A 61-year-old kayaker drowned Monday night (August 2) after being swept under turbulent water on the Rosedale River in Fenelon Township in the City of Kawartha Lakes.
At around 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Kawartha Lakes OPP report that emergency services received an urgent call about a kayaker who was caught in and then swept into the undertow of the dam, located near Coldstream Road on the river, which runs between Balsam Lake and Cameron Lake.
Witnesses were able to get the kayaker to shore and administer first aid, until Kawartha Lakes Paramedic Services arrived and took over the life-saving efforts.
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Leonid Kazantsev, 61, of York was pronounced dead at the scene.
The OPP encourages the proper use of PDFs when using watercraft. Most marine drownings happen unexpectedly when small boats capsize or someone falls overboard. A PFD left behind is not much use, especially in cold water.
Parks Canada also advises that getting too close to dams can be dangerous. Calm water can quickly and without warning become a surge of fast-moving water. This fast-moving water creates strong undercurrents that cannot always be seen from the surface and can drown even the strongest swimmer.
The Ontario government also warns personal watercraft and boats should always stay clear of dams.
The story has been updated to correct the victim’s surname at the request of his family.
Emily Hughes, Nicole Malbeuf, Laura Lawless, and Flexy-T are the performers in Toronto-based Flying Solo's 'Circus Sundae: Sweet & Salty', presented by Public Energy. The show takes place on August 8, 2021 with two outdoor performances in the parking lots of Peterborough Memorial Centre and PCVS. (Supplied photos, collage by kawarthaNOW)
Public Energy is bringing the circus to Peterborough this Sunday (August 8) as the kick-off event of Pivot 2.0, the performing arts organization’s final series of outdoor family-friendly events before performances move back inside theatres this fall and winter.
Circus Sundae: Sweet & Salty is presented by Toronto-based Flying Solo, which fuses circus, dance, and theatre to present performances on originally designed and fabricated apparatuses.
UPDATE
The 12 p.m. performance has been moved from the Peterborough Memorial Centre parking lot to the PCVS parking lot.
The 25-minute show takes place on Flying Solo’s the ‘City Circus Truck’, a one-of-a-kind bit top circus on wheels, with two outdoor performances on Sunday, August 8th: at noon in the parking lot of the Peterborough Memorial Centre at 151 Lansdowne Street (enter from Lock Street), and again at 3 p.m. at the PCVS parking lot at 201 McDonnel Street (limited seating, bring your own lawn chair if possible).
Described as a “hilarious and dazzling circus extravaganza”, the show is performed entirely on the City Circus Truck’s flatbed trailer. Spumoni the Clown (Emily Hughes) attempts to create the ultimate mouth-watering ice cream sundae, with aerialists Nicole Malbeuf and Laura Lawless and contortionist Flexy-T making their way through Spumoni’s zany kitchen.
Sweet and salty ice cream treats will also be available by donation at each performance.
The seven-part Pivot 2.0 series, a follow-up to the Pivot series of outdoor performances of live dance and theatre presented by Public Energy last October, continues next month on Saturday, September 11th with Heirloom (a program of exciting percussive dance, with artists to be announced), followed by Bone Stories (an original contemporary dance by Ireni Stamou, performed by Ireni Stamou and Dreda Blow) on Thursday, September 16th.
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On Wednesday, September 22nd, there will be a performance of Hybrid Women (an experimental dance-theatre-ritual action co-created and performed by Norma Araiza and Olga Barrios with music composed and performed by Edgardo Moreno), followed by Armour (original dance-theatre by Peterborough expatriate Christy Stoeten, performed by Madie Brown, Sharazade Vahid, Simon Mazziotti, with an original design by Sonia Gemmiti) on Friday and Saturday, September 24th and 25th.
Also coming in September, with the date to be determined, is Ninagamoon~Niweechewagan, a cycle of stories and songs created and performed by Nicole Joy-Fraser.
For confirmed dates, times, and locations, keep an eye on the Public Energy website at publicenergy.ca.
Lang Pioneer Village Museum is located at 104 Lang Road in Keene. (Photo: Lang Pioneer Village Museum website)
Lang Pioneer Village Museum in Keene will once again be welcoming drop-in visitors five days a week beginning Wednesday (August 4), with the museum resuming its traditional self-guided living history format.
Previously, the museum was only offering pre-booked and time-limited guided tours as permitted under the pandemic restrictions of Ontario’s reopening plan. However, now that Ontario has entered step three of the reopening plan, the museum is again able to allow visitors to tour the museum on their own — with COVID-19 safety protocols in place.
“We’ve had our sights set on the day when we can open up again to a living history experience for our visitors,” says museum manager Laurie Siblock in a media release. “It is finally here. Staff and volunteers are excited to welcome visitors back to a village filled with the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of the 19th century.”
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With the museum open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday until the Labour Day weekend, visitors can tour the historical buildings of the village at their own pace on the date and time of their own choosing. Costumed interpreters, who will be stationed in some of the historic homes and businesses, will introduce visitors to the building’s history and demonstrate traditional trades.
Visitors will be required to wear face masks when entering all buildings on the property, as well as maintaining two metres distance between themselves and visitors from outside of their group, and are asked to practice proper hand sanitization and follow all posted signage while on site.
Following the end of the summer season on Sunday, September 5th, the museum will be offering pre-booked guided tours for groups of 10 or more from Monday to Friday (September 7 to December 17, with some dates unavailable). These tours must be booked at least two days in advance.
VIDEO: Discover the Sounds of History – Fitzpatrick House (Lang Pioneer Village Museum)
The museum will also once again be hosting special events this fall, beginning with Village by Lanternlight on Friday and Saturday, September 17th and 18th.
Other popular events returning this fall and winter include Applefest (Sunday, October 3rd), Historic All Hallows’ Eve (Friday and Saturday, October 29th and 30th) and Christmas by Candlelight (Saturday and Sunday, December 4th and 5th). Advanced booking will be required for all fall and winter events.
For more information on Lang Pioneer Village Museum including upcoming events, visit www.langpioneervillage.ca.
Leslie Scott, owner of Walton Wood Farm in Bailieboro, chats with her friend Danielle French, owner of South Pond Farms in Pontypool, on the porch at South Pond Farms. The two entrepreneurs have teamed up to launch a brand collaboration, with Walton Food Farm expanding its product line by offering French's gourmet food products. (Photo: Ash Nayler Photography)
Two iconic farm-inspired startups founded in the Kawarthas have teamed up to integrate their brands. Leslie Scott, owner of Walton Wood Farm, and Danielle French, owner of South Pond Farms, have spent the past several months collaborating for a brand team-up.
Walton Wood Farm in Bailieboro is a personal care gift product brand that has been around for seven years. The company sells high-quality products for men, women, babies, and pets, with funky names like their ‘Week from Hell’ product line.
In 2016, Scott took her business to the CBC hit television show Dragons’ Den, where she accepted a $150,000 investment for a 12 per cent stake in her company with Manjit Minhas. Today, Scott’s products are sold in more than 2,500 brick-and-mortar outlets across Canada and the United States.
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South Pond Farms in Pontypool is a farm-to-table event venue where French also produces and sells a line of culinary products and gifts. French was also the host of the television show Taste of Country, which aired on the Makeful Channel in Canada and was formerly on Netflix in 11 countries.
This past May, French made the difficult decision to put her farm property up for sale and is transitioning her business to emphasize her product lines, which include gourmet food items such as hot sauce, honey, jams, and marmalade.
Although entirely different businesses, with Scott offering personal care products and French hosting culinary events and experiences, both were built to create non-farming income to sustain their small farms, which are located only 30 minutes apart from one another. So it’s no surprise Scott and French have become friends — and now business partners.
South Pond Farms owner Danielle French in the kitchen with her friend Leslie Scott, owner of Walton Wood Farm. Scott, who primarily sells her brand of personal self-care products as well as some food products (such as the garlic and parmesan beer bread mix pictured) has expanded Walton Wood Farm’s product line to include South Pond Farms’ gourmet food products, which include jams, marmalade, honey, sauces, baking mixes, and more. (Photo: Ash Nayler Photography)
Much like their businesses, Scott and French share a lot in common yet are the complete opposite in personality. Their differences complement each other both in business and friendship.
“We’re completely opposite personalities,” Scott tells kawarthaNOW. “We dress differently, we talk differently — we’re very different people — but we developed this very deep friendship because of our businesses.”
“We are the go-to support for each other, because our businesses are both very complicated and it can feel as though nobody relates to you,” she adds. “But we could relate to each other. Even though our problems were different, they were fundamentally the same.”
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When the pandemic hit, French’s business was especially hard hit because the pandemic prohibited large gatherings and events — the basis of her business model.
“We pivoted a few different times,” French recalls. “We did grocery box pickups, where we made food and people could pick it up. I’m doing picnics this year, where people can pick up the picnics from the farm and then sit on the property and enjoy them.”
French’s final pivot is the most significant, moving to focus more on a product line of gourmet foods she had already developed and working to create more new products.
“It really is something that I love to do because it’s creating flavour, connections, and putting things together with other things, pairings that I love,” she explains.
Walton Food Farm owner Leslie Scott and South Pond Farm owner Danielle French say they are a great team because they have opposite-but-complementary personalities. Having both launched farm-inspired businesses in the Kawarthas, the two entrepreneurs discovered they had a lot in common and decided to collaborate. (Photo: Ash Nayler Photography)
While French has been selling her products from her farm, she did not have a wide distribution network — the very kind of network Scott has already built for her business.
“We talked and thought, ‘Wait a minute, we’re two farm friends, we’ve been getting together for years’,” Scott says. “So why don’t we turn this pandemic story on its head?”
So the South Pond Farms brand is now being integrated into the Walton Wood Farm website, with the latter providing the infrastructure to ship South Pond Farms products across Canada and the United States. It’s a good fit, because Walton Food Farm has already been selling some food products as well.
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“When this opportunity arose for me, it was great because I’ve never had my products be my focal point,” explains French. “They’ve always been an add-on, a side thing where people come to the farm and it’s ‘Oh, by the way, you can buy some jam.’ But now, it is my focal point.”
Through their collaboration, Scott and French will offer self-care boxes including a subscription box, which combines South Pond Farms gourmet foods with Walton Wood Farm personal self-care products.
“What do you do when you’re stressed out and you need to take a little time out?” Scott asks. “You need delicious food. Danielle is a chef and she does everything so beautifully. Everything in her ethos is farm to table, fresh flavours, unique spins on things, but simple and delicious.”
With her farm-to-table events business deeply affected by pandemic lockdowns, South Pond Farms owner Danielle French is selling her farm property and focusing on the food product side of the business. French has partnered with her friend, Walton Wood Farm owner Leslie Scott, to take advantage of Scott’s well-established distribution network for Walton Wood Farm’s product line of personal self-care products and existing food items. (Photo: Ash Nayler Photography)
“What else do you need?” Scott continues. “You need a little personal care: a little sugar scrub, hand cream, body cream, shampoo. Take a nice hot tub and restore your sanity. What better complements gourmet foods than self-care?”
The two entrepreneurs plan to work together to coordinate the scents and themes of Walton Wood Farm products with the flavours of South Pond Farms products. They are also working on expanding the South Pond Farms product line to include culinary accessories such as kitchenware.
The long-time entrepreneurs both say they’re enthusiastic about continuing doing what they love while starting a new chapter for their businesses.
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“We’re both over 55, and we’re starting something new as if we don’t even realize that we’re over 55,” Scott laughs. “You spend your lifetime building these skills. It would be a shame to waste all that if you could turn it into something that you love and you’re passionate about.”
Their age and the roots of their businesses are only two of the many factors that make this pair of entrepreneurs unique.
“When people think of startups or entrepreneurs, they think Toronto or Silicon Valley or Stanford, and they think 20 year olds,” she notes. “Our businesses were founded in rural Ontario. We were both very inspired by our farms, and we were both setting out to create ventures that can support our small farms.”
Both established entrepreneurs over the age of 55, South Pond Farm owner Danielle French and Walton Food Farm owner Leslie Scott are enthusiastic to be starting a new chapter of doing what they love. (Photo: Ash Nayler Photography)
“We both found our farms neglected and ran down,” Scott adds. “We’ve brought them into a new life. Even though Danielle’s selling her farm, it’s been so beautifully restored it’s an inspiration. She’s created something durable that can be passed down, and somebody can breathe a different life into.”
Although the pandemic has resulted in some bittersweet changes to her business, French is incredibly optimistic about what is to come through her partnership with Walton Wood Farms.
“I am looking forward to a new chapter and new beginnings,” says French. “I am so completely excited about this opportunity. For me, it’s just a win-win all around. I’m hoping that I can contribute something to Leslie’s empire.”
Walton Food Farm owner Leslie Scott and South Pond Farm owner Danielle French say their business collaboration, with Walton Food Farm selling South Pond Farms gourmet food products, is just the beginning of what they plan to do together. (Photo: Ash Nayler Photography)
“It’s so fun and inspiring to share creativity with someone,” Scott agrees. “I’m excited about the things that we’re going to create together — and the things to come that we don’t know even know yet.”
For updates on their collaboration, you can follow Walton Woods Farm on Instagram and Facebook and South Pond Farms on Instagram and Facebook.
To shop their products and offerings, visit the Walton Wood Farms website at waltonwoodfarm.com or the South Pond Farms website at southpondfarms.ca.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
No COVID-19 update on Civic Holiday
kawarthaNOW will not be publishing a COVID-19 update on the Civic Holiday as updated numbers will not be available from the province or regional health units until Tuesday.
Ontario is reporting 218 new cases today, a drop from yesterday’s 258 new cases, with 8 of Ontario’s 34 health units reporting double-digit increases — Toronto (40), Peel (33), York (23), Middlesex-London (15), Hamilton (14), Durham (13), Waterloo (12), and Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (10) — and 7 reporting no new cases at all.
The seven-day average of daily cases has increased by 5 to 189.
The number of hospitalizations has dropped by 27 to 105, but more than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for the daily bed census yesterday so the actual number of hospitalizations may be higher. The number of ICU patients has decreased by 2 to 110 and the number of patients on ventilators has decreased by 5 to 78.
Ontario is reporting 2 new COVID-related deaths today, with none in long-term care homes.
Over 19.5 million vaccine doses have been administered, an increase of 60,583 from yesterday, with more than 9 million people fully vaccinated, an increase of 49,697 from yesterday, representing over 61% of Ontario’s total population.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from July 1 – July 31, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from July 1 – July 31, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of hospitalizations, and the purple line is the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 vaccinations in Ontario from July 1 – July 31, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered and the green line is the cumulative number of people fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
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While regional health units are not publishing reports on the weekend, over the past 2 days Ontario is reporting 22 new cases in the greater Kawarthas region, including 11 for Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, 6 for Hastings Prince Edward Public Health, and 5 for Peterborough Public Health.
The actual regional numbers for the weekend as well as for Monday will be confirmed when health units publish their reports on Tuesday (reports will be unavailable on Monday due to the Civic Holiday).
As of July 30, there were 35 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, including 17 in Kawartha Lakes, 7 in Northumberland, 5 in Peterborough, 3 in Hastings Prince Edward (2 in Quinte West and 1 in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory), and 3 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,641 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,614 resolved with 22 deaths), 1,168 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (1,106 resolved with 58 deaths), 953 in Northumberland County (929 resolved with 17 deaths), 126 in Haliburton County (122 resolved with 1 death), and 1,150 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,135 resolved with 12 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Hastings Prince Edward on July 28.
You shouldn't have any challenges keeping your family supplied for the Civic Holiday long weekend, as most grocery stores, drug stores, malls, and big box stores and some beer and liquor stores are open on Monday. (Stock photo)
Since the Civic Holiday isn’t a statutory holiday in Ontario and is not listed in Ontario’s Employment Standards Act or Retail Business Holidays Act, most businesses are open on Monday, although many have reduced hours. Almost all grocery stores, malls, and big box stores are open on Monday. Liquor stores and beer stores in larger communities are open. Government offices are closed and many government-operated services are unavailable.
For your convenience, we provide this list of holiday hours for 265 selected businesses and services across the Kawarthas. This information comes from their websites and social media accounts, which may or may not be up to date, so please always call them first to confirm their hours (we’ve included phone numbers), especially when you are travelling any distance. Where you see “call to confirm hours”, that means we either couldn’t find any information or we don’t have a lot of confidence the hours listed on a business’s website are up to date.
If your business or organization is listed and the hours are incorrect, please let us know by using our content feedback form. We do not list restaurants as there are far too many to include.
Bewdley Community Recycling Centre 7650 County Rd. 9, Hamilton 905-342-2514
CLOSED
Brighton Community Recycling Centre 1112 County Rd. 26, Brighton 613-475-1946
CLOSED
Canada Post Mail Delivery / Offices (Note: post offices operated by the private sector will be open according to the hours of service of the host business
No pickup or delivery
City of Kawartha Lakes City Hall, Municipal Service Centres, and Administration Offices 26 Francis St., Lindsay 705-324-9411
CLOSED
City of Kawartha Lakes Parks, Recreation and Culture facilities, arenas, and pools Various locations, City of Kawartha Lakes 705-324-9411
CLOSED
City of Kawartha Lakes Public Libraries Various locations, City of Kawartha Lakes 705-324-9411 x1291
CLOSED
City of Kawartha Lakes Waste and Recycling Collection 26 Francis St., Lindsay 1-888-822-2225
Moves to Aug 3 (Aug 3 moves to Aug 4, 4 to 5, 5 to 6)
City of Peterborough Day Cares Peterborough 705-748-8830
CLOSED
City of Peterborough Garbage Pickup Peterborough 705-745-1386
No change
City of Peterborough Green Waste Pickup Peterborough 705-876-1600
No change
City of Peterborough Recycling Pickup Peterborough 705-876-1600
No change
City of Peterborough Social Services Peterborough 705-748-8830
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Cases in Ontario have increased for the fifth straight day, with 258 new cases reported today. The seven-day average of daily cases has now increased by 13 to 183.
Most of the increase in cases is in urban centres, with 8 of Ontario’s 34 health units reporting double-digit increases — Toronto (53), York (33), Waterloo (28), Hamilton (27), Peel (26), Durham (22), Halton (12), and Middlesex-London (11) — and 8 reporting no new cases at all.
However, the number of hospitalizations and ICU patients continues to slowly decline. Hospitalizations have decreased by 3 to 105, with the number of ICU patients decreasing by 5 to 112. The number of patients on ventilators has increased by 6 to 83.
Ontario is reporting 6 new COVID-related deaths today, with none in long-term care homes.
Over 19.4 million vaccine doses have been administered, an increase of 81,590 from yesterday, with almost 9 million people fully vaccinated, an increase of 66,276 from yesterday, representing almost 61% of Ontario’s total population.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from June 30 – July 30, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from June 30 – July 30, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of hospitalizations, and the purple line is the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 vaccinations in Ontario from June 30 – July 30, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered and the green line is the cumulative number of people fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
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Numbers for the greater Kawarthas region are unavailable on weekends as no health units in the region publish reports on Saturdays or Sundays. Health units will also not be publishing reports on Monday because of the Civic Holiday. Numbers for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday will be provided when the health units issue their reports on Tuesday.
As of July 30, there were 35 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, including 17 in Kawartha Lakes, 7 in Northumberland, 5 in Peterborough, 3 in Hastings Prince Edward (2 in Quinte West and 1 in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory), and 3 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,641 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,614 resolved with 22 deaths), 1,168 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (1,106 resolved with 58 deaths), 953 in Northumberland County (929 resolved with 17 deaths), 126 in Haliburton County (122 resolved with 1 death), and 1,150 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,135 resolved with 12 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Hastings Prince Edward on July 28.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 226 new COVID-19 cases today, with 6 of Ontario’s 34 health units reporting double-digit increases — Toronto (62), Waterloo (35), Peel (24), York (13), Hamilton (13), amd Halton (13) — and 9 reporting no new cases at all.
For the third day in a row, the seven-day average of daily cases has increased, by 5 to 170.
Hospitalizations have increased by 3 to 108, with the number of ICU patients decreasing by 4 to 117 and the number of patients on ventilators decreasing by 1 to 77.
Ontario is reporting 11 new COVID-related deaths today, including 3 in long-term care homes.
Over 19.3 million vaccine doses have been administered, an increase of 83,907 from yesterday, with over 8.9 million people fully vaccinated, an increase of 67,605 from yesterday, representing over 60% of Ontario’s total population.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from June 29 – July 29, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from June 29 – July 29, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of hospitalizations, and the purple line is the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 vaccinations in Ontario from June 29 – July 29, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered and the green line is the cumulative number of people fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 15 new cases to report, including 5 in Northumberland, 4 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Peterborough, 2 in in Hastings Prince Edward, and 1 in Haliburton. Except for Peterborough, the new cases were reported over the past 2 days.
There is 1 new COVID-related hospitalization in Peterborough.
An additional 11 cases have been resolved, including 7 in Kawartha Lakes, 2 in Peterborough, and 2 in Hastings Prince Edward.
An outbreak at Haliburton Housing’s Housing First residence at 68 Lindsay St. N. in Lindsay has been declared resolved, leaving no outbreaks in the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit region.
The number of active cases has decreased by 3 in Kawartha Lakes, increased by 4 in Northumberland, by 1 in Peterborough, and by 1 in Haliburton, and remain the same in Hastings Prince Edward.
There are currently 35 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 2 since yesterday, including 17 in Kawartha Lakes, 7 in Northumberland, 5 in Peterborough, 3 in Hastings Prince Edward (2 in Quinte West and 1 in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory), and 3 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,641 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,614 resolved with 22 deaths), 1,168 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (1,106 resolved with 58 deaths), 953 in Northumberland County (929 resolved with 17 deaths), 126 in Haliburton County (122 resolved with 1 death), and 1,150 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,135 resolved with 12 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Hastings Prince Edward on July 28.
Pre-pandemic crowds at Victoria Beach on Lake Ontario in Cobourg, popular with both residents and out-of-town visitors from Toronto. (Photo courtesy of Linda McIlwain)
Every Friday during swimming season, we post The Beach Report™ — our weekly report of the results of water quality testing at beaches in the greater Kawarthas region — and update it throughout the week as conditions change.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials recommend staying home if you feel sick, visiting a beach close to your home to avoid unnecessary travel, bringing hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes, and maintaining at least two metres of physical distance from other beachgoers.
As of Wednesday, August 4, the following beach has been posted as unsafe for swimming:
Harwood Waterfront & Dock – Hamilton (Northumberland County)
Note: Victoria Park beach in Cobourg is open again on weekends and statutory holidays, but will be monitored for compliance with COVID-19 restrictions including crowding.
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Below are the complete results of water quality testing at beaches in the City and County Peterborough, the City of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton County, Northumberland County, and Hastings County and Prince Edward County.
In the City of Peterborough, Peterborough Public Health Inspectors sample the beaches at Rogers Cove and Beavermead every business day, and public beaches in the County of Peterborough are sampled at least once a week (except for Chandos Beach, Quarry Bay Beach, and White?s Beach which are sampled at least once in June, July, and August).
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit provides weekly testing results for beaches in the City of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton County, and Northumberland County. Testing is based on the most recent test results from the provincial lab in Peterborough for water samples taken from these beaches.
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health provides weekly testing results for beaches in Hastings County and Prince Edward County.
During the summer, local health units sample water at area beaches and test for bacteria such as E. coli to determine if the water quality at a beach is safe for public use. Popular beaches, like the beach at Roger’s Cove in Peterborough’s East City, are tested every business day while most other beaches are tested weekly. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW.com)
Important note
The following test results may not reflect current water quality conditions. Water samples can take one to three days to process and heavy rainfall, high winds or wave activity, large numbers of waterfowl near a beach, or large numbers of swimmers can rapidly change water quality.
You should always check current conditions before deciding to use a beach. You should also monitor other factors that might suggest a beach is unsafe to use, such as floating debris, oil, discoloured water, bad odours, and excessive weed growth.
kawarthaNOW.com offers two enews options to help readers stay in the know. Our VIP enews is delivered weekly every Wednesday morning and includes exclusive giveaways, and our news digest is delivered daily every morning. You can subscribe to one or both.
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