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Regional update: Fifteen new cases
Public Health has announced 15 new cases of COVID-19. Eight of the new cases are in Avignon MRC, three in Bonaventure MRC and four in Rocher-Percé.
Public Health states that the difference between provincial and regional statistics can be explained by the rapidly changing situation and that adjustments will be made over the next few days.
CHSLD in Maria (Residence Saint-Joseph)
The number of cases among residents at Saint-Joseph is 24 (stable). Twenty-two (+1) staff members at the Maria CHSLD (government owed long-term care facility) have tested positive for COVID-19. Eight (+1) individuals from the Residence Saint-Joseph have passed away as a result of COVID-19.
That CHSLD houses 91 residents and nearly 130 employees work there.
Lady Maria (RPA – Private Seniors’ Residence) outbreak
Forty residents (stable), and nine (stable) employees at Lady Maria have tested positive for COVID-19.
The Lady Maria residence is home to 130 individuals and nearly 45 employees work there.
CHSLD New Carlisle
According to the CISSS there is a COVID-19 outbreak at CHSLD in New Carlisle. Five employees are affected by this outbreak, and no residents have been affected. All residents and the majority of employees have been screened. For prevention, all residents are in isolation in their rooms, all employees continue to wear personal protective equipment.
This residence houses 66 residents and employs 118 people.
Maria Hospital outbreak
According to the CISSS there is currently a COVID-19 outbreak at Maria Hospital. Five employees have tested positive and, so far, no patients are involved in the outbreak.
Updated List – Réné-Levesque School Service Centre
The Réné-Levesque School Service Centre has confirmed twenty-six (+2) cases. Three classrooms have been quarantined.
The educational facilities with positives cases are:
- École des Audomarois, Saint-Omer (2 cases)
- École Bourg, Carleton-sur-Mer (3 cases – 1 class)
- École Antoine-Bernard, Carleton-sur-Mer (1 case)
- CFP L’Envol, Carleton-sur-Mer (3 cases)
- CFP Chandler-Bonaventure, Bonaventure (1 case)
- École La Source, Paspébiac (4 cases)
- École polyvalente de Paspébiac (1 case)
- École Le Phare, Port-Daniel (11 cases – 2 classes)
Complete portrait
The total number of COVID-19 cases in the Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands is now 648 (+15). Presently, 381 (+34) individuals have recovered. There are 247 (-20) active cases in the region. The total number of deaths is 20 (+1). There are currently seven individuals hospitalized, a total of 33 (*+3) overall since the beginning of the pandemic. There is one patient in intensive care (stable). *two hospitalizations are from today, the other one occurred at a previous date.
Regional: MRC of Residence
MRC / living environment Confirmed cases Since Sept. 1 Active Cases Rate/ 100000 since Sept. 1 Avignon (+8)
– Community
– Seniors’ res.332 244 121 821.6 Bonaventure (+3) 146 90 71 406.5 Rocher-Percé (+4) 86 52 37 217.8 Côte-de-Gaspé 47 29 12 68.5 Haute-Gaspésie 10 n.d. n.d. n.d. Magdalen Islands 27 n.d. n.d. n.d. Gaspé Peninsula Magdalen Islands 648 434 247 274.2 Source: Gaspé Peninsula Public Health Board. n.d.: not disclosed when less than 5 for privacy reasons
The Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands region is at Alert Level 3 – Orange, with the exception of the following three municipalities: Maria, Carleton-sur-Mer and Nouvelle, which are at Alert Level 4 – Red.
Please consult previous posts for measures related to each Alert Level.
The totals for the province are as follows:
Cases Deaths Hospitalizations ICU 88,994 (+844) 5,976 (*+6) 488 (+20) 80 (-5) * One death occurred in the last 24 hours, four of the deaths occurred between October 7 and October 12 and one occurred at an unknown date.
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Media Smarts: Question the source
We are constantly surrounded by media: Television, social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube etc.), radio, newspapers, games, and magazines. Individuals, groups, companies, and governments all send out messages constantly trying to inform and influence us. Companies want you to buy. Politicians want you to support them by donating money and voting for them. News sources inform and influence by the stories that they choose to cover.
However, be skeptical. Ask questions as you are listening to or reading this constant information coming your way. Being a skeptical media consumer, and let’s face it we are all affected by media, will protect us. Skeptical means simply not being easily convinced and not accepting all we read, see, and hear at face value.
Ask yourself:
- Who is sending this message and why?
- Does this message sound real? Could it be fake news?
- Does the person sending out these messages have the credentials to speak on the subject?
The news is full of reports about foreign governments influencing people in other countries in a negative way. Reportedly, Russian-backed accounts are posted all over United States and Canadian media, particularly Facebook and Twitter.
We cannot always figure out who is sending a message and even why they are sending their messages, but by being skeptical we may be less under the influence of unwanted or downright false information.
Read these media messages and see what questions come to mind:
From a CBC News Alert: “Bar-hopping linked to numerous recent COVID-19 cases in Winnipeg.”
Questions for the skeptic: Do you trust the news source? Who determined that the barhopping was linked to COVID cases? Does the news company have any reason to lie about this? Does this message sound like it could be real?
The Lincoln Project (via Twitter): “The United States has surpassed 7,000,000 cases of Coronavirus. This continues to be the worst federal response in our nation’s history.”
Questions: Are these numbers accurate? Who writes the tweets for the Lincoln Project? What is their agenda and who do they support? Does this sound like it could be real?
This gets easier as you become more skeptical.
Be proud that you are a person who questions the source!
Here is another example.
Facebook user (name confidential): “Hmmm, yup a pandemic alright. Covid 19 is fake. Bow to your globalist oppressors.”
Now, what questions could you ask about this statement?
What can you conclude about this Facebook post?
An effective way to deal with all media is to identify and/or question the source.