With Ontario reporting 3,124 new cases on Friday (December 17), the provincial government has announced additional public health restrictions designed to reduce the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.

The new restrictions, which take effect at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday (December 19), include a 50 per cent capacity limit in most indoor public settings, a limit of 10 people per table at restaurants, and a limit of 10 people at indoor social gatherings and 25 people at outdoor social gatherings.

“Sitting back playing defence is not an option,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a media conference at Queen’s Park in Toronto late Friday afternoon. “We need to meet this variant head on. We need to do everything we can to push it back. Over the coming days and weeks, daily COVID cases will continue to accelerate with omicron being the most transmissible variant we’ve seen yet.”

“But while our intensive care units remain stable, we expect the number of admissions to grow as more people catch COVID, particularly the unvaccinated,” Ford said. “The experts have been very clear: nothing will stop the spread of omicron — it’s just too transmissible.”

“What we can do, and what we’re doing, is slowing it as much as possible to allow more time for shots to get into arms. In order to give our vaccine blitz the time it needs, in order to protect our hospitals from being overwhelmed, we need to implement further public health measures.”

“The decision to limit people’s ability to gather, especially during holidays, is an extremely, extremely difficult one to make,” Ford added. “And I know these measures will have an impact on businesses during the important season. That’s why Ontario joins Quebec’s call for the federal government to expand supports for businesses and workers, and we’re prepared to do our part as well.”

Addressing parents, Ford said no decision has been made on whether to close schools in the new year.

“We’re simply not in the position to say,” he said. “The situation is evolving too quickly to know where we’ll be in early January,” adding the goal is to do “whatever is necessary” to protect students and staff.

The new 50 per cent capacity limit — which is in addition to the previously announced 50 per cent capacity limit on indoor areas of venues with a usual capacity of 1,000 or more — applies to the following indoor public settings:

• Restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments and strip clubs.
• Personal care services.
• Personal physical fitness trainers.
• Retailers, including grocery stores and pharmacies.
• Shopping malls.
• Non-spectator areas of facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities (e.g. gyms).
• Indoor recreational amenities.
• Indoor clubhouses at outdoor recreational amenities.
• Tour and guide services.
• Photography studios and services
• Marinas and boating clubs.

The capacity limit does not apply to any portion of a business or place that is being used for a wedding, a funeral or a religious service, rite, or ceremony.

Businesses or facilities will also need to post a sign stating the capacity limits permitted in the establishment.

In addition to the 50 per cent capacity limit, the government is also applying the following additional public health restrictions:

• The number of patrons permitted to sit at a table will be limited to 10 people and patrons will be required to remain seated in restaurants, bars and other food or drink establishments, meeting and event spaces and strip clubs.
• Bars and restaurants, meeting and event spaces and strip clubs will be required to close by 11 p.m. Take out and delivery will be permitted beyond 11 p.m.
• Dancing will not be allowed except for workers or performers.
• Food and/or drink services will be prohibited at sporting events, concert venues, theatres and cinemas, casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments, and horse racing tracks, car racing tracks and other similar venues.
• The sale of alcohol will be restricted after 10 p.m. and consumption of alcohol in businesses or settings after 11 p.m.

To mitigate COVID-19 transmission that can occur at informal social gatherings, the government is also reducing social gathering limits to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.

For health care workers, the personal protective equipment requirements outlined in Directive 5 have been updated with interim guidance to require N95s for health care workers providing direct care to (or interacting with) a suspected, probable, or confirmed case of COVID-19.

Environment Canada has issued a winter weather travel advisory for the southern Kawarthas region for Saturday (December 18).

The weather advisory is in effect for southern Peterborough County, southern Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County.

Snow is forecast to begin early Saturday morning over southwestern Ontario. The snow will then spread quickly eastward into the Toronto area and portions of eastern Ontario through the day.

Total snowfall accumulations of 5 to 10 cm can be expected by the time the snow tapers off from west to east Saturday evening.

Accumulating snow on untreated roadways will impact travel and motorists are advised to exercise caution.

Motorists should expect hazardous winter driving conditions and adjust travel plans accordingly. Be prepared to adjust your driving with changing road conditions. Take extra care when walking or driving in affected areas.

Peterborough Public Health is advising patrons of the American Eagle store in Lansdowne Place Mall in Peterborough of a potential exposure to the omicron variant of COVID-19 that occurred at the store from Friday, December 10th to Saturday, December 11th, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on both days.

The health unit is asking anyone who visited this store during these times to monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days from the date of exposure. Peterborough Public Health has already identified all high-risk contacts and will provide them with further instructions.

COVID-19 symptoms include fever or chills, cough or difficulty breathing (shortness of breath), muscle aches, joint paint and tiredness, sore throat or difficulty swallowing, headache, runny nose or stuffy (congested nose), a new loss of taste or smell, or gastrointestinal symptoms (e.g., nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, diarrhea).

If any symptoms develop, the health unit advises to get a PCR test immediately and isolate until you have received your results.

PCR testing is available at the PRHC COVID-19 Assessment Centre (visit www.prhc.on.ca for booking details) and some pharmacies.

Visit covid-19.ontario.ca/assessment-centre-locations for a list of all testing locations.

Peterborough’s medical officer of health pulled no punches during a Peterborough Public Health media briefing held Thursday (December 16), warning that pandemic fatigue will lead to an unprecedented rise of COVID-19 cases over the coming weeks.

During a Peterborough Public Health media briefing on Thursday afternoon, a visibly emotional Dr. Thomas Piggott acknowledged that “people are tired of COVID” but warned that “this complacency, this fatigue, is coming at exactly at the wrong time.”

“It’s coming when we need people to be the most careful at the darkest moment of the pandemic to date,” said Dr. Piggott. “With no additional measures, we are about to see exponential growth in this province of omicron cases. With no additional measures, we will see up to 10,000 cases a day in Ontario by the end of the month, which may translate to hundreds of cases in our region.”

“We know the measures and we know what to do, but the pieces that we can control at Peterborough Public Health are only so much,” he said. “The decisions that people will make coming into the holidays are really what will impact our trajectory over the next couple of months.”

“I am worried, and it takes a lot to worry me. I’ve worked in a conflict zone, I’ve worked in an emergency department, but I have not been as worried as I am right now with the omicron wave of COVID approaching. I’m concerned that people aren’t nearly concerned enough, and I’m concerned what that will mean for our community.”

An update on COVID-19 modelling projections issued Thursday morning by Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory table backs up Dr. Piggott’s concern.

According to that update, omicron has overtaken delta as the dominant variant in the province. As well, despite what has been widely reported to the contrary, there is evidence that the omicron variant can indeed produce severe disease, prompting a warning that Ontario hospital ICU occupancy could reach “unsustainable” levels by early January.

With vaccines less effective again omicron, the focus is now on increasing the availability of booster shots for those who are eligible in combination with stronger public health measures.

Dr. Piggott reported that there are now four cases of the omicron variant in the region among the current 59 active cases — two first reported Tuesday and another two reported yesterday (Wednesday). To date this week, since Monday morning, 23 new local cases have been detected locally. Meanwhile, the number of local COVID-related deaths reported remains at 27.

There are currently active outbreaks at St. Catherine Catholic Elementary School on Glenforest Boulevard in Peterborough and at Millbrook/South Cavan Public School, while a third outbreak is associated with STC school bus route 627.

“The most important thing that we can keep doing is vaccination — you need a third dose to now consider yourself protected,” said Dr. Piggott. “We have been scaling up our efforts, and diverting all our attention and resources, to vaccinating. Because we know, with what is coming, booster vaccinations will save lives. We have stopped nearly everything that we can in order to divert resources into this.”

Dr. Piggott said that effort has resulted in a six-fold increase in the number of clinic vaccination appointments that will be available next week. With the interval between the second and third shot now decreased to three months from six, it’s anticipated that appointments will be booked much quicker now.

“If you are able to get your third dose booster, I implore you — get it as soon as you can,” said Dr. Piggott. “I want the public to understand that this is a three-dose vaccine. You should not consider yourself fully protected with two doses.”

That said, Dr. Piggott emphasized vaccination alone isn’t the answer in itself, advising that other public health measures — proper masking, physical distancing, testing, and staying home from work if ill among them — must be continued with a new purpose.

The overall vaccination picture again shows modest increases across the board.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, 83.7 per cent of eligible residents aged five and up have received one dose while 79.3 per cent have received two doses and 11.3 per cent have received a third booster shot.

Meanwhile, first dose vaccination of local children aged five to 11 has seen a huge uptake this week, now at 29.5 per cent. With no walk-ins being taken, parents and guardians must book a vaccination appointment. Visit www.peterboroughpublichealth.ca/clinics for a listing of locations and times of clinics.

To date, 11.3 per cent of eligible local residents have received a third booster shot. Those seeking a third shot can book an appointment online at covid19.ontariohealth.ca or by phone at 1-833-943-3900. Walk-ins will not be accommodated. Some local pharmacies are also offering booster shots.

Starting Monday, all Ontarians aged 18 and over can schedule their booster dose appointment, three months after their second dose. Those aged 50 and over who have already booked their booster dose for six months after their second dose can also rebook their appointments to the shortened three-month interval.

With the holiday season fast approaching, Dr. Piggott says the potential for a huge increase in cases is very real. That, he says, may result in more restrictive measures being put in place sooner than later.

“We’re trying to be as minimally impactful on the economy and on society as much as possible while protecting the public,” he said. “The areas where we’re seeing the most transmission is in certainly public businesses and gathering sites, especially where people are eating and drinking and not wearing masks, as well as in private gatherings.”

“There are parties and things happening where people are forgetting the reality of the situation,” Dr. Piggott added. “We are actively looking at measures that could be put in place to provide the protection that we need.”

Also participating in the briefing were Peterborough mayor Diane Therrien, county warden J. Murray Jones, and Selwyn mayor and Board of Health chair Andy Mitchell.

Omicron is now the dominant variant in Ontario and will likely result in the “hardest wave” of the pandemic in Ontario, according to modelling projections presented by Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory table on Thursday (December 16).

Cases will dramatically increase and, if no additional public health measures are taken, could reach 10,000 per day by the new year. With additional public health measures, the number of new daily cases is projected to reach 5,000 by the beginning of the new year, with as many as 300 people in intensive care units.

“We’re still learning about this new variant,” said Adalsteinn Brown, co-chair of the science advisory table, at a media conference on Thursday morning. “It emerged only last month, but it’s important to talk about what we do know. First, it transmits incredibly fast. Doubling time for cases may be down to just over two days now, compared to four days or more with previous variants.”

“The broad picture of being highly transmissible and serious is clear,” Brown said. “Modelling shows that cases will likely dramatically increase very soon.”

Referring to data from South Africa and Denmark, Brown said the omicron variant does cause serious disease and needs to be treated as seriously as the delta variant.

“Hospital rates have risen in South Africa where it first took hold,” Brown said. “It’s not just a case of the sniffles.”

According to Brown, the province can expect to see hospitalizations increase two to three weeks after cases increase. Even if omicron is 25 per cent less serious than delta, Ontario hospitals will still face “incredibly strong pressures,” he added.

“This will come at an already challenging time, when health care workers are fatigued or burned out from the preceding waves. If we want to blunt this wave — please note that I am saying blunt it, not flatten it — we will need to reduce contacts between people. I believe we can do this without closing schools or shutting down businesses that have suffered during previous waves, but it will take serious restrictions that reduce contact.”

PDF: Update on COVID-19 Projections (December 15, 2021)
Update on COVID-19 Projections (December 15, 2021)

“At the same time, we need to drive boosters up as high as possible to protect vulnerable individuals and vulnerable communities and we need to keep vaccinating kids,” Brown said. “But neither public health measures nor vaccinations will be enough on their own to blunt the omicron wave. Public health measures will slow the spread of omicron but they are not sustainable in the long run. Vaccination provides our exit plan from the pandemic, but it takes a while to take effect.”

Brown said that a “circuit breaker” with strong additional public health measures to reduce contacts between people by 50 per cent and at least 250,000 booster shots daily could blunt the omicron wave.

Those additional public health measures could include additional reductions in capacity limits and stronger enforcement of masking indoors, such as ensuring people wear masks properly.

“It’s not really any sort of new things that we haven’t seen before, it’s those core public health measures,” Brown said.

Wearing high-quality masks, physical distancing indoors, improved ventilation, and increased access to rapid testing will buy time for boosters to take effect, he said.

“This will likely be the hardest wave of the pandemic,” Brown noted. “But if we can control it and drive vaccinations as hard as we can, we can make it to the exit. And there is an exit plan from the pandemic. We just need to push as hard as we can and control its immediate impact as much as we can tolerate.”

“There is still some uncertainty, but there is also an undeniable urgency,” he added. “Waiting to take action means waiting until it is too late to take action.”

Brown explained that data from Gauteng in South Africa, which appears to show omicron is less virulent than delta, is not transferable in Ontario. The median age in Guateng is 27, compared to 41 in Ontario, with older age being one of the most important factors in predicting serious illness.

In addition, the estimated percentage of highly immune adults in Gauteng, either through previous infections or through vaccinations or a combination of both, is estimated to be twice as higher as in Ontario (32 per cent Gauteng versus 15 per cent in Ontario).

A steep rise in omicron cases in South Africa has been followed by a steep rise in hospitalizations, Brown said, and early data from Denmark indicates the percentage of cases requiring hospital admission is not lower with omicron.

“Although this is an incredible threat, both to health and to our health system, we do have a tremendous amount on which to base hope, not the least of which are the vaccines,” Brown said. “But it must be hope built on action. Anything we can do now, whether as an individual or as a province, will help. Please, please get vaccinated as soon as you go.”

Crayola Canada has donated $40,000 to the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes.

In addition to the donation, employees of the Lindsay-based company raised $6,818.96 for the United Way through their workplace campaign.

Despite the pandemic, this is the highest amount raised in a Crayola workplace campaign to date.

“We are dedicated to our commitment toward corporate social responsibility in the community,” says Paul Murphy, general manager of Crayola Canada, in a media release. “We know people in our community need help more than ever as we move through the pandemic and we are proud that we can continue to support the important efforts of the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes.”

Crayola Canada has been supported in the United Way for more than 30 years. Normally, the company hosts an annual sale of Crayola products to raise money for the United Way for the City of Kawartha Lakes. Due to the pandemic, the sale has been cancelled for the past two years in a row.

The company has provided 30,000 square feet of its land that the United Way and Fleming College staff developed into a fully operational community garden. Edwin Binney’s Community Garden provides fresh produce to people who need it in the City of Kawartha Lakes and Haliburton County through social service agencies, food banks, shelters, and children’s programming agencies.

“Crayola has always been outstanding in its support of our work and we have developed a deeper partnership through the Edwin Binney’s Community Garden,” says United Way executive director Penny Barton Dyke.

“The garden is a multi-pronged approach to issues of food security and supporting food programs and in addition it is an education centre. With the use of this land owned by Crayola, we have produced over 34,400 pounds of food to date that has been donated to agencies to help fight hunger in Kawartha Lakes and in Haliburton areas.”

At its final virtual meeting this year, 100 Women Peterborough raised around $8,000 for Peterborough GreenUP, an environmental non-profit charity with programs for home energy efficiency, green economy, active transportation, green space development, and youth education.

The collective philanthropy group met on Zoom on Tuesday (December 14) to raise funds for an organization in need. Prior to the pandemic, the group met in person four times a year, with each of the members committing to donate $100 at each meeting. The group has been meeting virtually during the pandemic, with attendance at meetings optional in recognition of the financial impact of the pandemic on some members.

Whether meeting in person or virtually, the group hears presentations from three organizations randomly drawn from a larger list of organizations nominated by the group’s members. The organization receiving the most votes from members receives the donations contributed by the group’s members.

The three organizations that presented to 100 Women Peterborough at Tuesday’s virtual meeting were GreenUP, Shared Dreams for Independent Living, and The Mount Community Centre, with GreenUP chosen by majority vote to receive the funds.

Specifically, the donation from 100 Women Peterborough will fund GreenUP’s Girl’s Climate Leadership Program in 2022. Piloted in the summer of 2020, the program gave a small cohort of girl-identified youth aged 11 to 13 the opportunity to learn about the impacts of climate change, develop strategies to support action in their lives, and learn from inspiring local climate leaders who identify as women.

“GreenUP is grateful to 100 Women for their donation to support GreenUP’s climate action education and the Girl’s Climate Leadership Program,” GreenUP executive director Tegan Moss said. “The donation helps us invest in both the climate action we need today and also the climate leadership we need to build a better tomorrow. With their support we can keep growing programs that offer more youth the chance to build the skills and confidence needed to become climate leaders.”

This past summer, GreenUP more than doubled the capacity of the program, with participants learning about food security, low-carbon building methods, water protection, active transportation, and ecosystem restoration.

“In 2022 we will be able to introduce dozens of young girls to green building, food security, cycling skills, climate adaptation, and water protection,” Moss added. “Your generosity has made
this possible. Thank you to each of the 100 Women for choosing to support GreenUP.”

100 Women Peterborough was founded in February 2018 by Rosalea Terry, Catia Skinner, Wendy Hill, and Alyssa Stewart, who were inspired by similar groups in other communities.

“We are so happy to be able to support yet another important local initiative as a group to make a collective impact,” Terry said. “Being part of a giving group is powerful because it means that your dollar is multiplied. The women in our group are empowered to work with one another to create meaningful change in our community.”

The concept of collective philanthropy began in the United States in November 2006, when Karen Dunigan of Michigan formed the “100 Women Who Care” group. After their first meeting, the women raised over $10,000 for the purchase of 300 new baby cribs for a local organization.

The movement has grown over the past 15 years to include groups of men, women, youth, and children around the world, with more than 210 chapters in Canada alone.

Since its formation, 100 Women Peterborough has collectively donated more than $130,000 to 15 local organizations: Hospice Peterborough, Peterborough Youth Unlimited, One Roof Warming Room, New Canadians Centre, Cameron House, Five Counties Children’s Centre, Casa De Angelae, Lakefield Animal Welfare Society, Community Care Peterborough, Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, Community Counselling and Resource Centre, Peterborough Pregnancy Support Services, Heads Up for Inclusion, Kawartha Youth Orchestra, and Peterborough GreenUP.

Women interested in joining 100 Women Peterborough should visit www.100womenptbo.ca for more information.