The Daily Populous

Saturday July 31st, 2021 morning edition

image for Two travellers from U.S. fined $20,000 each for fake vaccination documents

TORONTO - Two travellers who arrived in Toronto from the United States have been fined for providing fake COVID-19 proof of vaccination documents and lying about pre-departure tests.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says the travellers also didn’t comply with requirements to stay at a government-authorized hotel or to get tested upon arrival.

The agency says in a news release Friday that the travellers arrived last week and have been handed four fines totalling $19,720 each.

Canada eased quarantine requirements on July 5 for fully vaccinated Canadians and foreign nationals with an exemption to enter the country, but they must upload their proof of vaccination documents to the ArriveCAN app before entry.

Those who are not fully vaccinated are still required to stay for three days at a government-approved hotel, quarantine for 14 days and undergo tests pre-departure, post-arrival and eight days later.

The public health agency is warning that all travellers are obligated to answer questions truthfully and that providing false information or documents to government officials upon entry to Canada is a serious offence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2021. »

Over half the deer tested in Michigan have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2

Authored by arstechnica.com
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Using a captive deer population, the USDA had already determined that deer can be infected by the virus, although the animals display no symptoms.

So in all likelihood, a large number of deer have been exposed to the virus.

There aren't many contexts in which this kind of exposure is likely to be happening between humans and wild deer. »

France fines Monsanto for illegally acquiring data on journalists, activists

Authored by france24.com
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France's personal data protection agency on Wednesday fined US firm Monsanto for illegally compiling files of public figures, journalists and activists with the aim of swaying opinion towards support for its controversial pesticides.

The CNIL agency fined Monsanto 400,000 euros ($473,000) in the case brought by seven plaintiffs.

Bayer took over Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018 and was immediately bogged down in controversy over its agrichemical products. »

China on 'high alert' as delta variant of Covid-19 spreads to 5 provinces

Authored by nbcnews.com
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The outbreak is believed to have started in Nanjing, a city of more than 9 million people, around 150 miles west of Shanghai.

Infections have now been recorded in five different provinces including Beijing, and local health authorities have identified the strain as the delta variant.

China has crushed previous spikes with strictly enforced lockdowns, quarantines and controls on international travel. »

Justice Department says IRS must give Trump tax returns to Congress

Authored by pbs.org
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department says the Treasury Department must provide the House Ways and Means Committee former President Donald Trump’s tax returns, apparently ending a long legal showdown over the records.

During the Trump administration, then-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he wouldn’t turn over the tax returns because he concluded they were being sought by Democrats who control the House of Representatives for partisan reasons.

The committee said it needed Trump’s taxes for an investigation into whether he complied with tax law. »