Cheers: to small victories. If you wear glasses, you were probably teased about it more than once in school. You’ve watched as movies used wearing glasses for shorthand to class characters as nerds or worse. You’ve had your vision steamed up as you wear your pandemic mask, or even when you come in from shovelling snow. Now, though, a study from Chinese medical researchers — admittedly from a small sample of patients — postulates that “Our study found that the proportion of inpatients with COVID-19 who wear eyeglasses for extended daily periods was lower than that of the general population, suggesting that daily wear of eyeglasses is associated with less susceptibility to COVID-19 infection. These findings suggest that the eye may be an important infection route for COVID-19, and more attention should be paid to preventive measures such as frequent hand washing and avoiding touching the eyes.” The researchers suggest that glasses actually prevent their wearers from touching the areas around their eyes. Therefore, frequent hand washing, already strongly recommended by health officials, could help those not protected by glorious, wonderful, fashionable and protective glasses. (Editor’s disclaimer: the person who wrote this Jeer has been wearing glasses consistently since Grade 4.)
"Our study found that the proportion of inpatients with COVID-19 who wear eyeglasses for extended daily periods was lower than that of the general population, suggesting that daily wear of eyeglasses is associated with less susceptibility to COVID-19 infection. These findings suggest that the eye may be an important infection route for COVID-19, and more attention should be paid to preventive measures such as frequent hand washing and avoiding touching the eyes.”
Jeers: to bone-headed business decisions. Tribune Publishing, a major U.S. newspaper chain, has been downsizing, furloughing and laying off employees for years. So imagine how surprised employees were when they received emails advising them that all the pain had paid off, and that the employees were now eligible for bonuses of as much as US$10,000. Except there were no bonuses: the emails were bogus, designed by the company’s cybersecurity team to test how vulnerable employees were to email “phishing” attempts to obtain employee login information. Talk about adding insult to injury. Tribune later apologized for the ruse, saying, “in retrospect, the topic of the email was misleading and insensitive, and the company apologizes for its use.” You think?
Jeers: to what’s likely to be one of many in coming months. The Big R’s Harvey Road location was scheduled to shut down yesterday after 60 years in business. There are plenty of reasons restaurants close — everything from owners retiring to changes in public tastes to the sheer volatility of the restaurant business. But the Harvey Road fish and chips restaurant survived the massive Harvey Road fire, and it’s worth considering right now, restaurants are under more pressure with the COVID-19 pandemic than they probably have ever been. If you’ve got a favourite restaurant and can afford to, place an order or go out for a meal. It’s hard to imagine, but something as simple as your meal may be a business lifeline. (If Big R is one of those favourite eateries, don’t despair. They’re still open at their Blackmarsh Road location for a feed.)
