Today’s coronavirus news: Pfizer submits preliminary research on COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged five to 11; Ontario reports another 704 COVID-19 cases and seven more deaths

The latest coronavirus news from Canada and around the world Saturday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

8:00 p.m.: Three Alaska hospitals have now instituted crisis protocols that would allow them to ration care if needed as the state recorded the worst COVID-19 diagnosis rates in the U.S. in recent days.

According to data collected by Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, one person in every 84 in Alaska was diagnosed with COVID-19 from Sept. 22 to 29. The next highest rate was one in every 164 people in West Virginia.

Fairbanks Memorial Hospital activated the protocol Friday because of a critical shortage of bed capacity and staffing, along with the inability to transfer patients to other facilities. Two other Alaska hospitals, in Anchorage and Bethel, have invoked the same protocol.

Fairbanks Chief Medical Officer Dr. Angelique Ramirez said the decision to move to crisis standards was because of many factors, including community spread caused by the low vaccination rates and a high number of patients waiting to be admitted.

Statewide, 60{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of eligible Alaskans are fully vaccinated. The Fairbanks North Star Borough is the third-worst region for vaccination rates in Alaska, with just under 52{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of eligible residents vaccinated.

7:00 p.m.: Public Safety Canada says a contingent from the Canadian Armed Forces is expected to “be in position” Monday to decide where to deploy eight critical care nurses that will help Alberta combat the fourth wave of COVID-19.

The federal agency also says the Canadian Red Cross is planning to provide up to 20 medical professionals, some with intensive care unit experience, to augment or relieve existing staff working in Alberta’s hospitals.

Premier Jason Kenney announced Thursday that the province was finalizing a deal to secure eight to 10 intensive care ward specialists from the military, likely to be based in Edmonton, to help in hospitals.

He also said up to 20 trained Red Cross medical workers, some with intensive care experience, would be deployed in central Alberta.

Alberta is dealing with a COVID-19 crisis that has seen well over 1,000 new cases a day for weeks while filling intensive care wards to almost twice normal capacity.

The province’s health delivery agency has had to scramble and reassign staff to handle the surge of intensive care patients far above the normal capacity of 173 beds.

5:00 p.m.: New Brunswick is reporting a record-smashing 140 new COVID-19 infections and four deaths in a single day as the Maritime province continues to grapple with the the pandemic’s fourth wave.

Health officials say the deaths include a person aged 30 to 39 in the Fredericton region, a person aged 50 to 59 in the Edmundston region and two people aged 70 to 79 in the Fredericton and Moncton regions.

The four deaths bring the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in the province to 64.

Officials say among the 140 new cases, 94 are people who are unvaccinated, 34 are fully vaccinated and 12 are partially vaccinated.

New Brunswick currently has 44 people hospitalized due to the virus, with 17 in intensive care.

The province says 35 of the patients in hospital — or nearly 80 per cent — are unvaccinated while nine are either partially or fully vaccinated.

“Healthy younger people are getting sick as well as older individuals,” Premier Blaine Higgs said in a statement.

“Of the 140 cases announced, 88 are under 40. Those in that age bracket are less likely to end up in hospital but they still carry and can transmit the virus.”

In addition to the 140 new cases, the province reported 49 recoveries from COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the number of active cases to 764.

The province said public safety officers will be conducting spot checks at churches this weekend, many of which have been the sites of recent COVID-19 exposures.

Officials said while the vast majority of churches have been following the rules, concerns remain that not all are and fines will be issued to institutions and individuals who break the mandatory public health rules.

“Four more New Brunswickers lost to the virus is a grim reminder of the continuing toll COVID-19 is taking on our communities and on people at every stage of life,” Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said in a statement.

While the number of hospitalizations remains manageable for now, the admissions place an extreme burden on the province’s health-care system, she said.

“We expected cases to climb and they may continue to do so for the next little while until we see the impact of the additional measures brought in last week.”

New Brunswick reimposed a state of emergency in late September to deal with the sudden spike in COVID-19 cases.

That followed a decision two months earlier to drop all of its COVID-19 restrictions — the first jurisdiction in Atlantic Canada to do so.

At the time, some infectious disease experts warned New Brunswick would face a surge in Delta-variant cases in the fall, mainly because of the decision to drop mask requirements in indoor public places.

The mask order has now been reinstated, along with a number of other health-protection measures. They include new rules to limit contacts, ensure physical distancing and require certain businesses and events to have vaccination or masking-and-testing policies.

3:45 p.m.: A one-day vaccine campaign, with more than 35 clinics across the City of Toronto, got underway on Saturday.

Mayor John Tory announced the launch of #Vax25, a COVID-19 inoculation push to promote vaccine clinics in the city’s 25 wards.

“I continue to urge eligible residents to get vaccinated now to help protect themselves and the progress we have made fighting this pandemic and reopening schools and businesses,” Tory said as he thanked city councillors for teaming up for the initiative.

#Vax25 features at least one clinic per ward supported and promoted by the ward’s councillor.

Read the full story here: Toronto launches one-day #Vax25 vaccine push throughout the city’s 25 wards

2:30 p.m.: Health Canada has received drugmaker Pfizer’s preliminary research on the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine in children aged five to 11.

The drugmaker confirmed Saturday it provided the initial trial data to the federal department for review as it prepares to make a formal submission — possibly later this month — seeking authorization to use the product in children.

Pfizer Canada spokeswoman Christina Antoniou said the submission will be a request for full authorization.

She said the new drug submission process for COVID-19 vaccines offers the same flexibility as the interim order authorization pathway did, including allowing the company to submit a rolling submission.

“In other words, [it’s] not an emergency use authorization but a full approval under which we would continue to submit new data as it becomes available,” Antoniou said in an email.

Pfizer’s vaccine was initially given the green light for use in Canada last December. The two-shot vaccine, developed in partnership with German pharmaceutical company BioNTech, is currently available for those aged 12 and older.

Pfizer and BioNTech said last week that researchers found the vaccine antibody responses in children were just as strong as those found in teenagers and young adults getting regular-strength doses.

The companies submitted the research to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last week and plan to request emergency use authorization of their vaccine in children ages five to 11 “in the coming weeks.”

Pediatric studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in children aged six months to age five is ongoing, with initial results expected before the end of the year, Antoniou said.

12:15 p.m.: Quebec is reporting 640 additional cases of COVID-19 today and five more deaths due to the pandemic.

The vast majority of cases are due to the contagious Delta variant, which accounted for 86.9 per cent of infections sequenced between Sept. 12 and Sept. 18.

Overall hospitalizations declined by nine to 301, while the number of people in intensive care dropped by one to 83.

About 89 per cent of Quebec’s eligible population 12 and over have received one shot of vaccine, and 84 per cent have received two doses.

11:15 a.m.: Ontario is reporting another 704 COVID-19 cases and seven more deaths, according to its latest report released Saturday morning.

The province reports 401 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in unvaccinated people, 44 were partially vaccinated, and 198 cases in fully vaccinated people.

There are 274 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the province, including 141 patients in intensive care testing positive for COVID-19. There are 110 people on ventilators. Locally, there are 150 cases in Toronto, 67 in Peel Region, 46 in York Region with 70 cases in Ottawa, 44 in Hamilton, 32 in Windsor and 32 in Niagara.

Ontario has administered 37,333 vaccine doses since its last daily update, with a total 21,847,046 vaccines given as of 8 p.m. Friday night.

According to the Star’s vaccine tracker, 11,263,479 people in Ontario have received at least one shot, or about 86.4 per cent of the eligible population 12 years and older. The province says 10,583,567 people have completed both vaccination shots, or approximately 81.2 per cent of the eligible population.

7:44 a.m.: Canadians overwhelmingly support the idea of requiring vaccine passports to gain admittance to public places such as restaurants, bars and gyms, a new poll suggests.

Fully 78 per cent of respondents to the Leger poll said they strongly support (56 per cent) or somewhat support (22 per cent) requiring proof of vaccination against COVID-19 to visit non-essential public places where numerous people typically congregate, including concert halls and festivals.

Just 13 per cent said they strongly oppose a proof-of-vaccination requirement, variations on which are being introduced by provincial governments across the country. Another nine per cent said they’re somewhat opposed.

Support ranged from a low of 70 per cent in the Atlantic Provinces to a high of 86 per cent in British Columbia. Eighty-one per cent of Alberta respondents also supported the move, although their province has been the most reluctant to adopt a vaccine passport system.

The poll of 1,537 Canadians was conducted Sept. 24-26, as health care systems in both Alberta and Saskatchewan were being overwhelmed by soaring cases of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

The online poll cannot be assigned a margin of error as internet-based surveys are not considered random samples.

Seventy-four per cent of respondents said governments should not lift all public health restrictions now. Just 18 per cent supported lifting them.

Opposition to relaxing public health orders included 76 per cent of respondents in Alberta, where Premier Jason Kenney lifted most restrictions over the summer, only to have to reimpose some recently as the fourth wave of the pandemic swept the province.

Unsurprisingly given their provinces’ struggles with the fourth wave of the pandemic, Kenney and Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe ranked the lowest among provincial first ministers for their handling of the health crisis.

Fully 80 per cent of Alberta respondents said they were very or somewhat dissatisfied with Kenney’s performance, and 74 per cent of Saskatchewan respondents felt the same about Moe.

By contrast, 74 per cent of Quebec respondents expressed satisfaction with Premier François Legault’s handling of the pandemic, 61 per cent of British Columbians were satisfied with Premier John Horgan and 52 per cent of Ontarians were satisfied with Premier Doug Ford’s performance.

Fifty-seven per cent nationally said they were satisfied with the federal government’s handling of the pandemic while 61 per cent expressed satisfaction with their municipal governments.

Respondents were split over the state of the pandemic in Canada, with 39 per cent saying they think the worst is over, 22 per cent saying we’re in the worst period of the crisis now and another 21 per cent saying the worst is yet to come. Nineteen per cent didn’t know.

7:43 a.m.: When Russians talk about the coronavirus over dinner or in hair salons, the conversation often turns to “antitela,” the Russian word for antibodies — the proteins produced by the body to fight infection.

Even President Vladimir Putin referred to them this week in a conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, bragging about why he avoided infection even though dozens of people around him caught the coronavirus, including someone who spent a whole day with the Kremlin leader.

“I have high titres,” Putin said, referring to the measurement used to describe the concentration of antibodies in the blood. When Erdogan challenged him that the number Putin gave was low, the Russian insisted, “No, it’s a high level. There are different counting methods.”

But Western health experts say the antibody tests so popular in Russia are unreliable either for diagnosing COVID-19 or assessing immunity to it. The antibodies that these tests look for can only serve as evidence of a past infection, and scientists say it’s still unclear what level of antibodies indicates protection from the virus and for how long.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention says such tests should not be used to establish an active COVID-19 infection because it can take one to three weeks for the body to make antibodies. Health experts say tests that look for the virus’s genetic material, called PCR tests, or ones that look for virus proteins, called antigen tests, should be used to determine if someone is infected.

7:42 a.m.: It’s a milestone that by all accounts didn’t have to happen this soon.

The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 700,000 late Friday — a number greater than the population of Boston. The last 100,000 deaths occurred during a time when vaccines — which overwhelmingly prevent deaths, hospitalizations and serious illness — were available to any American over the age of 12.

The milestone is deeply frustrating to doctors, public health officials and the American public, who watched a pandemic that had been easing earlier in the summer take a dark turn. Tens of millions of Americans have refused to get vaccinated, allowing the highly contagious Delta variant to tear through the country and send the death toll from 600,000 to 700,000 in 3 1/2 months.

Saturday 7:42 a.m.: California will become the first U.S. state to require COVID-19 vaccinations for children to attend public and private schools in person in a mandate that could effect millions of students.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday announced that the coronavirus shot will be added to 10 other immunizations already required for school kids, including those for measles and mumps.

Exemptions would be granted for medical reasons or because of religious or personal beliefs but the exemption rules haven’t been written yet pending public comment.

Any student without an exemption who refuses to get the vaccine would be forced to do independent study at home.

“We want to end this pandemic. We are all exhausted by it,” Newsom said during a news conference at a San Francisco middle school after visiting with seventh graders.

“Vaccines work. It’s why California leads the country in preventing school closures and has the lowest case rates,” Newsom said.

Read Friday’s coronavirus news.

Montana health officials: ‘The data are overwhelming. The COVID-19 vaccine offers the best protection against infection and at preventing severe illness’

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By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews

The Department of Public Wellness and Human Solutions (DPHHS) launched a new report very last week with Montana-particular information from the past eight months that illustrates the best tool towards severe health issues from COVID-19 is to get vaccinated.

Impression by Alexandra_Koch from Pixabay

The report reviewed facts from February to September 2021, and identified that 89.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the scenarios, 88.6{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of hospitalizations and 83.5{cfdf3f5372635aeb15fd3e2aecc7cb5d7150695e02bd72e0a44f1581164ad809} of the fatalities had been amid folks not fully vaccinated, including those not however eligible for vaccination.

The report also examined a recent 8-7 days period of time from July 11 to September 4, 2021, and found that between all instances noted in people suitable for vaccine, that Montanans who have been not entirely vaccinated contracted COVID-19 at a amount 4.4 instances increased than thoroughly vaccinated people. And, the COVID-19-linked hospitalization and demise prices were 5.1 and 3.3 instances greater, respectively, amongst not fully vaccinated individuals as as opposed with entirely vaccinated folks.

“The data are too much to handle. The COVID-19 vaccine delivers the greatest safety from an infection and at preventing severe health issues,” said DPHHS Director Adam Meier. “Clinical trials have found that the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and efficient at preventing extreme COVID-19-related results. If you have not gotten vaccinated and still have inquiries, I inspire all qualified Montanans to seek the advice of with their health care service provider or pharmacist.”

DPHHS community well being specialists also famous the influence of COVID-19 ailment on more youthful age teams. Adults aged 18-39 had the greatest amount of COVID-19 situations in contrast with other age groups between both of those the totally vaccinated and unvaccinated. Having said that, grownups in this age team who have been not totally vaccinated expert case fees 4.4 moments bigger than fully vaccinated persons in this age group.

DPHHS knowledge also present a notable age gap concerning vaccinated and unvaccinated men and women with severe COVID-19 relevant results, with intense results happening at younger ages amid people not absolutely vaccinated as opposed with completely vaccinated people. In a modern 8-7 days time period, the median age for COVID-19 hospitalizations was 60 a long time for not absolutely vaccinated and the median age amongst people thoroughly vaccinated was 75 years.

COVID-19 bacterial infections amongst totally vaccinated folks are called “breakthrough” cases. A breakthrough COVID-19 case is described as a COVID-19 infection which occurred 14 or far more days just after completing the major COVID-19 vaccine sequence. Depending on the distinct vaccine administered, completion of collection could be a single or two doses of vaccine.

It’s critical that all Montanans choose the essential safeguards to secure by themselves and their beloved ones.

“In addition to encouraging vaccination, DPHHS encourages all Montana residents and site visitors to training individual accountability and just take precautionary actions to gradual the distribute of the virus, which includes putting on a confront masking when correct, steering clear of massive crowds, remaining house when not sensation perfectly, and washing arms routinely,” said DPHHS acting State Medical Officer Dr. Maggie Cook dinner-Shimanek.

Paris Fashion Week Channel Humor, Spring Animated Films | Entertainment

THOMAS ADAMSONAP fashion writer

Paris (AP) — Saturday’s runway retains energy even with rain and grey skies when exhausted fashionistas access the final dash of 96 physical and digital spring-summer season shows at Paris Vogue Week Delivered sparks to do. Some of the world’s best designers have introduced humor, vibrant shades, impressive structure techniques, and even imaginative animated movies for displays.

The highlights of the prepared-to-dress in assortment for Spring / Summer 2022 are:

Description of VIVIENNE WESTWOOD DEFIES

Andreas Kronthaler of Vivienne Westwood was normally eccentric.

Combining Westwood’s 80’s heyday glam rock reference with historic musement and a reliable cheek tongue, Krontaler has established 66 trend mayhem and is one particular of the most pleasurable shows of the Paris manner season. I showed off 1.

The design stood on a plasma screen demonstrating blast photos of architecture and textiles, showing a type that was virtually unexplained.

Was the pale bridal gown with no scaffolding guiding it resembling a tent, or was it reminiscent of outfits that were being hung on the clothesline? The big white historic hat experienced a great condition, but if you search closely, it was created of a stuffed animal with the experience of an aged gentleman with a beard.

Even so, though humor could not be denied, there ended up several moments of chic manner structure. A pale blue material was abstractly “floating” on the entrance of the Trompe-l’Ouille gown. The most straightforward appears to be like ended up also some of the ideal, such as a drape white robe with a attractive dynamic substance foosh.

Kunihiko Morinaga’s manner-aware residence in Tokyo has constructed up a enormous admirer base in Japan with his daring principle of combining art and trend.

Morinaga was not unhappy on Saturday.

The award-successful designer labored as a manner editor in collaboration with Oscar-nominated Japanese anime filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda. It was a limited trend movie set in the land of “U” and wore dresses reminiscent of the groundbreaking science fiction motion picture “Tron”.

A polygonal silhouette created from the triangles of his signature patchwork fabric was immersed in some sort of futuristic Japanese fictional universe.

They ended up made from made use of clothes and higher-tech reflective materials that the dwelling mentioned were being built utilizing exclusive adhesive approaches. The layout matching platform sandals are adorned with the exact motif. It was an intriguing comment on how the digital planet affected the style market.

Morinaga mentioned that the idea started when Mamoru Hosoda questioned him to disguise the concert scene of the upcoming anime motion picture “Ryu to Soba Kasumi” (2021).

Lebanese designer-to-star Elie Saab tightened spring aesthetics with a straightforward and classy assortment.

Prints with embroidered logos are now on exhibit. But quickly (and luckily), this rather modest thought set out for a mild shirt costume with a section of lace element.

The white, loose proportions gown was elegant, minimalist and nearly medical. It labored effectively for sandals that match vanilla handbags.

For designers famed for their va-va-voom silhouettes, there are many delicate touches in this welcome course. His attribute substantial or restricted hips ended up nonetheless below — but executed gently.

A piece of resistance? A teal inexperienced 70’s jumpsuit hybrid with pleats that fly stylishly in the air.

Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli, in the heart of the Marais district, a person of the most modern and streetwise districts in Paris, has her hair down. It is a vivid and numerous selection titled “Rendez Vous”.

For spring, his reason was to clearly show the fashion to dress in on the avenue. And he literally did it.

There were being glittering gold sequins, amazing shades, saggy denims, and shiny Juliet sleeves that struck the 80’s. This year, Italian designers have moved in direction of a welcome with a disco.

Even now, despite the hustle and bustle of the street, the layout remained complex. A single of the free emerald menswear suits has a sensitive flare of lavender silk flapping from underneath. Silken substance has ensured that this selection maintains a correct sense of luxury in the course of.

“(This is) what was believed of as serious lifetime, not as streetwear,” uncovered Piccioli’s intended property.

At the stop of the clearly show, like a serious Jambon-beur, friends ended up handed a bouquet of nearby flowers procured from a genuine flower vendor in the Ile-de-France region, and the design ran by way of the streets of the town, cheering thunder. ..

Thomas Adamson can follow at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamson-k

Copyright 2021 AP communication. all rights reserved. This product may not be printed, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the need of authorization.

Resource connection Paris Trend Week Channel Humor, Spring Animated Films | Enjoyment

What channel is Steelers vs. Packers on today? Time, TV schedule for NFL Week 4 game

Coming off of two losses in a row, the Steelers will head to Lambeau Field to face the Packers, who are coming off of two wins in a row.

The Steelers got off to a surprising start by upsetting the Bills in Week 1. From there, their next two performances were a major downgrade. Ben Roethlisberger has thrown three interceptions and been sacked six times in the last two games.

The Packers also started with a shocker, losing 38-3 Week 1 to the Saints. Since that game, Aaron Rodgers has thrown six touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Packers are favored to win in this Super Bowl XLV rematch, especially now that Rodgers is playing better. They are also coming off a thrilling “Sunday Night Football” win against the 49ers, when they won on a field goal in the last seconds of the game. Wide receiver Davante Adams had 132 receiving yards on Sunday against the 49ers as he continues to be a threat for the Packers opponents.

The Steelers were without their star linebacker on Sunday, T.J. Watt, and they lost their 75 straight sack game streak. They were already without their wide receiver Diontae Johnson, but then lost another wide receiver, JuJu Smith-Schuster, during the game. All these players are questionable leading up to Sunday’s game.

Here’s everything you need to know to watch the Steelers vs. Packers game on Sunday, including kickoff time, TV channels and a full Week 4 NFL schedule.

MORE: Watch Steelers vs. Packers live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)

What channel is Steelers vs. Packers on today?

  • TV channel (national): CBS
  • TV channel (Pittsburgh): KDKA-TV
  • TV channel (Green Bay): WFRV-TV
  • Live streams: CBS All Access, Paramount +, fuboTV

The Steelers vs. Packers game will be broadcast on CBS in select markets. Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will call the game from the both and Tracy Wolfson will report from the sidelines.

For those looking for radio information, the Steelers broadcast can be heard on SiriusXM channel 385, or the Packers broadcast can be heard on SiriusXM channel 227.

In Canada, viewers can watch Steelers vs. Packers on DAZN, which has rights to every NFL game.

Steelers vs. Packers start time

  • Date: Sunday, Oct. 3
  • Time: 4:25 p.m. ET

Steelers vs. Packers is scheduled to start at 4:25 p.m. ET, along with the Ravens vs. Broncos game. The game will be the major broadcast for most of the country on CBS. 

WEEK 4 NFL PICKS: Against the spread | Straight up

NFL schedule Week 4

Sunday, Oct. 3

Game Time (ET) TV channel
Titans vs. Jets 1:00 p.m. CBS
Lions vs. Bears 1:00 p.m. Fox
Colts vs Dolphins 1:00 p.m. CBS
Browns vs. Vikings 1:00 p.m. CBS
WFT vs. Falcons 1:00 p.m. Fox
Texans vs. Bills 1:00 p.m. CBS
Giants vs. Saints 1:00 p.m. Fox
Chiefs vs. Eagles 1:00 p.m. CBS
Panthers vs. Cowboys 1:00 p.m. Fox
Seahawks vs. 49ers 4:05 p.m. Fox
Cardinals vs. Rams 4:05 p.m. Fox
Steelers vs. Packers 4:25 p.m. CBS
Ravens vs. Broncos 4:25 p.m. CBS
Buccaneers vs. Patriots 8:20 p.m. NBC

Monday, Oct. 4

Game Time (ET) TV channel
Raiders vs. Chargers 8:15 p.m. ESPN, ESPN2

Steelers 2021 schedule

Week Date Opponent Time (ET) TV
4 Oct. 3 @Packers 4:25 p.m. CBS
5 Oct. 10 Broncos 1:00 p.m. Fox
6 Oct. 17 Seahawks 8:20 p.m. NBC
7 — BYE — —
8 Oct. 31 @Browns 1:00 p.m. CBS
9 Nov. 8 Bears 8:15 p.m. ESPN
10 Nov. 14 Lions 1:00 p.m. Fox
11 Nov. 21 @Chargers 8:20 p.m. NBC
12 Nov. 28 @Bengals 1:00 p.m. CBS
13 Dec. 5 Ravens 4:25 p.m. CBS
14 Dec. 9 @Vikings 8:20 p.m. Fox, NFL Network
15 Dec. 19 Titans 1:00 p.m. CBS
16 Dec. 26 @Chiefs 4:25 p.m. CBS
17 Jan. 3 Browns 8:15 p.m. ESPN
18 Jan. 9 @Ravens 1:00 p.m. CBS

Packers 2021 schedule

Week Date Opponent Time (ET) TV
4 Oct. 4 Steelers 4:25 p.m. CBS
5 Oct. 10 @Bengals 1:00 p.m. Fox
6 Oct. 17 @Bears 1:00 p.m. Fox
7 Oct. 24 WFT 1:00 p.m. Fox
8 Oct. 28 @Cardinals 8:20 p.m. Fox, NFL Network
9 Nov. 7 @Chiefs 4:25 p.m. Fox
10 Nov. 14 Seahawks 4:25 p.m. CBS
11 Nov. 21 @Vikings 1:00 p.m. Fox
12 Nov. 28 Rams 4:25 p.m. Fox
13 — BYE — —
14 Dec. 12 Bears 8:20 p.m. NBC
15 Dec. 19 @Ravens 1:00 p.m. Fox
16 Dec. 25 Browns 4:30 p.m. Fox, NFL Network
17 Jan. 2 Vikings 8:20 p.m. NBC
18 Jan. 9 @Lions 1:00 p.m. Fox

Vareto raises $24M from GV, Menlo and all-star angels to reinvent financial planning for enterprises – TechCrunch

Vareto, a startup aiming to help organizations perform additional ahead-looking monetary planning and investigation, is coming out of stealth nowadays with $24 million in full funding.

GV (formerly Google Ventures) led its $20 million Collection A this yr, and Menlo Ventures led its $4.2 million seed financing in the summertime of 2020. Menlo also put funds in the company’s most up-to-date spherical, in addition to 40 angel traders, including tech unicorn founders and chief monetary officers. The angels who possibly backed the enterprise in its seed or Sequence A spherical are a large-profile bunch, and contain Asana COO Anne Raimondi, Salesforce President and ex-CFO Mark Hawkins, Splunk CFO Jason Little one, Fb CFO Dave Wehner, Affirm CFO Michael Linford, Egnyte CEO and co-founder Vineet Jain, Microsoft CVP Manik Gupta and Hippo Insurance’s VP of Finance Roy Hefer. Communicate about validation.

In its own words, Mountain Look at-dependent Vareto is developing a new system for FP&A (money scheduling & evaluation) teams with the intention of “building the upcoming of money setting up.”

1 of the factors that stands out about Vareto — other than its remarkable checklist of early buyers of course — is its founding workforce. Prior to stints as an investor, CEO Kat Orekhova was head of products at Ironclad and held a wide variety of roles at Facebook, such as head of forecasting and analytics. When at the social media large, Orekhova states she crafted Facebook’s “first-ever” info science team in just FP&A. President Lalit Singh is the previous COO of Udacity and effectively led that corporation to being hard cash stream optimistic following getting on the verge of shutting down. Prior to joining Udacity, he invested several yrs at Hewlett-Packard Enterprises wherever he did factors such as guide that company’s digital transformation of HPE’s $3 billion program small business and serve as COO of its $2 billion Cloud organization and VP of operational efficiency.

The pair teamed up in 2020 to appear up with a system that would give FP&A teams the skill to “seamlessly” work throughout organizing and reporting cycles. In other words, it desires to help this sort of groups be far more proactive and appear toward the long run as an alternative of reactive and “looking in the rearview mirror.” Their purpose was to build a strategic finance platform for the organization that had the seem and come to feel of a shopper presenting.

For Orekhova, Vareto’s purpose is possibly even additional uncomplicated — to help providers operate much better with an integrated planning and reporting device that aims to streamline the complete FP&A course of action.

“Questions these as ‘How are we accomplishing as a small business and how could we be carrying out even much better? are tricky to solution currently,” she stated.

And the groups tasked with answering these questions (FP&A) are the ones attempting to set business enterprise targets. So people teams are the primary concentration of Vareto.

“For example, we spoke to a hardware firm whose crew takes four months to place collectively the business summary for the prior month,” Orekhova described. “So this signifies they are always a month driving in the visibility into their small business functionality.”

It is notably tricky, she extra. To comprehend how a small business is doing, primarily a quite big business business with quite a few obtained businesses throughout distinctive organization traces and different geographies, “you have to pull data from many distinctive methods, you have to talk to several stakeholders” to have an understanding of what’s going on. 

“And so assembling this see of your business enterprise is truly seriously tough now, and scheduling is even worse,” Orekhova added.

The approach of arranging on normal takes five months for a significant corporation.

“So as you can think about, by the time this course of action finishes, the plan is incredibly considerably out of date,” she explained to TechCrunch. “And that is definitely why we begun Vareto — simply because we saw this remarkable lag concerning knowing how your company is undertaking, and basically becoming equipped to make an operational improve to make items better.”

Vareto raises M from GV, Menlo and all-star angels to reinvent financial planning for enterprises – TechCrunch

Image Credits: Vareto

The B2B SaaS startup hence aims to turn into a command heart for the finance and government groups to see how a business is accomplishing in serious time and to be in a position to make essential operational changes speedier.

“If you see a gap in an possibility, you can promptly place assets towards that in times, not months,” she reported.

For the duration of his time operating HP’s cloud business enterprise, Singh recalls having “three distinct solutions from a few distinctive teams” about buyer churn, for illustration.

“I would be confused, which responses should really I feel?” he mentioned.

So Singh finished up assembling a 10-person “shadow finance and ops team” to get “the appropriate facts at the proper time.”

Later on when he joined Udacity, he struggled with acquiring a forecast for a supplied year.

“You have a number of units and many enterprises and obtaining data from them, and putting the appropriate layer of details, just requires tons of time,” he explained. “At both of those firms, I didn’t have the luxurious of having a answer like we are creating.”

Sadly, the startup declined to expose any tricky profits figures, expressing only that its customers span distinct industries this sort of as gross sales enablement, protection and residence tech and incorporate Mindtickle and Landing, between other folks.

Vareto’s traders are normally bullish on what the startup is performing.

Naomi Pilosof Ionita, companion at Menlo Ventures, led Vareto’s seed round very last calendar year.

She observed an authenticity in the founding workforce that appealed to her. In addition, she stated, she liked how Vareto “marries monetary metrics with running metrics”

“Often, these are composite metrics and the fundamental levers are worthy of comprehending,” Pilosof Ionita informed TechCrunch. “Forecasting just can’t be an ivory tower approach. It is a collaborative work out with executives throughout the enterprise who have the a variety of inputs.”

The VC suggests she skilled that firsthand when working merchandise growth and monetization at Bill2go. 

“Regarding set up incumbents in this space, we listen to from their people that a large amount of analyses and forecasts continue to default to Excel documents getting emailed back again and forth,” she extra. “FP&A groups have to have a extra modern system that is collaboration to start with and handles details interoperability nicely.”

Tyson Clark, basic companion at GV, explained he was not only impressed with the founding group and their merged practical experience, but also the simplicity of use of the system.

“It’s clean and easy to understand and use,” he informed TechCrunch. In simple fact, he was so taken with the platform, he backed the corporation at the Sequence A phase — a departure from his common investing at B and C stages.

Helping firms make business enterprise far better choices carries on to catch the attention of investor pounds at an progressively rapid speed. Previously this week, we reported on Sisu Data raising $62 million for its real-time Final decision Intelligence Engine, which aims to give analysts and organization leaders a way to review their cloud details to not only have an understanding of what’s going on in their company, but why it’s happening and what actions to get in reaction.

Don’t despair over current challenges, Buhari tells Nigerians — Nigeria — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News


• We will track down financiers of Igboho, Kanu for threatening our national security
• Buhari reiterates restoration of Twitter after fulfilling conditions
• Lawan urges unity, faith in Nigeria
• We have what it takes to overcome today’s threats, trials, says Jonathan
• I am deeply concerned at the level of disunity in Nigeria – Atiku
• PDP bemoans rising insecurity, economic stress, others under Buhari
• APC: Our Independence provides a strong source of unity, strength
• Let’s bury old prejudices to save Nigeria, says Mark
• CAN blames nation’s woes on selfish leadership
• NADECO urges UN to fast-track referendum on Nigeria
• France, Indian presidents congratulate Nigeria
• U.S. will continue to stand by Nigeria despite challenges, says envoy

It’S a mixed feeling today, the 61st anniversary of Nigeria’s attainment of independence. Amid the celebration of nationhood in the national colours of green and white, symbolising natural wealth and peace, the reality for citizens is the exact opposite, gloom and a state of fear.

Acknowledging this reality, President Muhammadu Buhari in his Independence Day broadcast, today, said “the past 18 months have been some of the most difficult periods in the history of Nigeria. Since the civil war, I doubt whether we have seen a period of more heightened challenges than what we have witnessed in this period.

Don’t despair over current challenges, Buhari tells Nigerians — Nigeria — The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and World News

Buahri

“Our original priorities for 2020 were to continue stabilising our economy following the deep recession while restoring peace in areas confronted with security challenges, but the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating impact on all nations meant we needed to shift gears and re-strategise.  

“Despite the global inequity in access to vaccines, the government has continued to explore all available options to ensure Nigerians have free access to safe and effective vaccines.

“But as our economy continues to open after the COVID-19-related lockdowns, we have also seen the resurgence of insecurity in certain parts of the country.”

Reeling out steps taken to address the problem, President Buhari said the government was ready to arrest and prosecute all persons inciting violence through words or action.

“Our resolve for a peaceful, united and one Nigeria remains resolute and unwavering. I use this day to ask all Nigerians to embrace peace and dialogue, whatever their grievances.

“The seeds of violence are planted in people’s heads through words. Reckless utterances of a few have led to losses of many innocent lives and the destruction of properties.
   
“Such unfiltered and unsubstantiated lies and hate speeches by a few evil persons must be stopped. Our media houses and commentators must move away from just reporting irresponsible remarks to investigating the truth behind all statements and presenting the facts to readers.
   
“We shall continue to work on dialogue-based solutions to address legitimate grievances. But we remain ready to take decisive actions against secessionist agitators and their sponsors who threaten our national security.  

   
“The recent arrests of Nnamdi Kanu and Sunday Adeyemo, and the ongoing investigations being conducted have revealed certain high-profile financiers behind these individuals. We are vigorously pursuing these financiers including one identified as a serving member of the National Assembly.”

Speaking on the suspension of Twitter in the country now nearing its fourth month, the President said: “Social media is a very useful platform that has enabled millions of Nigerians to connect with loved ones, promote their businesses, socialise, and access news and other information.
   
“However, recent events have shown that the platform is not just an innocuous platform for information dissemination. Rather some users have misused the platform to organise, coordinate, and execute criminal activities, propagate fake news, and promote ethnic and religious sentiments.

 
“To address these negative trends, the Federal Government of Nigeria suspended the operations of Twitter in Nigeria on June 5, 2021, to allow the government to put measures in place to address these challenges.
   
“Following the suspension of Twitter operations, Twitter Inc. reached out to the Federal Government to resolve the impasse. Subsequently, I constituted a Presidential Committee to engage Twitter to explore the possibility of resolving the issue.
   
“The Committee, along with its Technical Team, has engaged with Twitter and have addressed a number of key issues. These are National Security and Cohesion; Registration, Physical presence and Representation; Fair Taxation; Dispute Resolution; and Local Content.
   
“Following the extensive engagements, the issues are being addressed and I have directed that the suspension be lifted but only if the conditions are met to allow our citizens continue the use of the platform for business and positive engagements.”  

PRESIDENT of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has called on all Nigerians to unite for the progress of the country and continue to keep faith with their fatherland.

Lawan, in his Independence anniversary message, signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Ola Awoniyi, said: “This is the first year of our seventh decade as a nation and also the second year of the third decade of the Fourth Republic. I find it remarkable that we are living in the longest era of democracy in our history as a nation.

“That may seem modest as an achievement but it is an additional cause for celebration in the light of our political experience. Every patriot will always remember with pride that historic moment on October 1, 1960, when the British Union Jack was lowered and our Green-White-Green flag hoisted in its place.

“Over six decades on, the journey has been eventful and the challenges enormous. But we can be proud of the progress that we have made, draw lessons from the missteps and rededicate ourselves to our historic mission of nation-building. We should never abandon that mission.

“The National Assembly is determined to facilitate a meaningful review of the Constitution by the people, to ensure that the instrument continues to serve its purpose and to meet the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians. A people-oriented Constitution will address the frictions that we are currently witnessing and this is why the National Assembly is taking very seriously this national assignment,” he said.

FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan has affirmed that Nigeria has got what it takes to overcome its present “threats and trials.” He has, therefore, urged Nigerians to be optimistic about the future of the country, despite the challenges currently being faced by citizens.

Jonathan stated this in his goodwill message to Nigerians on the occasion of the nation’s 61st Independence anniversary, stressing that the nation holds abundant promises for its citizens.

The former president encouraged the nation’s leaders and the citizens to rededicate themselves to the virtues of equity, justice and tolerance and strive to give their best for the good of the nation.
He further described it as a day of freedom that provides an opportunity “to reflect on our progress, celebrate our humble attainments and ponder over those dreams that are yet to be fulfilled.”

In the message released by his media assistant, Ikechukwu Eze, Jonathan wrote: “I join all citizens to celebrate the 61st Independence anniversary of our great nation, Nigeria.

“As we mark this day of freedom, it gives us the opportunity to reflect on our progress, celebrate our humble attainments and ponder over those dreams that are yet to be fulfilled.

“We may have hiccups along the way and challenging times that might be stretching our resolve and determination to forge ahead. But we should not relent nor succumb to fear, discouraging trials and threats of today.

“The journey of nationhood is a marathon, which requires patience, resilience, tolerance and determination. The uncertainties of this time cannot be compared to the limitless promises that this nation holds for us all.”

FORMER Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, urged Nigerians to remain united despite their current existential challenges and struggles for economic survival. He also called on governments at all levels to enunciate policies that would lead to improved standards of living for the average Nigerian, even as he assured that the future ahead as a nation will be brighter and better.

In his goodwill message, issued by Paul Ibe, media adviser to Atiku, the former Vice President expressed concern at the level of disunity, intolerance and bigotry in the country, which resulted in conflicts with its attendant losses of human life and property.

According to him, disunity does not help Nigerians because it made it impossible for them to unite for a mutually beneficial common cause.

“I believe that our common interests are greater than those things that divide us. If we spend our energies on division rather than fighting for our common interests, it would be more difficult to bring about positive change to assuage the situation,” Atiku said.

THE opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reviewed the 61 years of Nigeria’s nationhood and submitted that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration has gone down in history as the worst in the annals of her national life.

It claimed that “the push by this administration to sink the nation is evident in our daily lives; the lies, injustices, violations, state-backed violence, impunity, nepotism, treasury looting, harsh economic policies and accommodation of terrorism, but our nation has continued to survive by the resilient spirit of Nigerians.”

The party at a press conference presided over by its national publicity secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, however, said “though the APC and its government have been pushing the nation to the brink, Nigeria, as a nation, will never fail.”

According to the opposition party, “it is painful that all the gains made by our nation since Independence in 1960 and especially during the 16 years of the PDP in office – including the entrenchment of national unity and cohesiveness, freedom and personal liberty of citizens, rule of law, credible elections, justice, equity, fairness and economic progress – the very elements of an independent state, have all been reversed by the APC and the Buhari Presidency.”

It alleged that the Buhari Presidency and the APC have on all fronts “taken our nation back to the pre-independence days with associated bondage mentality and frustration resulting in much-losing faith in the system and leaving our country in droves within the last six years.

“Is it not an irony that our nation is celebrating Independence in the face of subverted elections, a brazen crackdown on the opposition and dissenting voices as well as other suppressive acts, including the muzzling of free speech as witnessed in the ban on Twitter in Nigeria?” PDP queried.

It lamented that “as we celebrate Independence, thousands of our compatriots are falling victims to extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests and illegal detention in dehumanising cells, which underscore the horrible situation under President Buhari and the APC, as even profiled by Amnesty International (AI) and US Department of State.

“Is it not painful that under President Buhari, our nation has been opened up to terrorists, bandits and kidnappers, who are wantonly killing our citizens while their known apologists are enjoying official cover with one of them even holding office as a cabinet minister?” it further queried.

On the economic front, the party noted that “we can’t celebrate when President Buhari and the APC have in a space of six years, wrecked our once robust economy and turned Nigeria into the poverty capital of the world, where over 82.9 million Nigerians can no longer afford their daily meals.

“How can we celebrate when the APC has plunged our nation into economic slavery with over N33.1 trillion accumulated debt, a 33 per cent unemployment rate, collapse of productive sectors and a weakened naira from the N167 to a dollar handed over to President Buhari in 2015 to a dismal N576 to a dollar today?”

BUT the Chairman APC Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee and Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, said Nigeria’s 61 years of Independence provides a strong source of unity and strength. The governor said the long history of integration among the various ethnic, and socio-cultural groups should be a source of unity in diversity for the country.

“At 61 years, Nigerians should concentrate on issues that unite the country rather than divisive tendencies,” he said.

Governor Buni said although Nigeria might not have reached where it wanted to be after 61 years of independence yet, we have cause to celebrate our existence as a country.

“We should remember that every country including the developed nations has their challenges, ours should not be an exception to contest our existence as a country and provoke our growth and development.”

He said as a ruling party, APC is redefining party politics in Nigeria through institutionalisation of a strong internal democracy and a bottom-up approach to give ownership of the party and power to the people. He appealed to Nigerians to support and cooperate with the Buhari administration in its commitment to build a prosperous nation.

FORMER President of the Senate, David Mark, has called on citizens to bury old prejudices to religion, tribe or ethnic leanings believed to be antithetical to development.

Mark listed the misfortunes occasioned by the 30-month-old Nigeria/Biafra civil war, several ethnoreligious conflicts and agitations in some parts of the country as unfortunate incidents hindering developments.

In his goodwill message to Nigerians by his media adviser, Paul Mumeh, he noted that the security, socio-economic and political challenges bedeviling the country demand that “we bury mundane issues of attachment to religion, ethnic or tribal leanings and come together to rescue Nigeria from the precipice.”

To this end, he tasked governments at all levels to do all that is necessary to restore hope and rebuild citizens’ trust and confidence in leadership to actualize the project in Nigeria.

IN its message yesterday, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) noted that for the past 61 years, bad and selfish leadership has largely contributed to the unfortunate state of the country, adding that these bad leaders did not plan for the country to grow and if they did, never made efforts to implement the development plans.

In a statement titled: ‘Nigeria will Experience Showers of Blessings’ by CAN President, Rev Samson Ayokunle, he lamented that the political leaders embezzled the commonwealth of the nation and by their action, threw the citizens into unnecessary sufferings and pains.

“Unemployed youths have taken to criminalities. Youths are trying frantically to run abroad to search for a better life. Some in the process perished in the Mediterranean Sea or ended up being used as sex slaves. Some got themselves engaged in armed robbery and internet fraud, among others.

“The situation of the country appears bleak but knowing that God is not man and with him, all things are possible, this is the right time to believe that there shall be showers of blessings because some people are praying for this country.”

THE National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) has called on the United Nations, its Security Council and other global bodies concerned with the peaceful co-existence of the world to urgently fast-track their preparations to conduct variously demanded referendums to ascertain the wishes and aspirations for self-determination of various ethnic groups in Nigeria.

The group in its statement to mark Nigeria’s Independence anniversary and signed by its General Secretary, Chief Ayo Opadokun, said the call became necessary because of the agitation of various ethnic groups who have lost hope in efforts to redeem the country from drifting towards the precipice.

The pro-democracy group, blaming the 1999 Constitution for various social, political and economic challenges facing the country, expressed its support to some self-determination groups that threatened not to allow 2023 general elections to hold under the 1999 Constitution.

NADECO, however, told the international community “to accept that their failure to act timely on these legitimate demands for their intervention may be tantamount to an invitation to possible national conflagration and unmanageable national crisis, which may result into consequential deleterious situations on the West African Sub-Region, the African continent and the world in general.

“Let it be remembered that Nigeria as the most populous black nation in the world has about 200 million citizens residing in a suffocating geographical and political space, the possible reaction of the entrapped ethnic nationalities who are already overwhelmed with repression, discriminations on religion, gender, ethnicities can quickly result to national upheavals, forced dispersal and migration with their attendant global consequences.”

The group regretted that Nigeria remains an underdeveloped and retarded nation, 61 years after its independence from the British colonial government and blamed its underdevelopment on the 1999 Constitution, which the group said was imposed on Nigerians by the Military.

Blaming President Buhari for the spate of killings, maiming and kidnappings in almost all states in the country, the group alleged inability of the government to deploy modern technology, nepotism and favouritism to a particular tribe in the country for insecurity and increase in the activities of Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in the country.

FRENCH President, Emmanuel Macron, has congratulated the President on the occasion of Nigeria’s Independence anniversary today. In a statement yesterday, he said: “You know my personal attachment to the relationship between France and Nigeria, the continent’s leading economic and demographic power. I firmly believe that it is in the mutual interest of our two countries to strengthen this relationship on all fronts.”

According to him, since his visit in July 2018, the ties between the two countries have been strengthened, especially in the economic field. The creation of the Franco-Nigerian Business Council will allow the birth of many structuring projects between France and Nigerian companies.

“We can do even more together because France and Nigeria share many common interests both on regional and security issues and on global issues. I hereby hope that our countries will intensify their exchanges on all these subjects.”

ALSO, the Indian President, Ram Nath Kovind, yesterday, congratulated Nigeria and its people on the celebration of the 61st Independence Day anniversary.

Reporting President Kovind’s good wishes to Nigeria, Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said the Indian leader observed the friendly and deep-rooted ties between his country and Nigeria.

In a congratulatory letter to President Buhari, Kovind conveyed his best wishes to the Nigerian leader as well as the continued prosperity of the country.

“India and Nigeria have strong relations. Despite challenges during the pandemic, our economic relations have gained strength.”

MEANWHILE, the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Leonard, has pledged that President Joe Biden administration will continue to stand by Nigeria in spite of the many economic and security challenges confronting the West African nation.

The American envoy stated this in a statement titled: ‘Reflections on 61 years of U.S. – Nigerian Engagement’. Leonard said the U.S. Mission in Nigeria “recognise that security and economic concerns weigh on the minds of all Nigerians”, adding that it has been working in solidarity with the Nigerian government to address the challenges together.