Patrick Cain

Author Archives

• Ontario’s true coronavirus death toll may be much higher than reported: coroner

  Ontario saw 3,000 more cremations in March and April than normal — and only half were formally linked to the coronavirus. Here's what the coroner thinks is going on.

  Health

  Jul 22, 2020
• Human challenge trials are a fast way to see if a coronavirus vaccine works. But are they ethical?

  How would we know if a coronavirus vaccine works? Giving it to people and then exposing them to the virus would be one way, but one epidemiologist calls it 'unethical.'

  Health

  Jul 17, 2020
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• Masks protect others, but does your mask protect you? The jury’s out

  Masks work well to protect others, but your mask works less well to protect you. Here's why.

  Health

  Jul 16, 2020
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• Closed playgrounds can open safely, experts say. Here’s why

  Playground slides and swings are still silent and taped off in many large Canadian cities. But, one expert says, 'there is no reason why they should be closed.'

  Health

  Jul 15, 2020
• With hours to go, U.S. judge blocks federal executions

  A U.S. district judge on Monday ordered a new delay in federal executions, hours before a lethal injection was scheduled to be carried out.

  World

  Jul 13, 2020
• 57 injured in fire on San Diego warship; crews still fighting fire that started Sunday

  Firefighters were still battling a blaze Monday on a U.S. Navy combat ship that injured at least 57 people and sent smoke billowing over San Diego.

  World

  Jul 13, 2020
• German study shows low coronavirus infection rate in schools

  Very few of 2,000 students and teachers tested in Germany show antibodies to COVID-19, suggesting schools may not play as big a role in spreading the virus as some feared.

  Health

  Jul 13, 2020
• Art meets life: Can pandemic movies prepare us for the real thing?

  Fans of horror and pandemic movies and the 'morbidly curious' show better psychological resilience in relation to the real pandemic, a study argues.

  Health

  Jul 10, 2020
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• After 202 years, clothier Brooks Brothers files for bankruptcy

  The storied clothier Brooks Brothers, founded in 1818, is filing for bankruptcy protection months after the coronavirus pandemic emptied offices.

  Health

  Jul 8, 2020
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• Facebook could be ‘weaponized to suppress voting,’ audit warns

  Facebook's decisions to allow controversial posts by Donald Trump established a 'terrible precedent' that could allow the platform to be 'weaponized to suppress voting.'

  Tech

  Jul 8, 2020
• CBSA has lost track of 34,700 people due to be deported: auditor-general

  The federal auditor general says Canada's border agency has failed to promptly remove most of the people ordered to leave the country. Part of the problem: bad data entry.

  Canada

  Jul 8, 2020
• How your sewage could help track coronavirus in your neighbourhood

  Across Canada, scientists are designing an early warning system for a second wave of the coronavirus. One explains its secret: 'Everybody has to poop.'

  Health

  Jul 4, 2020
• As Facebook ad boycott intensifies, political parties continue to spend big

  With the growing list of international brands, including Coca-Cola and Lululemon, choosing to boycott Facebook ads, should political institutions do the same?

  Canada

  Jun 30, 2020
• Coronavirus traces found in Spanish sewage sample from March 2019

  Traces of coronavirus have been found in a sample of Barcelona waste water collected in March 2019, nine months before the virus was identified in China.

  Health

  Jun 29, 2020
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• In England, schools see dozens of coronavirus outbreaks as they reopen

  Schools in England saw 44 outbreaks of the novel coronavirus last week, public health data shows. 

  Health

  Jun 26, 2020
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• Many more Canadians going hungry as coronavirus pinches economy: StatsCan

  The novel coronavirus has ravaged the national economy, and more Canadians are going hungry as a result, Statistics Canada announced Wednesday.

  Health

  Jun 24, 2020
• Wisconsin crowd pulls down statue of abolitionist who died fighting slavery

  A crowd in Madison, Wisc. has torn down a statue of an anti-slavery activist who died fighting the Confederacy.

  World

  Jun 24, 2020
• The faster a country required masks, the fewer coronavirus deaths it had: study

  Countries that moved quickly to widespread mask-wearing had much lower death tolls and shorter coronavirus outbreaks, a study argues.

  Health

  Jun 22, 2020
• Coronavirus’s spread is slowing, but one expert warns: ‘I worry about the fall’

  The 'reproduction number,' or the average number of Canadians who are infected by someone with coronavirus, has been falling since the third week of May.

  Health

  Jun 19, 2020
• Canada hits 100,000 coronavirus cases — and ‘we’re not out of the woods yet’

  'The next six months are going to be really difficult,' one expert warns, as Canada reaches 100,000 cases of the novel coronavirus.

  Health

  Jun 18, 2020
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• Ottawa-area scientists now monitoring sewage for coronavirus: ‘Now is the exciting part’

  With every flush, people in Ottawa and Gatineau are contributing to a database that researchers hope will give an early warning of a second wave of coronavirus.

  Health

  Jun 16, 2020
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• Pool testing for COVID-19 could help Canada reopen. Here’s what it is

  The concept is simple: get swabs from a group of people, take samples from those swabs, and then test them together.

  Health

  Jun 6, 2020
• Many Canadians turned to weed as coronavirus arrived. Here’s how to tell if that’s a problem

  Statistics show Canadian cannabis sales spiked amid the coronavirus pandemic, and some worry increased use could be a problem. Here are some warning signs.

  Health

  Jun 4, 2020
• Putin orders state of emergency after 20,000-tonne Russian oil spill

  Russian officials say the Ambarnaya river in the Arctic will need decades to recover after over 20,000 tonnes of fuel and lubricants were spilled this week.

  Environment

  Jun 4, 2020
• Black neighbourhoods in Toronto are hit hardest by COVID-19 — and it’s ‘anchored in racism’: experts

  A data analysis by Global News shows Black communities in Toronto are more severely impacted by COVID-19. Anti-Black racism is at the core of poorer health outcomes, experts say.

  Health

  Jun 2, 2020