Stormtrooper with a gun: Alberta police take down restaurant worker in costume

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU

© Provided by The Canadian Press


LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Police in southern Alberta are being investigated after a restaurant worker in a "Star Wars" stormtrooper costume who was carrying a plastic gun was forced to the ground and ended up with a bloody nose.

"All the signs say 'Star Wars.' The music that was playing in the parking lot was 'Star Wars,'" said Brad Whalen, owner of the Coco Vanilla Galactic Cantina in Lethbridge.

"If a duck's a duck, it's a duck, right. It should have been common sense and it should have stopped there.

Whalen said the 19-year-old employee of the "Star Wars"-themed restaurant had agreed to carry a toy blaster and wear the elaborate white uniform of the soldier of the Galactic Empire to get the attention of people celebrating May 4. The day is popular among fans of the movie franchise because of the famous line, "may the force be with you."

The restaurant, which serves Jabba the Gut pizza and Yoda soda, opened at the end of January and has been struggling due to restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently open again, Whalen was hoping to get some attention by having a stormtrooper walking out front of the business.

It got attention, just not the kind he was looking for.

The Lethbridge Police Service said officers were called to the restaurant Monday morning for reports of a person in a stormtrooper costume carrying a firearm. A news release Tuesday said when officers arrived, the person dropped the weapon but didn't initially comply with directions to get down on the ground

Whalen disputes the account that his employee didn't obey police commands. When officers arrived, she immediately dropped the weapon and put her hands up, he said

But Whalen said that the stormtrooper helmet makes it hard to hear and to be heard. It also makes it difficult to move, let alone to kneel or get down on your stomach. Whalen said this may have caused a delay in the employee getting on the ground.

"It's not the easiest thing to kneel down in. You can't even sit down in it. It takes 20 minutes to put on."

Whalen said by that time, police should have been aware that the gun was wasn't real and went with the costume.

A video of the encounter, shared on social media, shows an officer standing by the blaster while Whalen yells from the restaurant door that it's fake.

"It should have been common sense and it should have stopped there. Unfortunately, it didn't stop there. The police chose to escalate it," Whalen said.

Officers forced the employee on to her stomach and she hit her face and her nose started to bleed, said Whalen. In the video, a woman can be heard crying.

Police Chief Scott Woods has reviewed the file and received additional information, including the online video, the police release said. He has directed a service investigation into the officers' conduct and whether they acted appropriately

The woman in the costume was not charged.

Whalen said he's been contacted by lawyers and is looking at different options.

He said something needs to change in police training to ensure situations aren't unnecessarily escalated.

All employees of the restaurant have been impacted by the encounter, he said, none more so than the woman in the costume

"Ironically enough, she wasn't a 'Star Wars' fan," Whalen said. "I don't think she will be a 'Star Wars' fan ... if we had any chance to convert her."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 5, 2020

— By Kelly Geraldine Malone in Winnipeg

Lethbridge police criticized for takedown of Star Wars stormtroope


© Screenshot A woman dressed in a Star Wars stormtrooper costume was arrested by Lethbridge police on May 4, 2020.

The Lethbridge Police Service has started an internal investigation after officers drew their guns on a teenager dressed as a Star Wars stormtrooper carrying a toy gun.

The arrest happened around 11 a.m. on Monday. Police say they received two 911 calls about a person in a stormtrooper costume with a weapon.

The person was a 19-year-old female employee of Coco Vanilla Galactic Cantina, a Star Wars-themed restaurant, according to business owner Bradley Whalen. The teen was holding a prop plastic gun as part of her costume.

He said he’d asked his employee to wear the costume and wave to passersby because it was Star Wars Day. The date, May the 4th, is a pun on the film franchise slogan “may the force be with you.”

“We don’t have an issue with the fact that police responded,” said Whalen. “We have an issue with how they responded.”

A partial video of the arrest circulating on social media shows the employee with her hands up and on her knees while police have their guns drawn. Police can be heard yelling at her to get on the ground, although she does not immediately comply. Later the employee can be heard crying.

Editor’s note: The video below contains strong language.

Unbelievable, just got video of this.

*What the hell happened to common sense:

Girl dressed up as a stormtrooper on may4th facing 3 cops with weapons drawn. You can hear her sobbing. I USED TO dress up with the 501st. Probably not anymore @KinelRyan @DDayCobra #FandomMenace https://t.co/x2HrNLMtOL pic.twitter.com/YrS9bBFJVn— X E V I U S S 💬 (@xeviuss) May 5, 2020

Whalen said officers continued to treat the woman aggressively, even after they had determined the weapon was a costume prop.

“You could tell by looking at it, even 10 feet away, that it was a plastic toy,” said Whalen.

He said the woman was handcuffed and forced to the ground, but was later released at the scene of the incident without charges.

On Tuesday, the Lethbridge Police Service issued a news release announcing an internal investigation into the incident.

“Upon reviewing the file and additional information, including video circulating on social media, Chief Scott Woods has directed a service investigation under the Alberta Police Act that will look into whether the officers acted appropriately within the scope of their training and LPS policies and procedures.”

LPS has initiated a service investigation into the actions of several officers who responded to a report of a firearms complaint Monday morning. A public update will be provided after the investigation has been completed and reviewed. #yql https://t.co/hny6aoHYyo— Lethbridge Police (@lethpolice) May 5, 2020

The news release said the girl sustained a minor injury that didn’t require medical attention.

According to police, the employee did not comply with requests to get on the ground. Whalen finds that difficult to believe given her background.

“What a lot of people don’t understand is that this girl is in a criminal justice training program to be a police officer,” he said.

Whalen said the employee is taking a few days to recover from the stress of having guns pointed at her.

He said the incident has led to calls from media organizations across the U.S., and messages of support from as far away as Europe and New Zealand.

“Something has to happen,” said Whalen. “We have been contacted by lawyers who are wanting to help us.”

Lethbridge police say they won’t comment further on the incident until the investigation is complete.

brthomas@postmedia.com

China says faulty masks a 'contractual' matter that has been fixed
Canada however is thus far saying nothing about the matter.

MARKHAM, ON- APRIL 16 - Erin Landry, patient care manager, in scrubs, and Jo-anne Marr, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Markham Stouffville Hospital on the loading dock pull in a donation from Klick Health of 10,000 N95 masks, with 2,000 of them earmarked for Participation House in Markham. April 16, 2020. (Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

OTTAWA — The Chinese embassy in Ottawa claimed Monday that the one million faulty N95 masks that arrived in Canada from China last month were the result of a "contractual" issue that has now been fixed.

Both Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Health Minister Patty Hajdu looked perplexed Monday when asked at their daily briefing about a statement posted to the Chinese embassy's Twitter account Monday morning.

"It's reported that (one) million face masks exported to Canada from China failed to meet proper standards for health-care professionals," the tweet said.

"The latest thing we've found out from communication with Global Affairs Canada is that the problem was a contractual matter and has been resolved."

Freeland looked puzzled and turned to Hajdu beside her shaking her head.

"We'll have to get details back to you," Hajdu said. "I'm sorry we don't have that technical information right now."

It was inspectors in Hajdu's department who rejected the shipment of N95 masks, which arrived in Canada in the third week of April.

Neither her office, nor Global Affairs Canada had provided any explanation as of Monday evening.

China and Canada disagreed recently on why two Canadian planes returned from China without the medical supplies they were sent to pick up. Trudeau said it was due to congestion at the Shanghai airport and strict limits on time crews spend on the ground. A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry then said that was "inaccurate."

Canada is heavily reliant on China for securing enough personal protective equipment for health-care workers in the COVID-19 pandemic. It has set up a special supply chain system in Shanghai to secure the products in what Freeland has referred to as the "Wild West" of medical supplies.

Millions of N95 masks, surgical masks, gowns, swabs for COVID-19 tests, and other equipment have arrived in Canada from China already, and many have passed muster.

But on more than one occasion, in both Canada and elsewhere, including Finland, the Netherlands and Spain, Chinese-made products were returned when they failed to meet national standards. In addition to the N95 masks, Canada rejected a shipment of swabs for use in COVID-19 tests from China because they were mouldy.

N95 masks are so-named because they are supposed to protect against 95 per cent of small particles. Bill Matthews, the deputy minister for Public Services and Procurement told a House of Commons committee on April 24 the problem was mainly with the elastics that are used to secure the masks, not the filtration. He said it was possible they might be able to be used by workers not directly in contact with COVID-19 patients.

Matthews said the two companies involved in both the masks and the swabs were standing by their product and intended to make things right, but it is not clear whether those masks were replaced or if they were sent to other health-care workers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 4, 2020.

The Canadian Press

IT CAME FROM CANADA

'Murder Hornets,’ with sting that can kill, land in US

4 of 6
In this Dec. 30, 2019, photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, a dead Asian giant hornet is photographed in a lab in Olympia, Wash. The world's largest hornet, a 2-inch long killer with an appetite for honey bees, has been found in Washington state and entomologists are making plans to wipe it out. Dubbed the "Murder Hornet" by some, the Asian giant hornet has a sting that could be fatal to some humans. It is just now starting to emerge from hibernation. (Quinlyn Baine/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP)

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The world’s largest hornet, a 2-inch killer dubbed the “Murder Hornet” with an appetite for honey bees, has been found in Washington state, where entomologists were making plans to wipe it out.

The giant Asian insect, with a sting that could be fatal to some people, is just now starting to emerge from winter hibernation.

“They’re like something out of a monster cartoon with this huge yellow-orange face,” said Susan Cobey, a bee breeder at Washington State University.

“It’s a shockingly large hornet,” said Todd Murray, a WSU Extension entomologist and invasive species specialist. “It’s a health hazard, and more importantly, a significant predator of honey bees.”

The hornet was sighted for the first time in the U.S. last December, when the state Department of Agriculture verified two reports near Blaine, Washington, close to the Canadian border. It also received two probable, but unconfirmed reports from sites in Custer, Washington, south of Blaine.


In this Dec. 30, 2019, photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, the stinger of a dead Asian giant hornet is photographed in a lab in Olympia, Wash. The world's largest hornet, a 2-inch long killer with an appetite for honey bees, has been found in Washington state and entomologists are making plans to wipe it out. Dubbed the "Murder Hornet" by some, the Asian giant hornet has a sting that could be fatal to some humans. It is just now starting to emerge from hibernation. (Karla Salp/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP)


The hornet can sting through most beekeeper suits, deliver nearly seven times the amount of venom as a honey bee, and sting multiple times, the department said, adding that it ordered special reinforced suits from China.

The university said it isn’t known how or where the hornets arrived in North America. It normally lives in the forests and low mountains of eastern and southeast Asia and feeds on large insects, including wasps and bees. It was dubbed the “Murder Hornet” in Japan, where it is known to kill people.

The hornet’s life cycle begins in April, when queens emerge from hibernation, feed on plant sap and fruit, and look for underground dens to build their nests. Hornets are most destructive in the late summer and early fall. Like a marauding army, they attack honey bee hives, killing adult bees and devouring larvae and pupae, WSU said.

BFH!
In this April 23, 2020, photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, dead Asian giant hornets sit on a researcher's field notebook in Blaine, Wash. The world's largest hornet, a 2-inch long killer with an appetite for honey bees, has been found in Washington state and entomologists are making plans to wipe it out. Dubbed the "Murder Hornet" by some, the Asian giant hornet has a sting that could be fatal to some humans. It is just now starting to emerge from hibernation. (Karla Salp/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP)

Their stings are big and painful, with a potent neurotoxin. Multiple stings can kill humans, even if they are not allergic, the university said.

Farmers depend on honey bees to pollinate many important northwest crops such as apples, blueberries and cherries. With the threat from giant hornets, “beekeepers may be reluctant to bring their hives here,” said Island County Extension scientist Tim Lawrence.

An invasive species can dramatically change growing conditions, Murray said, adding that now is the time to deal with the predators.


In this April 23, 2020, photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, a researcher holds a dead Asian giant hornet in Blaine, Wash. The world's largest hornet, a 2-inch long killer with an appetite for honey bees, has been found in Washington state and entomologists are making plans to wipe it out. Dubbed the "Murder Hornet" by some, the Asian giant hornet has a sting that could be fatal to some humans. It is just now starting to emerge from hibernation. (Karla Salp/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP)

“We need to teach people how to recognize and identify this hornet while populations are small, so that we can eradicate it while we still have a chance,″ Murray said.

The state Department of Agriculture will begin trapping queens this spring, with a focus on Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan, and Island counties.

Hunting the hornets is no job for ordinary people.

“Don’t try to take them out yourself if you see them,” Looney said. “If you get into them, run away, then call us!″


In this April 23, 2020, photo provided by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, Chris Looney, a Washington State entomologist, places a trap used to search for the Asian giant hornet in Blaine, Wash. The world's largest hornet, a 2-inch long killer with an appetite for honey bees, has been found in Washington state and entomologists are making plans to wipe it out. Dubbed the "Murder Hornet" by some, the Asian giant hornet has a sting that could be fatal to some humans. It is just now starting to emerge from hibernation. (Karla Salp/Washington State Department of Agriculture via AP)


Invasive Asian giant hornet discovered in Washington state


Invasive Asian giant hornets, a honeybee-killing wasp with a dangerous sting, have been discovered in Washington. Photo courtesy of the Washington State Department of Agriculture

DENVER, May 2 (UPI) -- Washington agriculture authorities are asking residents to be on the lookout for an invasive giant wasp with an "excruciating" sting that attacks honeybee colonies, leaving thousands of bees without heads.

"The Asian giant hornet been called the most venomous, intimidating insect in the world, and it even scares away other hornets," said Timothy Lawrence, director of the Island County extension office at Washington State University.

Asian giant hornets originating in South Korea were first reported last fall near Vancouver Island in British Columbia. Then, residents in Blaine, Wash., near the Canadian border, used an invasive species app to report wasps that were confirmed to be Asian giant hornets from Japan, the state agriculture department said.


An infestation of the new giant wasps could be devastating for beekeepers who bring their hives to the state to pollinate Northwest Pacific crops like cherries, blueberries and apples.

"Commercial beekeepers have 300 to 400 hives in the area. They may not want to go to certain counties if this infestation takes hold," Lawrence said.

In Europe, the invasive yellow-legged Asian hornets, which also kill honeybees and other pollinators, has caused millions of dollars' worth of damage to crops in France and elsewhere after they gained a foothold.

The Asian giant hornets, also called "yak-killer hornets," measure about 2 inches long and have an orangeish-yellow face with large black eyes.

"They're like something out of a monster cartoon," Susan Cobey, a bee breeder with WSU's Department of Entomology, said in a statement.

The Asian giant hornet's sting is described as excruciating, and they can sting repeatedly. Their quarter-inch stinger can penetrate beekeeping protective clothing, a state agriculture department warning said.

The wasps are dangerous if their underground nests are disturbed, or if a food source is threatened. Their venom, seven-times stronger than that of honeybees, can cause anaphylactic shock, but also can be lethal to people who are not allergic if victims are stung repeatedly.


"They give a warning before they sting. They snap their mandibles and make a clicking sound," Lawrence said. "But if you stick around to notice that, you're probably already in a world of hurt."

The wasps might have hitched a ride to the Pacific Coast in a container ship, but also could have been imported intentionally as an ingredient for a folk recipe for wasp venom in alcohol, made popular by Internet bodybuilders, entomologists think.

The life cycle of the Asian giant hornet begins when a queen emerges from hibernation in April and feeds on plant sap and fruit, looking for a spot to build an underground nest, according to state fact sheets. By summer, queens have created a colony of worker wasps that spread out to seek food.

RELATED Invasive Asian hornet could cost Europe millions in damages

At the end of the summer, the hornets enter a "high-protein demand" phase when they attack honeybee colonies, killing off the adults to feast on the immature brood of pupa and larva, scientists say.

The hornets will leave piles of dead bees, most of them headless, outside their beehive. A few dozen hornets can kill an entire colony of 30,000 bees in a few hours.

Scientists will be hunting for queens this spring, wearing special reinforced suits from China, said Rian Wojahn, eradication coordinator for the pest program at the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

"The suits are made out of thick foam material with everything -- boots, gloves, hat -- attached," Wojahn said.

Trappers have set out bait bottles, filled with orange juice and rice wine, in coordination with state beekeeper clubs.

The trappers will use heat cameras to find underground nests, Wojahn said. Wasps will be sedated with carbon dioxide fire extinguishers, and pest workers will dig out the nests.

Local entomologists worry about native bees and other pollinators that also might be threatened if the Asian giant hornet gets established, said Todd

RIGHT CLICK TO ENLARGE

The major difference between wasp and hornets is size and colour. ... Hornets (right) are larger. Wasps have black and yellow rings, while hornets have black and white rings. Bees are beneficial to humans because they pollinate plants, whereas wasps and hornets help out by eating other insects

RIGHT CLICK TO ENLARGE

[PDF]
Bees, Wasps and Hornets

RIGHT CLICK TO ENLARGE

https://kottke.org/18/08/a-comprehensive-guide-to-yellow-stripey-things

In Japan, the ‘Murder Hornet’ Is Both a Lethal Threat and a Tasty Treat

© Ted S. Warren/Associated Press Asian giant hornets from Japan in a display case at the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

TOKYO — Long before the Asian giant hornet began terrorizing the honeybees of Washington State, the ferocious insects posed a sometimes lethal threat to hikers and farmers in the mountains of rural Japan.

But in the central Chubu region, these insects — sometimes called “murder hornets” — are known for more than their aggression and excruciating sting. They are seen as a pleasant snack and an invigorating ingredient in drinks.

The giant hornet, along with other varieties of wasps, has traditionally been considered a delicacy in this rugged part of the country. The grubs are often preserved in jars, pan-fried or steamed with rice to make a savory dish called hebo-gohan. The adults, which can be two inches long, are fried on skewers, stinger and all, until the carapace becomes light and crunchy. They leave a warming, tingling sensation when eaten.

The hornets can also give liquor an extra kick. Live specimens are drowned in shochu, a clear distilled beverage. In their death throes, the insects release their venom into the liquid, and it is stored until it turns a dark shade of amber.

The real thrill, however, is not in the eating or drinking of the giant hornet, but in the hunt.

Setting out in the early summer months, intrepid hunters track the insects to their huge nests, which can house as many as a thousand hornets and their larvae, in the boles of rotting trees or underground. They lure a hornet with a streamer attached to a piece of fish, and when it grabs the morsel and takes off, the hunting party goes on a steeplechase through the woods. Upon finding the nest, the hunters stun the insects with smoke, then use chain saws and shovels to extract it.

In other cases, the nests are rooted out by professional exterminators. Torao Suzuki, 75, said he removed 40 to 50 nests a year, getting stung as many as 30 times each season. “It hurts, it swells and it turns red, but that’s about it,” he said about the stings. “I guess I’m immune.”

He does not eat the bugs himself. “Even when I tell people, they’re going to sting you, they still eat them. They say it makes them potent,” he said.

Mr. Suzuki said he also sold the nests, which are popular trophies throughout the region. Lacquered brown hives, sometimes cut open to expose their complex lattice work, adorn vestibules and reception rooms in homes, schools and public offices.

Historians say the insects, which range throughout Asia but are found most commonly in Japan, were once valued along with other wasps as a cheap source of protein in poverty-stricken rural areas.

The cuisine is celebrated each November in Gifu Prefecture at a festival, known as the Kushihara Hebo Matsuri, where prizes are handed out for the largest nests, and gourmands bid for the privilege of taking one home with them.

Even at this insect jubilee, the danger posed by the giant hornet, which has killed dozens of people in Japan in recent years, is evident. A flyer for the 2018 event warned participants to be on the lookout for hornets on the loose near the fairgrounds, advising attendees to “please take ample care to avoid being stung.” Organizers, it added, “bear absolutely no responsibility” for the consequences of ignoring the warnings.

The admonitions go well beyond this single event. Every spring, government offices across the country issue advisories about the bugs, known in Japan as “giant sparrow hornets” because of their size. People venturing into the wild have learned to avoid hair spray and perfume, which can attract the frightening pests.

So it may be no surprise that the practice of hunting and eating the insects, as with many traditions in aging rural Japan, is less common than it used to be.

The Oomachi Wasp Appreciation Society in Nagano once achieved some measure of national fame for making rice crackers with the insects baked in. Production has since stopped, as the group’s members have died or become too old to make the snacks, said Sachiko Murayama, 70, who is on the board of a local business cooperative.

In Japanese cities, however, there has been a small resurgence in interest in eating bugs. Some young people are attracted to the novelty, and to the idea that insects are an environmentally friendly source of protein.

In Tokyo, the giant hornet is on the menu at more than 30 restaurants.

Shota Toguchida, who owns a Chinese restaurant in the city, said he sold shots of homemade hornet liquor for 2,000 yen, or about $19, mostly to middle-aged men.

He keeps a few bottles on the bar. “It looks surprising, but tastes great,” he said.

In the United States, where the first Asian giant hornets were spotted last fall in northwestern Washington State and scientists are urgently trying to hunt them down, no one is thinking about the insects’ culinary potential. The focus is solely on eradicating them before they can spread and wipe out bee populations.

Takatoshi Ueno, an entomologist at Kyushu University, said he was mystified by the hornet’s appearance on the American West Coast.

“It’s impossible for them to fly over from Asia,” he said, adding that they most likely came over in a shipping container. Even that, though, would be extraordinarily unlikely, he said, given their extreme aggression, which would have almost certainly drawn the attention of a ship’s crew.

They might not have come from Japan, Dr. Ueno said; they could have arrived from another country in the region. But regardless of how they arrived in Washington State, he added, it is critical that they be dealt with before they have a chance to establish themselves.

“When dealing with invasive species, whether a virus or an insect, it’s the same,” he said. “Moving quickly to completely destroy them is the best. Ultimately, it’s the cheapest and least damaging.”

For any adventurous eaters in the Pacific Northwest who might be tempted to track down and sample the species, Dr. Ueno strongly warns against it. Encounters with the insect are not for the faint of heart, he said.

“Americans have probably never seen such a large hornet,” he said, adding that “some of them might faint dead away.”

Hisako Ueno and Makiko Inoue contributed reporting.

Ontario Amazon whistleblower says company didn’t disclose coronavirus case to all


The Amazon, fulfillment centre in Brampton on July 21, 2017. 
(Deborah Baic/The Globe and Mail) (Melissa Tait/The Globe and Mail)

An Amazon warehouse employee in Brampton, Ont., says the company failed to tell all employees that a worker at the facility was infected with coronavirus.

"It's COVID-19, it's must-know knowledge. You have to tell your employees if there's a case," the man said.

Global News agreed not to identify the employee because he said he's certain he would be terminated if Amazon knew he had gone public with his concerns.

"You'd lose your job for sure," the veteran Amazon employee said, noting he is not a manager or supervisor with the company.

READ MORE: Employee at Balzac, Alberta Amazon warehouse tests positive for COVID-19

A senior Amazon vice president in the United States resigned last week in support of whistleblowers who have been fired by the company after calling attention to safety complaints at Amazon facilities.

The company defended the termination of user experience designers who criticized Amazon's treatment of warehouse workers. Amazon said the two employees were terminated for "repeatedly violating internal policies."

In Brampton, Amazon didn't announce the news of the new COVID-19 case to everyone, the warehouse employee who contacted Global News said. He said the information was shared with him by a fellow employee who had received a text message from the company.

"He asked me, 'Did you get the message?' I said, 'What message?'" the man recalled.

The employee said he found out about the COVID-19 case at the Amazon facility north of Toronto partway through his 10-hour shift on Friday. He has not returned to work since, citing concern for his safety and his family's.

The text message shared with Global News read in part, "We want to let you know about a confirmed case of COVID-19 at YYZ4. The affected individual was last on site at 4/28."

YYZ4 refers to the Brampton facility where the employee works. The message was received three days after the employee who tested positive for the virus last worked at the plant.

Amazon confirmed the diagnosis of an employee at its facility and said it was "supporting the individual who is recovering."

In a written statement, Amazon spokesperson Timothy Carter said the company is "taking extreme measures to ensure the safety of employees at our site."

The company claimed it makes employees at a site aware of confirmed cases. The employee who came forward insisted he and other employees were not told.

"It's COVID-19: it's a life and death situation," the employee told Global News.

He said he lives with elderly parents, who are not in good health, and is worried about transmitting the virus to them.

"A lot of people are surprised they haven't shut down the building," the employee said.

Upon finding out about the COVID-19 case when he arrived at work, he went home early. He said he would not have gone to work that day had he been advised about the case.

The employee said Amazon communicates with him through texting messaging and email frequently to offer overtime shifts, for example. He said he received no message or email to announce the COVID-19 case.

"A lot of people were angry" when they found out the case from others, not the company itself, the man said.

On the same day that the COVID-19 case was revealed to certain employees, he said Amazon reinstated its employee "points" system.

The Amazon points system penalizes employees based on lateness, absences and other reasons. If someone acquires six points in a short period of time, the employee is asked to explain the reasons, or is terminated, he said.

But from mid-March until the end of April, the employee said Amazon had suspended the management system, giving more flexibility to deal with personal issues like child care.

However, the employee said workers were informed by email that the program would be back in effect.

"While I'm staying home, I'm being pointed by the attendance policy," as well as not being paid, the man said.

Global News asked Amazon why it restarted its points program in the midst of the pandemic, but the company did not respond to the question.

According to the Government of Canada's COVID-19 information page, employees have "the right to know ... the right to refuse dangerous work."

"It should normally be sufficient for health and safety purposes to state that an (unnamed) person was in the workplace and that the person was infected."

The Amazon employee who spoke to Global News said he hopes the company is more transparent if there are future cases.

"You advertise and tell people you're one of the safest companies to work for ... and then it's not communicated," he said.

RAND PAUL IS A VIRUS CARRIER, NO ONE IS IMMUNE
'I have immunity': Rand Paul, who tested positive for coronavirus in March, spotted at the Capitol without a mask

Kayla Epstein BUSINESS INSIDER 5/5/2020

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) rides an escalator at the U.S. Capitol May 4, 2020

Alex Wong/Getty Images
Sen. Rand Paul was spotted by reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday without a mask, despite the fact that many lawmakers now wear face coverings on recommendations from the CDC.
Paul had tested positive for the coronavirus in March, but was asymptomatic.

He caused an uproar and sent two senators into precautionary quarantine when it was revealed he went to the Capitol while awaiting his test results.

He announced he was free of the virus in early April.

Paul claimed that he did not need to wear a mask because "I have immunity. I've already had the virus."

While Dr. Anthony Fauci has said people who recovered from the coronavirus would likely have some immunity, the World Health Organization has cautioned that it has yet to be determined. 

On Tuesday, weeks after testing positive for the coronavirus and subsequently recovering, Sen. Rand Paul visited the Capitol but refused to wear a mask.

When asked by reporters why he'd foregone the protective covering, Paul, an ophthalmologist who still occasionally performs surgeries, claimed he had immunity, and could not spread the virus.

"I have immunity. I've already had the virus," Paul said on Tuesday.
—Burgess Everett (@burgessev) May 5, 2020

The Centers for Disease Control has recommended that Americans wear non-medical face coverings to offer another means of protection for themselves and other people, in addition to social distancing and hand washing. Many members of Congress now wear masks in the complex, though they will frequently remove them to speak on the House or Senate floor.

The Kentucky Republican caused an uproar in March when he tested positive for the coronavirus but continued to visit the Capitol as he awaited test results. Though he was asymptomatic, two of his colleagues, Sens. Mike Lee and Mitt Romney of Utah, self-quarantined after coming into contact with him.

"So I can't get it again and I can't give it to anybody," Paul continued. "So of all the people you'll meet here I'm about the only safe person in Washington."

In fact, when it comes to immunity to the coronavirus, there's a lot that's still unknown.
—Burgess Everett (@burgessev) May 5, 2020

In early April, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said that, "Generally we know with infections like this, that at least for a reasonable period of time, you're gonna have antibodies that are going to be protective."

But researchers have not yet definitively found that having the coronavirus will automatically impart immunity. The World Health Organization warned in late April that there was "currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection."

And because the virus is so new, researchers are still studying its transmission.

"We don't have nearly the immunological or biological data at this point to say that if someone has a strong enough immune response that they are protected from symptoms, … that they cannot be transmitters," Michael Mina, an epidemiologist at Harvard's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told STAT News last month.

Paul's office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Paul is not the only Republican lawmaker to forgo a mask, but he is the only Senator who has so far announced he'd tested positive for the virus.

Congress' Office of the Attending Physician has recommended that members and visitors wear masks, according to a hearing notice from the House Appropriations Committee.

"The OAP recommends all individuals maintain 6-foot social distance spacing as much as practicable when in the Capitol Complex," the email said. "Additionally, on the advice of the OAP, the use of a face covering is recommended for all attendees of this proceeding."

Some Republicans, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, have faced questions about why they have chosen not to wear a mask on the Hill.

"If you noticed where we did not wear masks is where we had social distancing," McCarthy said in a recent call with reporters, when asked about times on the House floor when he was not wearing a face covering.

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised the OAP for devising safety guidelines for returning members, and wrote, "I strongly urge my colleagues to consult these guidelines as we carefully resume in-person work."

Kimberly Leonard contributed to this report.

#KAKISTOCRACY

Fox News hosts Jeanine Pirro and Brian Kilmeade received priority treatment for PPE requests from Kushner's coronavirus team, according to a new report

Jake Lahut BUSINESS INSIDER 5/5/2020

Jeanine Pirro and Brian Kilmeade claim they did not know their queries were being prioritized. AP Photo
Jared Kushner's volunteer group charged with securing personal protective equipment (PPE) for hospitals nationwide reportedly prioritized inquiries from Fox News hosts Jeanine Pirro and Brian Kilmeade, according to the Washington Post.

Volunteers were told to fast-track any PPE queries from "VIPs" and conservative media personalities sympathetic to President Trump, according to a complaint filed by one of the volunteers.

Kilmeade passed on a lead to the administration on getting PPE "in an effort to be helpful," while Pirro kept vying for a specific New York hospital to get a "large quantity of masks," according to two sources familiar with the outreach who spoke to The Post.

The complaint was filed last month to the House Oversight Committee.

A Fox News spokeswoman told The Post Pirro and Kilmeade were unaware their tips were being prioritized.

Fox News hosts saw their PPE queries fast tracked by Jared Kushner's team of volunteers tasked with securing the equipment for hospitals nationwide, according to a Washington Post report on a complaint filed by one of the volunteers.

President Trump's senior advisor and son-in-law reportedly oversaw the team filled by consultants with no experience in health care or supply-chain procurement, according to The Post.

In a complaint filed by one of the volunteers to the House Oversight Committee, "VIPs" and Trump-friendly TV hosts are alleged to have gotten their tips on PPE fast tracked.

Fox News' Jeanine Pirro and Brian Kilmeade were named by two sources familiar with their outreach to the Kushner team.

Pirro "repeatedly lobbied the administration for a specific New York hospital to receive a large quantity of masks," while Kilmeade got in touch with the administration about where to get PPE, according to The Post.

A Fox News spokeswoman told The Post that neither host was aware their queries were being prioritized.

The report is another blow to Kushner in his outsize role dealing with the pandemic.

Kushner's loyalists have been mocked as the "Slim Suit Crowd" and a "frat party" by FEMA veterans.

Canada is dealing with the coronavirus far better than the US, which has 30% more deaths per capita. Here's why.
Canada is currently doing a much better job than the US dealing with the coronavirus.

Per capita, it has far fewer cases and a lower death rate.

WHEN THE US HAD 60,000 DEAD CANADA HAD 60,000 SICK

Both nations watched coronavirus cases spike at around the same time in mid-March. But Canada's caseload took a far gentler trajectory than the US.

There a number of reasons for this, but two of the main ones are Canada's healthcare policies — including how hospitals are run and funded — and a lack of partisan politics.

Canada's attempts to combat the coronavirus are far from perfect — it trails behind the low death rates of South Korea and Germany — but it's doing a lot better than the US.

According to Vox

As of May 5, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, Canada has 61,954 confirmed cases with 4,003 deaths, out of a population of about 37 million. The US has 1,178, 906 cases with 68,689 deaths, out of a population 328 million.

Both nations watched coronavirus spike at about the same time in mid-March. But Canada's caseload trajectory took a far gentler curve than that in the US.

These divergent trajectories are down to a number of factors. Canada's response was mostly quick and coordinated — it closed down schools and promptly told people to stay home, according to The Guardian. Its borders were shut off to every country but the US on March 16. (The US-Canada land border was also closed on March 20.)

In the US, weeks were lost as different states went into lockdowns at different points, or at different "half-hearted" levels.

Politics mattered, too. While President Donald Trump was hosting daily coronavirus briefings where he criticized governors, and wrongly suggested disinfectant could be a coronavirus cure, Canada's leaders mostly came together and took the coronavirus seriously.

Regional differences were put aside. Even right-wing leaders, like Ontario's premier Doug Ford, condemned attempts to protest social distancing, while Trump defended social distancing protesters as "good people" suffering from cabin fever, Business Insider previously reported.

University of Toronto epidemiologist David Fisman told Vox: "We have a federal government that is supporting provinces' responses. You [in the US] have a chief executive who is directly undermining the public health response."

For instance, on March 24, Trump forecast that normality would return by Easter. No politician said the same in Canada. Instead, on April 2, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for a "Team Canada" effort to stem the outbreak, before parliament debated a massive aid package proposal. Canada's deputy Prime Miniser Chrystia Freeland told reporters that "now is not the time for partisanship."

Another big difference is that Canada continued to fund public-health groups before the coronavirus hit, while the US repeatedly cut funding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

And unlike the US, Canada has a universal health care system. Professor Peter Berman, a public health expert at the University of British Columbia's medical school, told The New York Times that the way hospitals are run in the two countries is vital to understanding the difference in cases.

In the US, hospitals are private. In Canada, the health system is based on fixed funding and it does not matter how many beds are used. This, he said: "allows the public health authorities to essentially commandeer the hospital system. It's a command and control thing, it's not a coordination thing."

So authorities in Canada could order hospitals to prepare. In the US, he said, no one could tell hospitals what to do. But, even worse than that, the system was designed to work against such orders.

"If you have a private hospital where all the beds are paid for by patients and by insurance, when you have an empty bed, you have no revenue. So there's a strong incentive for the hospital managers, especially in trying economic times, to be reluctant to cooperate," he said.

It was this model, he said, that led to hospitals panicking about not having enough beds or equipment.

Canada's response is far from perfect. One of its big problems is the high death rate in nursing homes. On April 17, The New York Times reported around half the people who were killed by the coronavirus — at that point 1,193 — were residents in nursing homes.

But Canada can be praised for basic competence. According to Vox, it's "what you would expect from a country with a functioning political and health care system. The United States, by contrast, hasn't cleared this lowest of bars."

York University political scientist Steven Hoffman told Vox Canada's biggest health threat is now cases coming from the US.


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Get the latest coronavirus business & economic impact analysis from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is affecting industries.

Trump declined to wear a mask at a mask making factory — despite signs displayed that they were required — in a visit that featured music usually played at his campaign rallies

Sarah Al-Arshani BUSINESS INSIDER 5/5/2020

President Donald Trump participates in a tour of a Honeywell International plant that manufactures personal protective equipment, Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in Phoenix. AP Photo/Evan Vucci

President Donald Trump wore only protective eyewear while visiting a Honeywell PPE facility in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday. 

Neither Trump nor the officials that were with him wore masks despite signs that instructed mask-wearing.

Trump has previously said that he would not wear a mask, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation to wear a mask or cloth face-covering.

The facility also played music similar to what would be heard at a Trump rally. 

President Donald Trump toured a Honeywell facility in Phoenix, Arizona, which makes N95 respirators for health-care workers. Instead of wearing a mask, Trump only wore goggles.

Signs around the facility stated that masks are required, according to reporters present for the tour. Workers at the factory were sporting masks, according to photos from the event.
—Jim Acosta (@Acosta) May 5, 2020

Trump said last month during a coronavirus press briefing that he would not wear a face mask, despite CDC recommendations for the public to wear some sort of cloth mask or face-covering.

According to Bloomberg, Trump has been hesitant to wear a face mask since the start of the coronavirus outbreak and repeatedly "suggested they were impractical, pointless and beneath the dignity of the leader of the free world."



Bloomberg added that Trump's refusal to wear face a face mask has led to confusion.

"At the very least, it confuses people," K. "Vish" Viswanath, a professor of health communication at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health told Bloomberg. "At the very worst, it might even cause them to question if these rules apply to them or if the message is really that critical."
—Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) May 5, 2020

Vice President Mike Pence was criticized last week for also not wearing a mask while visiting a Mayo Clinic, he later apologized and said he should have worn a mask.

The visit to the factory was Trump's first major trip out of the White House in around two months, as the coronavirus has halted both non-essential travel and large gatherings like campaign rallies.

During his tour music was played similar to what would be heard at a Trump rally. Bloomberg reporter Justin Sink tweeted that "live and let die" was being played during the tour. The Rolling Stones song "You Can't Always Get What You Want" was also played at the end of Trump's speech — a song that is a fixture at the end of his rallies.

President Donald Trump participates in a tour of a Honeywell International plant that manufactures personal protective equipment, Tuesday, May 5, 2020, in Phoenix. AP Photo/Evan Vucci

While speaking at the facility, Trump said: "Together we are fighting for everybody but we are fighting this terrible coronavirus. It is a tough opponent but we are winning."

During his speech, Trump thanked the owners of a local Mexican restaurant who were targeted after appearing in the VIP area at Donald Trump's Phoenix rally earlier this year.

"I can't believe I have to socially distance myself from these two people. They're probably the ones who want it from me," Trump said as he asked the couple to go on stage to make a speech.
—Jim Acosta (@Acosta) May 5, 2020

Members of several tribes including Vice President of Navajo Nation Myron Lizer and Second Lady Lizer, Gila River Indian Community Governor Stephen Roe Lewis also attended the tour. According to a pool report, "Trump touted funding in the CARES act allocated for tribal governments."

He also said that the "full resources" of the federal government would be used to help protect Native Americans from the virus.

Lizer explained that coronavirus cases among the Navajo Nation are still increasing and there have been 2,400 confirmed cases and 73 deaths.

White House plots breakup of coronavirus task force
By Gabby Orr and Nancy Cook

The Trump White House is planning to wind down its coronavirus task force in the coming weeks and instead ask agencies to take control of the response efforts.

“We’re having a conversation about that and about what the proper time is for the task force to complete its work,” Vice President Mike Pence said at a briefing for reporters on Tuesday. At that point, he added, the work would be moved to agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

“We’ve already begun to talk about a transition plan with FEMA,” Pence said.

The undoing of the coronavirus task force comes as the president has turned his attention almost entirely toward reopening the economy as more than a dozen states allow people to slowly return to businesses like hair salons and restaurants. By the end of the week, Trump’s top economic officials are expected to unveil new ideas for tax policy and regulatory changes to bolster the U.S. economy in the third and fourth quarters of the year — even as the death toll from the coronavirus continues to rise and the virus spreads to new areas of the country.

“I believe we can be in a very different place in late May or early June,” Pence said. “We’re going to start to look at the Memorial Day window to transition back to having our agencies manage our response in a more traditional manner.”

Top officials on Tuesday said they are seeing a decrease in hospitalizations and have already received reopening plans from 41 states so far, which they consider encouraging. All these developments are being taken into account, officials said, as they determine the necessity of the task force moving forward. The future of the task force will be based on the health conditions, aides said. Pence characterized the discussion of dissolving the task force as “preliminary.”

Inside the White House, there has also been discussion of creating a new and smaller group to supplant the task force — focused on developing a vaccine and therapeutics. Pence said this project, dubbed "Operation Warp Speed," is “almost like a Manhattan Project-style effort to develop a vaccine.”

Health officials and other aides inside the White House are not happy about the upcoming dissolution of the task force, given the ongoing spread of the virus, said one source familiar with the discussions.

The unwinding of the task force was first reported by The New York Times.