A stealth virus, the missing infected and playing the long game: Inside the COVID-19 numbers

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How COVID-19 is changing B.C.’s approach to the opioid crisis: Pandemics force us into a lot of changes that otherwise might never have been made. Some of those changes are horrible choices between 'bad' and 'worse'. But not every one of them. In an effort to help both drug users and the front-line care workers who support them, British Columbia is changing its drug policy in a way that advocates have long hoped for. Will this approach spread to the rest of Canada, as provinces move to protect a vulnerable population? Will the results it delivers help modernize our approach to this problem for good? Time will tell, but for now those who have been pushing for progressive solutions say it's a welcome step taken under horrible circumstances. by The Big Story

29 min listen

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Canada’s COVID-19 aid package and you: Do you qualify? How much will you get? For how long? What if you still have a tiny bit of income, but it's not enough to live on? What if you're already on EI? What if you haven't been fired, but can't work? What if the rent's due before the money arrives? The federal government announced an unprecedented aid package for Canadians who have lost their incomes in the pandemic. But the bill is complicated and there's more in it than the headlines you've read. Today we'll break down exactly who qualifies for what, and how you can get it if you're eligible. by The Big Story

24 min listen

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How COVID-19 could change our cities forever. Or not.: Open-concept floor plans. Roads designed for peak traffic at peak times on week days. Apartments built for sleeping and eating but not extended isolation. Sidewalks built for...closeness. This pandemic has cast a spotlight on the nature of how we design our homes, offices and cities. It's left huge swaths of space empty, and crammed some people into tiny boxes. There are design and planning lessons we can learn from what we're seeing now that could impact the way we live forever—but only if we want them to. What does a city look like after it's been changed by a year of social distancing? And which of those changes will become permanent? by The Big Story

24 min listen

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Hospitals plan for the worst, as a community steps up: The last time we talked to Dr. Michael Warner, he was headed in a week leading his time in the critical care unit at a Toronto hospital. He joins us to update what teams at hospitals across the province are seeing on the front lines. The worst is coming, and it's scary, but the community response has also buoyed his spirits. This is a fight everyone can help win, by listening to doctors and helping frontline care workers. Want to pitch in? Start at ThePPEDrive.com. Start with one mask. by The Big Story

22 min listen

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How to stay positive in self-isolation: These are stressful times, to put it lightly. And the message from Canada's health officials is that there's no clear end in sight for physical distancing measures. As we go longer and longer without the sort of everyday things that make us feel good, the COVID-19 pandemic will take a higher emotional toll. But that doesn't mean we're powerless. We actually know quite a bit about what our brains crave, and what makes us feel good. And there's a lot of it that can be done without leaving our houses. So, here's a little helpful instruction on how to get what you need no matter what's outside your door. by The Big Story

19 min listen

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How to eat well (enough) during quarantine: In the early days of self-isolation, for some people food was an adventure. For others, an obstacle. But now that we've been at this for a while, perhaps you've realized that your standards are slipping. How can we possibly feed ourselves well through this when there are so many barriers? Some of us have lost access to ingredients, or the income to buy them. Some of us are alone—and cooking for one is hard. Some of us are trying to keep young children fed—when they aren't getting enough exercise to make them properly hungry. And a lot of us are anxious, or depressed, and that makes it really tough to work up the energy to cook a proper meal. So when you do get the chance to shop or order, what should be on your list to help change that? by The Big Story

19 min listen

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The Health Care Crisis V: Privatization: As Canada's health-care system fails, more and more people will be willing to pay up to avoid the most overcrowded and underserviced parts of it. While no politician will come out in favour of privatizing health care, you do here a lot about "looking for innovative solutions"—which can often mean a second, paid tier. Is this a viable solution to some of the system's burden? Or is it the beginning of a downward spiral we need to be very careful about? GUEST: Natalie Mehra, Executive Director, Ontario Health Coalition by The Big Story

28 min listen

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What do we lose when our malls disappear?: All across North America, malls are vanishing. Some are simply being demolished, others are turning into condo complexes or Amazon warehouses. The rise of online shopping has made them less necessary for simply acquiring goods, but that was never all that malls were for. When was the last time you just browsed? Wandered a store with no particular purchase in mind, hoping to find something cool? Or spent some time aimlessly "just looking"? In a hyper-focused digital world, we're spending less and less time free from a specific task or goal—which is what an afternoon at the mall accomplishes, at least while they're still around. GUEST: Jason Guriel, author of On Browsing by The Big Story

27 min listen

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A stealth virus, the missing infected and playing the long game: Inside the COVID-19 numbers: POP QUIZ! If a province's report says it has 426 new cases of COVID-19 in one day, which brings the provincial total to 2392 and represents a 22% increase day-over-day—but the number of test results on that day tops 6,200, a figure more than double the total previous day's test results, when 260 new cases were found...is that a good day or bad day in the fight against this virus? The Coronavirus numbers come in a swirl, the data is not always accurate, and sometimes it's weeks behind. And yet everyone who has ever made a chart in Excel has a theory on what today's numbers mean for our effort to flatten the curve. Today, we'll tell you why the datasets aren't reliable, which numbers really matter and how we're doing—or how we think we're doing—based on the numbers we have. If you've been confused by conflicting reports based on the same numbers, this episode is for you. by The Big Story

30 min listen

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A Canadian experiment looks for a ‘Hail Mary’ COVID-19 treatment: It's been used in desperate times of disease for a century—but there's never been a large-scale study of its effectiveness. It's relatively simple to administer, but requires a lot of resources to get right. Will it work? We don't know, but if it does it could be the armour the front-line workers need to battle COVID-19. Today we look at a Canada-wide experimental treatment that could provide some important insights into how we beat this virus. by The Big Story

21 min listen

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COVID-19 and domestic violence: A meeting of two pandemics: Shelters and advocates and even governments have sounded the alarm about what our efforts to stay in our homes and battle COVID-19 means for people who have an abusive partner. Many of the usual paths out of an awful situation have become much more complicated, if not impossible. As we face potentially several more weeks of sheltering in place, how can we help people who are living with abuse and violence in the home? What's the government doing to help them? How are shelters adapting to comply with social distancing? What needs to be done to protect people who are in vulnerable situations where they're supposed to be staying for their own safety? by The Big Story

23 min listen

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How many restaurants will survive this Spring?: An early estimate says perhaps one in 10 non-chain restaurants have already closed for good. This month could add 15-20% more. The hospitality industry depends so closely on incoming cash flow, that they simply aren't built to survive a shutdown like this. A group of independent restaurant owners have banded together to lobby all levels of government for the only thing they say can keep them alive through Canada's physical distancing regulations. Why are they different from other industries? Will they get it? And what will your local bar or eatery look like when this is all over? by The Big Story

26 min listen

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Montreal faces a rental crisis in a pandemic: For decades, the image of Montreal apartments has been a lure to the rest of Canada: Huge, spacious units in beautiful old walkups, for prices that wouldn't get you a basement in most other cities. Those days are gone. Montreal today features rising rents, evictions and the same short-term AirBnB challenges that have decimated the rental availability in Toronto and Vancouver. And now, in a city where a huge percentage of people have leases that expire at the end of June, a pandemic forcing the city into lockdown has the potential to upend the city's entire rental culture. by The Big Story

20 min listen

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How long can we all follow strict social distancing orders?: All the reports say that, so far, Canada's strategy is working. The curves from province to province are beginning to flatten. That's thanks to Canadians isolating themselves for almost two months now. But how long can this high level of cooperation keep up? The weather in many parts of the country is getting warmer, we're already seeing some tiny protests, and if some people start bending and breaking the rules, how will we collectively respond to that? What do we need from governments and health officials to convince us to keep it up, but also give us enough hope that people won't be tempted to start finding ways around the rules? by The Big Story

22 min listen

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A guide to COVID-19 scams and how to protect yourself: A global pandemic has trapped most of us inside our homes. We're cut off from friends and family. We're scared and lonely and worried about our jobs and the rent or the mortgage. Which means, sadly, that we've never been riper targets for scammers and fraudsters looking to profit off our collective misery. The scams began as soon as news of a virus made its way out of China in January, and as COVID-19 spread, so did they. And once you lose your money or information to a scammer, it's far too late. So today, we'll try to arm you with information—to identify a fraud and protect yourself if you're targeted. by The Big Story

22 min listen

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Heaven Bent: Death in Emmanuel: It's the morning of June 16th, 1987, in Nashville, Tennessee. Shortly after midnight, firefighters are called to a blaze at Emmanuel Church of Christ. What they find in the ashes would change this small Pentecostal congregation forever. Thirty-five years later, Tara Jean Stevens begins to unravel this shocking crime. by The Big Story

38 min listen

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What does COVID-19 mean for cottage season and rural communities?: It sounds like a first-world problem: "What if people can't visit their second homes?" But behind the stereotype there are hundreds of thousands of people facing tough choices. People who flee cities for rural areas in the summer are not exclusively rich folks off to a lakefront mansion, and the communities people visit on hot summer weekends depend on that influx of cash to get businesses through the winter. So with Victoria Day weekend approaching, what guidelines have been given to people who own cottages? To people who live year-round in the communities visitors frequent? What happens if small towns are overrun with city visitors, or if those visitors never show up at all? We're about to find out. by The Big Story

24 min listen

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The Health Care Crisis IV: Dementia: As stretched as our health-care system is right now, it may be nothing compared to what will test it in the years to come. Even if we've handled the worst of Covid, and no new disease emerges, Canada still has to reckon with an aging population. And a new landmark study details just what we'll be grappling with. As our elders age, many of them will develop symptoms of early dementia. And thanks to a lack of resources, many of the early signs will go unnoticed or untreated. Eventually, these people will need a lot of care, and as things stand right now, we don't have the people, or the facilities, to provide it. So how long do we have and what should we do? Unlike Covid, this is a crisis we can clearly see coming. So are we going to meet it? GUEST: Dr. Brian Goldman, Host of The Dose, ER physician, author of the foreword for the landmark study by The Big Story

26 min listen

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What it’s like to have COVID-19 (but not get tested): The novel coronavirus presents in different ways for different people, and that means that experts think we're likely missing lots of cases due to mild symptoms, test shortages or both. This, perhaps, includes our host. But it definitely includes today's guest, who despite not being tested, due to not being at risk, was told by doctors that she had COVID-19, and then was told to go home and ride out the worst of it, unless she needed help breathing. So what are the course of symptoms, day by day, for one healthy young woman hit hard by the virus? She'll tell you, and also give you an idea of what to expect if you have to go through the process yourself. by The Big Story

24 min listen

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Would you pay more for ethical bananas?: Bananas are the cheapest fruit around, and Canadians eat them by the millions. In fact during the pandemic and our current spike of inflation, bananas have only become cheaper—one of just a handful of foods to do so. But even still, some Canadians are choosing to pay more for their bananas. Why? The answer involves a long and difficult history of the banana trade, and a Montreal company with one goal and a slick marketing team trying to change how we buy our bunches... GUEST: Deborah Aarts, reporting in the Globe and Mail's ROB magazine by The Big Story

20 min listen

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How a Nfld. funeral home became the centre of Canada’s biggest COVID-19 outbreak: When Shannon Fleming's loved ones gathered to mourn her passing, there hadn't yet been any official bans on gatherings of this size in Newfoundland. Attendees remember it as a normal funeral, though the funeral home says it took precautions. A week later, someone who had visited the funeral home tested positive for COVID-19. More and more positive tests followed. Now it's Canada's largest single outbreak, and what should have been a farewell that drew a community together has become the centre of suspicion and anger between neighbours. by The Big Story

21 min listen

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How to track a Covid variant: Every day, Covid mutates. Many times. Most of the mutations are harmless or ineffective. Some—as everyone knows by now—are not, and can evade immunity and change the virus to better infect humans. Right now, doctors in Canada are worried about emerging variants spiking infections this fall. But how worried should they be? Today we'll go inside the network of scientists that coordinate their efforts to better understand each emerging variant, how much of a threat it might pose, and what we need to watch out for. Before you read about a new rise in infections in the news, these are the folks sounding the alarms. GUEST: Dr. Sarah Otto, evolutionary biologist, professor at the UBC’s department of zoology, expert at the Coronavirus Variants Rapid Response Network. by The Big Story

23 min listen

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COVID-19’s great mask debate: Everyone you know probably has an opinion on whether or not we should be wearing masks outside. So does Canada's chief public health officer—and her opinion has evolved over the past month. Canadians are now being encouraged to wear non-medical masks in places where social distancing is difficult. Which raises a couple of questions: What difference is this supposed to make, and to whom, and if it is supposed to make a difference, then why weren't we told to do so earlier? by The Big Story

22 min listen

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How a health reporter does her job when every story is urgent: Health stories are basically the only stories now. There are reams of sometimes-conflicting data, no shortage of sources (though some are much better than others) and someone has to sift out the themes that will have lasting impacts from the one-day scares and triumphs. This is where those who have made the health beat their career are essential. It might be the toughest job in journalism right now. So how do they do it? And what are they seeing? by The Big Story

24 min listen

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How did BC successfully flatten the curve? And will it stay that way?: Ontario and British Columbia discovered their first cases of COVID-19 just one day apart. B.C. was the first province to report community transmission. But since early March, while the virus numbers skyrocketed in Ontario and Quebec, B.C. kept the pandemic largely under control. How? What did B.C. do that other large provinces didn't? Who is Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer who has become a rock star in her adopted province? How much of this was preparation, how much reaction and how much luck? And what happens if the curve starts to bend upwards again? by The Big Story

20 min listen

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Three decades of trying to change hockey culture: When Laura Robinson began reporting about violence and sexual assault in Canadian junior hockey, resistance was fierce, including from the country's top commentator. But the years have obviously proven her correct, and exposed for all to see just what happens in locker rooms, buses and hotel suites. Now that Hockey Canada's leadership has resigned, Robinson explains the long road to what she hopes will finally be real change, the challenges and opportunities facing those who guide the game, and where Canada's relationship to the game it loves goes from here. GUEST: Laura Robinson, reporter and author of the 1998 book Crossing the Line: Violence and Sexual Assault in Canada’s National Sport by The Big Story

29 min listen

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The Aftermath: What Fiona changed forever: Almost two weeks after Fiona hit Atlantic Canada, many communities are still picking up the pieces. In others, there are very few pieces to pick up—because homes and businesses are just ... gone. Thousands are still without power, and don't know when or if they'll return to their communities. As the scale of the destruction becomes clear, what does the rest of Canada need to know about what happened here? What's being done to help those who have lost everything? What's to come in the next few weeks and months? And the real question: What's it like to live your life next to the sea, only to realize it won't be the same in the years and decades to come? GUEST: Greg Mercer, Atlantic Canada reporter, The Globe and Mail by The Big Story

20 min listen

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A distraction for every type: What to watch during lockdown: We figured you might have exhausted your first choices and the obvious options by now—and with at least a few more weeks to go of self-isolation and sheltering in place, we wanted to make sure that you had something to take your mind off things. So we gathered up viewing types from across the spectrum, and put them to our media expert, who keeps tabs on what's available everywhere as part of his job. Whether you want to binge old rom-coms, miss sports dearly or want a jump on seeing things that will win awards next year, we've got a recommendation for you. by The Big Story

30 min listen

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What does the future of sports look like?: It's been six weeks since every major sports league hit pause on their seasons. We still don't have a timetable for their return. But the world of sports is as busy as ever, just in a very different way. There's no question COVID-19 will dramatically change the games we love to watch. But how? And for how long? And what have we realized about our relationship with sports in the time that they've been gone? by The Big Story

26 min listen

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Inside Toronto's apathetic election: Toronto will vote in less than two weeks. Well, some of Toronto will vote. Less than a majority of citizens, that's for sure. And the outcome of the most important race is all but guaranteed already. Why don't more Canadians care about municipal politics? Even when their vote directly impacts the services they get? Even when the winners will be tasked with reshaping the biggest city in the country, and the fourth biggest in North America? GUEST: David Rider, City Hall Bureau Chief, Toronto Star by The Big Story

22 min listen

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A stealth virus, the missing infected and playing the long game: Inside the COVID-19 numbers

A stealth virus, the missing infected and playing the long game: Inside the COVID-19 numbers

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