With variants continuing to fuel the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario and straining hospital capacity, the Ontario government has announced the implementation of additional public health restrictions.

“We’re losing the battle between the variants and vaccines,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said during an announcement at Queen’s Park on Friday afternoon (April 16). “The pace of our vaccine supply has not kept up with the spread of the new COVID variants. We are on our heels but, if we dig in, remain steadfast, we can turn this around. We’re down but by no means are we out.”

“The reality is, there are few options left,” Ford said. “It comes down to three things: limiting mobility, enforcing the rules, and getting vaccines into arms. And, as your Premier, it falls on me to make the difficult choices. It falls on me to do what’s necessary.”

Effective immediately, the government is extending the provincial state of emergency and the stay-at-home order for an additional two weeks, for a total of six weeks, until Thursday, May 20th. A six-week stay-at-home order was one of the recommendations presented by the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table earlier on Friday.

The stay-at-home requires everyone to remain at home except for specified purposes, such as going to the grocery store or pharmacy, accessing health care services (including getting
vaccinated), for outdoor exercise, or for work that cannot be done remotely.

In addition to extending the stay-at-home order for two weeks, the province is implementing the following public health and workplace safety measures, effective at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday (April 17):

• Prohibiting all outdoor social gatherings and organized public events, except for with members of the same household or one other person from outside that household who lives alone or a caregiver for any member of the household
• Closing all non-essential workplaces in the construction sector
• Reducing capacity limits to 25 per cent in all retail settings where in-store shopping is permitted. This includes supermarkets, grocery stores, convenience stores, indoor farmers’ markets, and other stores that primarily sell food and pharmacies. Previously, capacity limits for retail settings was 50 per cent.
• Closing all outdoor recreational amenities, such as golf courses, basketball courts, soccer fields, and playgrounds, with limited exceptions.

Also effective on Saturday, police officers and other provincial offences officers (including special constables and First Nation constables) will be given temporary enhanced authority to enforce the stay-at-home order. They will have the authority to require any person to provide their home address and purpose for not being at their residence, as well as the authority to stop vehicles to inquire about a person’s reasons for leaving their residence.

VIDEO: Solicitor general Sylvia Jones announcing temporary police powers

Effective at 12:01 a.m. on Monday (April 19), the government is also limiting the capacity of weddings, funerals, and religious services, rites or ceremonies to a maximum of 10 people indoors or outdoors. Drive-in services will be permitted.

The government is prohibiting social gatherings associated with these service, such as receptions, to members of the same household or one other person from outside that household who lives alone. Drive-in services will be permitted.

Also on Monday, the province will set up checkpoints at interprovincial borders and will limit border crossings between Ontario and Manitoba and Quebec, with exceptions including work, medical care, and transportation of goods.

The province is also calling on the federal government to tighten up international borders and international flights.

This story has been updated with further details about the newly announced public health restrictions.

If you’re sensing more urgency in the voices and faces of public health officials and political leaders with each passing day, there’s good reason for that: the third wave of the COVID pandemic has brought with it some very alarming numbers.

In the Peterborough region, active case counts continue to rise dramatically as much more transmissible, and potentially deadly, COVID variants of concern are being detected while active outbreaks remain at a record high.

Asked during a Peterborough Public Health media briefing held Friday (April 16) if we are now at the most critical point of the pandemic since it was declared more than a year ago, medical officer of health Dr. Rosanna Salvaterra said there’s no question of that.

“We’ve never had as many (active) cases or high-risk contacts (of cases),” said Dr. Salvaterra.

“We have waste-water surveillance data that is sounding the alarm bell for what may be ahead for us in the coming days and weeks. Because of the variants of concern, the risk for transmission has never been greater. These are both risky times and concerning times.”

“We were hopeful the stay-at-home order was going to help modulate this wave, but we’re not seeing that happening,” Dr. Salvaterra said, echoing comments made by Adalsteinn Brown, co-chair of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, who presented updated modelling numbers at a Friday afternoon media briefing along with Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health.

“A week later, the numbers are going up instead of down. It’s abundantly clear that we all have to do more to tame this third wave. All our indicators show that it’s proving to be much worse than previous waves.”

A check of the local numbers for Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake, and Hiawatha bear out Dr. Salvaterra’s unprecedented level of concern.

As of Thursday (April 15) at 4 p.m., there were 139 active cases reported — an increase of 36 since Monday (April 12). To date this week, 73 new cases of COVID have been detected, putting the week well on pace to surpass last week’s record one-week total of 83. April, meanwhile, will soon surpass March for the highest monthly total of new cases seen in the local region.

More telling of the worrying escalation of the pandemic is the number of high-risk contacts of positive cases currently being followed by public health staff, which now stands at a record high of 421.

“That clearly indicates that some people are not limiting their socializing,” said Dr. Salvaterra. “I cannot stress enough how important it is to limit contacts and stick within your household members.”

“That not only prevents transmission but it means there are less people impacted by self-isolation and testing. This current volume of high-risk contacts is now at the point where it could overwhelm our contact tracing resources. We’ve had to redeploy additional staff to assist.”

One fall-out of that is, as of today, after-hour and weekend messages will no longer be taken on the Peterborough Public Health hotline — as the nurses monitoring those calls are redeployed to more pressing needs.

As for the vaccines versus variants race, news that expected Moderna shipments coming to Canada in April have been scaled back considerably is putting a worrisome dent in the vaccination roll-out plan, already resulting in the close of the vaccination clinic at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.

Still, 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.

As of now, residents’ best chance of being vaccinated any time soon lies in making, and securing, an appointment with those pharmacies offering AstraZeneca shots to anyone 55 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.

Dr. Salvaterra again stressed that it’s vital that who do secure a pharmacy appointment that had previously booked an appointment with a community clinic cancel that appointment so someone can take their spot and no vaccine is wasted.

Regarding active outbreaks, that number remains at seven. Two outbreaks in workplace settings were cleared this week but two more have since been added.

Also commenting during Thursday’s media briefing were Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith, Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien, and Peterborough board of health chair and Selwyn mayor Andy Mitchell.

Ontario’s top science and health experts say the third wave of Ontario’s COVID-19 pandemic will persist through the summer, unless additional actions are taken immediately.

Extending Ontario’s stay-at-home order from four to six weeks, implementing and adhering to stronger public health measures, and administering at least 100,000 daily vaccine doses is the only way to flatten the curve, according to new modelling data released by the Ontario government on Friday (April 16).

Doing so will keep the number of daily cases in Ontario under 5,000 by May. Otherwise, daily cases in Ontario could peak at 18,000 daily cases by mid-June. However, in any scenario, ICU occupancy is predicted to exceed 1,500 beds by mid-May.

“I know some of us frustrated, some of us are frightened, and some of us are just fatigued, and many I know are all three,” said Adalsteinn Brown, co-chair of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table who presented the modelling at a media briefing along with Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health.

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and ICU occupancy are all at their highest levels since last March, according to the presentation, and cases of variants of concern continue to rise sharply. ICU occupancy is compromising care for all patients.

“After a year of fighting this together, we are now entering the hardest stage,” Brown said. “Cases have risen, hospitals have filled up, and across Ontario it is very clear we are very much in the third wave of COVID-19 — and the numbers are still rising. But the biggest problem we now face may be that we’re just too tired to notice.”

“So I’m begging you to notice. Notice that our hospitals can no longer function normally. They’re bursting at their seams, we’re setting up field hospitals, and we’re separating critically ill patients from their families by helicoptering them across the province for care. Our children’s hospitals are now admitting adults as patients, and this has never happened in Ontario before — it’s never happened in Canada before.”

“Notice what is happening with vaccinations … please notice when it’s your turn, and please get vaccinated — the vaccine protects you and it protects the people around you. The faster we get the third wave tamped down, the faster we open up.”

Brown urged Ontarians to limit their mobility by only leaving home for necessary trips, by always wearing a mask, and by keeping two metres of distance when in contact with anyone outside their household.

“Notice when your friends, your neighbours, your children, or even your parents meet each other without masks. Notice if your workplace is open but it shouldn’t be. Notice if your workplace isn’t safe. Notice the behaviours that we all know will put people in hospitals — in the same hospitals where we don’t have enough nurses, respiratory therapists, or doctors to treat the patients. Notice that stuff and say something. It’s uncomfortable but it will save lives.”

So far, according to Brown, Ontario’s stay-at-home order has not had the expected impact on case numbers, largely because out-of-home mobility has not declined sufficiently to prevent the variants of concern from spreading.

Although vaccination efforts are improving, Brown said, vaccines are not reaching people at high risk quickly enough to overcome the level of serious illness. Ontario could flatten the curve ever more if it could expand vaccinations to 300,000 per day, with vaccines targeted to the highest-risk communities.

Stronger public health measures could include closing all non-essential businesses, ensuring enforcement of workplace safety, and limiting mobility within and between communities.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to make an announcement of additional public health measures at 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon.

PDF: Update on COVID-19 Projections – April 16, 2021
Update on COVID-19 Projections - Ontario's Science Advisory and Modelling Consensus Tables - April 16, 2021
A copy of this PDF is available from covid19-sciencetable.ca.

Two long-term care homes in the greater Kawarthas region are among 95 receiving more than $99.4 million in joint federal and provincial funding for upgrades and improvements to HVAC and sprinkler systems.

Hastings Centennial Manor in Bancroft is receiving $982,375 to add air conditioning components to existing air handling units and the building’s automation system, to provide cooling to all areas of the home. The Government of Canada is contributing $785,900 and the Ontario government is contributing $196,475.

St. Joseph’s at Fleming in Peterborough is receiving $300,000 to install an HVAC system equipped with HEPA filtration capacity to improve air quality, cool all areas of the home, and reduce the likelihood of virus transmission. The Government of Canada is contributing $240,000 and the Ontario government is contributing $60,000.

The funding was announced on Friday (April 16) by federal infrastructure minister Catherine McKenna and seniors minister Deb Schulte and by Ontario infrastructure minister Laurie Scott and long-term care minister Dr. Merrilee Fullerton.

The long-term care homes in Ontario receiving the largest funding amounts are The Jewish Home for the Aged in Toronto (over $6.7 million), peopleCare A.R. Goudie Kitchener in Kitchener (over $5.8 million), and Eastholme Home for the Aged in Powassan (over $5.3 million).

The federal government is investing more than $79.5 million toward the 95 projects, with the Ontario government providing over $19.8 million through the COVID-19 Resilience Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program.

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

Ontario is reporting a record increase of 4,736 new cases today, with the seven-day average of daily cases increasing by 205 to a new record high of 4,208. For the first time since the pandemic began, 11 public health units are reporting at least triple-digit increases.

There are now 27,278 cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant in Ontario, an increase of 2,811 from yesterday, with 11 more cases of the B.1.351 South Africa variant, and 15 more cases of the P.1 Brazilian variant. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has reached another record high at 1,932, as has the number of patients in ICUs at 659, including 442 people on ventilators.

“I really wish that I had better news to give you today,” said Dr. Barbara Yaffe, Ontario’s associate chief medical officer of health, at a media briefing on Thursday afternoon where she presented the updated numbers. “These data are alarming, and should be of tremendous concern to everyone.”

“It is likely we will see our daily cases remain high for the next while, and the number of people in hospital and in intensive care will increase even more,” Dr. Yaffe added. “While we have a stay-at-home order and stronger public health measures in place, it will take some time before we see the effect of these interventions.”

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 50 new cases to report and an additional 50 cases resolved, with the number of active cases increasing by 2 to 464. See below for detailed numbers from each regional health unit.

Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (1,188), Peel (983), York (526), Ottawa (342), Durham (216), Niagara (215), Middlesex-London (181), Hamilton (150), Halton (140), Simcoe Muskoka (118), and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (102).

There are double-digit increases today in Windsor-Essex (95), Waterloo (81), Eastern Ontario (74), Grey Bruce (46), Southwestern (36), Brant (31), Haldimand-Norfolk (31), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (29), Huron Perth (22), Lambton (20), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (18), Peterborough (18), Sudbury (16), and Hastings Prince Edward (15), with smaller increases in Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (8), Thunder Bay (7), Chatham-Kent (7), and Porcupine (6).

The remaining 5 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with all health units reporting at least 2 cases.

Of today’s new cases, 55% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (1,719) among people ages 20-39 followed by 1,408 cases among people ages 40-59 and 894 cases among people 19 and under.

With 3,174 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.3% to 88.6%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has decreased by 0.6% to 8.0%, meaning that 80 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on April 14.

Ontario is reporting 29 new COVID-19 deaths today, with no new deaths in long-term care homes. Ontario has averaged 21 new daily deaths over the past week, an increase of 2 from yesterday.

The number of hospitalizations increased by 55 to 1,932, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs increasing by 17 to 659, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators increasing by 20 to 442.

A total of 65,559 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 5,566 to 39,682.

A total of 3,528,404 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 105,430 from yesterday, with 339,491 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 2,285.

The number of fully vaccinated people represents 2.30% of Ontario’s population, an increase of 0.01% from yesterday, with fully and partially vaccinated people representing 23.95% of the population, an increase of 0.72% from yesterday. An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 50 new cases to report, including 20 in Hastings Prince Edward, 18 in Peterborough, 9 in Northumberland, 2 in Haliburton, and 1 in Kawartha Lakes.

A new outbreak at North Hope Central Public School in Campbellcroft was declared on April 14. A new outbreak at an unidentified workplace in Peterborough was declared on April 15. There is 1 new ICU admission in Hastings Prince Edward and 1 new hospitalization in Northumberland.

There are 41 new regional cases of variants of concern, including 32 in Hastings Prince Edward, 7 in Kawartha Lakes, and 2 in Northumberland.

An additional 50 cases have been resolved, including 22 in Hastings Prince Edward, 14 in Northumberland, 11 in Peterborough, and 3 in Kawartha Lakes.

There are currently 464 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 2 from yesterday, including 148 in Hastings Prince Edward (31 in Quinte West, 75 in Belleville, 7 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 17 in Prince Edward County, 12 in Central Hastings, and 6 in North Hastings), 139 in Peterborough, 119 in Northumberland, 46 in Kawartha Lakes, and 12 in Haliburton.

Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,073 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (922 resolved with 12 deaths), 651 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (563 resolved with 55 deaths), 690 in Northumberland County (563 resolved with 12 deaths), 85 in Haliburton County (72 resolved with 1 death), and 781 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (626 resolved with 7 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Hastings Prince Edward on April 10.

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

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: 1,073 (increase of 19)*
Total variants of concern cases: 310 (decrease of 2)
Active cases: 139 (increase of 7)
Close contacts: 421 (increase of 13)
Deaths: 12 (no change)
Resolved: 922 (increase of 11)
Hospitalizations (total to date): 36 (no change)**
Total tests completed: Over 48,100 (increase of 110)
Outbreaks: Empress Gardens retirement home in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #3 in Peterborough, Champlain Annex at Trent University in Peterborough, Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #4 in Peterborough County, Unidentified congregate living facility #3 in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #5 in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #6 in Peterborough (increase of 1)***
Vaccine doses administered: 39,772 (increase of 5,160 as of April 15)

*The health unit is reporting 18 new cases in the last 24 hours, with 1 case added to a previous day increasing the total case count by 19.

**As of April 15, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 17 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 (a decrease of 7) and a total of 40 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).

***An outbreak at an unidentified workplace (#6) in Peterborough was declared on April 15.

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: 1,426, including 651 in Kawartha Lakes, 690 in Northumberland, and 85 in Haliburton (increase of 30, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 9 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton)*
Cases with N501Y mutation: 203, including 67 in Kawartha Lakes, 131 in Northumberland, and 5 in Haliburton (increase of 9, including 7 in Kawartha Lakes and 2 in Northumberland)**
Active cases: 177, including 46 in Kawartha Lakes, 119 in Northumberland, and 12 in Haliburton (net decrease of 3)
Probable cases: 0 (decrease of 1 in Kawartha Lakes)
High-risk contacts: Not available***
Hospitalizations (total to date): 55, including 32 in Kawartha Lakes, 20 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Northumberland)****
Deaths (including among probable cases): 68, including 55 in Kawartha Lakes, 12 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change)
Resolved: 1,194, including 563 in Kawartha Lakes, 559 in Northumberland, and 72 in Haliburton (increase of 17, including 3 in Kawartha Lakes and 14 in Northumberland)
Tests completed: 171,316 (increase of 3,908)
Vaccine doses administered: 38,415 (increase of 8,007 as of April 12)
Number of people fully vaccinated: 3,047 (increase of 58 as of April 12)
Outbreaks: St. Mary Catholic Secondary School in Cobourg, Timber House Resort in Brighton, Swiss Chalet in Cobourg, Christian Horizons in Port Hope, Cobourg Collegiate Institute in Cobourg, Fenelon Court long-term care home in Fenelon Falls, North Hope Central Public School in Campbellcroft (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 14, the health unit is no longer reporting high-risk contacts due to a “process change of not collecting high risk information”.

****As of April 15, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (decrease of 1).

An outbreak at North Hope Central Public School in Campbellcroft was declared on April 14.

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: 781 (increase of 20)
Confirmed variants of concern cases: 187 (increase of 32)
Active cases: 148 (decrease of 2)
Deaths: 7 (no change)
Currently hospitalized: 13 (no change)
Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 5 (increase of 1)
Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 1 (no change)
Resolved: 626 (increase of 22)
Tests completed: 93,270
Vaccine doses administered: 46,578 (increase of 3,260)
Number of people fully vaccinated: 3,261 (increase of 37)
Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Trenton, Unidentified workplace in Belleville, Unidentified child care facility in Belleville, Tri-board Bus #499 in Belleville, Unidentified congregate living facility in Belleville (decrease of 1)*

*An outbreak at an unidentified congregate living facility in Quinte West was declared resolved on April 14.

Province of Ontario

Confirmed positive: 403,571 (increase of 4,736)
COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) cases: 27,278 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 2,811); 95 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 11); 191 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 15)*
VOC R(t): 1.23 (last updated April 2)**
7-day average of daily new cases: 4,208 (increase of 205)
Positivity rate: 8.0% (decrease of 0.6%)
Resolved: 357,591 (increase of 3,174), 88.6% of all cases (decrease of 0.3%)
Hospitalizations: 1,932 (increase of 55)
Hospitalizations in ICU: 659 (increase of 17)
Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 442 (increase of 20)
Deaths: 7,639 (increase of 29)
7-day average of daily new deaths: 21 (increase of 2)
Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,908 (no change)
Total tests completed: 13,358,225 (increase of 65,559)
Tests under investigation: 39,682 (increase of 5,566)
Vaccination doses administered: 3,528,404 (increase of 105,430), 23.95% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.72%)***
People fully vaccinated (two doses): 339,491 (increase of 2,285), 2.30% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.01%)***

*On April 8, the government changed the way it reports cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant. Previously they were reported only when genetic sequencing confirmed they were of the B.1.1.7 lineage. Since genetic sequencing completed to date has determined 95% of specimens screening positive for the N501Y mutation have been found to be the B.1.1.7 UK variant, specimens with the N501Y mutation are now reported as cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant.

**R(t) is a virus’s effective reproduction number, which is the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time (t) in a partially immunized population. To successfully eliminate a disease from a population, R(t) needs to be less than 1.

***An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.

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

Peterborough’s Alice Czitrom is among 15 people and organizations across Ontario to receive a 2020-21 Victim Services Award of Distinction from the Ministry of the Attorney General.

Czitrom is the primary handler of Pixie, the Peterborough Police Service’s first-ever facility dog.

“In the face of unprecedented challenges, these dedicated professionals, generous volunteers and outstanding organizations have demonstrated an irrepressible drive to raise awareness of victims’ issues, increase access to crisis intervention services and provide compassionate support in times of need,” Attorney General Doug Downey said in a statement on Wednesday (April 14).

A facility dog is a professionally trained dog that works alongside professionals to provide emotional support to people experiencing trauma and stress, including at police stations and court houses and when testifying virtually.

A social worker by training, Czitrom developed the Peterborough Police Service’s first facility dog program in 2019 and is the civilian coordinator of the police service’s Victim Services Unit.

Pixie, a five-year-old Labrador cross trained and accredited by National Service Dogs of Canada, joined the Peterborough Police Service in January 2020. As well as providing comfort and support to victims and others, Pixie serves as a goodwill ambassador of goodwill between police officers and community residents.

Since becoming the Peterborough police service’s first facility dog, Pixie has provided support at 40 police interviews, five police scenes to help calm the situation, three critical stress debriefings, eight court accompaniments, 25 community presentations, and over 100 meetings between victims and police.

If you want to keep up with Pixie’s work, you can follow her on Instagram account at @ptbopoliceK9pixie.

Other recipients of the 2020-21 Victim Services Award of Distinction include:

Individual Recipients

• Salem Berhane – Windsor
• Cynthia Bland – Ottawa
• Ian Kelly – Toronto
• Erin Lee – Carleton Place
• Patti Lessard – Mattawa
• Georgette Parsons – Sarnia
• Shauna Pitawanakwat – Sioux Lookout
• Shalini Konanur – Toronto

Groups and Organizations

• EveryMind Child Witness Program – Mississauga
• Luke’s Place Support and Resource Centre for Women and Children – Oshawa
• Muskoka Victim Services, Volunteer Team – Bracebridge
• Rainy River District Victim Services – Fort Frances
• Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region – Kitchener
• Sonhatisi:wa – Ohsweken

Bancroft OPP are asking for the public’s help in locating a 29-year-old woman who went missing southwest of Bancroft.

Police say Hope Jemimah (Ogutu) was last seen on Highway 118 near Cheddar Road in the Municipality of Highlands East on Monday (April 12).

She is described as 160 cm (5’2″) tall with a slim build, black hair, and brown eyes.

Jemimah was wearing a green knee-length jacket and was observed next to her silver Mazda 2006 hatchback. It is believed she left her vehicle and could possibly be on foot.

OPP Emergency Response Team members, Aviation Services, and a remotely piloted aerial system are conducting a search of the area.

If you see Jemimah, or have any information on her whereabouts, call Bancroft OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

Having accepted a total of 40 patient transfers since early January — 16 of those over the last two weeks — Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) administrative and medical staff are working to increase critical care capacity while ramping down non-urgent care to provide for their care.

“Over the last week, we’ve seen some alarming numbers emerge,” said Dr. Lynn Mikula, PRHC’s chief medical executive and chief of staff, during a media briefing Wednesday morning (April 14).

“Across Ontario there are now more than 1,800 patients with COVID-19 in Ontario hospitals and more than 600 of these patients have been admitted to intensive care units. These are the highest numbers of hospitalized patients we have seen in Ontario since the beginning of the pandemic.”

Dr. Mikula said all 40 patients transferred to PRHC from various east GTA hospitals have been, or are now, being treated for COVID-19 infection, adding “a good portion” of the current 24 intake patients being cared for are in the hospital’s ICU.

“This week we increased our critical care capacity to a total of 48 beds in anticipation of additional patient transfers and higher patient volumes,” said Dr. Mikula, adding “We’re going to redirect hospital resources as needed to support the necessary level of care for these patients.”

“PRHC has joined hospitals across Ontario in ramping down non-urgent care in response to the provincial critical care surge. This ramp down has allowed us to convert other in-patient space to provide care for patients with COVID-19 who do not require ICU level treatment.”

“For the most it (the ramp down) is affecting our procedural areas. Our non-urgent surgeries are being impacted. In terms of diagnostic services and ambulatory clinics, we’re doing everything that we can to keep those up and running.”

This is the second ramp down of non-urgent care at PRHC since the pandemic began. This first ramp down was directed by the province in the early days of the pandemic on March 19, 2020. PRHC was approved to resume non-urgent surgeries, procedures, and tests in early June 2020.

“Since last May PRHC has been working really hard to maintain non-urgent surgeries, procedures, and tests at or above 100 per cent of our normal patient volumes to help address backlogs caused by last year’s ramp down,” says Dr. Mikula.

“It’s again necessary to ramp down non-urgent care. While this is disappointing, we need to do it to create immediate maximum capacity for critical care. Our goal is to keep this disruption as short and limited as possible.”

“The hospital will continue to provide all lifesaving services and care, and our emergency department will continue to operate as usual. Temporary visitor restrictions will remain the same, with a limited number of designated registered caregivers permitted for specific patient groups.”

Dr. Mikula stresses that those who require hospital care continue to come to the hospital or call 9-1-1.

Saying the Ontario hospital sector “is facing pressure like never before,” Dr. Mikula is appealing to the public for its help and co-operation.

“I urge the people of our community to follow the provincial stay-at-home order and all other public health guidance as we work to support patients across Ontario and our community to receive a level of care that they need.”

As for the pressure placed on hospital staff, doctors, and nurses, she admits “the last couple of weeks have been tough on everybody … we’re all feeling the fatigue and the strain of over a year of this.”

“The mood within the hospital is certainly tired but also resolved. Here we are facing a third wave and we’re ready to do what’s necessary. It’s stressful. This is not our normal way of doing business. We’ve been adapting to these unusual circumstances for a long time and we continue to do so. We’re all focused on doing the job that’s in front of us.”

As for the treatment backlog that resulted from the first ramp down, she says PRHC has handled it well.

“We were one of the earliest hospitals to ramp back up and we’ve really kept going at or above 100 per cent. For many of our different kinds of cases, we’ve actually caught up.”

“We don’t know how long this ramp down is going to last. It’s hard to say what the impact will be going forward. The commitment I can make is we’re going to do everything we can to get back up to speed and catch up as quickly as we can.”