowded. It must end.

The Freedom we have …

It would be useful for people to look upon social distancing and the wearing of a mask as the freedom we have. The virus may linger, but if precautions are taken, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, doctors, opthalmologists, dentists, taxi drivers, etc. will be available. We need services. During the lockdown, nearly all services were closed. As well, thousands of people are now tested everyday.

The Armed Forces

Members of the Canadian Armed Forces were not doing what they do normally. But we could not have managed without them. They worked relentlessly in long-term care facilities, cleaning and sanitizing these facilities, and helping feed patients. Premier Legault will ask that they remain until September while CHSLDs are refurbished and air-conditioned. This is work that cannot be postponed. The province is also hiring healthcare givers for these nursing homes. The Armed Forces have now been called in Ontario where long-term care facilities are built like Quebec’s and are understaffed.

To my knowledge, no one in my building has been infected.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/military-report-reveals-what-sector-has-long-known-ontarios-nursing-homes-are-in-trouble/ar-BB14EL4s?ocid=msedgdhp

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/video/news/military-report-on-quebec-long-term-care-homes-released/vi-BB14GTxd?ocid=msedgdhp

Would that Dr. Li Wenliang had been heard. Instead, he was silenced, reprimanded, infected and died.

RELATED ARTICLE

There are 87,481 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

  • Quebec: 49,139 confirmed (including 4,228 deaths, 15,319 resolved)
  • Ontario: 26,483 confirmed (including 2,155 deaths, 20,372 resolved)
  • Alberta: 6,901 confirmed (including 139 deaths, 6,048 resolved)
  • British Columbia: 2,541 confirmed (including 161 deaths, 2,122 resolved)
  • Nova Scotia: 1,053 confirmed (including 59 deaths, 975 resolved)
  • Saskatchewan: 634 confirmed (including 8 deaths, 549 resolved)
  • Manitoba: 281 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 269 resolved), 11 presumptive
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 260 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 255 resolved)
  • New Brunswick: 122 confirmed (including 120 resolved)
  • Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)
  • Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
  • Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
  • Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
  • Nunavut: No confirmed cases
  • Total: 87,481 (11 presumptive, 87,470 confirmed including 6,760 deaths, 46,085 resolved)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 27, 2020.

The Canadian Press

Love to everyone 💕

—ooo—

Frederica von Stade: Trois airs français

Three airs français arranged by the Norwegian musicologist Arne Dørumsgaard. From a recital in Edinburgh, 1976, with Martin Isepp, piano.

479px-Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_033

The Good Samaritan by Rembrandt (Wikiart.org)

© Micheline Walker
28 May 2020
WordPress

The Paris Commune, 1871

24 Sunday May 2020

Posted by in 19th-Century France, France

≈ Comments Off on The Paris Commune, 1871

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Afficher l’image source

A few years ago, I posted an article on the 19th century in Franch. The post did not include a discussion of the Franco-Prussian War and the Third Republic, which was in fact a first Republic. This post is not a discussion of the entire thirty years of the 19th century in France, but it sheds light on the Franco-Prussian War (1870), the Paris Commune in particular and therefore Le Temps des cerises.

Le Temps des cerises is dedicated to The Paris Commune of 1871, and more precisely to one ambulancière. The Communards were eliminated, but it was a golden age one mourned. In À la claire fontaine, a love song, French-speaking Canadians mourn France. It is a metamorphosis. France is a woman.

The Unification of Germany

  • the nineteenth century: monarchs and emperors
  • three Republics: 1792, 1848, 1871

In the earlier part of the 19th century, Germany consisted in several German-language states. These were unified under Otto von Bismarck. Bismarck failed to bring Austria under the fold, but he was otherwise successful. Italy was also unified in the 19th under the leadership of Giuseppe Garibaldi.

In the above-mentioned post, entitled The Nineteenth-Century in France, I described two Empires and two Monarchies (three kings). The post showed that the Monarchy in France did not end on 21 January 1793, the day Louis XVI was guillotined. His son, Louis XVII, died in captivity in 1795 at the age of 10. He was at best a titular King. After Louis XVI’s execution, the Republic was ruled by the National Convention, a revolutionary government. France was again a republic in 1848, though shortly. Its duly-elected President was Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte who proclaimed himself Emperor of the French. (See 1851 French coup d’état, Wiki2.org.)

Napoleon III declared war on Prussia in July 1870, but France was defeated at the Battle of Sedan and Napoleon III was captured. After his release, he went to England where he died on 9 January 1873. It is as though France had finally become a genuine Republic, but it had lost and grieved Alsace-Lorraine and had to pay penalties.

The Third Republic

  • The Paris Commune, a vanishing dream
  • a lingering Monarchy

The Third French Republic would last until 1940, when France fell to Nazi Germany. The first president of the Third Republic was Adolphe Thiers who, to a certain extent, was a figurehead. The French envisioned a monarchy until 1880. So, the monarchy lingered.

Moreover, the Third Republic had its government in Tours, the Communards ruled Paris. They had ruled Paris since 18 March 1971. The Paris commune was a government by radical socialists and revolutionaries. (See The Paris Commune, Wiki2.org.) The new Republic sent the National Guard to Paris to quell the communards. Several members of the National Guard joined the communards. So did a young woman, an ambulancière (a nurse) who was killed. Louise Michel wrote about her in La Commune Histoire et Souvenirs (1898). (See Le Temps des cerises, footnote I, Wiki.org)

Au moment où vont partir leurs derniers coups, une jeune fille venant de la barricade de la rue Saint-Maur arrive, leur offrant ses services : ils voulaient l’éloigner de cet endroit de mort, elle resta malgré eux. Quelques instants après, la barricade jetant en une formidable explosion tout ce qui lui restait de mitraille mourut dans cette décharge énorme, que nous entendîmes de Satory, ceux qui étaient prisonniers ; à l’ambulancière de la dernière barricade et de la dernière heure, J.-B. Clément dédia longtemps après la chanson des cerises. Personne ne la revit.[…] La Commune était morte, ensevelissant avec elle des milliers de héros inconnus.

As they were about to fire their last shots, a young woman [une ambulancière/ a nurse], coming from the barricade of Saint-Maur street, arrived, offering her services: they could not send her away from this place of death, she stayed despite their entreaties. A few moments later, the barricade exploded and all that remained of its ammunition died. From Satory [near Versailles], we heard those who had been taken prisoners [say]; from the nurse of the last barricade and of the last hour (…). No one saw her again. The Commune had died burying thousands of unknown heroes.

Below is the song of the communards, composed by Jean Baptiste Clément.

Literary works are associated with the Franco-Prussian War. Particularly famous are:

RELATED ARTICLES

Sources and Resources

Alphonse Daudet’s Les Contes du lundi is a Wikisource publication FR
See page, The French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte

—ooo—

Love to everyone 💕
We now return to the Pandemic in Canada, its epicentre remaining Montreal.

Texte 1871 de Jean-Baptiste Clément
Interprétation 1969 Marc OGERET
La Commune de Paris / La Semaine sanglante

Le Temps des cerises, Hervé David, accompagné au piano par Benjamin Intartaglia.

Afficher l’image source

© Micheline Walker
24 May 2020
WordPress

Quand nous chanterons le temps des cerises…

21 Thursday May 2020

Posted by in France, Love, War

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , , ,

Cherry Time Salvatore Postiglione
 
Quand nous chanterons le temps des cerises
When we will sing the time of cherries
Le gai rossignol et merle moqueur
The gay nightingale and the mocking blackbird
Seront tous en fête
All will rejoice
 Les belles auront la folie en tête 
Pretty ladies will have crazy heads
 Et les amoureux du soleil au cœur
And lovers (will have) sunny hearts
Quand nous chanterons le temps des cerises
When we will sing the time of cherries
 Sifflera bien mieux le merle moqueur
The mocking blackbird will whistle better
 

Mais il est bien court le temps des cerises 
But it is so short the time of cherries 
 Où l’on s’en va deux cueillir en rêvant
When two go to cull while dreaming
 Des pendants d’oreilles …
Pendants for the ears
 Cerises d’amour aux robes pareilles
Cherries of love in dresses alike
 Tombant sous la feuille en gouttes de sang
Falling through the leaves like drops of blood
 Mais il est bien court le temps des cerises
But it is so short the time of cherries
 Pendants de corail qu’on cueille en rêvant !
Pendants of coral one culls while dreaming
 
Quand vous en serez au temps des cerises
When you have reached the time of cherries
 Si vous avez peur des chagrins d’amour.
If you fear the pain of love
 Évitez les belles
Avoid (stay away from) pretty ladies
 Moi qui ne crains pas les peines cruelles
I who do not fear cruel pains
 Je ne vivrai point sans souffrir un jour …
I will not live without one day suffering
 Quand vous en serez au temps des cerises
When you have reached the time of cherries
 Vous aurez aussi des peines d’amour !
You too will have (know) the pain of love
 
J’aimerai toujours le temps des cerises
I will always love the time of cherries
 C’est de ce temps-là que je garde au cœur
It is since that time that I keep in my heart
Une plaie ouverte !
An open wound
 Et Dame Fortune, en m’étant offerte
And whatever (luck) Lady Fortune offers
 Ne saura jamais fermer ma douleur
Will never close (soothe) my pain
 J’aimerai toujours le temps des cerises
I will always love the time of cherries
 Et le souvenir que je garde au cœur !
And the memories I keep in my heart
 

 

RELATED ARTICLES

Sources and Resources

Love to everyone 💕

Yves Montand sings Le Temps des cerises (à l’Olympia, 1974)

download

Credit: Google images

© Micheline Walker
21 May 2020
WordPress

 

Chronicling Covid-19 (15): Quebec Issues

19 Tuesday May 2020

Posted by in Bilingualism, Covid-19, Pandemic, Quebec

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

a man wearing a suit and tie smiling at the camera: Christopher Skeete, parliamentary assistant to Premier François Legault on relations with English-speaking Quebecers, said an agreement had been reached to send out 800,000 English versions of the government's COVID-19 self-care guide.

Christopher Skeete “The Quebec government’s point man on anglophone affairs does not see the purpose of dividing the province by language when it comes to gauging the population’s fear of contracting COVID-19.”

—ooo—

I am revisiting my last post: Chronicling Covid-19 (14): The Mask (15 May 2020). It is not entirely clear and it did not address a serious matter: anxiety among English-speaking Montrealers. The relevant video is at the foot of this post.

https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/faced-with-poll-showing-covid-19-fears-among-english-speakers-legault-blames-media-1.4938123

Premier Legault’s Statement

I will write first that I did not vote for monsieur Legault, the leader of Coalition Avenir Québec, EN CAQ FR, a party Premier Legault founded.

As we have seen, there are very real problems in Quebec. For instance, the pandemic has brought to the fore the lack of safety in long-term care facilities. This problem exists elsewhere. There has just been a flare-up in Hamilton, Ontario, at the Rosslyn Retirement Residence.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/rosslyn-retirement-residence-completely-emptied-after-covid-19-outbreak-infects-62/ar-BB14buZW?ocid=msedgdhp

In Quebec, however, 4 out of 5 victims of Covid-19 lived in long-term care facilities, CHSLDs, located in Montreal. The first two persons taken to the Montreal Jewish General Hospital were not diagnosed with Covid-19, but everything soon changed. Further arrivals to the Emergency Room (ER) were infected with Covid-19.

Other victims were the poor living in Montreal North (Montréal-Nord).

Frontline Workers

  • syndicates
  • sense of duty

Moreover, at the very beginning of his statement, monsieur Legault asked health-workers who were infected, but had recovered, to return to their duties. This I should have noted. The pandemic revealed considerable reluctance on the part of Quebec doctors to be frontline workers. Their syndicate, these are powerful in Quebec, negotiated fees that could total approximately $2,500.00 per day, which is a large amount of money. Too many lack empathy, a requirement in the case of health workers.

Monsieur Legault is taking the responsibility for his province’s lack of preparedness and will correct problems, such as unsafe long-term care facilities, to the extent that this problem can be corrected. Quebec quickly ran out personal protective equipment, as did other provinces. But there can be no doubt that he had difficulty recruiting health-care workers. Fortunately, as you know, monsieur Legault was able to call on the Canadian Armed Forces. Moreover, there were volunteers. A group of immigrants wanted to help in exchange for being granted citizenship. Would that I could find that video! This is question I must explore further. As well, there were volunteers who cooked free meals that were distributed to various houses and to the frontline workers. Charitable donations should cover the cost of these meals.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/society-failed-legault-visits-montreal-as-quebec-becomes-the-worlds-seventh-deadliest-covid-19-epicentre/ar-BB148pAK?ocid=msedgdhp

William_Blake_-_Sconfitta_-_Frontispiece_to_The_Song_of_Los

The demiurgic figure Urizen prays before the world he has forged by William Blake. (Wikipedia)

Rights and Freedoms

  • Bill 21
  • secularization versus protection
  • anxiety among anglophones
  • bilingualism

I should also comment on the worries concerning rights and freedoms, expressed by the lady, a journalist who asked a question, or questions, following Premier Legault’s statement. She may have been referring to Quebec’s unthinkable Bill 21 (MacLean’s).

There are other problems in Quebec, some of which the response to the pandemic have exposed. However, after he was elected Premier of Quebec, François Legault and members of his government passed Bill 21, which promotes absolute laïcité, secularization. Monsieur Legault’s predecessor, Dr Philippe Couillard, had attempted to forbid the wearing of clothes that impeded identification of a person. He wanted to protect Quebec citizens, but the matter of rights and freedoms was raised.

If one clicks on burqa, one can see that it is a garment that covers the face and which could also be used to conceal a weapon. Monsieur Couillard was the Premier of Quebec (Premier Ministre) at a time, not so distant, when terrorist attacks were frequent. Protection, not secularization, was Premier Couillard’s goal. However, monsieur Legault and his government introduced Bill 21, An Act respecting the laicity of the State, which was assented on 16 June 2019. Bill 21 affects Civil Servants and it could be considered as an infringement on “rights and freedoms” in Quebec. Muslim women wear veils. 

French vs English/English vs French 

https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/faced-with-poll-showing-covid-19-fears-among-english-speakers-legault-blames-media-1.4938123

Finally, in a survey conducted recently by Léger Marketing, it was determined that English-speaking Quebecers (68%) feared Covid-19 more than French-speaking citizens of Montreal and Quebec as a province (47%). At first, I could not understand the lady’s question. Canadians were lifting the lockdown when the coronavirus was still active. Consequently, Premier Legault urged the citizens of Quebec to wear a facemask as a protective measure. Who wants to breathe in the virus? In short, the facemask has nothing to do with Quebec’s secularization and Bill 22. But the notion came to the lady’s mind that monsieur Legault’s request could restrict personal rights and freedoms. It didn’t. As I noted, it was a safety measure. 

But Christopher Skeete, the parliamentary assistant on relations with English-speaking Quebecers, stated that an “agreement” had been reached and that 800,000 English versions of the government’s COVID-19 self-care guide were sent out. I have my copies. As quoted above, Christopher Skeete, Quebec government’s point man on anglophone affairs “does not see the purpose of dividing the province by language when it comes to gauging the population’s fear of contracting COVID-19.”

In the days of Covid-19, a Premier of Quebec addresses both the province’s French-speaking citizens and its English-speaking citizens. Monsieur Legault, Quebec’s top doctor, Horacio Arruda, and Danielle McCann, Quebec’s Minister of Health, addressed the press in both French and English, as did monsieur Legault.

So far politics has played no role in the pandemic, and there were no significant Anglo-French skirmishes. Monsieur Legault may have expressed impatience, but he has managed the pandemic very well, in both English and French and has followed the same guidelines as other Premiers. 

Conclusion

The pandemic in Quebec has made several issues surface, including bilingualism. It would be my opinion, however, that the worst issue monsieur Legault faced was his nearly futile call for frontline workers and helpers. The Quebec government was dealing with a humanitarian disaster. By the way, some schools have reopened. There is a school next to my building, I could hear the children during recreation.

The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 5:34 p.m. on May 17, 2020:

There are 77,001 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

  • Quebec: 42,920 confirmed (including 3,562 deaths, 11,754 resolved)
  • Ontario: 22,653 confirmed (including 1,881 deaths, 17,360 resolved)
  • Alberta: 6,644 confirmed (including 127 deaths, 5,453 resolved)
  • British Columbia: 2,428 confirmed (including 141 deaths, 1,932 resolved)
  • Nova Scotia: 1,040 confirmed (including 55 deaths, 938 resolved)
  • Saskatchewan: 591 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 433 resolved)
  • Manitoba: 278 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 257 resolved), 11 presumptive
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 260 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 249 resolved)
  • New Brunswick: 120 confirmed (including 120 resolved)
  • Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)
  • Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
  • Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
  • Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
  • Nunavut: No confirmed cases
  • Total: 77,001 (11 presumptive, 76,990 confirmed including 5,782 deaths, 38,552 resolved)
    (19 May 2002: 78,072 cases, 5,842 deaths, 39,228 resolved)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2020.

I think the time has come to delight English-speaking Quebecers and everyone else with Le Temps des cerises, (The Days of Cherries, Wikipedia). Our colleague Manuel Cerdá (A mi manera) wrote a post about it: Le Temps des cerises.

Yves Montand sings Le Temps des cerises. (I will post a short article, the lyrics, on this song.)

BB13LnZz

© Micheline Walker
18 May 2020
WordPress

 

 

 

 

Chronicling Covid-19 (14): The Mask

15 Friday May 2020

Posted by in Canada, Covid-19, Pandemic, Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

William_Blake_-_Sconfitta_-_Frontispiece_to_The_Song_of_Los

The archetype of the Creator is a familiar image in Blake’s work. Here, the demiurgic figure Urizen prays before the world he has forged. The Song of Los is the third in a series of illuminated books painted by Blake and his wife, collectively known as the Continental Prophecies. (Photo and caption credit: Wikipedia)

Covid-19

As Quebec was starting to reopen, Premier, le Premier Ministre, François Legault urged the population of Quebec to wear face masks. His audience was not entirely patient with him. Was this a change of policy?

Let’s see. Two months ago, after the Government of Quebec announced a lockdown. I saw residents of my building huddling by the mailboxes, less than two feet apart. As I was rushing down the hallway to safety, I walked past a woman who was saying that she didn’t believe in this virus. To my knowledge, take-out restaurants, such as McDonalds, were locked down, but I knew about the remains of a chicken that were thrown down the garbage chute, naked. As you know, my neighbours are mostly perfect, but these particular neighbours are not. The remains of a chicken should had been put in a bag and then dropped into one of the composting bins.

After two months of isolation, one may be confused. So, I phoned the authorities in order to ask if a policy was in place regarding the delivery of food to persons living in a condominium or an apartment building. I explained that sons and daughters, holding bags filled with groceries and other supplies, were ringing mother’s apartment and waiting for her in the lobby. Mother came down and picked up the bag or bags. However, delivery men were riding up and down elevators and walking along corridors carrying take-outs. If they came to my building, they also went to other buildings and various houses. They could spread the virus during a lockdown.

The authorities, or the person who took my call, did not know whether a policy existed, but she felt that social distancing precluded the delivery of meals to an individual’s apartment. Owners were to go to the lobby and pick up what they had ordered. I therefore suggested to the Committee that, during a lockdown, it seemed somewhat risky to let people circulate in the hallways. In fact, I wondered why we did not have a concierge monitoring access to apartments. The telephone and television system did not go the distance. Could we presume individual owners would be cautious? No, I thought, not if they threw down the chute, unwrapped, the greasy remains of a chicken. These neighbours must be newcomers.

We now return to Quebec’s Premier. I reflected that if François Legault was urging people to wear a mask, it was not a change of policy, but altogether consistent with lifting the lockdown when the coronavirus remained a genuine threat. The government feared that allowing untested people to return to work may lead to flareups, hence the Premier asking, but not dictating, the wearing of a mask. This led to more impatience. Why wasn’t the wearing of masks compulsory (“obligatory” said monsieur Legault)? He explained that it was not “obligatory” because masks were not easily available. Canada had ordered masks from China, which had arrived, but which were defective. They were not approved by Health Canada. Ironically, Canadian-approved N95 masks were being sought by Chinese counterfeiters. In short, some Quebecers do not have access to masks.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/canadian-approved-n95-mask-targeted-by-chinese-counterfeiters/ar-BB1446bM?ocid=msedgdhp

As you know, Covid-19 caught everyone unawares. For instance, the novel coronavirus hit Montreal like a bomb. It was a Canadian version of the “tsunami” Milan’s doctor Giacomo Grasselli had described so aptly. (See The Coronavirus. 3). The outbreak of Covid-19 surprised Italians just as it surprised Canada’s doctors, in Montreal especially.

The outbreak has therefore led to decisions, some of which were revisited and reversed. I should tell you that the Quebec government will not reopen schools, Montreal schools, in particular, until September. Some daycares remained open during the lockdown. Given flareups, reopening schools on May 19th was not appropriate. Flareups herald a second wave of Covid-19 that could be the same as the second wave of the Spanish flu of 1918, deadlier than the initial outbreak.

In Quebec, Muslims cannot wear the burqa, but the government was approving the wearing of facemasks. Was this another contradiction? A burqa conceals the face and the body. It can therefore be used to conceal a weapon. Masks cover the nose and mouth as do certain Islamic veils, but the purpose of masks is protection from a virus one can inhale. The virus is a weapon.

No, it was not a contradiction. The coronavirus enters one’s nose and mouth. Coughing has therefore become a potentially lethal weapon. If one is infected with the virus and coughs without wearing a mask, one may inadvertently spread the highly transmissible coronavirus to a person who does not wear personal protective equipment. If everyone wears a mask, everyone is protected to a significant extent. The mask is not a violation of a person’s privacy, but protective personal equipment, which explains why Premier Legault is urging Quebecers who are re-entering the workplace to wear a mask. The virus may be with us for a very long time and it is coriace, tough, coriace as coriace can be.

But, let us hear monsieur Legault.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/fran%C3%A7ois-legault-now-recommends-quebecers-wear-masks-when-they-go-out/ar-BB13Zbev?ocid=msedgdhp

Distancing saves lives. It would therefore be my opinion that until our top doctors and scientists find a vaccine or a cure, good masks are our only protection.

I agree with Premier Legault. If one re-enters the workplace, one wears a mask. A mask could allow us to revive our hope and let us rebuild our economy. We can now see the Himalayas, not to mention the stars. The new economy should be a different economy, one that does not pollute the air and cause global warming. However, Premier Legault linked the wearing of a mask to a revival of the economy we know. The two are inextricably linked:

Opening up businesses could hinge on Montrealers wearing masks in public — something Legault has been pushing for several days.

“We will still give ourselves a few days to take a decision on retail businesses,” Legault said. “A crucial element that would help us to reopen is for the majority of people to wear a mask in public.” (The National Gazette)

It may be years before the coronavirus is defeated. Scientists may find a vaccine and a cure, but this may not happen in the near future. Working from home can be extremely difficult and it is at times impossible. So if masks can protect us, let us wear masks.

Sources and Resources

The National Post
The Montreal Gazette
The coronavirus in Quebec
Montréal-Nord
Wikipedia entries
MSN

Love to all of you 💕
I’m quite sick, but a neighbour noticed. She knows everyone. She was worried and phoned me.

This BBC video will probably be erased, but it is funny. This video may lead to another. (Credit: The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.)

BB13sTku

Brave soldiers in Montreal (MSN)

© Micheline Walker
15 May 2020
WordPress

 

 

 

 

P. S.
The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4 a.m. ET on May 15, 2020:

There are 73,401 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

  • Quebec: 40,724 confirmed (including 3,351 deaths, 10,829 resolved)
  • Ontario: 21,494 confirmed (including 1,798 deaths, 16,204 resolved)
  • Alberta: 6,457 confirmed (including 121 deaths, 5,205 resolved)
  • British Columbia: 2,392 confirmed (including 135 deaths, 1,885 resolved)
  • Nova Scotia: 1,026 confirmed (including 51 deaths, 909 resolved)
  • Saskatchewan: 582 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 398 resolved)
  • Manitoba: 278 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 252 resolved), 11 presumptive
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 248 resolved)
  • New Brunswick: 120 confirmed (including 118 resolved)
  • Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)
  • Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
  • Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
  • Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
  • Nunavut: No confirmed cases
  • Total: 73,401 (11 presumptive, 73,390 confirmed including 5,472 deaths, 36,104 resolved)

The Canadian Press

—ooo—

 

Chronicling Covid-19 (13): Reopening

08 Friday May 2020

Posted by in Canada, Covid-19, Pandemic

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

800px-Balthasar_van_Cortbemde_-_The_Good_Samaritan

The Good Samaritan by Balthasar van Cortbemde (Wikipedia)

479px-Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_033

The Good Samaritan by Rembrandt (Wikipedia)

I’ve been away for a long time. I had to attend to various little duties and I remain very sad. So many have died and they are mostly older people, the poor, the black, the homeless. Covid-19 does not discriminate, but too many victims had no shelter or false shelters.

Scheherazade

For my part, an old injury resurfaced: ulcers. I also remembered my mother teaching us that death, God Himself, came in the night, like a thief, and took us away. Vigilance was necessary. We prayed before going to bed, but all I had to ask God was to wait another day. Asking for more would burden Him. Scheherazade told the first part of a tale that so intrigued the king that he let her live another day to hear the remainder. He didn’t kill her until the story had been told in full. Centuries later, perhaps millennia, a little child in Quebec prayed so her death would be postponed by one more day.

As you can see, Covid-19 has taken its toll on me. Why am I thinking that death will take me in the middle of the night? That feeling is best described as archaic, but we die.

Schools

Today’s big debate in Quebec and the rest of Canada is whether and when to reopen schools. Life at home with the children may be too difficult. In theory, schools were to reopen on Monday, May 4th, but although governments have a duty to provide children with an education, reopening was postponed until May 19th , but the government will not demand that parents send their children to school. Reopening may again be postponed. The virus is still active and remains lethal in too many cases. Viruses run their course and find epicenters. The State of New York and New York city were the United States’ epicenter. I hope therefore that United States President Trump will bail out the State of New York. In Canada, Quebec was targeted and Montreal was Covid-19’s epicenter. All one could do was create rules of engagement: washing one’s hand, distancing, wearing a mask and locking down infested areas.

We have learned, however, that long-term care facilities could not cope with this new reality. One could not distance patients or residents so, the staff of these homes were overwhelmed. Many walked out for fear of catching an easily transmissible virus.

We have also learned that certain populations were more vulnerable than others. The old are at risk, but also the black. Scientists have therefore begun studying vulnerability. I quoted Dr. Vinh-Kim Nguyen in my last post. (See RELATED ARTICLE)  Dr Vinh-Kim Nguyen has been studying Aids/Sida, and his regional area of expertise is West Africa (see Dr Vinh-Kim Nguyen). Studying regions, populations, and the origin of a pathogen is legitimate. Other scientists study the benefits and harm attached to confinement.

BB13GlT5 (1)

© Pierre Obendrauf. “We’ve done things in grocery stores to make them safer,” says Dr. Jay Kaufman, regarding the plan to let other businesses in Montreal reopen on May 18. “If we can go into a store safely to buy a head of lettuce, we should be able to go into a store and safely buy a pair of shoes.”

BB13AeoN

© Provided by The Canadian Press, Dr Theresa Tam

Canada’s top doctor, Dr Theresa Tam is continuing to focus on her work, despite allegations of conspiracy with China. Determining the origin of the outbreak is necessary, but accusing Dr Theresa Tam of conspiracy with China smacks of racism. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has defended Dr Tam.

https://globalnews.ca/video/6903338/coronavirus-outbreak-when-it-comes-to-anti-chinese-sentiment-freeland-says-a-canadian-is-a-canadian-is-a-canadian

One of the good news is that an antibody could prevent infections. This is progress. But  we are dealing with the novel coronavirus. It is a new virus and it may have infected people months before its breakout in Wuhan.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/world/groundbreaking-discovery-of-antibody-which-prevents-infection/ar-BB13AyKM

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/shutdown-must-end-with-safety-measures-says-mcgill (this link has expired)

It has been noted that the poor are at risk. Montreal’s outbreak has affected the residents of Montreal-North. Its residents are poor. They do not have computers, cell phones. In short, they did not have access and protective garments (PPE). Finding masks, gloves and shields, PPE, has bedeviled the pandemic, but it killed the poor and the homeless. Shame on us.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling for a national policy on contact tracing, even at this point. Had such a policy been put into place at an early date, it would have lessened the severity of the pandemic. But it seems we were all caught by surprise.

https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB11L7dC.img?h=579&w=799&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1175&y=632

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/ontario-calls-for-a-national-strategy-on-contact-tracing-of-covid-19-cases/ahttps://globalnews.ca/news/6907247/coronavirus-doug-ford-local-medical-officers-testing/

However, testing is slow, which is the main problem. Had it worked immediately, the Spartan cube could have helped determine who was infected and who wasn’t. This would have benefited the economy. However, the Spartan Cube has not proven as reliable “in person” as it did in a lab. Adjustments have to be made. This is a sign of the times. Covid-19 is a new virus and we were not prepared when it hit.

Both Doug Ford, Ontario’s Premier and François Legault, Quebec’s premier, hesitate to lift the lockdown. It could backfire, so everyone is worried.

There is some validity to the notion of herd immunity, but there can be no doubt that self isolating and distancing have spared countless lives. It is as in Giovanni Boccacci’s Decameron. Therefore, Premiers Doug Ford of Ontario and François Legault of Quebec are not pushing people back to work. They are testing, and testing, and testing, but cannot test everyone.

https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2020/05/update-on-canadian-armed-forces-response-to-covid-19-pandemic.html

BB13LnZz

Conclusion

I believe this is my last post on the pandemic. It tested us and researchers will have much to study. I have in fact discovered areas of learning. Our top doctors are the heroes of the day. Dr Bonnie Henry of British Columbia looks very tired, but women want to purchase the shoes she wears. Premiers Doug Ford and François Legault joined hands in battling a common enemy that has yet to be defeated. There may be a second and a third wave. I expect changes in many sectors.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/a-matter-of-trust-covid-19-pandemic-has-tested-public-confidence-in-science-like-never-before/ar-BB13LaM5?ocid=msedgdhp

I offer my deepest condolences to the persons who have lost a dear one or dear ones.

The latest numbers of confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases in Canada as of 4 a.m. ET on May 8, 2020:

There are 64,922 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.

  • Quebec: 35,238 confirmed (including 2,631 deaths, 8,673 resolved)
  • Ontario: 19,121 confirmed (including 1,477 deaths, 13,569 resolved)
  • Alberta: 6,017 confirmed (including 114 deaths, 3,809 resolved)
  • British Columbia: 2,288 confirmed (including 126 deaths, 1,512 resolved)
  • Nova Scotia: 1,007 confirmed (including 44 deaths, 708 resolved)
  • Saskatchewan: 531 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 329 resolved)
  • Manitoba: 272 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 243 resolved), 11 presumptive
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 244 resolved)
  • New Brunswick: 120 confirmed (including 118 resolved)
  • Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 26 resolved)
  • Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
  • Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
  • Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
  • Nunavut: No confirmed cases
  • Total: 64,922 (11 presumptive, 64,911 confirmed including 4,408 deaths, 29,260 resolved)

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 8, 2020

RELATED POST

JS Bach, Partita in A minor, BWV 1013 —Emmanuel Pahud

See the source image

Girl Sleeping by Rembrandt (art.com)

© Micheline Walker
8 May 2020
WordPress