A recent anti-lockdown protest in front of Peterborough City Hall. (Photo: Tyler Berry / No More Lockdowns Peterborough Facebook group)
Peterborough’s political leaders from all three levels of government issued a joint statement on Thursday (April 22) about the growing anti-lockdown protests that have taken place on Saturdays in front of Peterborough City Hall.
The joint statement — from Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith, City of Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien, and Peterborough County Warden J. Murray Jones — says the anti-lockdown protests have the potential to become “super-spreader events” as protesters have been gathering in large numbers, standing together in large groups, and not wearing face coverings.
The four politicians are encouraging the protestors to express their opposition “without putting themselves or others at risk”.
Advertisement - content continues below
The full statement is provided below.
“Living with COVID-19 continues to be an incredible challenge. We would like to thank the vast majority of residents who have been following provincial emergency measures along with public health guidelines and making the personal sacrifices needed to protect each other. Staying home, practicing physical distancing, wearing masks and getting vaccinated are actions we must take to stay safe. We all want to see this pandemic end as soon as possible, and we must all work together to make that happen.
There have been demonstrations in our community opposing the provincially mandated public health measures that have been put in place to help stop the spread of COVID-19. At these protests people have been gathering in large numbers, not wearing masks and standing close together in defiance of public health advice.
These gatherings have the potential to become super-spreader events.
Thirteen people in Peterborough have already lost their lives to COVID-19. No one wants to see more families devastated by this pandemic. We all have a role to play in preventing further illness and death.
There are many safe ways for people to express opposition to the provincial regulations or ask questions about public health measures without putting themselves and others at risk.
Together, we are asking our community to please stay home, avoid in-person gatherings and follow public health advice. We all want to see our businesses open as soon as possible. We all want to spend time with our friends and family. We must work together to stop the spread so our community can start to heal from COVID-19.
Our actions have consequences, and we challenge you to consider how your actions will impact the wellbeing of our community. Please do not put your life and the life of others at risk. Please choose to stay home and stay safe.”
Pastry Peddler in Millbrook and B!KE: The Peterborough Community Bike Shop have been chosen by the Ontario By Bike network as the best bicycle-friendly businesses in the Kawarthas Northumberland tourism region.
As cycling experiences a pandemic-fuelled renaissance, two Peterborough-area businesses have been chosen by the Ontario By Bike network as the best bicycle-friendly businesses in the Kawarthas Northumberland tourism region.
Among the 20 businesses across Ontario receiving the Ontario By Bike award are Pastry Peddler in downtown Millbrook and B!KE: The Peterborough Community Bike Shop in downtown Peterborough.
The 20 businesses “have all gone above and beyond, offering extra services and amenities to cyclists stopping at their locations,” according to a media release from Ontario By Bike, a project of the Toronto-based non-profit organization Transportation Options that fosters sustainable transportation and tourism ideas and innovations.
Easily recognizable as a bike-friendly business with its name and penny-farthing logo, the Pastry Peddler is a popular bakery and cafe at 17 King Street in downtown Millbrook.
Located along a popular cycling route, the eatery is a cycling tourism destination.
The Pastry Peddler offers a wide selection of baked goods as well as sandwiches, soups, pizza, and more. Currently open for takeout only during the pandemic shutdown, the Pastry Peddler plans to open a new outdoor patio this summer. For more information, visit www.pastrypeddler.ca.
Located along a popular cycling route, Pastry Peddler is must-stop destination for local and visiting cyclists, including this young woman and her dog who arrived by bicycle from Montreal in August 2020. The restaurant is working on an outdoor patio that should be ready when dining restrictions loosen up again. (Photo courtesy of Pastry Peddler)
B!KE: The Peterborough Community Cycling Hub is a non-profit registered charity located at 293 George Street in downtown Peterborough that promotes cycling as a healthy, responsible, and viable form of transportation and recreation.
B!KE teaches bike repair and maintenance to members of the local community, with members having access to a professionally equipped bicycle repair workshop space as well as a tool library. B!KE also runs a retail shop with a wide selection of basic and affordable used and new bicycles and parts.
During the pandemic shutdown, appointments are available for B!KE: members for essential repairs and maintenance. While the retail shop is closed to the public, sales are available online or by phone. For more information, visit communitybikeshop.org.
An emotional Premier Doug Ford pauses during a virtual media briefing on April 22, 2021. Ford, who is self-isolating after coming into close contact with a staff member who tested positive for COVID-19, apologized to Ontarians for the government's recent missteps in its handling of the pandemic and promised the province would implement a paid sick days program. (CPAC screenshot)
An emotional Ontario Premier Doug Ford apologized to Ontarians for missteps over the past week in the province’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, during a virtual media conference from an undisclosed outside location on Thursday (April 22).
Ford, who is currently self-isolating after coming into close contact with a staff member who tested positive for COVID-19, specifically referred to the enforcement measures his government announced last Friday — giving police the authority to randomly stop and question people about why they weren’t staying at home — and withdrew a day later after a widespread outcry.
“These decisions left a lot of people very concerned,” Ford admitted. “In fact, they left a lot of people angry and upset.”
Advertisement - content continues below
“I know we got it wrong, I know we made a mistake,” he added. “And for that I’m sorry and I sincerely apologize.”
After months of insisting that provincial paid sick days were not necessary and that Ontarians unable to work because of COVID-19 could instead apply for the federal Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, Ford announced the province is working on a solution for paid sick days.
“It is not lost on me that, unlike many people, I am able to isolate and continue working,” Ford said. “For too many people right now, that’s not the case.”
“For months, my ministers and I have been trying to work with the federal government to fix the existing federal sick pay program,” he added. “Unfortunately, Monday’s federal budget didn’t include the important improvements to the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit that we needed to see. That’s why we’re now working on our solution to fill those gaps for everyone in Ontario.”
Advertisement - content continues below
Ford then acknowledged the impact the pandemic has had on Ontarians.
“I hear it every day, every single day — people telling me their stories, the stories that make you cry,” Ford said, choking up and pausing to sip water. “Families that haven’t been able to hold the hand of their mom or dad as they passed away because of COVID-19 restrictions in hospitals.”
At this point, the virtual media briefing stopped for several minutes for apparent technical issues.
When the briefing resumed, Ford took several pointed questions from reporters, including one questioning Ford’s leadership on the pandemic and one asking him whether he still had the moral authority to lead the province given the mistakes that have been made.
In response to another reporter’s question asking about the paid sick day program, Ford did not provide any specific details or a timeline, but he promised “we will have the best program anywhere in North America, bar none.”
This community garden in Peterborough's Talwood neighbourhood is facilitated by the Nourish Project, a food-based collaborative that grew out of work initiated by the Peterborough Food Action Network. The Talwood and Downtown Jackson Creek neighbourhoods have one of the highest population densities in the City of Peterborough. With most residents renting their homes, they need access to community greenspaces. (Photo courtesy of Nourish)
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s story is by Laura Keresztesi, GreenUP NeighbourPLAN Coordinator.
It’s a lovely day in the neighbourhood. Our city, like most cities, is a collection of neighbourhoods. This idea of a city as a collection of residential neighbourhoods comes from 19th-century urban planning. While each neighbourhood may have its distinct character, all neighbourhoods exist for the benefit of those who call them home.
What have you appreciated more in your neighbourhood now that you’ve spent an entire year of the pandemic living closer to home? When you walk in your neighbourhood, how does it benefit you? Do you have a favourite park or tree?
Trees offer our neighbourhoods many economic, environmental, public health, and safety benefits. Trees also offer myriad of social benefits.
Advertisement - content continues below
For many years, research has confirmed the community-building benefits of trees and public greenspaces. For example, a 1998 study published in the journal Environment and Behaviour concludes “older adults who have more exposure to green common spaces report a stronger sense of unity among residents within their local neighborhood, and experience a stronger sense of belonging to the neighborhood.”
Trees enrich our collective experience and public greenspaces in particular benefit all of us.
The City of Peterborough recognizes the incredible value of our urban tree canopy. With 70 per cent of trees growing on private property, the city is keen to add to the canopy with public street trees and invites people to suggest where there may be opportunities for planting more street trees.
Trees at Ecology Park, located within walking distance of both the Marsdale Drive and East City neighbourhoods of Peterborough. Trees offer our neighbourhoods many economic, environmental, public health, and safety benefits. (Photo courtesy of GreenUP)
As residents, in many ways you are the experts on your neighbourhood. For example, residents who participated in GreenUP’s Sustainable Urban Development (SUN) and NeighbourPLAN programs helped identify key areas that would be suitable for planting projects. These areas can be found in the Neighbourhood Visions and SUN Action Plans.
Popular areas for planting projects include in existing greenspaces, boulevards, potential Depave sites, and expanses of private property (schools, churches, and high rises).
In addition to planting trees, residents expressed a need to care for and nurture all living things, and connect to neighbours through that shared experience of stewardship. Humans are caring creatures and tending to plants brings us joy, hope, and contributes to an overall sense of well-being.
Advertisement - content continues below
However, not everyone is privileged enough to have a private outdoor space appropriate for growing a garden or fruit trees. Canadian statistics from 2013 reveal the most likely place people grow plants is in yards (81 per cent of the households who grow), and those who owned their home were almost twice as likely to participate in growing greens than households who rented (65 per cent compared to 34 per cent).
We need to enable people to enjoy the benefits of growing produce — even when they rent their homes and have limited private yard space. Take the Downtown Jackson Creek and Talwood neighbourhoods, for example, where 86 per cent of residents rent their homes — far above the city-wide average of 38 per cent.
In these neighbourhoods, it is especially important to support options for growing close to home as well as general access to high-quality public growing spaces. The Nourish Project (nourishproject.ca), a food-based collaborative that grew out of work initiated by the Peterborough Food Action Network, helps to coordinate a growing network of thriving resident-led community gardens.
Comparing these two satellite images shows the difference between the relatively dense tree canopy around the intersection of Homewood Avenue and Leslie Avenue in Peterborough, as opposed to the relatively sparse tree canopy at Tallwood Drive at Goodfellow Road, one of the areas of highest population density in the city. A healthy tree canopy and shared green and growing spaces deliver social, economic, and public health benefits to neighbourhoods. (Photos: Google Maps)
These gardens are often in what the city classifies as neighbourhood parks that are “intended to serve the close-to-home social and recreation needs of a neighbourhood.” The city hopes to have all residents live within walking distance to a neighbourhood park and has set out guidelines for the improvement of existing parks and design of future parks.
Some key ideas that were highlighted in the NeighbourPLAN Vision documents are also reflected in these city guidelines, including:
Pedestrians should not have to cross a busy street to access a neighbourhood park.
Parks should be appealing to all age groups, and be functional in all seasons.
Parks may celebrate and/or acknowledge Indigenous placemaking/history.
Advertisement - content continues below
These guidelines and others are found in the City of Peterborough’s Assessment of Parks and Open Spaces document from 2019. This assessment informs municipal staff of the current state of existing parks and open spaces in Peterborough and makes recommendations that “will improve access to and quality of the city’s existing and future parkland.”
With close-to-home on our minds, neighbourhood parks stand out as an essential element of a neighbourhood. The findings reveal that many areas in Peterborough fall below the recommended standard for access to a neighbourhood park or greenspace.
Not all residents have easy access to parks and high-quality and accessible greenspaces, so it is important that we look for creative ways to bring the benefits of growing and being with greenery into our homes.
While houseplants can brighten indoor spaces year-round and provide a relationship of care in our private spaces, creating communal opportunities for growing and enjoying greenspaces in neighbourhoods improves public health as well as a stronger appreciation of clean water and a healthy environment. (Photo: Laura Keresztesi)
GreenUP and Nourish are working forward with residents in the NeighbouPLAN and SUN neighbourhoods to explore how to advance the visions and action plans to grow good things in these communities and across the city.
This work is supported by grants from the Community Foundation of Greater Peterborough’s Building Communities Fund and by the Government of Canada’s Emergency Support Fund, administered through the United Way Peterborough & District.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
After yesterday’s dip under 4,000, today Ontario is reporting 4,212 new cases, with the seven-day average of daily cases increasing by 8 to 4,327. Toronto is reporting 1,249 cases, and 10 other health units are reporting triple-digit increases. There are 2,119 more cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant, 3 more cases of the B.1.351 South Africa variant, and 1 more case of the P.1 Brazilian variant.
Hospitalizations have dropped slightly, but ICU admissions and patients on ventilators continue to increase to record highs, with Ontario reporting 32 new deaths. Ontario has now administered more than 4 million doses of vaccine.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 23 new cases to report and an additional 57 cases resolved, with the number of active cases decreasing by 36 to 317.
Advertisement - content continues below
Most of the new cases reported today are in Toronto (1,249), Peel (771), York (386), Hamilton (276), Durham (214), Niagara (201), Ottawa (177), Halton (168), Simcoe Muskoka (124), Waterloo (120), and Middlesex-London (117).
There are double-digit increases reported today in Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (82), Windsor-Essex (74), Brant (50), Southwestern (24), Eastern Ontario (22), Haldimand-Norfolk (21), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (20), Thunder Bay (16), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (13), Porcupine (11), Hastings Prince Edward (11), and Peterborough (11), with smaller increases in Northwestern (9), Timiskaming (9), Algoma (8), Sudbury (8), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (8), and Grey Bruce (7).
The remaining 5 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 3 health units (North Bay Parry Sound, Renfrew, and Chatham-Kent) reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s new cases, 55% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (1,554) among people ages 20-39 followed by 1,263 cases among people ages 40-59 and 759 cases among people 19 and under.
With 4,204 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has increased by 0.1% to at 88.2%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has decreased by 2.1% to 7.9%, meaning that 79 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on April 20.
Ontario is reporting 32 new COVID-19 deaths today, with no new deaths in long-term care homes. Ontario has averaged 26 new daily deaths over the past week, an increase of 1 from yesterday.
The number of hospitalizations has decreased by 25 to 2,335, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs increasing by 17 to 790 and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators increasing by 29 to 566.
A total of 51,877 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation increasing by 2,902 to 32,119.
A total of 4,131,882 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 136,695 from yesterday, with 349,396 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 1,799 from yesterday.
The number of fully vaccinated people represents 2.37% of Ontario’s population, an increase of 0.01% from yesterday, with fully and partially vaccinated people representing 28.04% of the population, an increase of 0.93% from yesterday. An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
Advertisement - content continues below
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 23 new cases to report, including 9 in Hastings Prince Edward, 8 in Peterborough, 4 in Kawartha Lakes, and 2 in Northumberland. There are no new cases in Haliburton.
An outbreak at Mariposa Elementary School in Oakwood was declared on April 20.
There are 4 new hospitalizations in Peterborough and 2 new ICU admissions in Hastings Prince Edward.
There are 14 new regional cases of variants of concern, including 7 in Hastings Prince Edward, 6 in Peterborough, and 1 in Northumberland.
An additional 57 cases have been resolved, including 19 in Peterborough, 19 in Hastings Prince Edward, 10 in Northumberland, 6 in Kawartha Lakes, and 3 in Haliburton. An outbreak related to Tri-board Bus #499 in Belleville was declared resolved on April 20.
There are currently 317 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 36 from yesterday, including 107 in Peterborough, 86 in Hastings Prince Edward (18 in Quinte West, 36 in Belleville, 4 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 9 in Prince Edward County, 13 in Central Hastings, and 6 in North Hastings), 81 in Northumberland, 35 in Kawartha Lakes, and 8 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,134 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,014 resolved with 13 deaths), 675 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (597 resolved with 56 deaths), 768 in Northumberland County (674 resolved with 13 deaths), 91 in Haliburton County (82 resolved with 1 death), and 835 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (741 resolved with 8 deaths). The two most recent deaths were reported in Northumberland and in Peterborough on April 20.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 4 p.m. the previous day, as well as from systems in Toronto, Ottawa, and Middlesex-London at 2 p.m. the previous day. Data from local health units is more current and is usually reflected in the provincial data the following day. There may be discrepancies between the Ontario data reported today (which is from yesterday) and the local health unit data reported today (which is from today).
Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 1,134 (increase of 7)* Total variants of concern cases: 379 (increase of 6) Active cases: 107 (decrease of 12) Close contacts: 337 (increase of 29) Deaths: 13 (no change) Resolved: 1,014 (increase of 19) Hospitalizations (total to date): 44 (increase of 4)** Total tests completed: Over 48,900 (increase of 100) Outbreaks: Empress Gardens retirement home in Peterborough, Unidentified congregate living facility #3 in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #5 in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #6 in Peterborough, Trent Champlain Residence: West Towers in Peterborough (no change) Vaccine doses administered: 41,148 (as of April 15) Number of people fully vaccinated: 2,427 (as of April 15)
*The health unit is reporting 8 new cases in the last 24 hours. The total case count has increased by 7 because 1 previous case was removed.
**As of April 21, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 10 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 (decrease of 6) and a total of 46 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s service area is the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.
The health unit provides reports from Monday to Saturday, excluding Sundays and statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 1,534, including 675 in Kawartha Lakes, 768 in Northumberland, and 91 in Haliburton (increase of 6, including 4 in Kawartha Lakes and 2 in Northumberland)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 251, including 90 in Kawartha Lakes, 147 in Northumberland, and 14 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Northumberland)** Active cases: 124, including 35 in Kawartha Lakes, 81 in Northumberland, and 8 in Haliburton (decrease of 13, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes, 8 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton) Probable cases: 2, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes (no change) Hospitalizations (total to date): 56, including 33 in Kawartha Lakes, 20 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)*** Deaths (including among probable cases): 70, including 56 in Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change) Resolved: 1,353, including 597 in Kawartha Lakes, 674 in Northumberland, and 82 in Haliburton (increase of 19, including 6 in Kawartha Lakes, 10 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton) Tests completed: 175,291 (increase of 775) Vaccine doses administered: 51,711 (increase of 13,296 as of April 19) Number of people fully vaccinated: 3,408 (increase of 361 as of April 19) Outbreaks: St. Mary Catholic Secondary School in Cobourg, Cobourg Collegiate Institute in Cobourg, Fenelon Court long-term care home in Fenelon Falls, North Hope Central Public School in Campbellcroft, Grafton Public School in Grafton, Grafton Post Office in Grafton, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School in Lindsay, Mariposa Elementary School in Oakwood (increase of 1)****
*The health unit states that total counts and counts for individual counties may fluctuate from previously reported counts as cases are transferred to or from the health unit based on case investigation details and routine data cleaning.
**The N501Y mutation has been identified in variants of concern including the B.1.1.7 UK variant, the B.1.351 South Africa variant, and the P.1 Brazilian variant.
***As of April 21, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 7 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (increase of 1).
****An outbreak at Mariposa Elementary School in Oakwood was declared on April 20.
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health’s service area is Hastings County (including Bancroft) and Prince Edward County.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 835 (increase of 9) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 244 (increase of 7) Active cases: 86 (decrease of 11) Deaths: 8 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 12 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 4 (increase of 2) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 2 (no change) Resolved: 741 (increase of 19) Tests completed: 124,864 (increase of 3) Vaccine doses administered: 55,720 (increase of 1,831) Number of people fully vaccinated: 3,582 Outbreaks: Unidentified congregate living facility in Belleville, Unidentified community outbreak in Belleville, Unidentified workplace in Prince Edward County (decrease of 1)*
*An outbreak related to Tri-board Bus #499 in Belleville was declared resolved on April 20.
Advertisement - content continues below
Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 429,123 (increase of 4,212) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) cases: 41,395 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 2,119); 108 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 3); 212 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 1) 7-day average of daily new cases: 4,327 (increase of 8) Positivity rate: 7.9% (decrease of 2.1%) Resolved: 378,417 (increase of 4,204), 88.2% of all cases (increase of 0.1%) Hospitalizations: 2,335 (decrease of 25) Hospitalizations in ICU: 790 (increase of 17) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 566 (increase of 29) Deaths: 7,789 (increase of 32) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 26 (increase of 1) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,912 (no change) Total tests completed: 13,668,503 (increase of 51,877) Tests under investigation: 32,119 (increase of 2,902) Vaccination doses administered: 4,131,882 (increase of 136,695), 28.04% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.93%)* People fully vaccinated (two doses): 349,396 (increase of 1,799), 2.37% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.01%)*
*An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from March 21 – April 20, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 tests completed in Ontario from March 21 – April 20, 2021. The red line is the daily number of tests completed, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from March 21 – April 20, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of hospitalizations, the purple line is the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs, and the dotted orange line is a five-day moving average of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from March 21 – April 20, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily deaths, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of daily deaths. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Ontario from March 21 – April 20, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of daily doses. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
The drive-through mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Lindsay Exhibition. (YouTube screenshot)
Due to limited vaccine supply, only one mass vaccination clinic — at the Lindsay Exhibition — will be available next week through the provincial booking system for residents in Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton.
“We not receiving the supply that we’d like to see to meet the demand,” said Dr. Natalie Bocking, medical officer of health for the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, during a virtual media briefing on Wednesday (April 21) — her first since assuming the role three weeks ago.
Dr. Bocking added the focus of the health unit over the next week will be on mobile teams to provide follow-up clinics in retirement homes and other congregate care settings, as well as reaching people with the highest-risk health conditions and those who are homebound with mobility issues.
Advertisement - content continues below
“Of the vaccine supply we do have, we need to be able to reach some of the priority populations that were identified in the provincial framework,” Dr. Bocking said.
While seven mass immunization clinics have been established in Cobourg, Campbellford, Lindsay, Fenelon Falls, Haliburton, and Minden, only the Lindsay Exhibition drive-through clinic will be booking appointments next week. The other clinics will not be available in the provincial booking system because the health unit doesn’t have enough vaccine.
“We had made a policy decision that we would not offer appointments in the provincial booking system unless we had confirmed vaccine,” Dr. Bocking said. ” We didn’t want to be put in a position where we would have to cancel actual appointments that had been made if our tentative vaccine supply did not come through.”
“Over the next couple of weeks, there will be fewer appointments in those mass immunization clinics because we have less supply overall,” she added.
Dr. Bocking also provided an update on the status of the pandemic in the health unit region, noting that 291 new cases have been reported in the last 14 days — representing 19 per cent of the total of 1,534 cases in the region since the pandemic began last March.
“In the last two weeks, approximately 13 to 14 per cent of (cases) have been found to be variants of concern,” Dr. Bocking said, noting that this rate is less than the provincial average of 69 per cent. “We are not seeing in our region the same proportion of variants of concern, but we are seeing it.”
Advertisement - content continues below
The majority of those cases are the B.1.1.7 UK variant, according to Dr. Bocking, with 30 per cent of the cases in the last 14 days among people under the age of 20.
“Over the last week, our crude rate per 100,000 people has ranged from between 65 to 88 or 89 cases,” Dr. Bocking said. “If we weren’t in a provincial shutdown, that would put us in the red zone.”
Prior to the shutdown, the health unit had been in the ‘yellow-protect’ level of the province’s COVID-19 response framework.
Dr. Bocking sounded a note of optimism as the number of new daily cases has slowed, with a test positivity rate at just over three per cent in the last 14 days — far less than the provincial positive rate that reached a high of 10.5 per cent on April 19.
“It seems to have plateaued a little bit,” Dr. Bocking said, referring to the number of new cases. “We’re now seeing on average about 20 new cases per day,” she said, adding that she is hopeful the numbers will decrease as a result of the latest public health measures.
There are currently eight outbreaks in the health unit’s region, six of which are at schools. Around 14 per cent of cases are associated with outbreaks, Dr. Bocking said, with most a result of community transmission.
In response to a reporter’s question asking how there could be outbreaks at schools, which have been closed since April 9th, Dr. Bocking pointed out it can take 14 days for symptoms to develop. An outbreak will be declared if at least two students were infected while they were in school.
From filmmaker Zack Snyder, the Netflix zombie heist action flick "Army of the Dead" tells the story of a gang of mercenaries attempting to retrieve $200 million from a vault inside zombie-infested Los Vegas, with just 32 hours to go before the government nukes the city. It premieres on May 21, 2021. (Photo: Netflix)
Every month, kawarthaNOW is the only local media source to bring you a list of what’s coming to Netflix Canada.
Netflix’s shares plunged as much as 13 per cent this week after the streaming service revealed its growth has stalled. The company attributes this to the easing of pandemic lockdowns, but a lack of new shows — with many spring productions delayed because of the pandemic — may also be responsible. There’s also a lot more competition from other streaming services such as Disney+, Apple TV+, and Amazon Prime Video, some of which are now cheaper than Netflix, which recently raised its prices.
That said, here are highlights of some of the more interesting shows coming to Netflix in May.
The new Netflix original superhero series Jupiter’s Legacy, based on the comic book series by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely, tells the story of the children of the world’s first superheros, who struggle to live up to the legacy of their parents. Season one premieres on Friday, May 7th.
VIDEO: “Jupiter’s Legacy” trailer
The following Friday (May 14), Netflix unveils the second volume of its animated anthology series Love, Death & Robots. The adults-only collection of animated shorts spans the genres of science fiction, horror, and fantasy. As with the first volume, expect lots of sex and violence.
VIDEO: “Love, Death & Robots – Volume 2” trailer
Also on Friday, May 14th, the Netflix film The Woman in the Window premieres, based on the novel of the same name by Daniel Mallory (writing as A.J. Finn), who says he was inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film Rear Window. The psychological thriller tells the story of agoraphobic psychologist Anna Fox (Amy Adams) who, obsessed with her new neighbours, tries to solve a brutal crime she witnesses from her window.
VIDEO: “The Woman in the Window” trailer
Fans of zombie films and fans of heist films may both find something to like in the Netflix film Army of the Dead, from filmmaker Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen, Justice League), which premieres on Friday, May 21st. After a zombie outbreak has left Las Vegas in ruins and walled off from the rest of the world, former zombie fighter Scott Ward (Dave Bautista) is hired by casino boss Bly Tanaka (Hiroyuki Sanada) to pull together a gang of mercenaries, enter the zombie-infested quarantine zone, and retrieve $200 million stored in a vault beneath the Las Vegas strip — with just 32 hours to go before the government nukes the city.
VIDEO: “Army of the Dead” trailer
On Wednesday, May 19th, Netflix is releasing the second season of Who Killed Sara?, a Mexican thriller series telling the story of Alex Guzman (Manolo Cardona), who is hellbent on finding out who killed his sister Sara after he spent 18 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. The first season has become Netflix’s most popular non-English language series ever, with an estimated 55 million subscribers tuning in since its launch last month.
Advertisement - content continues below
Other new Netflix originals include Halston (no release date specified), Mine (May 8), The Upshaws (May 11), Move to Heaven (May 14), Black Space (May 27), and The Parisian Agency: Exclusive Properties (May 31).
Returning Netflix originals include season two of Ragnarok (no release date specified), part two of Selena: The Series (May 4), season two of Girl From Nowhere (May 7), season three of Haunted (May 14), season two of Special (May 20), season two of The Neighbor (May 21), and part two of season five of Lucifer and season three of The Kominsky Method (both on May 28).
Netflix documentaries include The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness (May 5), Money Explained (May 11), and Nail Bomber: Manhunt (May 26).
Netflix films include Milestone and Monster (both on May 7), Dance of the Forty One and Oxygeon (boht on May 12), Ferry, I Am All Girls, and The Strange House (all on May 14), Sardar Ka Grandson (May 18), Baggio: The Divine Ponytail and High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America (both on May 26), and Blue Miracle (May 27).
Theatrically released films include Blood Diamond, Evil Dead, The Forbidden Kingdom, Gandhi, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, Rambo III, Rambo: First Blood, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Twister, and The Upside (all on May 1), Casino, Honey, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Weird Science (all on May 5), Patch Adams (May 7), Shaft (May 10), Synchronic (May 14), Little (May 16), Annabelle Comes Home (May 17), Men in Black: International (May 18), The Last Days (May 19), Hating Peter Tatchell (May 20), and Us (May 23).
VIDEO: New to Netflix Canada in May 2021
Here’s the complete list of everything coming to Netflix Canada in May, along with what’s leaving.
Advertisement - content continues below
Coming in May (no release date specified)
AlRawabi School for Girls (Netflix original) – Bullied outcasts at an all-girls high school plot the perfect revenge to get back at their tormentors. Created by Tima Shomali.
Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir (2021)
Halston (Netflix original) – Ewan McGregor stars in this limited series that tracks the meteoric rise and fall of the first American celebrity fashion designer. From Ryan Murphy.
Mad for Each Other (Netflix original) – Bothered to realize they are next-door neighbors and share a psychiatrist, a man and a woman find it’s impossible to stay out of each other’s way.
Master of None (Netflix original) –
Racket Boys (Netflix original) – A ragtag middle school badminton club makes a bid for the youth championships.
Ragnarok: Season 2 (Netflix original) – Mythical chaos and environmental disaster loom as Magne looks for help in his fight against colossal foes and contends with his unmanageable brother.
Saturday, May 1
Blood Diamond
Dark Skies
Evil Dead
The Forbidden Kingdom
Gandhi
Good Girls Get High
Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay
La Moitié gauche du frigo
My Awkward Sexual Adventure
New Year’s Eve
On the Basis of Sex
Rambo III
Rambo: First Blood
Rambo: First Blood Part II
Total Drama Island
Total Drama: Action
Total Drama: All Stars
Total Drama: Pahkitew Island
Total Drama: Revenge of the Island
Total Drama: The Ridonculous Race
Total Drama: World Tour
Twister
The Upside
Tuesday, May 4
Selena: The Series: Part 2 (Netflix original) – As Selena’s career gains momentum, the singer fights to remain true to herself, spend quality time with her family and expand her businesses.
Trash Truck: Season 2 (Netflix family) – Hank, Trash Truck and animal pals Walter, Donny and Ms. Mona let their imaginations take them on heartwarming adventures in their backyard and beyond!
Wednesday, May 5
Brightburn
Casino
Honey
Honey 2
How High
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The Sons of Sam: A Descent into Darkness (Netflix documentary) – The Son of Sam case grew into a lifelong obsession for journalist Maury Terry, who became convinced that the murders were linked to a satanic cult.
The Wizard
Weird Science
Friday, May 7
Girl from Nowhere: Season 2 (Netflix original) – Nanno is back, doling karmic retribution to more students and faculty in a new season of this anthology series — and this time, she’s not alone.
Jupiter’s Legacy (Netflix original) – They’re the first generation of superheroes. But as they pass the torch to their children, tensions are rising — and the old rules no longer apply.
Lost Girls & Love Hotels
Milestone (Netflix film) – Recently marking 500,000 kilometres on the road, a newly bereaved trucker faces the threat of losing the job that has come to define him to a new intern.
Monster (Netflix film) – A talented teen implicated in a robbery-turned-murder fights for his innocence and integrity against a criminal justice system that’s already judged him.
Patch Adams
Saturday, May 8
Mine (Netflix original) – Encased in a gold-clad life of secrets and lies, two women in a conglomerate family seek to topple all that stands in their way of finding true joy.
Monday, May 10
Shaft
Tuesday, May 11
Money, Explained (Netflix documentary) – We spend it, borrow it and save it. Now let’s talk about money and its many minefields, from credit cards to casinos, scammers to student loans.
Wednesday, May 12
Dance of the Forty One (Netflix film) – A gay congressman marries the Mexican president’s daughter but cavorts with a young man at a secret club. And then scandal hits. Based on a true story.
Oxygen (Netflix film) – A woman wakes up in a cryogenic unit with no memory. Quickly running out of oxygen, she must find a way to remember who she is in order to survive.
The Upshaws (Netflix original) – A working-class Black family in Indiana strives for a better life and a happy home while juggling everyday struggles in this comedy series.
Thursday, May 13
Castlevania: Season 4 (Netflix anime) – Dracula’s influence looms large as Belmont and Sypha investigate plans to resurrect the notorious vampire. Alucard struggles to embrace his humanity.
Friday, May 14
A Madea Family Funeral
Ferry (Netflix film) – Before he built a drug empire, Ferry Bouman returns to his hometown on a revenge mission that finds his loyalty tested — and a love that alters his life.
Haunted: Season 3 (Netflix original) – A menacing mansion. A haunting melody. A demonic cat. More real people share scary stories from their past — and the truth is terrifying.
I Am All Girls (Netflix film) – A relentless detective finds common ground with a killer systematically targeting the perpetrators running a powerful child-trafficking ring.
Jungle Beat: The Movie (Netflix family) – When a lost and lonely alien crash-lands on Earth, his new crew of talking animal friends helps him get back home — and try to save the world!
Love, Death & Robots: Volume 2 (Netflix original) – From wild adventures on far-flung planets to unsettling encounters close to home: The Emmy-winning anthology returns with a crop of provocative tales.
Move to Heaven (Netflix original) – Finding life in all that’s left behind, a trauma cleaner with Asperger’s and his ex-con uncle deliver the untold stories of the departed to loved ones.
The Strange House (Netflix film) – When a big-city family moves to a remote town, two young brothers and their new friends try to solve the menacing mystery that haunts their new home.
Synchronic
The Woman in the Window (Netflix film) – Confined to her home by agoraphobia, a psychologist becomes obsessed with her new neighbours — and solving a brutal crime she witnesses from her window.
Sunday, May 16
Little
Monday, May 17
Annabelle Comes Home
Tuesdsay, May 18
Men in Black: International
Poms
Sardar Ka Grandson (Netflix film) – A devoted grandson’s mission to reunite his ailing grandmother with her ancestral home turns into a complicated, comic cross-border affair.
Wednesday, May 19
The Last Days
Who Killed Sara?: Season 2 (Netflix original) – To exact his revenge, Álex will have to bring to light his sister’s darker side — and come to terms with the fact that he never knew the real Sara.
Thursday, May 20
Hating Peter Tatchell
Special: Season 2 (Netflix original) – Now semi-estranged from his mother, Ryan continues exploring the world on his own, with all the complex ups and downs life and love have to offer.
Friday, May 21
Army of the Dead (Netflix film) – After a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries takes the ultimate gamble by venturing into the quarantine zone for the greatest heist ever.
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous: Season 3 (Netflix family) – The teen campers on Isla Nublar return for another season of working together to escape from the island of free-roaming dinosaurs.
The Neighbor: Season 2 (Netflix original) – Just when Javi thinks he’s conquered being Earth’s superhero, challenges arise from an unlikely competitor … and some extraterrestrial visitors.
Sunday, May 23
Us
Wednesday, May 26
Baggio: The Divine Ponytail (Netflix film) – A chronicle of the 22-year career of soccer star Roberto Baggio, including his difficult debut as a player and his deep rifts with some of his coaches.
High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America (Netflix film) – Food writer Stephen Satterfield embarks on a vibrant and powerful culinary journey that celebrates the courage, artistry, and resourcefulness of the African American people.
Nail Bomber: Manhunt (Netflix documentary) – This documentary tells the story of the 1999 London bombings that targeted minorities, and the race to find the far-right extremist behind them.
Thursday, May 27
The Banana Splits Movie
Black Space (Netflix original) – A rogue detective with unorthodox means leads an investigation into a massacre committed by unicorn mask-wearing assassins at an Israeli high school.
Blue Miracle (Netflix film) – The incredible true story of Casa Hogar, the Mexican boys home that entered the world’s biggest fishing tournament to save their orphanage.
Eden (Netflix anime) – Created by Justin Leach (Ghost in the Shell 2), Yasuhiro Irie (Fullmetal Alchemist) directs the story of robots raising the last human child.
Soy Rada: Serendipity (Netflix comedy special) – The delightful Argentine comic Agustín Aristarán (aka Soy Rada) is back, this time putting the spotlight on family and parenting, magic and music.
Friday, May 28
Dog Gone Trouble (Netflix family) – The privileged existence of a pampered pooch named Trouble is turned upside down when he gets lost and must learn to survive on the big city streets.
Lucifer: Season 5 Part 2 (Netflix original) – In Part B of the stunning fifth season of Lucifer, God himself comes to Earth. Secrets will be revealed, heroic sacrifices will be made, and the world will never be the same.
The Kominsky Method: Season 3 (Netflix original) – A new chapter unfolds for Sandy as he deals with a difficult loss, a daunting financial obligation, an important reunion and a major career boost.
Monday, May 31
The Parisian Agency: Exclusive Properties (Netflix original) – This unscripted series follows the members of the Kretz family of Paris and their luxury real estate business.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
There’s a mix of good news and bad news in today’s update. The good news is Ontario is reporting 3,469 new cases — the first time in a week cases have been under 4,000 and the smallest increase since April 7 when 3,295 cases were reported — with the seven-day average of daily cases decreasing by 29 to 4,319.
While 9 health units are still reporting at least triple-digit increases, 12 are reporting 5 or fewer cases. And, for the first time since March 16, the percentage of resolved cases has increased, although only by 1%.
The bad news is that hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and patients on ventilators continue to climb to record highs, with 22 more deaths increasing the seven-day average of daily deaths to 25 (although none of the deaths are in long-term care homes). Also, for the third day in a row, Ontario has administered fewer than 100,000 vaccine doses, which is the minimum number of daily doses that Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory table stated would be required to bring the virus under control.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there’s also good and bad news. While there are 44 new cases to report, an additional 61 cases have been resolved, so the number of active cases has decreased by 23 to 353. However, there have been 2 new COVID-related deaths in the region: 1 in Peterborough and 1 in Northumberland — the 13th deaths for both areas.
Advertisement - content continues below
Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (1,074), Peel (775), York (406), Durham (256), Ottawa (197), Halton (130), and Niagara (106).
There are double-digit increases today in Middlesex-London (78), Simcoe Muskoka (77), Waterloo (76), Windsor-Essex (46), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (46), Hamilton (45), Brant (27), Southwestern (20), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (14), Grey Bruce (13), Haldimand-Norfolk (13), and Porcupine (11), with smaller increases in Eastern Ontario (9), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (8), and Lambton (7).
The remaining 12 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with only 1 health unit (North Bay Parry Sound) reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s new cases, 55% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (1,248) among people ages 20-39 followed by 1,027 cases among people ages 40-59 and 641 cases among people 19 and under.
With 3,369 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has increased by 0.1% to at 88.1% — the last time the percentage of resolved cases increased was on March 16. The average positivity rate across Ontario has decreased by 0.5% to 10.0%, meaning that 100 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on April 19.
Ontario is reporting 22 new COVID-19 deaths today, with no new deaths in long-term care homes. Ontario has averaged 25 new daily deaths over the past week, an increase of 1 from yesterday.
The number of hospitalizations has increased by 158 to 2,360, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs increasing by 18 to 773 and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators increasing by 21 to 537.
A total of 40,596 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation increasing by 7,705 to 29,217.
A total of 3,995,187 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 90,409 from yesterday, with 347,597 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 1,592 from yesterday.
The number of fully vaccinated people represents 2.36% of Ontario’s population, an increase of 0.01% from yesterday, with fully and partially vaccinated people representing 27.12% of the population, an increase of 0.61% from yesterday. An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
Advertisement - content continues below
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 44 new cases to report, including 20 in Northumberland, 13 in Peterborough, and 11 in Hastings Prince Edward. There are no new cases in Kawartha Lakes or Haliburton.
There have been 2 new COVID-related deaths in the region, including 1 in Peterborough and 1 in Northumberland.
An outbreak at an unidentified workplace in Prince Edward County was declared on April 19.
There are 32 new regional cases of variants of concern, including 13 in Hastings Prince Edward, 6 in Peterborough, 5 in Haliburton, 4 in Kawartha Lakes, and 4 in Northumberland.
An additional 61 cases have been resolved, including 21 in Northumberland, 16 in Hastings Prince Edward, 15 in Peterborough, 8 in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 in Haliburton. Outbreaks at Swiss Chalet in Cobourg and at an unidentified workplace in Belleville are resolved.
There are currently 353 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 23 from yesterday, including 119 in Peterborough, 97 in Hastings Prince Edward (19 in Quinte West, 43 in Belleville, 6 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 14 in Prince Edward County, 8 in Central Hastings, and 7 in North Hastings), 89 in Northumberland, 37 in Kawartha Lakes, and 11 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,127 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (995 resolved with 13 deaths), 671 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (591 resolved with 56 deaths), 766 in Northumberland County (664 resolved with 13 deaths), 91 in Haliburton County (79 resolved with 1 death), and 826 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (721 resolved with 8 deaths). The two most recent deaths were reported in Northumberland and in Peterborough on April 20.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 4 p.m. the previous day, as well as from systems in Toronto, Ottawa, and Middlesex-London at 2 p.m. the previous day. Data from local health units is more current and is usually reflected in the provincial data the following day. There may be discrepancies between the Ontario data reported today (which is from yesterday) and the local health unit data reported today (which is from today).
Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 1,127 (increase of 12)* Total variants of concern cases: 373 (increase of 6) Active cases: 119 (decrease of 4) Close contacts: 308 (increase of 2) Deaths: 13 (increase of 1) Resolved: 995 (increase of 15) Hospitalizations (total to date): 40 (increase of 2)** Total tests completed: Over 48,800 (no change) Outbreaks: Empress Gardens retirement home in Peterborough, Unidentified congregate living facility #3 in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #5 in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #6 in Peterborough, Trent Champlain Residence: West Towers in Peterborough (no change) Vaccine doses administered: 41,148 (as of April 15) Number of people fully vaccinated: 2,427 (as of April 15)
*The health unit is reporting 13 new cases in the last 24 hours. The total case count has increased by 12 because 1 previous case was removed.
**As of April 20, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 16 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 (decrease of 5) and a total of 46 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s service area is the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.
The health unit provides reports from Monday to Saturday, excluding Sundays and statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 1,528, including 671 in Kawartha Lakes, 766 in Northumberland, and 91 in Haliburton (increase of 20 in Northumberland)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 250, including 90 in Kawartha Lakes, 146 in Northumberland, and 14 in Haliburton (increase of 13, including 4 in Kawartha Lakes, 4 in Northumberland, and 5 in Haliburton)** Active cases: 137, including 37 in Kawartha Lakes, 89 in Northumberland, and 11 in Haliburton (decrease of 14, including 9 in Kawartha Lakes, 4 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Probable cases: 2, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes (decrease of 1 in Haliburton) Hospitalizations (total to date): 56, including 33 in Kawartha Lakes, 20 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (decrease of 1 in Kawartha Lakes)*** Deaths (including among probable cases): 70, including 56 in Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Northumberland) Resolved: 1,334, including 591 in Kawartha Lakes, 664 in Northumberland, and 79 in Haliburton (increase of 30, including 8 in Kawartha Lakes, 21 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Tests completed: 174,516 (increase of 896) Vaccine doses administered: 51,711 (increase of 13,296 as of April 19) Number of people fully vaccinated: 3,408 (increase of 361 as of April 19) Outbreaks: St. Mary Catholic Secondary School in Cobourg, Cobourg Collegiate Institute in Cobourg, Fenelon Court long-term care home in Fenelon Falls, North Hope Central Public School in Campbellcroft, Grafton Public School in Grafton, Grafton Post Office in Grafton, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School in Lindsay (decrease of 1)****
*The health unit states that total counts and counts for individual counties may fluctuate from previously reported counts as cases are transferred to or from the health unit based on case investigation details and routine data cleaning.
**The N501Y mutation has been identified in variants of concern including the B.1.1.7 UK variant, the B.1.351 South Africa variant, and the P.1 Brazilian variant.
***As of April 20, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 6 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change).
****An outbreak at Swiss Chalet in Cobourg has been resolved.
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health’s service area is Hastings County (including Bancroft) and Prince Edward County.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 826 (increase of 11) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 237 (increase of 13) Active cases: 97 (decrease of 5) Deaths: 8 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 12 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 2 (decrease of 2) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 2 (increase of 1) Resolved: 721 (increase of 16) Tests completed: 124,861 (increase of 98) Vaccine doses administered: 53,889 (increase of 2,321) Number of people fully vaccinated: 3,642 increase of 108) Outbreaks: Tri-board Bus #499 in Belleville, Unidentified congregate living facility in Belleville, Unidentified community outbreak in Belleville, Unidentified workplace in Prince Edward County (no net change)*
*An outbreak at an unidentified workplace in Belleville was resolved on April 19. An outbreak at an unidentified workplace in Prince Edward County was declared on April 19.
Advertisement - content continues below
Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 424,911 (increase of 3,469) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) cases: 39,276 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 2,697); 105 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 1); 211 of P.1 Brazilian variant (no change) 7-day average of daily new cases: 4,319 (decrease of 29) Positivity rate: 10.0% (increase of 0.5%) Resolved: 374,213 (increase of 3,369), 88.1% of all cases (increase of 0.1%) Hospitalizations: 2,360 (increase of 158) Hospitalizations in ICU: 773 (increase of 18) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 537 (increase of 21) Deaths: 7,757 (increase of 22) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 25 (increase of 1) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,912 (no change) Total tests completed: 13,616,626 (increase of 40,596) Tests under investigation: 29,217 (increase of 7,705) Vaccination doses administered: 3,995,187 (increase of 90,409), 27.12% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.61%)* People fully vaccinated (two doses): 347,597 (increase of 1,592), 2.36% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.01%)*
*An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from March 20 – April 19, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 tests completed in Ontario from March 20 – April 19, 2021. The red line is the daily number of tests completed, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from March 20 – April 19, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of hospitalizations, the purple line is the daily number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs, and the dotted orange line is a five-day moving average of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from March 20 – April 19, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily deaths, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of daily deaths. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Ontario from March 20 – April 19, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of daily doses. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
Dr. Lynn Mikula of Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) attended the Peterborough Public Health media briefing on April 20, 2021, where she said the hospital is currently treating 17 patients with COVID-19 and has received 22 patient transfers from east GTA hospitals in the past three weeks. The hospital has ramped down non-urgent care to accommodate the transferred patients. (Photo: PRHC)
With 123 active cases of COVID-19 reported in the Peterborough region — 16 fewer than the number reported last Friday — local medical officer of health Dr. Rosanna Salvaterra expressed very cautious optimism the tide may be turning during a virtual media briefing on Tuesday (April 20).
Also buoying her spirits is the reduced number of close contacts of cases being followed by her Peterborough Public Health staff, down 115 to 306.
Still, the downward trend follows a week that saw 112 active cases in the region, which is the highest weekly count since the pandemic was declared. And with 240 new positive cases reported this month to date, April has seen the most new cases reported in any month since March of last year.
Advertisement - content continues below
“While these numbers are starting to go in the right direction, last week’s record-breaking case count will still be felt for weeks to come,” said Dr. Salvaterra.
“Contact tracing and case management are the first line of defence in containing an outbreak,” she added. “The longer it takes us to reach a high-risk contact, the greater their chance of spreading the virus.”
On Monday, Peterborough Public Health announced it was suspending its COVID-19 hotline phone and email services until further notice, with all hotline staff being reassigned to help the health unit manage cases and complete contact tracing.
Dr. Salvaterra noted “we should start to see this week whether or not the lockdown measures imposed on April 3rd are starting to have any effect.”
“What we’re seeing the last few days is a bit of a relief. What we want to do now is see this sustained going forward.”
Meanwhile, a startling contrast between now and the pandemic’s early manifestation can be seen in the number of positive cases by age group. To date, 567 cases — more than half the total number of cases locally — have been seen in people under the age of 29.
Also attending the briefing was Dr. Lynn Mikula, chief medical executive and chief of staff at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC). She affirmed non-urgent care remains ramped down to help accommodate patient transfers to PRHC from east GTA hospitals.
“Over the last week the situation across the province has continued to escalate,” said Dr. Mikula, noting there are, at present, 2,360 patients with COVID-19 in Ontario hospitals — 773 in intensive care units, with 537 of those on ventilators.
Advertisement - content continues below
“This is a substantial increase in hospitalized and critical care patient numbers since less than a week ago,” Dr. Mikula pointed out. “We (PRHC) have 17 patients who are positive for COVID-19. We’ve accepted a total of 46 patient transfers and 22 of those transfers have taken place in the last three weeks.”
“This is a high and accelerating number of patient transfers. We expect to continue to receive patient transfers in the coming days and weeks.”
Also attending the briefing was Andy Mitchell, Peterborough board of health chair and Selwyn mayor. In his remarks, a clearly agitated Mitchell took direct aim at senior government politicians sparring over new provincial restrictions and arguing their timing and effectiveness.
“At a time like this, politics needs to be set aside, blind adherence to ideology needs to be stood down, and the blame game needs to cease,” said Mayor Mitchell, adding “If you’re looking for a culprit, its name is COVID-19.”
To date, 41,148 Peterborough and area residents have been vaccinated with at least one dose since January 26. That number represents 32.6 per cent of the local vaccine-eligible population. That data will be updated this Thursday (April 22) after 4 p.m.
As of now, residents’ best chance of being vaccinated any time soon still lies in making, and securing, an appointment with those pharmacies offering AstraZeneca shots to anyone 40 years of age and older. Four city pharmacies — Costco Pharmacy at 485 The Parkway, High Street Guardian Pharmacy at 815 High Street, Walmart Pharmacy at 1002 Chemong Road, and Rexall at 1154 Chemong Road — are booking vaccination appointments.
The full list of Ontario pharmacies providing vaccinations is available at covid-19.ontario.ca/vaccine-locations, where visitors can type in their postal code to find the pharmacy closest to home.
Also commenting during Tuesday’s media briefing were Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef and Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien.
ElderDog Canada is a national charity dedicated to ageing people, ageing dogs, and the human-animal bond. The organization is planning to launch a local chapter ("Pawd") in Peterborough this summer. (Stock photo)
ElderDog Canada, a national charitable organization dedicated to supporting ageing people and ageing dogs, is gearing up to launch a local chapter (“Pawd”) in Peterborough this June.
The Pawd will support local elders in caring for their canine companions through services like dog walking, taking dogs to appointments, and helping to buy pet supplies. ElderDog also provides care for dogs whose lives are disrupted by their owners’ illness, relocation, or death.
The goal of ElderDog is to provide the supports to keep elders and their dogs together. Where this is impossible, they also foster and rehome dogs while ensuring the animals are always taken care of in a loving home. ElderDog conducts fostering and rehoming processes while following all vet fostering and rehoming procedures and guidelines — never releasing the dog to a shelter or another rescue.
Advertisement - content continues below
“It’s very important to have seniors know their dog will be taken care of when they can no longer do it themselves,” says Peterborough ElderDog Pawd leader Catherine Ducharme. “Whether it is a senior with an older dog or a senior with a younger dog, the primary focus is on seniors keeping their companion animal at home with them as long as possible.”
Catherine Ducharme, pictured with her dog Murphy, was inspired to bring a local chapter (“Pawd”) of ElderDog Canada to Peterborough after hearing about the organization through a friend involved in a Nova Scotia Pawd. She noticed a lot of seniors with dogs in her own neighbourhood and also wondered what would happen to her own dog if she and her husband were no longer around. (Photo courtesy of Catherine Ducharme)
Ducharme became interested in bringing ElderDog to Peterborough after hearing about the organization through a friend involved in a Nova Scotia Pawd. According to Ducharme, after hearing about the organization, she realized the supports they offer is needed within her community.
“I had observed in the neighbourhood where I live there are a lot of seniors who have dogs,” Ducharme explains. “I have a dog and I am a young senior. By the time my dog is 15 years old, I will be well into my eighties, and I’m thinking ‘What will happen to my dog if my husband and I aren’t around?’ It put it into perspective for me because you cannot just give them (your pets) to a shelter.”
“Ardra Cole, the founder and chair of ElderDog, actually conceived the idea when she lived in Garden Hill, Ontario (near Campbellcroft),” Ducharme adds. “She was hoping to have one here, but she moved to Nova Scotia about 10 years ago and founded it there. She’s delighted we’re finally doing it here in Peterborough.”
To launch the Peterborough ElderDog Pawd in June, Ducharme needs to find volunteers for local coordinator positions, a task made more difficult due to Ontario’s current stay-at-home order.
While some of the coordinator positions have already been filled — secretary, communications, events and outreach, in-home dog support, and treasurer — the local Pawd still needs a fundraising coordinator, volunteer coordinator, and rehoming coordinator.
Advertisement - content continues below
“The rehoming position is a big position because they’re responsible for finding foster homes and rehoming dogs following guidelines, and communicating with vets and other rescues,” says Ducharme. “The ideal volunteer for that position would be someone who has some experience with that.”
Those interested in applying for one of the coordinator positions can email elderdogptboldr@gmail.com for more information. Volunteers will be required to fill out an application and complete a police records check.
“If this touches your heart, then we would love to hear from you,” Ducharme says.
Once the board of executives has been established, Ducharme says they will be seeking volunteers to provide in-home support services. These volunteers will help directly with the seniors and their animals through duties such as taking dogs to the vet, buying and delivering dog food, checking up on seniors and their dogs, and taking dogs for walks.
Dr. Ardra Cole, professor in the Faculty of Education at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is the founder of ElderDog Canada. The organization grew out of Dr. Cole’s research on the role of dogs in the health and well-being of people with dementia as well as their caregivers, her volunteer experience with animal-assisted therapy for seniors in long-term and palliative care, and a personal experience of human loss and love for an old and ill dog. (Photo via Mount Saint Vincent University)
Those interested in volunteering in this way should keep an eye on the Find a Pawd Close To You page on ElderDog’s national website, where contact information will appear once the Peterborough Pawd is fully established.
You can also support ElderDog by making a donation or purchasing merchandise on the organization’s national website at www.elderdog.ca.
A large portion of the funds raised by ElderDog is used for providing medical care for senior dogs who have to be rehomed or fostered due to a senior’s inability to keep their companion at home. According to Ducharme, ElderDog Canada provided about $100,000 worth of canine medical care across the country in 2020.
Advertisement - content continues below
At the ElderDog headquarters in Nova Scotia, the organization also holds an annual memorial service and butterfly release on the third Saturday of August to honour dogs who have passed away. This event normally draws attendees from around Canada. On the ElderDog website, you can also donate by purchasing butterflies to be released at the ceremony.
In 2018, the organization expanded the memorial service by opening “Place to Paws”, a chapel-like building located in a natural setting where people can pay tribute to canine companions who have passed on.
You can stay up-to-date and participate in ElderDog by purchasing a membership for $20. Memberships carry the right to participate in ElderDog members’ meetings and vote on items of ElderDog business. As a full member, you will receive information about upcoming meetings and various ways to participate in the organization.
Place to Paws is a chapel-like building located in a natural setting at ElderDog Canada’s national office in Lunenburg County in Nova Scotia, where people can pay tribute to canine companions who have passed on. The organization holds an annual memorial service and butterfly release on the third Saturday of August to honour dogs who have passed away. (Photo: ElderDog Canada)
“It’s a wonderful organization,” Ducharme notes. “They have thought about every eventuality that might come up with working with dogs and people.”
“Our focus is on seniors and their companion dogs and providing a service to them,” she adds. “If you have a companion animal, they’re like a family member. It helps a senior to be able to keep their animal at home. It’s hard to describe the feeling you have when you have a companion such as a dog.”
To learn more about the local ElderDog Pawd, you can email Ducharme at elderdogptboldr@gmail.com. To learn more about ElderDog Canada, visit their website at www.elderdog.ca or follow them on Facebook.
ElderDog Canada has local chapters (“Pawds”) across Canada. In Ontario, there are Pawds in Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, Halton, Collingwood, and Guelph. Local resident Catherine Ducharme is working to establish a Pawd in Peterborough by summer 2021. (Graphic: ElderDog Canada)
This story has been updated to correct some information about the available local coordinator roles.
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.
Submit your event for FREE!
Use our event submission form to post your event on our website — for free.
To submit editorial content or ideas, please contact us.
