On May 25, the Public Health Department of the Integrated Center for Health and Social Services (CISSS) in the Laurentians deploys a mobile COVID-19 screening unit, no appointment required, for the Laurentides region. The current pandemic has led all of the CISSS des Laurentides’ departments to review their methods of intervention in order to be innovative in meeting the needs of the population. Thus, the mobile screening unit will serve to significantly increase the number of screenings for COVID-19 and to increase the accessibility of the screening service to the population in areas of particular geographic challenges or with reduced access to services, who are vulnerable or having an outbreak. This mobile screening unit will be of great importance in ensuring the protection and security of the citizens of the region in the face of the current pandemic. However, the deployment of such a project obviously cannot be done without the collaboration of different partners. This is why the CISSS des Laurentides partnered with Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie, the Saguenay transport company and the city of Saguenay which loaned the bus as well as the Center de formation du transport commerciale de Saint- Jérôme as well as the Rivière-du-Nord School Board, which made its drivers available. “In times of crisis, support and mutual aid are at the heart of the action. Thank you very much to our various partners for being there to support the Laurentian Public Health Department. We are extremely grateful to you,” said Dr. Éric Goyer, Director of Public Health.
Blainville: walking and cycling authorized in park Domaine Vert
Following the recent announcement by Ms. Isabelle Charest, Minister Delegate for Education and Minister responsible for the Status of Women, the city of Blainville that the Parc du Domaine Vert will open its doors on Wednesday May 20 at 8:30 am and will allow the resumption of certain outdoor activities, such as cycling, mountain biking and walking. The park will be open every day within its regular schedule, from 8:30 am to 8:00 pm.
Restrictions of access due to covid-19 apply to people who have symptoms related to COVID-19. The 2-meter social distancing has to be respected and no gathering or moving of picnic tables is allowed. Also for an indefinite period, the play modules, the groundwork course, the main chalet and the toilet block will be closed.
As usual, residents of Blainville, Boisbriand, Mirabel and Sainte-Thérèse will benefit from free access to the park, while the rates in effect will be applied to users located outside these cities. In addition, it is to be noted that no cash payment will be accepted. Only credit card or debit card payments will be allowed. The Parc du Domaine Vert is making the necessary arrangements which will allow and facilitate opening in compliance with the sanitary and distancing conditions required for the protection of customers, employees and volunteers.
Répartition du nombre quotidien de décès liés à la COVID-19 selon le milieu de vie (Groupe CNW/Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux)
The most recent data on the evolution of COVID-19 in Quebec show 763 new cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of people infected to 42 183. During this same period, 82 new deaths were recorded, which leads to a total of 3,483, while the number of hospitalizations decreased by 59 to reach a total of 1,763. Of these, 179 are found in intensive care, a decrease of 12.
The Integrated Center for Health and Social Services (CISSS) Laurentides encourages anyone with flu-like symptoms, onset or worsening of a cough, difficulty breathing, symptoms of gastroenteritis or loss of smell without nasal congestion to make an appointment for a COVID-19 screening test. Even in case of minor symptoms, the Integrated Center for Health and Social Services (CISSS) Laurentides urges everyone to make an appointment in order to protect ones’ health, while preserving that of others.
“With the gradual deconfinement started, vigilance is required. In this sense, we invite the population to monitor their state of health. As the Laurentides region has the capacity to respond to an increase in requests for screening tests, you should not hesitate to go to a designated clinic for a COVID-19 screening, “explained the director of public health for the Laurentians, Dr. Éric Goyer. According to Ms. Rosemonde Landry, President and CEO of the CISSS des Laurentides, each person must be vigilant to protect those around them: “The population should not hesitate to take the test.” As announced by the Government of Quebec, the Laurentians region is participating in a diagnostic strategy massive to have a more accurate measurement of community transmission. “The more screening tests are carried out, the more the results will provide a fair portrait of the state of health of our population. The deconfinement can thus be better controlled,” concluded Ms. Landry.
“We’re taking things nice and slow” says Paolo Galati SWLSB chairperson
Dimitris Ilias
It felt like the first steps in a new world, a new reality created by an unrelenting virus that forced the planet in an unprecedented lockdown. Children driven by their parents or arriving by school bus returning to the first schools that opened in Canada after 2 months of isolation. Things will not be the same to be sure, yet no matter how different the school environment has become, one cannot deny the optimism and warm feelings we get seeing some degree of normalcy returning to our lives
8 schools reopen Arundel, Grenville, Laurentia, Laurentian, Morin-Heights, Rawdon, Sainte-Adèle and Sainte-Agathe Academy elementary schools opened on May 11th. Four out of the eight schools did a progressive reopening until Wednesday. Initially 9 schools were supposed to reopen but Joliette was included in the greater Montreal met area and its opening date pushed back to the 25th of May. “Overall, the feedback was very positive and everything went smoothly at the school level as well as the transportation level. We are taking things nice and slow” said Paolo Galati, Chairperson of the board of commissioners of the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School board. The remaining 18 elementary schools are expected to open on May 25th. A lot of prep work Paolo Galati and Gaëlle Absolonn, DG of SWLSB, both did their inspection tours last week for the safety measures put in place. They spoke with administrators and teachers who were prepping their classes. The teachers admitted to some initial anxiety which dissipated for the most part after they went into the buildings and were able to experience first hand the new reality. Some schools sent videos and pictures to students in order for them to know what to expect and parents prepared their children for all the new safety measures. “I can reassure you that the school teams worked tirelessly all week to be ready for the opening and I thank them all” said Galati. He noted that there were some challenges like narrow corridors, smaller classrooms and the difficulty that younger students have to properly social distance which were overcome thanks to a lot of teamwork and creative space restructuring. 25% of students returned 311 out of 1325 students from the 8 schools returned according to Mr. Galati. 200 of them were bused. There are parents that are waiting one more week to see how things go. “25% returning is a good percentage because we can do a small roll in” said Galati. “We took all necessary measures in accordance with the ministry in order to provide the maximum degree of safety to our students, staff and families and as an executive member of the Quebec English School Board Association I meet with the other boards once a week to discuss what everyone is doing safety-wise and how we can improve our services” added Galati. Safety measures Here is a general idea of the safety measures from the Quebec Government that the schools have to take in order to avoid the spread of the virus: People must avoid greetings that involve physical contact, as well as sharing items. Groups must take their recess and move about the school at different times. Telework must be prioritized if staff are not required to be in the school to carry out certain tasks. As much as possible, people must avoid Students and staff must limit the items they carry with them between school and home and must bring their own lunch. Students and staff who have a condition that increases their risk for serious complications of COVID-19 are advised to stay home until September 2020.
Reorganization of rooms The number of children per group, the teacher-child ratio and the physical organization of rooms must take into account the need to comply with the physical distancing standard of 2 metres at all times. Using visual markers in order to comply with the physical distancing standard of 2 metres is encouraged. Some facilities such as libraries and computer laboratories are closed. Play structures may not be used.
Health and hygiene measures Alcohol-based hand rub, soap and disposable paper towels are provided for students and staff to encourage very frequent handwashing during the day. Hand hygiene must be performed when entering the school, before and after each recess, before and after eating food, after blowing your nose and when leaving the school. Tissues are provided for students and staff in order to comply with cough and sneeze etiquette. Rooms are cleaned daily. Washrooms and surfaces that are touched regularly (door handles, switches, offices, computer equipment, microwave ovens, drinking fountains, faucets, etc.) are cleaned with the usual cleaning products several times a day. Items that are shared by several students are cleaned after each use. Staff in elementary schools are not required to wear a face covering. However, anyone who would like to do so can read the information sheet Wearing a Face Covering in Public Settings This hyperlink will open in a new window. to find out how to make a face covering and how to use it properly. Staff in educational childcare services are provided with additional personal protective equipment, since it is impossible to maintain a physical distance of 2 metres between themselves and the young children under their care.
Plandemic, an upcoming documovie has caused a stir among a North American population that has to deal with an avalanche of information concerning COVID-19. Dr. Christos Karatzios, Assistant Professor of Paediatrics/Infectious Diseases at the Montréal Children’s Hospital, decided that enough was enough with the conspiracy theories which in the end endanger public health. Here is his rebuttal:
So many people have sent me the video clip of a supposedly upcoming “documovie” called “PlanDEMic” asking me what I think?
So…what do I think? It’s like sending an FBI agent a link to the X-Files series and asking if it is true.
Is the world this gullible and dangerously naive? Or are you on the fence or actually secretly/publicly believe that this pandemic is a colossal hoax in order for the “Deep State” or “Illuminati” or some other malevolent secret society (these people target the WHO and the UN now) to set up a “One World Government”? Have all the doctors and nurses and health care workers who have fought to save the lives of all those unfortunate people who have died or come near death from COVID-19 been secretly working for this evil society? Have all those families who lost loved ones been lying to everyone? Ask yourselves if you are willing to accept this shameful theory. Have we lost all faith in our doctors and nurses? How dangerous is that for the fabric of our society?
So what do i think of Judy Mikovits, who is the “protagonist” of this trash that is supposedly a “documentary”? Here we go:
I don’t know where to start with her. Almost everything she says is a lie. She has a bone to pick with Anthony Fauci it seems. She also has a new book and needs to make money after being stripped of her job and being arrested for falsifying data and stealing lab material including laboratory cells delivered to her house “by mistake”.
She was hired in the 90s by an alcohol, tobacco, and gambling magnate in the US Midwest who has a daughter with the controversial “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”. She was a paid researcher in his lab and she had a vested interest to make the link of a mouse retrovirus (similar to HIV) as a cause of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. His “institute” had a vested interest to come up with results so then they could create some form of therapy or cure for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She manipulated data and came up with results that were later retracted completely from the medical literature because no one was able to reproduce them ever again.
Does this remind you of Andrew Wakefield and his study of a link between MMR vaccine and autism? It should. Robert Kennedy Jr, the lead antivaxxer in the USA, is Judy Mikovits’s friend and collaborator. He is a supporter and sponsor of her. He wrote the prologue for her recent book. So when she says she is not “anti-vaccine” in the video, she lies. In the past she has claimed that 30% of global vaccines contain a cousin of HIV and are making us ill. In the video she claims that the flu shot makes people susceptible to “coronavirus”. By the way, she laments how patents and “Big Pharma” have tainted science. Does she forget how Andrew Wakefield actually had a secret patent to create his own measles vaccine while discrediting the established MMR? Oops. How about the fact that she worked for a millionaire tycoon out in Nevada to find the “cure” for “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”? Oops.
The video starts by saying something like: “She is one of the most acclaimed scientists in a generation.” Who said this? Yeah…Robert Kennedy Jr.
She even performed another study for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (after the original was criticized by everyone) that showed no link with the mouse retrovirus and she even admitted to this. Her colleagues on the original Science paper that was retracted admitted to faulty science. She was eventually fired from that institute and then stole its lab material. This is why she was arrested and not for “speaking the truth”.
What she says about HIV is wrong.
What she says about coronavirus is dead wrong.
What she says about the flu shot “causing coronavirus” is completely false. The army study she quoted did not claim what she claims it did:
The study concluded that when you vaccinate people against the flu…you get immunity and stop seeing as much flu and start seeing other common viruses being more prevalent (such as cold viruses like the simple cold coronaviruses and human metapneumoviruses)…Because you are getting rid of the main culprit of respiratory disease in the winter (the flu). Therefore, you can see the background noise with common cold viruses that is usually drowned out by the massive flu when there’s no vaccine.
This was the highlight of that study:
We examined virus interference in a Department of Defense dependent population.
Vaccinated personnel did not have significant odds of respiratory illnesses.
Vaccinated personnel were protected against influenza.
Odds of virus interference by vaccination varied for individual respiratory viruses.
So what she is saying is nonsense to those not trained to pick up the gibberish she is peddling. It is dangerous nonsense during a deadly pandemic and she is simply crazy.
I think I almost fell off my chair when she stated that masks activate our own covid and we get reinfected.
The same people behind this video are the same people who believe vaccines kill, who believe Bill Gates will inject us with microchips, who believe that 5G is what is causing COVID-19, who believe that the lockdowns that happened to save our health care system before the first wave were wrong, and they are the same people who are out protesting in the US to open beaches and casinos and whatever they deem necessary. These are the same people who believe this pandemic is a huge hoax created by the Democrats to oust Trump. Notice the subtle bolding of “DEM” in “PlanDEMic”? It’s not coincidence.
I think that’s all I have to say about this person and anyone similar to her. Beware of quacks! She and others are allowed to be storytellers but if she is endangering public health, she will find herself behind bars again.
I have a job to do for which I gave an oath when I accepted to sacrifice my youth, to eventually be able to save lives; Your lives and the lives of your children.
Quarantine SpanakopitaThe Baking Soprano By: Maria Diamantis.
When I was a student at the McGill Music faculty, my colleague asked me do you like to bake? I replied with a question, do I like to eat? She then said, I guess we (operatic singers) all love to eat.. let’s face it, the most popular blogs, shows, articles, etc. are mostly all about food and recipes! Well, I chose to do an article, totally inspired by this quarantine. Normally before this isolation, I couldn’t and wouldn’t bother with baking. Of course, having a Greek mother, she would never understand why I couldn’t find the time to bake anything. Picture a Greek mother questioning her daughter:” I don’t understand why you don’t bake, it’s not difficult!” Well guess what mom, now I have the time! But then the next question was: Do I have all the ingredients? The other day, I was craving a very popular Greek food, Spanakopita [Spinach-pie] (technically, according to the ingredients found in this food, it is called Spanakotiropita [Spinach Cheese-pie], but who wants to pronounce all of that? So, I made a checklist: Spinach (duh), dill, onions, hey I even have chopped leeks in my freezer! Chicory (found it in the vegetable drawer, so anything goes, anything leafy is a great addition or substitution) Feta Cheese (phew), Olive oil and finally Phyllo dough…Uh oh! None of that! Ok it’s not going to happen, forget it, I’m not running out to the grocery store…again…Do I really need to wait in line for my turn, wear a mask, get disinfected and the worst of it all, is that interrogation! “I don’t have the symptoms, nope I didn’t travel abroad, NO!! I wasn’t exposed to anyone who has covid”, all this time answering with muffled no’s whilst my glasses fogging up from my mask. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very grateful for all these precautions taken! This is when I dug into the pantry, and opened the container of flour, donated by my mother of course, being Greek, she has everything in stock…and a rolling pin! Yay, I’m ready to make my own Phyllo dough. It turned out delish! Here’s the recipe: First, Make the dough: • 2-2 1/2 cups all purpose flour • 1/2 tspn salt • 2/3 cup warm water • 1 tsp dry yeast added to the water (wait 10 minutes for it to activate) • 1/8 cup olive oil (for basting and sauteing) • 1 tbspn red wine vinegar • Makes apx 2 sheets (12 inches x 10 inches) each, once rolled up, it becomes 10 inches x 3 inches Simply add flour to a mixing bowl and form a small well in the centre of the bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, combine them well with your hand and knead into a ball. Leave it aside to rest Make the filling: Ingredients: • 2 onions, chopped • 1 spring onion, finely chopped (optional) • 500g spinach, washed and roughly chopped (18 ounces) • 200g feta cheese, crumbled (7 ounces) • 1 egg, beaten • 1/4 cup rice, or any other grain to absorb moisture , like quinoa, or bulgur wheat • 1–2 tbsps fresh dill, chopped (optional) • salt and pepper to taste Instructions for the filling: To prepare the filling for this spanakopita recipe, sauté the onions in some olive oil until softened .Add the spinach in batches and cook until wilted. Cool it in a bowl, then squeeze out any excess liquid( this is why you need the grains for extra protection, you don’t want a soggy Spanakopita ) and mix in the feta, egg, spring onion and season. Set aside Back to the dough. Cut the dough into 2 halves. Roll out each ball with a floured rolling pin to achieve the given dimensions. Then add the filling like you would make a wrap, or enchilada, fold each side and roll up. Baste with olive oil. Place in a greased pan, puncture each “enchilada “several times to let the steam escape, bake in a preheated oven to 365 degrees Fahrenheit for 1hr or until crisp.
An in-depth interview with Dr. Christos Karatzios, Assistant Professor of Paediatrics/Infectious Diseases – Montréal Children’s Hospital
Dimitris Ilias
Covid-19. Although we call it sneaky, silent killer, elusive and all kinds of epithets usually attributed to living organisms, covid-19 is not alive. It is a piece of RNA code wrapped in a protein shell. It cannot self-replicate and needs our cells to do its dirty job. There I go humanizing it again! And although most of us want this new coronavirus to die horribly, scientists like Dr. Christos Karatzios see it exactly for what it is: A parasite that does not even deserve to be called microorganism which deserves, however, enormous respect and knowledge in order to eliminate it.
New effect on children-Kawasaki syndrome Lately, a lot is being discussed about a larger than usual number of kids being admitted to the hospital with an inflammatory syndrome called Kawasaki. “Children started coming in with Kawasaki syndrome for which there is no test. More like a clinical hunch” said Dr. Karatzios. It is a disease originally seen in Asian kids and no one knows what is causing it. Effects include prolonged fever, face rashes, red eyes, cracked red lips, swollen strawberry looking tongue, swollen hands and feet, eventually attacking the heart. The past few weeks reports all over the world have been showing an increased number of children coming in the hospital with weird atypical Kawasaki syndrome, leading doctors to believe that some infectious agent is causing this. Covid-19 is the obvious culprit since that is the only infectious agent that is present compared to last year. “St-Justine looked at their patients; half of them tested positive to Covid, half of them not. The children who tested negative had antibodies developed for covid-19” said Dr. Karatzios. All that means is, that at some point those children developed antibodies, killed the virus and later developed Kawasaki syndrome as an auto-immune reaction to their own antibodies. The scientific community is closely monitoring this new development.
Dr. Christos Karatzios, Assistant Professor of Paediatrics/Infectious Diseases – Montréal Children’s Hospital
Still very rare All this scary stuff shows yet another baffling aspect of this virus. However, when it comes to children, cases of covid-19 are still very rare. “Less than 5% of the total covid-19 infections are children not to mention that children do well against the virus or are asymptomatic” said Dr. Karatzios. Out of this 5% in 4 million, only a few dozen ended up in the hospital (24 in the UK, 15 in the US a few in Montreal etc.) and out of those, an infinitesimal percentage died.
Covid-19 the hijacker and your body’s response This virus is no different than others in the way it operates. It hijacks the cells of your body (your DNA, your enzymes, your proteins) to create copies of itself. The body realizes that there is something happening that it does not like and sends messages to the immune system to send white blood cells to the infected area to swallow up the intruders. Those white blood cell first responders eat up viruses, chop them up and present them on their surface for other immune cells to come and learn about the enemy. Then the immune system starts to process… In the end it creates antibodies. These Y shaped soldiers are released in large numbers in the body and attach themselves to the virus which they now know very well. Antibodies attached to a virus can kill it by preventing the virus from entering a cell or by making the virus more appetizing (recognizable) to white blood cells to eat it. Later the body creates memory cells that contain the blueprint of those antibodies in case the virus attacks again and that is how immunity develops.
Herd immunity I asked the doctor if the virus could be eliminated without a vaccine. “Yes but you would get a lot of dead and sick people from this” was his adamant reply. He explained that in order to develop herd immunity 60 to 70 percent of people have to have contracted the virus and developed antibodies to it. “As a society, do we want to sacrifice a lot more people, like in Sweden which did not follow the lockdown approach of the rest of the world, in order to develop herd immunity?” questioned Dr. Karatzios. Flattening the curve means we spare our health system a massive influx of patients. Flattening the curve means we do not have to decide who lives and who dies like in Italy. The virus will always be there, but we take the time to develop our weapons against it while minimizing our casualties. It’s a war thing!
Vitamins to douse the flames after a war “There is no magic formula as to how to strengthen our immune system. But you can send your immune system to the gym by resting, sleeping 7-8 hours and eating a balanced and healthy diet” said Dr. Karatzios. He proceeded to emphasize the importance of fruits and vegetables for the vitamins they have which are very useful to the body as antioxidants. “When your immune system is fighting a war, some white cells kill viruses by pouring peroxide on them. If this inflammation is allowed to happen at a very prolonged and extreme way, it can lead to problems like cancer and can lead to an overactive immune system so the vitamins put the brakes on the immune system.” said Dr. Karatzios.
Vitamin D There are a few studies that show that vitamin D is kind of protective against respiratory viruses and infuenza. So, people that have low levels of vitamin D, people who live in climates where there is not enough sun or do not consume vitamin D rich foods have more problems with respiratory viruses. Even with covid-19 there is a suggestion that sunnier places in the world tend to fare better than places with vitamin D deficiency. “A few studies show that Vitamin D helps to boost our immune system a little bit. Not a cure but it helps.”
Aréna Mélançon, hosts a temporary emergency homeless shelter in Saint-Jérôme
The increase in the number of homeless individuals since the beginning of the pandemic in Saint-Jérôme is concerning the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) des Laurentides, as well as several partner community organisations and institutions. To mitigate the problem, a crisis unit was formed and a temporary emergency homeless shelter opened its doors on May 11 at the Aréna Mélançon. The site was chosen to enable mandatory social distancing measures, which have caused a temporary reduction in the availability of emergency homeless shelter spaces in the sector. In all, 18 beds will be available to homeless individuals after 5:00 PM each day, with access to showers, meals, nightclothes and a personal sleeping space. Check-out will be around 8:00 AM, after they have had breakfast and been provided with a packed lunch. All the partners in this homeless crisis unit – the Salvation Army, Book Humanitaire, Café de rue SOS, CISSS des Laurentides, Youri Chassin, MNA for Saint-Jérôme, Écluse des Laurentides, Hébergement Fleur de Macadam, Maison de Sophia, the Saint-Jérôme police services and the Town of Saint-Jérôme – were pleased to provide this temporary emergency homeless shelter in Saint-Jérôme thanks to everyone’s collaboration. According to the CISSS des Laurentides, the current pandemic is causing a number of social problems. Homeless individuals are among the population most likely to experience the social impacts of the pandemic. Furthermore, it is increasingly difficult for the authorities to enforce Public Health-mandated preventive measures, because these individuals have nowhere to self-isolate and are often ill-informed regarding health recommendations. The temporary emergency shelter will enable them to protect themselves.
