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Wealthy Canadian Couple Could Face Jail Over Vaccine Fraud
Rodney and Ekaterina Baker in an undated photo from social media
A millionaire Canadian couple who secretly travelled to a remote community to receive a coronavirus vaccine meant for vulnerable and elderly Indigenous residents may now face jail sentences for breaking public health rules.
Casino executive Rodney Baker and his wife, Ekaterina Baker, an actor, were widely condemned after it emerged that they had chartered a plane to a remote community in the Yukon territory, where they posed as local motel employees to receive the vaccine.
They were fined C$2,300 (US$1,800) for violating Yukon’s Civil Emergency Measures Act, but community leaders argued that the penalty would be insignificant for the wealthy couple: Baker resigned from his position as a casino executive on Sunday but records show he made a C$45.9m profit on stock options over the past 13 months.
Amid growing outrage, the Yukon community services minister announced on Wednesday that the couple’s tickets had been stayed and they had been served with a notice to appear in court. If convicted, they could serve up to six months in jail.
Backlash grows for ‘selfish millionaire’ who got vaccine meant for Indigenous people
“I have to say I’m outraged by this selfish behaviour. All of us as Yukoners are outraged,” minister John Streicker told reporters on Wednesday. “I find it disturbing that people would choose to put fellow Canadians at risk in this manner.”
The Bakers are each charged with failing to self-isolate for 14 days and failing to act in a manner consistent with their declarations upon arriving in the Yukon. They are due to appear in a Whitehorse court on 4 May.
Streicker confirmed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are also investigating the couple’s actions.
A mobile vaccine team was dispatched to Beaver Creek, because of its limited health care and the elderly population, many of who belong to White River First Nation.
Streicker said members of the First Nation said they felt “violated” by the couple’s behaviour, which has also prompted officials in the territory to change the criteria for vaccine eligibility. Anyone whose health cards issued outside of the territory will need to demonstrate proof of residency, he said.
Streicker said he had heard that the couple had not made any attempt to apologize to the First Nation.
Canada’s Indigenous services minister, Marc Miller, joined the chorus of criticism, saying: “I understand these people are wealthy and I won’t tell them what to do with their money but, you know, perhaps reparations are due at some level.”
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Westpac warn about new text scam
Australian's are being warned of the latest text scam attempting to steal banking details by posing as Westpac.
The text advises you to confirm your mobile device by clicking a provided link, which redirects to a fake sign in page and requests personal banking information, Westpac said.
READ MORE: New scam targeting Woolworths shoppers
"Westpac will never ask you for this type information via SMS," the banking giant said in a statement.
"Please delete this message."
The big four bank released a warning after several Aussies took to Westpac's Twitter account, to question the authenticity of the message.
"Hi Westpac, is this genuine?" one user commented, accompanied with a screenshot of the text.
https://twitter.com/Westpac/status/1355014505206484994?s=20
"We still didn't hear from you," the scam text message reads.
"To avoid service restrictions please visit [URL] to confirm your mobile device."
The text has been sent from multiple mobile phone numbers, and has targeted not only Westpac users.
"Hey Westpac #scammers are at it again, not a customer but thought I'd flag it," Kelly posted to Westpac's twitter.
https://twitter.com/msstraighty180/status/1354904787339202562?s=20
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Scamwatch said phishing scams, such as this one, are designed to look genuine, but are used to retrieve information to carry out fraudulent activity.
"Do not click on any links or open attachments from emails claiming to be from your bank or another trusted organisation and asking you to update or verify your details – just press delete," Scamwatch said in a statement.
Westpac users can confirm the authenticity of a text message by contacting the bank on 132 032.
Other scams can be reported to Scamwatch via their website.
AUSCHWITZ: WHERE WORK ONCE SET YOU FREE. BUT ONLY UPON DEATH.
WARNING: Some readers may find this article disturbing.
TRAVEL: by Eric Mackenzie Lamb
Usually, my travel pieces feature destinations which consist of a combination of stunning natural beauty, an off the beaten track location, as well as things to do and see- all of which, one hopes, leaves readers with a positive sense from learning at least something they hadn’t known before. Of course, one of the most important goals of any such story is to also share the location’s history. But, sadly, it may not always turn out to be what you really want to know. This is one example. To read through to the end, you will have to sacrifice some emotions. As for myself, I have to admit that writing this wasn’t easy.
A few months ago, when Covid-19 related lockdowns in Europe weren’t as strict as they are today and driving across borders was still relatively easy, I decided to take a shortcut through Poland on my way back from Eastern Europe to Switzerland. My first overnight stop was in the Polish city of Kraków.
After breakfast the following morning, I booked a taxi and asked the driver to take me to one of the city’s lesser known attractions: the birthplace of Helena Rubinstein, who founded a global cosmetics empire and, while doing so, became one of the world’s richest women of her time.
Dedicated to Rubinstein, ( whose original first name was Chaja and who had lived next door before leaving Poland for Australia to escape an arranged marriage) the Hotel Rubinstein was originally a 15th century tenement building which fell into severe disrepair after World War II. Following years of extensive and painstaking renovations, it’s now a Four Star hotel located in the heart of Kazimierz, once known as Kraków’s Jewish Ghetto district. As for Helena Rubinstein’s own life, her extraordinary adventures and accomplishments, as well as her travels, would make an unforgettable story in itself. (A renowned businesswoman, philanthropist, and art collector, she died in New York City in 1965, at the age of 92).
When I walked back to the taxi, the driver asked me whether I’d like to continue on to the Auschwitz Holocaust Museum. It was less than an hour’s drive away, he added, and still early enough to join one of the museum’s escorted tours. At first, I hesitated, unsure of whether I wanted to undergo an experience which would darken what otherwise would have been a normal day of sightseeing, taking pictures, and scribbling down notes. (Some years ago, I had briefly visited Birkenau, another camp only a few miles from Auschwitz, where hundreds of thousands of Holocaust victims, including women, children, disabled persons, and the elderly, had been transported in brutally-packed trains from all parts of Nazi-occupied Europe to an infamous place where their lives would be snuffed out like a candle. But more on that later). In the end, my answer was Yes. And that’s when an overwhelming feeling of apprehension began. How does one even begin to contemplate a place where more than 1.1 million human beings were exterminated?
As things turned out, tours of the concentration camp were arranged in separate groups according to languages spoken by their participants. At no time was there even the slightest hint of commercialization. It was all about history and what each of us could learn from it. Many of the multilingual guides, we later learned, were themselves descendants of those who had survived the horrors of Auschwitz. As we walked in silence from building to building, each with its own exhibit, I couldn’t help but think of the number of people in the world who still deny that the Holocaust ever happened. In fact, many of today’s younger generation have never even heard of it. What we were now seeing with our own eyes made that fact even more incomprehensible.
After about an hour and a half, our group re-boarded our tour bus and continued on to the adjacent camp of Birkenau, about three miles away. It was here where the trains arrived with their human cargo, and where their fate would be decided by the simple wave of an SS officer’s hand. To the left if you were judged fit to work. To the right for anyone deemed unfit, including women and children, who were immediately marched into what they were told was a shower-but was in fact a gas chamber. Doors were locked, after which cans of lethal Zyklon-B would be dropped into the room through the ceiling. Less than twenty minutes later, everyone was dead. This was followed immediately by collection of the bodies and their transportation to the crematoriums. (But not before items considered to be of value, like jewelry, wedding rings, and even gold teeth, had been removed).
Then came the next wave of unsuspecting victims.
Finally, as an ending to this grim story, I’ll return to what I mentioned in the beginning of this article: this was not my first visit to Birkenau. Years ago, long before the railway yards were included as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, I stopped here while driving from Sweden to what was then East Germany -officially called the German Democratic Republic-and eventually on to West Berlin. I remember it as clearly as it were yesterday. The place was totally deserted. It was a chilly overcast November morning, with not a single person to be seen. All I could hear was the screeching of crows as they dipped and bobbed overhead.
Straight ahead of me lay a platform with railway tracks on each side. To my left I could see rows of small buildings, each about the size of a garage, which, from what I’d already learned, had served as temporary shelters for those incoming prisoners who’d been selected as fit to work. Overcome by curiosity, not to mention a strange sense of foreboding, I approached the nearest hut, found its door unlocked, and cautiously stepped inside.
The first thing I saw were eight crude bunks, four on each side, each built on top of the other. A rusted metal bucket, which had almost certainly served as a primitive toilet, stood in a corner. The stench of mold was almost overwhelming. But what really got my attention was the graffiti scribbled on the walls. Most were in languages I didn’t understand, but one faded message in particular, written in what appeared to be Italian, was clear: God Almighty, please save us.
It was at that moment that I heard a strange sound . At first, I thought that it was wind making its way through cracks in the wooden shutters. But then, standing by the door, I realized that there was no wind at all outside. But the sound only increased and gradually began to fluctuate between low and high pitches, like the desperate moaning of human voices. Then, as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped. For a few seconds, everything was dead quiet. Then it started again. And that’s when I finally realized what I was hearing. I quickly walked back to my car and drove off.
Do I believe in ghosts? Not until that moment. But I do now.
May God rest their souls.
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Barbados: House-to-house COVID-19 Checks to be Done Before Lockdown
Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley announced that the Ministry of Health and Wellness will begin health checks of Barbadians in their homes during the coming February 3-17 lockdown.
In a televised address, she said ministry officials would be knocking on doors to survey occupants about their health, and checking for symptoms of COVID-19.
“This lockdown that we are calling, this pause, this national reset is going to be necessary in order for us to give ourselves also a chance, to go into the community, house by house.”
The Prime Minister disclosed that The University of the West Indies and the Ministry of Health and Wellness would work together to effectively roll out the program, and it would be led by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Dr. Jerome Walcott, who is also Chairman of the Cabinet Sub-Committee on COVID-19.
She revealed that one aspect of the plan is to go into the communities by organizing the island into polling districts.
“We have 300 polling districts. We need at least 300 persons going into the community on a parallel track, so that over the course of 10 to 12 days, we are able to get into as many houses as possible. We will ask persons through a questionnaire if they have symptoms, and then to use the rapid antigen tests to confirm their status so we can take them out of the community for treatment,” Mottley explained.
She told Barbadians to stay at home and in their communities, so agents of the ministry could get to them and rule them out through the antigen tests, which is 99 percent accurate for persons who are symptomatic.
The Prime Minister has also urged all persons over the age of 70 to remain at home for the next three weeks unless it is absolutely necessary for them to leave to go in search of medical care or purchase food supplies or medicine because of dire circumstances.
Speaking directly to the elderly, whom she described as the country’s most vulnerable group, she stated: “You need to protect yourself. And importantly, I am saying to you, we need to protect you, and we shall.”
Mottley also urged elderly persons to reach out to family members and close friends to assist them with any errands.
Three elderly people have died of COVID-19 in a week, bringing the number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 10.
According to the latest statistics provided on Wednesday, the number of active cases on the island is 360. Since March 2020, Barbados has recorded 1,427 cases.
CMC
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Storm Batters Bermuda Forcing Flight Cancelations
Forecasters at the Bermuda Weather Service warned of sustained winds of up to 58 mph and gusts of up to 81 mph until midnight. They said there was a small chance of hail Friday, with conditions expected to ease by Saturday.
Ferry service was cancelled, although government offices and the island’s international airport remained open.
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South African COVID Variant Found in US, Latest Corona News
Guardian (UK)-A new variant of the coronavirus has worryingly emerged in the United States.
The new version poses yet another public health challenge in a country already losing more than 3,000 people to COVID-19 every day.
The mutated virus was first identified in South Africa before being found in two cases in South Carolina, Michelle Liu and Mike Stobbe report.
State public health officials say it’s almost certain that there are more infections that have not been identified yet. They are also concerned that this version spreads more easily and that vaccines could be less effective against it. The two South Carolina cases do not appear to be connected.
VIDEO: First US cases of COVID variant in South Carolina.
Other variants first reported in the United Kingdom and Brazil were already confirmed in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Novavax says its COVID-19 vaccine appears 89% effective, based on early findings from a British study. The shot also seems to work against the mutated versions of the virus identified in the U.K. and South Africa, though not as well.
The coronavirus has killed an estimated 433,000 Americans and is going through its most lethal phase yet, despite the rollout of vaccines, with these new and more contagious variants from abroad turning up in the U.S.
U.S. States Fight: Lawmakers around the U.S. are moving to curb the authority of governors and top health officials to impose emergency restrictions such as mask rules and business shutdowns. Many of these legislators are resentful of the way governors have issued sweeping executive orders and they are pushing back in states including Arizona, Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Pennsylvania, David A. Lieb reports. Some governors say they need authority to act quickly and decisively against the fast-changing threat.
NY Nursing Homes: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration confirmed that thousands more nursing home residents died of COVID-19 than the state’s official tallies had previously acknowledged. The surprise development, after months of the state refusing to divulge the true numbers, showed at least 12,743 long-term care residents died of the virus, far greater than the official tally of 8,505, Marina Villeneuve, Bernard Condon and Matt Sedensky report.
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AP PHOTO/KIRSTY WIGGLESWORTH
No respite for medical workers in UK hospitals, but there’s deep gratitude; Dubai blamed for virus cases abroad; Tanzania’s leader denies COVID, country pushes back
“This is a significant historical moment and they protected the country.” Not a profound remark from a leader, but one of effusive thanks from a British coronavirus patient.
When the U.K. surpassed 100,000 coronavirus dead this week, it was much more than just a number to one man lying in a hospital bed with COVID-19. He knew how easily he could have become one of them, were it not for the medics and otherstaff who worked to save his life.
The scale of Britain’s raging outbreak can seem overwhelming, with tens of thousands of new infections and more than 1,000 deaths added each day. But on hospitals’ COVID-19 wards, the pandemic feels both epic and intimate, as staff fight the virus one patient at a time, and with no end in sight, Jill Lawless reports from London.
“You take every shift as it comes, you take every day as it comes,” the associate director of nursing says at London’s King’s College Hospital. “You may fall down, and you get yourself up. You may feel low, you pick yourself up. You may have a cry. … But we’re here to care for patients and care for each other.”
Dubai’s Woes: After opening itself for New Year’s revelers — and those escaping their own national lockdowns — Dubai now finds itself blamed by countries for spreading the coronavirus abroad. That’s as questions swirl about the city-state’s ability to handle reported cases spiking to record levels. The government’s Dubai Media Office said the sheikhdom is doing all it can to handle the pandemic. However, it repeatedly declined to answer questions from the AP about its hospital capacity. A former top official is now questioning the city’s ability to respond. Meanwhile, countries including Denmark, Israel, the Philippines and the United Kingdom link cases back to Dubai, from where Jon Gambrell reports.
China WHO Mission: A World Health Organization team has visited a hospital where China says the first COVID-19 patients were treated more than a year ago. The visit is part of the experts’ long-awaited fact-finding mission on the origins of the coronavirus. The WHO team members and Chinese officials earlier had their first in-person meetings at a hotel. WHO has said they plan to speak to first responders and patients and visit markets and laboratories in Wuhan. The team’s mission has become politically charged, as China seeks to avoid blame for alleged missteps in its early response to the outbreak, Emily Wang Fujiyama reports from Wuhan.
Tanzania Virus Denial: The president of Tanzania says God has eliminated COVID-19 in his country. His own church now begs to differ. The local Catholic authority warned this week of a new wave of coronavirus infections, and government institutions now require staffers to take precautions. Suddenly, populist President John Magufuli is being openly questioned as the African continent sees a strong resurgence in cases. And yet he questions the vaccines that have begun arriving in Africa. One African health official warns Tanzania that “if we do not fight this as a collective on the continent, we will be doomed.“ Tanzania stopped updating its virus numbers in April, at 509 cases, Cara Anna reports.
Brazil’s Sao Paulo Spread: Just as Brazil has a glimpse of hope with the start of vaccination, it faces a dizzying resurgence that is straining facilities’ ability to treat patients. Intensive-care units in public hospitals have been overwhelmed in several states and municipalities across the country, including two state capitals in the remote Amazon and even some cities like Jau in Sao Paulo, the nation’s wealthiest state, Tatiana Pollastri and Diane Jeantet report.
Greece ICU Cleaners: The workers who clean coronavirus intensive care units say that their work has been overlooked since the pandemic began. The cleaners run a daily gauntlet of risks to ensure that ICUs run smoothly and are critical to preventing the spread of disease in hospitals. But their status as unskilled laborers in a behind-the-scenes role has left them out of the public eye. One cleaner who works at the main COVID-19 treatment center in Athens, Greece, says the cleaning crew feels like “the smallest cog in the wheel.” Medical experts agree that cleaning is vital in hospitals, where infections are especially troublesome, Elena Becatoros reports from Athens.
NZ Dangerous Liaison: New Zealand authorities say a woman returning to New Zealand who was placed in a 14-day mandatory hotel quarantine and a man working there were found in an inappropriate encounter. The incident earlier this month has highlighted a very human weak point in New Zealand’s virus elimination system. Authorities say the pair’s behavior was totally unacceptable and an investigation is underway to determine whether additional security measures are required. The worker was immediately sent home and told to self-isolate and later fired. The returning traveler, meanwhile, was given a formal written warning by the police. Authorities breathed a sigh of relief after both returned negative coronavirus tests, Nick Perry reports.
Coronavirus Cases:
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Anti-mask protester claims 'nobody has died from coronavirus'
An anti-mask protester has been charged over separate incidents allegedly encouraging people to go against public health mandates.
Yesterday, police charged alleged COVID conspiracy theorist Joe Mekhael over two organised incidents in Western Sydney earlier this month.
Police allege the Merrylands man held two protests at Parramatta Westfield on January 13 and 27, encouraging people not to wear masks while mandates were still in effect.
In footage, the 36-year-old can allegedly be heard chanting "The coronavirus is a complete fraud" and "I would rather be human than a slave".
According to global figures, an estimated 2.2 million people have died from the virus — but when asked by 9News whether he thought he was risking public safety with his protests, Mr Mekhael said "Nobody has died from coronavirus".
This is not the first time Mr Mekhael has faced charges for public disturbances, also being arrested for disrupting the city's Anzac Day Dawn Service in 2017.
He is now facing two charges of breaching a public health order and while granted bail, Mr Mekhael says he still plans to continue protests despite being banned from Parramatta Westfield.
Even though restrictions have eased, Mr Mekhael says he can't be stopped from taking his message to the world and plans to take his protest to central gardens in Merrylands instead.
With restrictions easing as of 12.01 this morning, Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned measures to protect public health could be re-introduced at any time — telling anti-mask protesters to look at the facts.
"You're entitled to your opinion but please don't endanger the safety of others," she said.
Covid 19 coronavirus: New location of interest for Auckland cases
A new location has today been added to the list of places visited by the latest two Covid community cases in Auckland. It is the ASB Westfield Albany Branch, the Ministry of Health says.Anyone who was at the branch between 9.16am…
Covid 19 coronavirus: First business prosecuted for not displaying QR code
An Auckland business is the first to be prosecuted for not displaying a NZ Covid Tracer QR code poster.WorkSafe has laid charges against one individual after they “deliberately” failed to display a QR code.1 News has reported…