Your daily COVID-19 update QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It’s like stumbling into the drug business.” — a medical mask broker. High demand coupled with few regulations means a market ruled by “oddballs, ganjapreneurs and a shadowy network of investors,” a ProPublica investigation finds. The number of Canadians infected with COVID-19 has passed 91,000, while 7,300 people have died. Worldwide, 6.2 million people have been infected while 375,000 have died. Dr. Prabhat Jha and colleagues at the Centre for Global Health Research at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto are asking 10,000 Canadians to bleed for the good of the nation. They’re sending out pinprick kits and will test the blood to look for antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19, reports the Globe and Mail. The study, which is being undertaken with the help of Angus Reid pollsters, will give us a better idea of how many Canadians have been exposed to the coronavirus. Ontario’s ombudsman is investigating whether the oversight of long-term care homes during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis by the ministries of health and long-term care is “adequate to ensure the safety of residents and staff.” It comes after the military issued a report detailing dire and abusive conditions at five homes. Nearly half of Ontario’s facilities have been the sites of COVID-19 outbreaks, killing more than 1,600 residents. At least 15 West Point cadets have tested positive for COVID-19. They were brought back to the military institution in New York state from their current posts in advance of a graduation speech by President Donald Trump on June 13. A Maclean’s index of what Canada loved, gave up, made and threw out in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic: Flowers are out, puppies are popular and then there’s our obsession with breadmaking. Good news for everyone who hasn’t seen a hairdresser in a few months: Scientists at Columbia University have discovered that grey hair can sometimes return naturally to its original colouring, an article in New Scientist reveals. That reversal happens when people are feeling less stressed. The hope is that a colour-reversal drug can be developed. The cover of the July issue of British Vogue features portraits of one of three front-line workers—a transit driver, a midwife and a supermarket worker. “This chapter in history has seen society shift its attention on to some of the people in this country who are not usually afforded the spotlight,” editor Edward Enninful explains. Many teachers are assigning the creation of Rube Goldberg machines to their students. Some kids impress with their videos (it helps when dad is a video editor) while others focus on elaborate designs, such as one amazing version that meanders all over a yard, using everything from recycling bins, paint tins and Hot Wheels tracks. One bright spot as the world economy has slowed down is the return of animals to areas normally crowded with humans and their noisy activities. Just look at a humpback whale that has been spotted breaching in the St. Lawrence River in Montreal. —Patricia Treble As of the latest update, this is the number of confirmed cases in Canada. We're updating this chart every day.
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