A deadly stretch of Highway 28 has claimed more lives.

Two people are dead and one is seriously injured following a serious collision on Highway 28 near Big Cedar Lake Road, south of Woodview, on Saturday afternoon (August 21).

Peterborough County OPP report two vehicles were involved in a head-on collision at around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and one person has been transported to a Toronto-area hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Police are not releasing the names of the people who died until their next of kin have been notified.

Highway 28 remains closed while the OPP documents the scene. Detours are in place on Highway 28 at Northey’s Bay Road and County Road 36.

The closure will remain in place for several hours while police investigate.

Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.

Ontario is reporting 689 new cases today, the highest daily increase since June 5 when 774 cases were reported. The seven-day average of daily cases has increased by 16 to 534.

Toronto is reporting a triple-digit increase of 130 new cases. Of Ontario’s remaining 33 health units, 13 are reporting double-digit increases — Peel (94), York (86), Hamilton (69), Middlesex-London (52), Windsor-Essex (41), Durham (36), Halton (28), Waterloo (23), Simcoe Muskoka (22), Ottawa (19), Niagara (18), Brant (15), and Southwestern (12) — and 6 (5 of which are in northern Ontario) are reporting no new cases at all.

Of the new cases, 62% are among unvaccinated people, 20% are among fully vaccinated people, 9% are among partially vaccinated people, and 9% are unknown.

The number of hospitalizations has climbed by 15 to 212, the highest number of hospitalizations since June 28 when 218 were reported. The number of ICU patients has decreased by 5 to 130 and the number of ICU patients on ventilators has increased by 1 to 78.

Ontario is reporting 1 new COVID-related death.

Over 20.4 million vaccine doses have been administered, an increase of 46,629 from yesterday, with more than 9.7 million people fully vaccinated, an increase of 31,641 from yesterday, representing 65.8% of Ontario’s total population.

For a daily summary of cases in Ontario, including a breakdown of cases in each of Ontario’s 34 health units, visit ontario.ca/page/how-ontario-is-responding-covid-19.

Numbers are unavailable for Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton, Northumberland, and Hastings Prince Edward as the respective health units do not issue reports on weekends. Regional numbers for Saturday and Sunday will be included in Monday’s update.

As of August 20, there were 73 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, including 40 in Hastings Prince Edward (19 in Belleville, 14 in Quinte West, 3 in Prince Edward County, 2 in North Hastings, 1 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, and 1 in Central Hastings), 14 in Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Peterborough, 5 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton.

Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,661 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,626 resolved with 22 deaths), 1,208 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (1,153 resolved with 58 deaths), 962 in Northumberland County (938 resolved with 17 deaths), 130 in Haliburton County (127 resolved with 1 death), and 1,219 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,168 resolved with 12 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Hastings Prince Edward on July 28.

For detailed data for each health unit, visit the COVID-19 trackers for Peterborough Public Health, Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, and Hastings Prince Edward Public Health.

For more information about COVID-19 in Ontario, visit covid-19.ontario.ca.

Environment Canada has issued a heat warning for the weekend for much of the greater Kawarthas region, including southern Peterborough County, southern Kawartha Lakes, and all of Northumberland.

Hot and humid conditions expected to continue Saturday (August 21) and Sunday and then possibly into early next week.

Maximum temperatures are expected to reach 31°C, with humidex values ranging from 36°C to 40°C. There will be little relief overnight, with a low of 21°C.

On Sunday, afternoon temperatures Sunday may be a degree or so lower than on Saturday. However, temperatures may once again rise to the low 30s early next week.

Hot and humid air can also bring deteriorating air quality and can cause the Air Quality Health Index to approach the high-risk category.

The risks are greater for young children, pregnant women, older adults, people with chronic illnesses and people working or exercising outdoors.

Drink plenty of water even before you feel thirsty and stay in a cool place.

Seek a cool place such as a tree-shaded area, swimming pool, shower or bath, or air-conditioned spot like a public building.

Never leave people or pets inside a parked vehicle.

Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.

Ontario is reporting 650 new cases today, the highest daily increase since June 6 when 663 cases were reported. The seven-day average of daily cases has increased by 20 to 518.

Toronto and Peel are both reporting triple-digit increases of 136 and 113 respectively. Of Ontario’s remaining 32 health units, 10 are reporting double-digit increases — York (63), Windsor-Essex (58), Hamilton (55), Middlesex-London (39), Durham (25), Waterloo (25), Ottawa (22), Niagara (22), Halton (19), and Simcoe Muskoka (15) — and 4 are reporting no new cases at all.

Of the new cases, 66% are among unvaccinated people, 16% are among fully vaccinated people, 10% are among partially vaccinated people, and 9% are unknown.

The number of hospitalizations has jumped by 21 to 197, the highest number since July 7 when 201 hospitalizations were reported. The number of ICU patients stands at 135, an increase of 8 since the number was last reported on August 17, with the number of ICU patients on ventilators at 77, a decrease of 1 since the number was last reported on August 17.

Ontario is reporting 2 new COVID-related deaths.

Over 20.3 million vaccine doses have been administered, an increase of 45,748 from yesterday, with just over 9.7 million people fully vaccinated, an increase of 29,364 from yesterday, representing 65.6% of Ontario’s total population.

For a daily summary of cases in Ontario, including a breakdown of cases in each of Ontario’s 34 health units, visit ontario.ca/page/how-ontario-is-responding-covid-19.

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 19 new cases to report over the past 2 days, including 7 in Hastings Prince Edward, 7 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Peterborough, and 1 in Northumberland. There are no new cases in Haliburton.

There is 1 new COVID-related hospitalizations in Kawartha Lakes.

An additional 12 cases have been resolved in the region including 3 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Northumberland, 3 in Hastings Prince Edward, 2 in Peterborough, and 1 in Haliburton.

The number of active cases has increased by 4 in Kawartha Lakes, by 1 in Peterborough, and by 1 in Hastings Prince Edward, and has decreased by 2 in Northumberland and by 1 in Haliburton.

There are currently 73 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 3 since yesterday, including 40 in Hastings Prince Edward (19 in Belleville, 14 in Quinte West, 3 in Prince Edward County, 2 in North Hastings, 1 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, and 1 in Central Hastings), 14 in Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Peterborough, 5 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton.

Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,661 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,626 resolved with 22 deaths), 1,208 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (1,153 resolved with 58 deaths), 962 in Northumberland County (938 resolved with 17 deaths), 130 in Haliburton County (127 resolved with 1 death), and 1,219 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,168 resolved with 12 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Hastings Prince Edward on July 28.

For detailed data for each health unit, visit the COVID-19 trackers for Peterborough Public Health, Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, and Hastings Prince Edward Public Health.

For more information about COVID-19 in Ontario, visit covid-19.ontario.ca.

Dr. Thomas Piggott, Peterborough’s incoming medical officer of health and CEO of Peterborough Public Health, was formally introduced to the local media Thursday (August 19),

As confirmed via a Peterborough Public Health announcement made on August 12, Dr. Piggott will succeed retiring medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra.

With Dr. Salvaterra’s last day on the job being September 19 and Dr. Piggott not in place until December 1, operations director Larry Stinson will serve as interim Peterborough Public Health CEO, Donna Churipuy will assist as COVID incident commander, and Dr. Ian Gemmill — who most recently was acting medical officer of health for the neighbouring Kawartha, Haliburton, Pine Ridge District Health Unit — will provide medical direction.

“I’m very excited for the next chapter and very grateful for the opportunity to join the organization and the community,” said Dr. Piggott, currently the medical officer of health with Labrador-Grenfell Health as well as executive lead for executive lead for population health and rural and remote health in that region.

“I’m really looking forward to joining the team. It’s been a short series of interactions so far, but I’ve been incredibly impressed with everyone on the leadership team. I have great faith in the team I’ll be joining.”

“It’s been a trying time for public health,” he added. “It’s been a high-stakes time in the context of COVID. The response has put more pressure and difficulty on (public health) staff but I’m so impressed by all the hard work of Peterborough Public Health, and how well the city and county have done — both in keeping COVID-19 cases to a minimum and in the rollout of the vaccine.”

In her remarks, Dr. Salvaterra described Dr. Piggott as “a worthy and energetic” successor.

“I’m delighted we were able to entice him (Dr. Piggott) to leave his current posting in Labrador to come to Peterborough,” said Dr. Salvaterra. “In my opinion, he could not ask for a more supportive and engaged board of health, a more experienced and skilled leadership team, and a more dedicated team of public health professionals and community partners.”

Later, Dr. Piggott talked on his adjusting to a familiar position in a new location, particular as that pertains to the ongoing pandemic.

“We’ve had to learn a lot and a big part of that has been adapting to the science as it’s evolved,” he said.

“I’ve had lots of experience responding to the pandemic in my current setting. We have a very rural and remote geography. That’s created a lot of challenges in terms of managing and vaccine deployment. We’ve worked hard to succeed. We’ve had one of the lowest case counts in the country as a result of the same hard work that Peterborough Public Health has done here.”

“There certainly will be a learning curve in terms of procedures and the people,” Dr. Piggott added. “Fortunately, I worked in public health in Ontario prior and did my training here prior to that. The setting isn’t unfamiliar to me. The role of working in a health unit and the need to engage partners is not new, but I’ll welcome the support of my team as I adapt.”

Dr. Piggott added the “strong reputation” of Peterborough Public Health and the community itself were factors in his pursuing the opportunity to come here.

“The engagement of the two First Nations (Hiawatha and Curve Lake) on the board in the governance is really important to me. In my current role, I work with four Indigenous governments for public health programming and response. That model of leadership is really exciting for me.”

“There’s a lot of listening and learning that I’ll have to do to start. I’m really pleased that there’s a focus here on health equity. Public health organizations need to play a strong role in helping make health outcomes more fair. Peterborough Public Health has a strong track record in that area and that’s something I’ll look to grow.”

Dr. Piggott also offered comment on another public health crisis that has been overshadowed by the pandemic but remains no less a major threat — the opioid overdose crisis.

“It is one of the biggest public health issues facing this generation — in certain demographics it has surpassed motor vehicle collisions as the leading cause of death,” he said.

“There is a lot of work in public health to do. We have lots to share when you think of the health of the population, when you think of harm reduction, and when you think of support for people who are using drugs. That has been a huge priority of mine.”

As much as the media event provided an opportunity to introduce Dr. Piggott more formally, it also provided Dr. Salvaterra with the opportunity to reflect on her 13 years as Peterborough’s medical officer of health.

“I feel very proud … I’m proud to see people like Larry Stinson and Donna Churipuy taking on the roles that that board has offered them,” she said.

“I’m also grateful to the board for all the work it has done in being able to find someone like Thomas to serve the community in this important role. I have a lot of pride and confidence that Peterborough Public Health will continue to promote the health and protect the well-being of everyone here.”

As for what’s ahead for her, Dr. Salvaterra said she’s looking forward to “having more space in my day to reflect on how I want to spend the remaining years I have.”

Prior to his time with Labrador-Grenfell Health, Dr. Piggott worked as a field doctor with Médicins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is a public health and preventive medicine specialist as well as a practising family physician.

He completed his Masters in Public Health at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with residency training at McMaster University. He is also actively involved in research and teaching in public health at McMaster University and Memorial University.

Dr. Piggott’s wife is also a family physician and they have two young daughters. They all enjoy outdoor activities including hiking, running, bicycling, swimming, gardening, and camping.

Every August across Ontario, hundreds of thousands of baby turtles hatch and explore their wetland homes for the first time.

It is a special thing to meet a turtle in Ontario. All eight of the species found in Ontario are considered at risk or endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) and protected under the federal Species at Risk Act.

These remarkable animals have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, hundreds of millions of years ago.

“There are so many positive things turtles do and no real negatives,” says Dr. Sue Carstairs, executive and medical director at the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre in Peterborough.

“The wetland homes that turtles live in are supposed to be the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. That means lots of different species live in an interwoven web together. Turtles make up a big piece of that. Like a big Jenga game, if you take that piece away it can all fall apart.”

“People often don’t know that these wetlands that turtles live in are the sources of our drinking water,” she adds. “The wetlands act like the filters or kidneys of the water system, and keeping the wetlands healthy has a huge benefit to us. Turtles are scavengers in those wetlands. They are a really good clean-up crew.”

The scales seem to be increasingly tipped against turtles in Ontario. The wetland habitats that turtles depend on are often fragmented by roads or given insufficient protections, and drained and filled to make way for subdivisions and other developments.

Human influence has also increased populations of predators that eat turtle nests, including racoons, skunks, crows, and gulls.

“Turtles have a pretty unique life,” Dr. Carstairs explains. “Turtles have to live a very long time to even have a chance of replacing themselves by nesting. Tipping the balance in any way will really disrupt the health of a population. Any one turtle that we can save has a big positive impact on the population.”

A female snapping turtle, for example, may not start nesting until nearly 20 years of age. Each turtle may nest for decades before they have successfully replaced themselves in the population.

In the spring, many adult turtles must cross roadways to breed and nest. Numerous are injured by travelling vehicles when doing so. Rescuing just one of those injured turtles may be the equivalent of saving decades of nests.

“There are hundreds of projects going on across the province that will hopefully reduce road mortality,” shares Dr. Carstairs. “We are never going to fix this problem completely, but we can help a lot with wildlife underpasses, overpasses, and measures like that.”

The Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre is also tipping those scales back into balance through rescue and rehabilitation efforts, as well as education and research programs.

Amazingly, every year the centre not only rescues and rehabilitates hundreds of adult turtles, but also rescues the fertilized eggs of injured mature females. They raise the hatchlings through the winter and release them in the spring, giving them a head-start on life in the wild.

The Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre has admitted over 1,000 injured turtles this year, and they are in the process of hatching approximately 5,000 eggs.

Next time you see a turtle crossing the road, or encounter an injured turtle, keep in mind that by helping these turtles you may be helping dozens of future baby turtles.

If you find an injured turtle, call the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre hotline at 705-741-5000.

Here’s a video from the Toronto Zoo showing how you can help a snapping turtle cross the road safely. You can also read this story from Ontario Nature on helping turtles cross the road.

VIDEO: How to help a snapping turtle cross the road

“Property owners can also have a positive role to play in supporting local turtle populations,” Dr. Carstairs says.

If a turtle nest is on your private property, you are legally allowed to take steps to properly protect it from predators without interfering with the nest itself. It is not legal to disturb or interfere with a nest in any way.

You can learn how you can properly protect turtle nests in this guide from the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre.

“If you happen to be lucky enough to be at the nest when the babies are hatching, you should never take them outside of that area,” explains Dr. Carstairs. “It is fair game to gently move hatchlings to the edge of the nearest wetland or water body — to tip the balance a bit by helping them just that little bit — but the hatchlings need to stay close to where their nest is.”

“People mean well and sometimes people see the small, frail hatchlings and bring them in to us at the centre,” she adds. “We cannot keep them. There is nothing wrong with them. We need to respect their wildness.”

“Never disturb a nest,” Dr. Carstairs points out. “Some people notice a nest that hasn’t hatched yet, and they dig it up. Those nests may be over-wintering. Do not disturb a nest.”

Report turtle sightings to the Natural Heritage Information Centre at ontario.ca/page/report-rare-species-animals-and-plants or through iNaturalist, a Canada-wide citizen science program (for more information and to download the iNaturalist app, visit inaturalist.ca.

This leads to a better understanding of these animals and their distribution throughout our province; these sites also feature great resources for identifying the different turtle species.

You can also volunteer to be a ‘turtle taxi’ for the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre. This means occasionally picking up injured turtles to bring to the centre and releasing rehabilitated turtles back into the environment. For more information, visit ontarioturtle.ca.

If you want to learn more about Ontario turtles, the Toronto Zoo has a great collection of resources at torontozoo.com/adoptapond/resources.

Be a hero for the half-shell and for the future of our shared environment. Take steps to ensure that turtles — around since the dinosaurs — can survive into the future.

An electrical fire at Greg’s No Frills at 230 George Street North early Wednesday morning (August 18) has temporarily closed the grocery store.

Peterborough Fire Services responded to an automatic alarm at the building at around 4:49 a.m. on Wednesday. Light smoke was visible in the air when they arrived.

Fire crews forced their way into the building where they determined the sprinkler system had been activated and had almost put out a fire in the rear of the building.

No injuries were reported, and there is no word on damages.

Store staff remained at the front of the store all day Wednesday to advise customers why the store was closed.

Am employee told kawarthaNOW the store would remain closed “at least until Thursday” (August 19).

The ‘All Hands on Deck’ food drive for Kawartha Food Share, scheduled to take place at the store from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, will continue at the food drive’s other two locations (Foodland on Hunter Street and Sherbrooke Foodland).

All Trent University students, faculty, staff, and visitors on the university’s Peterborough and Durham campuses will need to provide proof they are fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, September 7th.

Trent University president Leo Groarke announced the vaccination policy on Wednesday (August 18), five days after Fleming College made a similar announcement and one day after Ontario’s chief medical of health announced all universities would be required to have a vaccination policy.

Exemptions to providing proof of full vaccination will be allowed on medical or other protected grounds under the Ontario Human Rights Code. Anyone who does not have two vaccinations will have to complete COVID-19 testing before coming on campus.

The names of all students who submit proof of their two vaccinations by September 7 will be entered into a draw that will provide the winner with free tuition for the fall semester.

Trent University completed a vaccination survey that shows 85 per cent of 7,140 students and 94 per cent of 1,024 employees are already fully vaccinated.

Other health and safety measures at Trent University include the mandatory use of face masks in indoor settings, health screening, enhanced ventilation and air filtration, robust cleaning and sanitization, on-campus testing, and wastewater surveillance.

Groake says the university is also partnering with Peterborough Public Health to host on-campus pop-up vaccine clinics for staff, faculty, and students.

More details on the university’s vaccination policy will be posted in the coming days and weeks at www.trentu.ca/coronavirus/.