As part of the Ontario government’s “holiday testing blitz” against COVID-19 and the omicron variant announced on Wednesday (December 15), the province is offering voluntary rapid antigen screening to people free of charge at pop-up sites across the province.

People without symptoms of COVID-19 or people who have not had recent exposure to someone with COVID-19 will be able to pick up a package of free tests, while supplies last.

In the greater Kawarthas region, the free tests are first being offered in Peterborough.

The free tests will be available at the following locations and dates:

• Peterborough Farmers’ Market (Morrow Building, 151 Lansdowne St. W.) from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, December 18th and from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, January 8th<./li>
• Lansdowne Place (645 Lansdowne St. W.) from Tuesday, December 21st to Thursday, December 23rd (hours to be determined).
• Peterborough Memorial Centre (151 Lansdowne St. W.) from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, December 18th and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday, December 27th.
• Peterborough Public Library (345 Aylmer St. N.) from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, January 5th and Thursday, January 6th.

Additional pop-up sites will be added at other locations in the coming days. Visit ontario.ca/holidaytesting to find out if pop-up rapid antigen screening sites are available in you area. Locations and operating hours will be updated weekly.

Rapid antigen tests detect certain proteins in the COVID-19 virus to confirm its presence. A sample is collected using a swab in the nose and/or throat or nasopharynx (behind your nose and above the back of your throat).

Rapid antigen tests provide results in 15 to 20 minutes after administering the test. Rapid antigen testing is used for screening purposes only and should not be used for diagnosing someone with symptoms or exposure to COVID-19.

Anyone who receives a package of tests to take home and gets a positive result must self-isolate and book a lab-based polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. In Peterborough, PCR tests are administered through the Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s COVID-19 Assessment Centre or at a participating pharmacy, and then sent to a lab for processing to confirm if the person has COVID-19.

With the omicron variant rapidly becoming the dominant strain of COVID-19 in Ontario and the waning immunity of people fully vaccinated earlier this year, the Ontario government is expanding eligibility for booster doses to everyone 18 years and over three months after their second dose, limiting the maximum capacity of large venues, and providing free rapid antigen testing.

“While there remains much we still don’t know about omicron, there’s one indisputable fact: the omicron variant is the most contagious — the most transmissible — variant of this virus that we’ve ever seen so far,” said Ontario Premier Doug Ford at a media conference on Wednesday afternoon (December 15), also attended by health minister Christine Elliott and chief medical officer of health Dr. Kieran Moore.

“Omicron is now on the verge of becoming the dominant strain of COVID in Ontario — in fact, it may already be,” Ford said. “Just because this new enemy is on the offence, does not mean we can sit back and play defence. We cannot and we will not. We will meet this new enemy with full force, because right now the best defence is a lightning-fast offence. And that is what we’re doing right now. We will go after this variant with everything we have, and this will require everyone — every member of team Ontario — to stand tall and get in the fight.

“I’m issuing a call to arms,” Ford added. “Hospitals, public health units, doctors, nurses, dentists, paramedics, businesses, union workers, first responders and, most importantly, you. Everyone has a role to play in the next phase of our provincial COVID response. It’s all hands on deck, and it starts with booster shots. Nothing matters more than getting these third shots into arms. To that effect, we’re urgently expanding eligibility.”

Starting Monday (December 20), Ontarians aged 18 and over can schedule their booster dose appointment, with the interval after the second dose shortened from six months to three months (84 days). 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.

Booster dose appointments can be made through the COVID-19 vaccination portal at covid19.ontariohealth.ca, by calling the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900, through Indigenous-led vaccination clinics, and at select pharmacies and primary care settings.

“One of our key components of this strategy is to get your booster dose because immunity does wane after, we think now, three months,” Dr. Moore said. “A booster dose should further protect Ontarians and that’s why that time frame’s in there.”

Effective at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday (December 18), the government will impose a 50 per cent capacity limit on indoor areas of venues with a usual capacity of 1,000 or more.

These venues include facilities used for sports and recreational fitness activities, entertainment facilities (such as concert venues, theatres, and cinemas), racing venues, meeting and event spaces, studio audiences in commercial film and television production, museums, galleries, aquariums, zoos, science centres, landmarks, historic sites, botanical gardens and similar attractions, casinos, bingo halls and other gaming establishments, and fair, rural exhibitions, and festivals.

“We’re having to change our direction in the face of a new enemy,” Dr. Moore said. “Omicron is much more infectious and there is a potential that it can spread in the air. Large venues like that can be mass-gathering threats of spread. Omicron is a definite game changer. We have to try to decrease the risk of rapid spread in those environments.”

Ontario is also launching a “holiday testing blitz” starting Wednesday, offering up to two million rapid antigen tests free of charge at pop-up testing sites in high-traffic settings such as malls, retail settings, holiday markets, public libraries, and transit hubs.

Pop-up teams will be deployed at nearly 50 locations across Ontario, including some co-located with GO-VAXX mobile vaccine buses. Most sites will distribute free take-home rapid antigen test kits, subject to supply, and some will offer asymptomatic rapid antigen screening on-site. The government will also make take-home rapid tests available at selected LCBO stores, starting with the busiest stores this week and with more stores being added in the coming days.

Ontarians can visit ontario.ca/holidaytesting to find out if pop-up rapid antigen screening sites will be available in their area. Locations and operating hours will be updated weekly, and no appointment will be required.

To quickly scale up capacity to administer 200,000 to 300,000 doses per day based on demand, the government has asked public health units, hospitals, pharmacists, primary care providers, and other health care providers to ramp up additional vaccination sites and to make a top priority the administration of first, second, and booster doses across the province.

“I need each of you to ask what you can do to help,” Ford said. “I need every business to ask if they can host a clinic or make their facilities available. I need every health professional to ask if they can lend as much time as possible putting needles in arms.”

“And I need every person to ask if they can volunteer at a local clinic and, most importantly, I need you to book your booster as soon as you’re able to do. Because we know, without a shadow of a doubt, that these vaccines work and boosters are the best way to prevent the worst.”

The province will also be expanding the Stop the Spread Business Information Line to allow businesses to request vaccine supply to administer on-site for employees. Businesses will need to meet certain criteria to ensure proper storage and safe administration of the vaccines, including availability of health human resources. The government will provide more information on the corporate and mobile clinics in the coming days.

The first suspected COVID-19 case of the omicron variant has been identified in the Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton region.

In a virtual media briefing on Wednesday afternoon (December 15), Dr. Natalie Bocking, medical officer of health for the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit, said a lab specimen has screened positive for a mutation that could indicate the omicron variant.

“It does not 100 per cent mean that it’s omicron — it could be other variants — but it’s used as an early indicator,” Dr. Bocking said, referring to the test that identified the mutation. “It is most likely omicron, because we’re not seeing other variants such as the alpha variant.”

“It still takes one to two weeks to get the results of whole genome sequencing back, so it does take a bit of time to confirm 100 per cent if it is an omicron variant,” Dr. Bocking added. “We should expect over the next couple of weeks for more and more cases that are identified to be the omicron variant rather than the delta variant, as the omicron variant starts to become the dominant strain.”

Dr. Bocking said the weekly incidence rate has increased to 36.2 cases per 100,000 people, from around five cases per 100,000 three weeks ago. She noted that, by comparison, the Kingston area is experiencing an incidence rate of almost 350 cases per 100,000.

As of Wednesday, there are 59 active cases in the HKPR District Health Unit’s region, including 36 in Kawartha Lakes, 21 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton, with 130 high-risk contacts across the region.

There are currently five outbreaks in the region, including outbreaks at three schools and at one child care centre, and one outbreak associated with a children’s hockey team. The outbreak in the medical/surgical inpatient ward at Campbellford Memorial Hospital was declared resolved on Tuesday (December 14).

“The increasing cases that we have had locally have been driven by the delta variant to date,” Dr. Bocking said. “We are seeing a steady increase now associated now with both a higher number of outbreaks but also a higher number of cases in total, including broader community transmission of COVID-19.”

Of the 115 cases identified in the last two weeks, 23 per cent of them have been among children under 10 years old, she added.

Dr. Bocking advised that the health unit will no longer be accepting walk-ins at any of its mass immunization clinics as of Thursday (December 16) due to increased demand for third doses. Walk-ins had previously been accepted during the last hour of scheduled clinics.

Additional appointments are being added to clinics to accommodate the increased demand. Anyone attending a vaccination clinic will also now be asked to put on a supplied medical-grade mask, either in place of or over top of their cloth mask.

With the recent increase in cases, the health unit will no longer be offering some non-COVID programming. This includes pausing sexual health clinics, no-doctor vaccination clinics for children, Healthy Babies Healthy Children programming, and some inspection services. The health unit is redeploying staff from these programs back to clinics or case investigation.

Dr. Bocking said she is not issuing any letters of instruction at this point to require additional public health measures, such as was the case in Peterborough on Monday, but it is still “actively under consideration.”

“I strongly support a pan-provincial approach,” she said. “It’s my understanding that we should be learning in the next day or so of potential further provincial measures. However, if we do not see additional provincial measures, then we will be issuing local letters of instruction given the recent surge in cases we are seeing here and then the enhanced risk associated with the omicron variant.”

Dr. Bocking said she is also “strongly encouraging” local residents, businesses, and organizations to cancel any large holiday parties.

“We should not be having large holiday parties right now. If you are planning on gathering, these need to be small gatherings, either just within your household or perhaps one other household.”

If you noticed a circular cloud in the sky about the Kawarthas yesterday, don’t worry — it probably wasn’t an interdimensional portal into another universe.

People posted photos on social media of the unusual cloud formation, which appeared in the sky late Tuesday afternoon (December 14), speculating as to the cause.

There were sightings of the odd cloud in the Peterborough area as well as in the Kawartha Lakes and even Muskoka, meaning it was a a high-altitude cloud.

Anyone else notice the strange cloud shape north of Lindsay?
Thoughts @weathernetwork @StormhunterTWN @JillTaylorCity pic.twitter.com/6S3IRGhTK0

— John Chambers (@_JohnChambers) December 14, 2021

The most likely explanation for the cloud is that is was a remnant of a “fallstreak hole”, also known as a “hole punch cloud”.

These circular or elliptical holes are formed in cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds at seven to 12 kilometres altitude.

When supercooled water droplets in the cloud encounter ice crystals, the droplets suddenly freeze, causing them to fall and create a hole in the cloud layer. However, usually this results in a “hole punch” in the cloud layer, and not a cloud ring surrounded by clear sky.

Because a ring-shaped cloud looks like a contrail, some people have speculated the cloud is formed by a circling jet.

While that seems unlikely, jets passing about a cloud layer can create the ice crystals that cause a fallstreak hole to form.

There are more bizarre theories for what could create a circular cloud, ranging from mammoth smoke rings to UFOs and conspiracies about the U.S. military. And, of course, it could also be an interdimensional portal into another universe.

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A post shared by Barry Killen (@theburleighridge_beareh)

The COVID-19 omicron variant has arrived in the Peterborough area, with two confirmed cases being reported by Peterborough Public Health.

During a health unit briefing held Tuesday (December 14), medical officer of health Dr. Thomas Piggott said the two omicron cases aren’t linked to one another, but one is linked to another known omicron case.

“My advice to the public is behave as though omicron is here and is spreading in the community — I do anticipate we will see many more cases in the coming days,” said Dr. Piggott, adding “This is something we are keeping a close eye on but remain extremely concerned by.”

“We’ve always said that COVID-19 is ever changing and the past couple of weeks have once again reminded us of that. This is something we knew was coming, so it’s not surprising. Omicron has become the dominant strain in Ontario.”

“We know that it is so transmissible that up to eight times as many people may be infected as compared to the previous strains. There is lots of conversation as to whether omicron is less severe than previous strains. It is too early to know for sure, because severe illness, hospitalizations, and deaths tend to lag behind and tend to affect more vulnerable populations.”

“Even if omicron ends up being half as severe as other strains, it could still have four times the burden of any previous wave on our public health and heath care systems.”

Now more than ever, said Dr. Piggott, vaccination “remains our most important tool,” adding a third dose booster show “is very effective against omicron.”

“We are pivoting and we are focusing all of the effort that we can mobilize to scale up our vaccine clinic capacity and vaccinate as many people with third dose boosters as we can,” said Dr. Piggott.

“I have told our team, and given our community an ambitious target, of a five-fold increase in the number of vaccinations over the coming weeks compared to what we were originally planning. Today we are launching 5,500 additional appointments. If you’ve been trying to get an appointment for your third dose booster and have not been able to, please keep checking back.”

“We are redeploying all of the (public health) staff that we can to aid in this effort but we’re also turning to the community and seeking help from volunteers as well as people that can serve as vaccinators. This an all hands on deck effort.”

If you’re interested in volunteering at a mass immunization clinic, you can apply online.

To date, 7.9 per cent of eligible residents aged 18 and up have rolled up their sleeve for a third time. That number jumps to 23.2 per cent for the more vulnerable aged 70 and up age group. 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.

In addition, yesterday Dr. Piggott issued two enforceable letters of instruction for enhanced public health measures — one covering workplaces and the other for food premises — in a bid to slow down the expected continued rise in new cases due to the emergence of the omicron variant.

Effective Wednesday (December 15), local workplaces are required to shift all non-essential employees to remote work arrangements, except where an onsite presence is required. Essential staff that must remain on site must keep two metres’ physical distance from one another and stagger lunch times to avoid crowded eating areas. If a workspace does not allow for physical distancing, workers must wear tightly fitting masks.

Also effective Wednesday, food premises must ensure the following:

• That the maximum number of patrons seated at each table does not exceed 10 people.
• That patrons seated at separate tables are distanced by at least two metres or separated by an impermeable barrier.
• That patrons to consume food and/or beverages only while seated.
• The modification of buffet-style food service to permit only one table at the buffet at a time and ensure patrons wear masks at all times when accessing the buffet.
• That all serving staff are provided with, and wear, appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) when in close proximity to patrons.
• That patrons be directed to wear tightly fitting face masks when they are not actively eating or drinking.

More details concerning both letters of instruction can be found on the Peterborough Public Health website at peterboroughpublichealth.ca/public-health-orders/

“While we continue to focus on vaccination, we are also strengthening local public health measures,” said Dr. Piggott. “The time to get off the train tracks is when we see the train approaching, not after it has hit us.”

Asked how worried he is about what we may see locally post-holiday season, Dr. Piggott said “It’s my job to lose sleep and I think the current situation is deeply concerning, but it’s also my job and our job in public health to try and get out in front of this.”

“The most important protection we have is vaccination. You should not be gathering with individuals who have not been vaccinated. We know the risk (of transmission) is even more significant with omicron.”

Dr. Piggott added that if you have symptoms (even mild), stay home, noting even those double vaccinated can carry the virus.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 49 active cases in the region with 238 close contacts of cases being monitored. To date this week, 10 new local cases have been detected. This follows a week that saw 41 new cases emerge. While encouraging on the surface, it is early in the week and it’s expected the number of new local cases will rise.

Meanwhile, the total number of local COVID-related deaths reported has risen to 27 as result of three deaths reported since December 6, the latest being that of an unvaccinated male in his 40s.

The vaccination picture continues to show modest increases across the board.

Vaccination numbers will be updated this Thursday morning but, as of December 8, 82.8 per cent of eligible residents aged five and up have received one dose while 79.1 per cent have received two doses.

Meanwhile, first dose vaccination of local children aged five to 11 has seen an uptake of 19.5 per cent. With no walk-ins being taken, parents and guardians must book a vaccination appointment. Visit peterboroughpublichealth.ca/clinics for a listing of locations and times of clinics.

With the emerging threat posed by the COVID-19 omicron variant, the Ontario government announced on Tuesday (December 14) additional public health measures affecting long-term care and retirement homes.

“While there is still some uncertainty around the virulence of omicron, we have good evidence that it is more transmissible than the delta variant, and it is spreading among fully vaccinated individuals,” said Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, at a media conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Even though COVID-19 cases in long-term care homes have fallen steadily over the past few months due to “vigilant policies” and a high vaccination rate — with 99 per cent of long-term care staff, students, and volunteers fully vaccinated and more than 86 per cent of eligible residents having received three doses of the vaccine — the government is adjusting its COVID-19 policies in long-term care homes as part of a “cautious approach” because of the omicron variant.

“Data suggests that each omicron case is infecting four to eight times more individuals than the delta variant, and it is rapidly becoming the dominant strain in Ontario,” Dr. Moore said.

He added that even if omicron results in less severe COVID-19 illness than delta, which evidence so far suggests is the case, there may be significant demands on the health care system with so many people infected.

“This also means that we must take steps to protect our most vulnerable, including putting in place enhanced measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect long-term care residents, staff, and caregivers,” he said.

Effective immediately, all general visitors to a long-term care home will need to be fully vaccinated to enter a home.

As of Friday (December 17), the following additional measures will go into effect at long-term care homes:

• Testing of all staff, students, volunteers, and caregivers — regardless of their vaccination status — at least twice a week prior to entry into the home, as part of enhanced active screening practices.
• Requiring a negative test upon entry to a long-term care home for all visitors and support workers who provide essential services to a resident or to the facility, unless they had a negative test the day before.
• Requiring caregivers to be fully vaccinated, unless they have a valid medical exemption or are attending to a resident in a palliative end-of-life situation. Caregivers will be required to have a first dose by December 20, and all required doses to be considered fully vaccinated by February 21, 2022. In the interim, designated caregivers who are not fully vaccinated would need to restrict their visit to the resident’s room.
• Limiting indoor visits to a maximum of two people per resident at a time and outdoor visits, where feasible, to a maximum total of four people per resident at a time.
• Cohorting of residents for higher-risk activities, such as singing and dancing, and discouraging large social activities. This is in addition to the cohorting of residents during meal times, which is currently occurring.
• Limiting social day trips to only residents who are fully vaccinated and requiring those residents who leave the home for social reasons to be actively screened upon their return to the home and if they had a known exposure to a case, isolated and tested using a PCR test. All residents, regardless of vaccination status, can continue to leave the home for essential reasons, such as medical appointments.
• Suspending overnight absences for social purposes regardless of residents’ vaccination status. Residents who wish to leave the home overnight for social purposes or due to COVID-19 may be temporarily discharged and need to follow the re-admission protocol to return at a later date.

As of Wednesday, December 22th, the following additional measures will go into effect at retirement homes:

• Requiring rapid antigen testing for staff, volunteers, contractors and essential caregivers, regardless of vaccination status, two times per week prior to entry into the home as part of enhanced active screening practices.
• Requiring rapid antigen testing for general visitors and support workers entering a retirement home, regardless of vaccination status.
• Strongly encouraging retirement homes to restrict general visitors to only those who are fully vaccinated and implementing additional requirements for essential visitors and general visitors who are not fully vaccinated when entering a retirement home.
• Limiting the number of visitors and group sizes for social activities and events.
• Implementing additional testing and isolation requirements for residents when they return from an overnight absence.
• Instructing retirement homes to increase infection prevention and control (IPAC) audits.

The government also announced it has asked all primary care providers and their teams in Ontario to make the administration of first, second, and booster doses as quickly as possible, while maintaining essential and critical clinical services.

This could include the “careful deferral” of non-essential clinical services to further support local vaccination efforts over the coming weeks.

A 64-year-old Haliburton man is dead following a multi-vehicle collision on Highway 35 north of Lindsay on Tuesday morning (December 14).

At around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Kawartha Lakes OPP and emergency services responded to a collision on Highway 35 just north of Thunder Bridge Road involving a dump truck, a sport utility vehicle, and a pickup truck.

Robert Clark, 64, of Haliburton was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two other people involved in the collision were transported to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Highway 35 will remain closed in the area while police investigate and document the scene. Detours are set up at Thunder Bridge Road and Peniel Road/Kenrei Road.

A black cube van was observed at the scene and police are asking that the driver of that vehicle to reach out to reach out to Kawartha Lakes OPP to provide a statement.

Any witnesses who have not yet spoken to police are asked to contact Kawartha Lakes OPP at 1-888-310-1122.