Lake Superior, North Shore (Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada)

[WolfAmethyst]

 

Due to its geographic isolation and small population, Thunder Bay had both the luxury of time to prepare, and advance knowledge that a severe pandemic was coming.  

 

Instead, I fear both have been completely wasted by too many people dismissing the coronavirus as something that won't make its way here, and that won't happen to them.  

 

Rather than going along with the guidelines introduced across Canada's province of Ontario to cease travel, and practice social distancing  + isolation, several people instead decided to take themselves off on (paid) vacations to locations outside Canada which already have well-documented community spread of the virus.  Goodness knows what they'll be bringing back when they return over the next few days ! 

I can't help but think, in dread, that a lot of stubborn minds won't even begin to change regarding this virus until people they care about start to die.
 

Before that, several local companies  insisted their employees had to travel out-of-town  to a major  conference for the mining industry (a major industry / employer for this region).  Multiple COVID-19 cases have since been traced back to attendance at that event.  Basically, every community surrounding Thunder Bay has had positive COVID-19 cases...but the city itself hasn't yet had someone who met all the (seemingly outdated) criteria to be tested positive (symptoms + travel to only certain parts of the world).  The possibility of community spread happening beneath the public health authorities' noses seems to have been effectively overlooked.  At least for now.

 

Supply chains for food and essentials are thankfully fine, despite the geographic isolation, and many stores have started putting limits in place of "one per household" to reduce the limits of hoarding.  In many shops selling essentials, you wouldn't know anything had changed at all, thankfully.

 

Thunder Bay is on the north shore of the northern-most Great Lake, Lake Superior.  When viewed on a map, or from space, the lake itself is shaped remarkably like a wolf's head, with the its "nose" being Duluth, Minnesota / Superior, Wisconsin, it's "eye" being Isle Royale, Michigan, and where the head would meet its neck being Sault St. Marie Michigan (USA) and Sault St. Marie, Ontario (Canada).

 

My hometown of Thunder Bay is on the north shore.  Basically, find the wolf's "eye", and head straight north to pinpoint the city. Nearby, at the Wolf's "Third Eye" Chakra, is a large amethyst deposit- one of only 5 on Earth.  Because amethyst is my birthstone, and because I've long thought of the wolf as my "totem animal", the Wolf Amethyst internet alias seemed appropriate here on TLE.

[Jeroen]

Thank you for writing about your hometown. I hope that more people start to take the virus seriously by practices of social distance and isolation. I have seen seen some people in my area not take the pandemic seriously too. I am glad that the food supply chains are holding up okay.

 

I have had a Amethyst stone with me since I was a child. A friend of my dad gave it to him and asked that he give it to me. I love Amethyst a great deal. This stone helped me through quite a few periods of feel down and anxious. I have felt a resonance towards wolves too throughout my lifetime.

 

I hope you stay healthy and safe.

[Miizle]

I enjoyed reading about your home town, too. And Thunder Bay is an amazing name for a town, love it.

[Diane - Memorial Profile]

@wolf amethyst,

Sorry about what is happening in your part of our province.  It seems there are so many people in denial, all over the world. We are all in this together and those in denial put everyone's health at risk.

It seems scary to me too as I am in the high risk category (I believe you said you have problems with your lungs). Somehow I feel calm most of the time, I live and find joy one day at a time. 

 

Things in Toronto seem to be pretty quiet. I was born in Toronto and have lived here my whole life. Over the years I have worked with people who came from Thunder Bay and also Sudbury.

 

I have fond memories of several driving trips over the years to Thunder Bay and Sudbury to visit friends and to see Science North. I remember it being breathtakingly beautiful and serene there on the north shore.

 

 

[Maureen]

18 hours ago, WolfAmethyst said:

I can't help but think, in dread, that a lot of stubborn minds won't even begin to change regarding this virus until people they care about start to die.

 

@WolfAmethyst, so sorry you are experiencing so much "insanity" (that's how it seems to me) in northern Ontario. Unfortunately, I think you are right about how these people will likely, finally, comprehend the severity of the pandemic. Michael said this in a session that I posted in a blog entry The 7 Stages of Internal Wholeness. Much love to you and yours. 

 

MEntity:  In terms of healing and resonance, there must always be that resonance for healing to occur. However, this is contextual in that if a Personality is looking to heal another Personality, then the resonance or empathy must be generated from within the experiences of the Personality. As the Soul grows older, the context of one's existence broadens to include Essence, and healing can be experienced from within the context of empathy that is generated from Essence's experiences.

 

MEntity:  The current Personality would not have to experience something similar to a past Personality for there to be found some empathy or resonance.

 

MEntity:  In earlier Soul Ages, one must have some direct experience as a Personality for one to employ empathy or resonance. This is often seen in social dynamics where inclusion and equality are in question. A Young or Baby Soul cannot fathom the necessity for including homosexuals as equals until there is a direct experience with a homosexual. A Young or Baby Soul cannot fathom the necessity for inclusion of a group with different colored skin and different culture until that Young or Baby person directly experiences a person from those groups.

 

MEntity:  But the Late Mature and Old Souls do not require direct experience for empathy and resonance to be generated. There is now access to a storehouse of "memories" and experiences from across lifetimes.

 

This is one of my favourite pictures with the gorgeous colours, the layering, and of course the sparkle.

 

 

[WolfAmethyst]

This sign recently went up outside an assisted-living residence in Thunder Bay. It's made a lot of us laugh here.

[WolfAmethyst]

The first three official cases in Thunder Bay were announced over the weekend.
All caught COVID-19 in Florida, USA, deliberately choosing to travel to the United States AFTER Canada's government and public health authorities specifically warned people not to.

 

Two are a married couple in their 60s, currently isolated / quarantining at home.  I'm suspecting they live in the same apartment / condo building as close family friends, unfortunately.  The friends are "Snowbirds" in their 70s who recently returned to Canada, and went directly into quarantine themselves.  They got a nasty shock yesterday to see people in hazmat suits dealing with the building's garbage (vs the usual trash collectors).

 

The third is someone in their 20s, and now hospitalized "in stable condition".  I'm suspecting spring break parties, and repeated exposure to COVID-19, were enough to overwhelm their immune system.

[WolfAmethyst]

A number of first-responders + frontline health care workers are making plans to live apart from their families for an extended period.  
They're just too worried about what's happened to their peers in other parts of the world (police, firefighters, health care professionals, and people who share the same workplaces)
They're just too worried the protective gear + measures currently in place won't be enough to prevent them getting COVID-19, and passing it on to loved ones at home.

 

Several are collectively working as a group to access more appropriate PPE immediately.  
If that doesn't happen, I expect their families to begin splitting up and relocating within a week.  Which could mean 3 extra people living at my house.

 

 

[WolfAmethyst]

More businesses / construction sites were forced to close this weekend- or switch completely to online shopping / curbside pickup.  
Canadian Tire even had to close its stores to in-person shopping across Canada's province of Ontario, and they're an institution here!  
It would be like a southern state of the USA putting all its  Waffle House locations on level Yellow or Red.

Even one of our astronauts (Cmdr Chris Hadfield) wrote and performed "The Canadian Tire Song" on the International Space Station. (it made a lot of Canadians smile)
(he starts the song at 2 minutes in)
They started with car and bike tires, expanded into hardware, and now sell just about anything- most of my favourite kitchen tools actually came from there
 (plus their locations have some of the cleanest public ladies' washroom's you'll find in my hometown.)

 

[WolfAmethyst]

In a happier note, here's  Cmdr Hadfield singing with the Barenaked Ladies (group that did the theme song for The Big Bang Theory)
I.S.S. - Is Somebody Singing?

 

[Maureen]

7 hours ago, WolfAmethyst said:

In a happier note, here's  Cmdr Hadfield singing with the Barenaked Ladies (group that did the theme song for The Big Bang Theory)
I.S.S. - Is Somebody Singing?

 

 

@WolfAmethyst,  FABULOUS!!! Thank you for posting!

 

[Jeroen]

@WolfAmethyst That was truly amazing to listen too. I do not think I have heard anything like that before. Thank you.

[Maureen]

@WolfAmethyst, here's a live version of my favourite Barenaked Ladies song, Lovers in a Dangerous Time, which I just posted on Facebook. Bruce Cockburn (music and lyrics), literally, wrote it for times like these.

 

Main Lyrics: Lovers in a Dangerous Time

 

Don't the hours go shorter as the days go by
We never get to stop and open our eyes
One minute you're waiting for the sky to fall
Then next you're dazzled by the beauty of it all

 

These fragile bodies of touch and taste
This fragrant skin, this hair like lace
Spirits open to a thrust of grace
Never a breath you can't afford to waste

 

When you're lovers in a dangerous time
Sometimes you're made to feel as if your love's a crime
Nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight
Gotta kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight

 

[WolfAmethyst]

17 hours ago, Jeroen said:

@WolfAmethyst That was truly amazing to listen too. I do not think I have heard anything like that before. Thank you.

You're welcome.  The part which always resonated the most with me, personally, is 
"What once was fuelled by fear
Now has fifteen nations orbiting together here"

 

I like to think of it as an example of the possibility for good to come out of a lot of things- especially those which begin with completely different mindsets / goals.

[WolfAmethyst]

The first official COVID-19 case among grocery store employees was announced today.  It was somebody working with their click-and-collect service, unfortunately.  
Many people grocery shopping by click-and-collect are in more vulnerable groups, too.  

Though the risk if catching COVID-19 this way is low, a lot of families will now be going completely nuts for the next week, worrying and waiting for symptoms to appear.
There just aren't enough tests available locally to test people without symptoms yet.
It's hoped that will change  next week, when the chemicals are due to arrive so the hospital lab can do it's own rapid-turnaround tests in-house.

It gets really frustrating at times, how this pandemic amplified the most annoying and dysfunctional ways some people respond to prolonged stress.

Ever since the first COVID-19 case was announced locally, online comments have been eerily reminiscent of the same fear and ignorance displayed in the local newspaper's "Letters to the Editor" when HIV / AIDS first entered public awareness in the late 80s, early 90s.
Basically just looking for a target to blame, and spreading inaccurate rumours, vs seeking to learn and understand how the virus they were afraid of actually spread from one person to another.
What made the difference back then, was a prominent local minister and his family going public that their much-loved haemophiliac son and brother was one of the first local HIV / AIDS cases, as a result of the many blood transfusions he'd needed since childhood.

 

[WolfAmethyst]

My brother is sick and waiting for COVID-19 test results.

[WolfAmethyst]

My brother's COVID-19 test came back NEGATIVE and he's feeling better
My infant niece is healthy, thriving and 3 months old tomorrow.
My first attempt at the Junior's Cheesecake recipe for "little fellas" was a success. 

[WolfAmethyst]

From 1 --> 65? COVID-19 cases?  DAMMIT! 

The local public health authorities had reported a  total of 81 positive COVID-19 cases (in a population of about 120,000)
Only two were still active, both patients hospitalized.
Then this happens:
https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/unknown-covid-19-case-leads-to-40-presumptive-cases-at-tbrhsc-2370515
So one COVID-19 case wanders around the hospital, and may have infected 40 other patients + 25 people who work there.

[WolfAmethyst]

052420 Michael Speaks has been right on.  With business as usual flipped upside down, more and more local restaurants are keeping revenues up by maintaining their usual supply chain...but packaging and selling smaller quantities on to the public as grocery items (via no-contact pickup or delivery).  For many things, it means they've got a more consistent inventory, and more consistent quality, than the regular grocery stores.

Seriously, if there's anything you're struggling to find, try asking nearby restaurants if they'd be willing to sell some...or help set up an order with their supplier.

I regularly cook and bake from scratch anyhow.  But the extra work does add up when so many family favourites are increasingly out of stock.  I FINALLY got instant yeast from supply box.ca (which caters more to the restaurant sector).  

[WolfAmethyst]

A doctor who worked in ICU has been diagnosed with COVID-19 --> tracing and tests for over 100 staff and patients. 

So far only 83 positive cases (+ the doctor)  for a district population of 150,000, thankfully.

https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/doctor-at-thunder-bay-hospital-diagnosed-with-covid-19-2400505

[WolfAmethyst]

Only 90 positive cases so far, with 5 still active.  Obituaries are undergoing a marked change though.  Most used to be people in their 80s or 90s dying in-hospital.  Now, most are people in their 60s or 70s dying at home.  

Many once-fatal medical conditions can now be lived with for years- if patients have  access to the tests, medications, and in-person care that can catch problems early enough.  

Before somebody ends up in an ER with an ultimately fatal medical crisis.

 

Due to COVID-19, most medical offices have closed, and most tests are only available to urgent patients in hospital

The ER is always open.  But it makes me wonder how many people are falling through a whole new set of cracks opened up by this pandemic.

No wonder Canada's most populated provinces haven't released numbers of  "excess deaths"

 

Alberta and B.C. have reported hundreds of 'excess deaths' that weren't linked to COVID-19

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/alberta-and-b-c-have-reported-hundreds-of-excess-deaths-that-weren-t-linked-to-covid-19-1.4993550

[Evelin]

BTW, you Canadians: thank you for the excellent mini-series Contamination! It addressed so many of the issues so well.

[WolfAmethyst]

Update (YAY!!!) - "A mandatory mask requirement for enclosed public spaces will go into effect next Friday" July 24th, for my city's public health district, by order of the Medical Officer of Health.
https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/mandatory-mask-requirement-coming-to-city-2569550

"she made the decision in order to minimize the spread of COVID-19 as the region enters Stage 3 of Ontario's reopening plan"

"The regulation will apply to all employees and members of the public and it is being issued under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. The rule comes into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 24."

Thank The Divine, this means the politicians on city council won't have the chance to screw it up! 

[WolfAmethyst]

A new COVID-19 case for the first time since July 3rd.  A man in his 60s who doesn't know where / how he got the virus.

As it neared 2 weeks without a new case, more and more people were venting opinions that the virus was gone here, the authorities were scaremongering, more places should be allowed to reopen (or reopen "normally")...

Of course,  cue the conspiracy theorists that a new active case is diagnosed just after the new mask regulation was announced. 

https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/new-covid-19-case-first-in-weeks-for-thunder-bay-2574387
 

[WolfAmethyst]

What a Trump COVID apology would sound like (made me laugh).