PROVINCE MISSING THE BOAT ON COVID-19 TESTING

There is a risk that we will come in contact with COVID-19 but there’s absolutely no risk that the Province will do anything except "follow the leader" - Ottawa . The best opportunity to control spread - mass testing - accompanied with physical distancing and/or quarantine, is not even on the table.

Testing is not without its critics however, some of them highly credible, including B.C.'s officer of public health, Dr. Bonnie Henry. A common problem is that COVID-19 tests result in a high number of false negatives. "The false negative rate can be as high as 30 per cent early on in infection", stated Henry in an April 14th CBC news story. "Testing in B.C.," the story continues, "is currently being limited to those who develop coronavirus symptoms who are hospitalized, residents or staff of long-term care facilities, part of an outbreak investigation, or health-care workers" - not unlike the testing regime here.

MOURNING THE PASSING OF JIM LEARNING

All associated with the Uncle Gnarley Blog wish to join in expressing sincere condolences to the family of Jim Learning, especially his partner, Roberta Frampton Bonafiel. 

What can be said except that he brightened the spirits of those whom he met with his laughter and optimism as he contributed to his community and his province, honored his native heritage and traditions, stood up for  the principles in which he believed and passionately defended the preservation of the environment. This he did, not maliciously, but peacefully - employing his democratic rights. And those rights were ones that he was always prepared to defend, even at the expense of his liberty. 

What more could any Labradorian or Newfoundlander expect from a native son!

Rest in peace, Jim Learning.

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Related:
WHY WE SHOULD RESPECT THE INCARCERATED LABRADOR THREE

EVERY DAY ALL-FOOLS DAY

ALL-FOOLS DAY 

The world is run by egoed fools

That let covirus spread

In planes and boats, around the globe.

For cash, they cancelled dread.

But dread it is, and many dead -

More corpses on way.

For fools, that flaunt reality

All days are all-fools day.

John Tuach

April 01, 2020

COVID-19: WE STILL DON'T HAVE A PLAN. TELL POLITICIANS THAT TESTING IS THE BEST ONE AVAILABLE.

We should be concerned that the politicians - the one-string violins preaching social distancing - are far too caught up in the daily afternoon “War by Video Conference”. They are not making any real decisions to control COVID-19 spread or how to return the province’s economy to life as fast as possible, without precipitating another outbreak. They are awaiting instructions from Ottawa. 

Having emptied the public Treasury these past five years, why would we think that they possess the skills necessary to manage a pandemic, anyway?   

Let’s get serious. The afternoon “Video Conference” is nothing more than chatter; it is as predictable as the afternoon Soaps. When you have heard all the admonishments over “social distancing”, what have you learned except that they will return for more of the same the next day?  We hear it all from the PM anyway. 

We need a Plan, and we don’t yet have one. This article will suggest one.

RCMP and PUBLIC PROSECUTOR FINAL STEP IN LONG MUSKRAT JOURNEY

Guest Post by the "Anonymous Engineer"

EDITOR'S NOTE: The author of today's article is the whistleblower, dubbed the "Anonymous Engineer", who first disclosed falsification of the estimates for the Muskrat Falls project in January, 2017. 
…………………………………………………...

The Muskrat Falls Inquiry had a very interesting beginning, which may have been forgotten by now. When the costs of the project started going off the rails, the public outcry for an inquiry began to get louder and louder.  The timing was about mid 2017. The demand for an inquiry was strongly resisted by the leadership at the time, Premier Ball, Minister Coady, and Stan Marshall the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) of Nalcor. The public pressure for that response was too strong to resist. The leadership capitulated and initiated an Inquiry. Time line about mid 2018.

AVOIDING THE APOCALYPSE (PART II)

Guest Post by Ron Penney

The Apocalypse is Coming

Two weeks ago I wrote a guest blog, Avoiding the Apocalypse, in which I noted that at every step of the way our public health response has been slow and that as a result, we may well have squandered the advantage we have as a result of our geography. As the song goes, with respect to the island of Newfoundland, “thank God we’re surrounded by water.” And, of course Labrador is also very remote from the rest of the continent.

In addition, I pointed out that our isolation meant that we were going to be one of the last jurisdictions to have cases. This result is that we had the advantage of learning from the experiences in other places and could act accordingly.

We have missed that opportunity and, as a result, we are into the pandemic big time. More cases than New Brunswick.

BROKEN TREASURY ADDED TO THE LEGEND OF DANNY

Premier Ball’s March 20, 2020 letter to the Prime Minister was clear: Newfoundland and Labrador had "run out of time". No one, except the Government of Canada, could be found to buy the bonds of a bunch of drunken sailors.

By mid-April the Provincial Government would not have had sufficient cash to meet its payroll or send cheques to the plethora of people, businesses, and organizations who rely upon them to pay their bills, unless the Governor of the Bank of Canada intervened.

The debacle of insolvency now greets all the people of the province at the worst possible time - during a health pandemic and a global economic crisis. I suspect that no one needs to hear the historical parallels – economic or political – with the 1930s. I will save you the imposition.

GOVERNING IN THE AGE OF CORONAVIRUS: ADVICE TO PREMIER

Editor's Note: Today, two articles – rather than the usual one – are posted for Uncle Gnarley readers. This one contains a letter written by frequent contributor, David Vardy, to Premier Dwight Ball containing a series of 12 recommendations intended to promote an “all-of-government” approach to combating spread of the COVID-19 virus threatening this province. Recommendation #12, which encourages Government to act to increase the number of people who stay at home, is especially poignant; it is this theme about which PlanetNL has also written. His article is entitled "Courting Disaster With Half-Measured Hypocrisy Against COVID-19". Both pieces rely on an Australian study described in the following Link:  Data shows coronavirus can only be controlled if 8 out of 10 Australians stay home. The Report is based upon simulation studies which conclude that physical distancing requires 80 per cent compliance in order to stop the spread of the virus. The failure by our Government to require closure of construction, mining and other heavy industries, likely makes such a target unattainable. I would be grateful if you liked/shared both pieces on social media and, otherwise, you are welcome to send them to people whom you know are connected with those sectors. – Des Sullivan

Guest Post by David Vardy follows

COURTING DISASTER WITH HALF-MEASURED HYPOCRISY AGAINST COVID-19

Guest Post by PlanetNL
PlanetNL29: Courting Disaster With Half-Measured Hypocrisy Against COVID-19

This province has suffered plenty from political failure in the past decade plus.  We don’t need COVID-19 to turn out to be the next major disaster but the present administration seems, as usual, unable to calculate the risks.  The issue is that the necessity for physical distancing and the shelter-in-place concept needs a very high rate of participation to succeed but the government has left a mile-wide loophole for “essential” businesses to keep operating that is placing many communities and the entire province at great risk.
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THE BARD'S COVID-19 UPDATE

LAME DUCK UPDATE

(COVID-19)

Ball has ballsed the Muskrat Falls

And all he’s called’s on stall.

He now appalls the Covid call

An obscene photo-op to trawl.

Do you believe his words at all? -

Non-confidence installed,

That they can fall the Covid squall.

A lame-duck presence is banal!

March 22, 2020

John Tuach