COVID-19 by the numbers By: Winnipeg Free Press Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Tuesday, Apr. 7, 2020 Last Modified: 5:08 PM CDT Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022 Updates

College athletes need advocacy, before another life is lost.

They need an independent voice because, as the system stands, athletes speaking out for personal safety would end their positions on their teams. They need an advocate when their voices cannot be heard — and, more importantly, when they are being ignored or silenced.

What happened on Aug. 20 — when Arizona State University hockey player Matthew Mayich collapsed during a high-intensity outdoor workout — was not an accident. Mayich is still in hospital in critical condition.

When established processes and safeguards are alleged not to have been followed, the response cannot begin and end with the institution investigating itself and declaring nothing went wrong. Serious incidents demand transparency, accountability and independent scrutiny.

They Jays have been getting big-time performance from the man with the big-time contract, now that he’s healthy.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A new coronavirus variant identified in South Africa has been found in the United States for the first time, with two cases diagnosed in South Carolina, state health officials said Thursday.

The arrival of this variant now surging in other countries "is an important reminder to all South Carolinians that the fight against this deadly virus is far from over,” Dr. Brannon Traxler, DHEC Interim Public Health Director, said in a statement. “While more COVID-19 vaccines are on the way, supplies are still limited. Every one of us must recommit to the fight by recognizing that we are all on the front lines now. We are all in this together.”

Viruses are constantly mutating, with coronavirus variants circulating around the globe, but scientists are primarily concerned with the emergence of three of them. Other variants first reported in the United Kingdom and Brazil were previously confirmed in the U.S. Researchers believe these three variants may spread more easily, and predicted it was only a matter of time before they appeared here.

Also, scientists last week reported preliminary but troubling signs that some of the recent mutations may modestly curb the effectiveness of two current vaccines, although they stressed that the shots still protect against the disease. And there are signs that some of the new mutations may undermine tests for the virus and reduce the effectiveness of certain treatments.

A disciplinary panel has ordered the cancellation of a Chinese-Canadian teacher’s certificate because of her “repeated boundary-crossing with a student” during her tenure at an international school with local ties.

Janice Wen Ying Ma is permanently barred from teaching on Manitoba soil or at a Manitoba-accredited institution as of Sept. 14.

The new ruling concludes that Ma engaged in inappropriate physical interaction and “emotionally intimate online messages” with a girl who attended Clifford International School in Guangzhou, China in 2024-25.

“This conduct represents a fundamental departure from the standards expected of a teacher,” the panel, chaired by public representative Gordon Schumacher, wrote in its 22-page decision.