An architectural rendering of the proposed new Canadian Canoe Museum, to be located at 2077 Ashburnham Drive in Peterborough, beside the Parks Canada building and north of Beavermead Park. (Rendering: Lett Architects Inc.)
The Canadian Canoe Museum has released a sneak peek of the proposed new museum building to be built at the Johnson property, located at 2077 Ashburnham Drive in Peterborough, beside the Parks Canada building and north of Beavermead Park.
The museum is hosting a virtual public meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28th to unveil details about the new museum, including architectural renderings of the proposed new building. The new museum is being designed by Peterborough’s Lett Architects Inc.
“The project team is enthusiastic to share the designs and a progress update with our community,” says Carolyn Hyslop, the museum’s executive director, in a media release. “Our new museum design and stewardship approach takes full advantage of its on-water location and nestles seamlessly into the natural surrounding area of the Johnson property.”
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In January, Peterborough city council approved proceeding with the sale of the land, subject to a number of conditions including rezoning. The public meeting is part of the necessary rezoning process.
Other conditions include validation of the project and confirmation of the appropriateness of the site.
Assuming all the conditions are met, the museum will pay $1,575,000 for the five acres of land in a transaction expected to be completed by the summer.
To register for the April 28th public meeting, which will be held on the Zoom video-conferencing platform, visit canoemuseum.ca/public-meeting. The meeting will feature a presentation followed by a question-and-answer period.
The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is available at more than 1,400 pharmacies across Ontario, with this number expected to reach approximately 1,500 by the end of April. (Photo: Wikipedia)
Ontarians 40 years of age and older can book a pharmacy appointment to receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine starting on Tuesday (April 20). The vaccine will also be available at primary care settings.
“As we continue to fight COVID-19, we are doing everything possible to get as many vaccines into arms as quickly and safely as possible,” Dr. David Williams, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, said in a statement issued on Monday.
“We continue to be actively engaged with Health Canada on updated AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine safety,” he added. “Last week, based on the review of available data from Europe and United Kingdom, Health Canada announced that it was not restricting the use of AstraZeneca vaccine in any specific populations at this time.”
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Previously the AstraZeneca vaccine was only available to those aged 55 and older, based on a recommendation from Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization. The recommendation followed reports from Europe of rare cases of blood clots, associated with low levels of blood platelets, developing mainly in women under the age of 55 within two weeks of receiving the vaccine.
However, last week Health Canada issued an advisory approving the use of the vaccine without restrictions.
“Based on Health Canada’s review of available data from Europe and from the United Kingdom and AstraZeneca, no specific risk factors have been identified,” the advisory reads. “Therefore, Health Canada is not restricting the use of the vaccine at this time.”
“The results of the ongoing safety assessments have been consistent,” the advisory reads, referring to the low incidence of blot clots. “The potential risk of these events is very rare, and the benefits of the vaccine in protecting against COVID-19 outweigh its potential risks. Health Canada’s findings are based on a sound and thorough review of all evidence available. In the very rare event that someone experiences unusual blood clots with low platelets, there are treatments available.”
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“All COVID-19 vaccines available in Ontario have been shown to prevent serious illness, hospitalization, and death,” Dr. Williams said. “Adverse reactions are extremely rare. We strongly recommend that everyone book their appointment as soon as they are eligible.”
For a list of pharmacies offering the vaccine in the greater Kawarthas region, visit the Ontario government website at https://covid-19.ontario.ca/vaccine-locations and enter the first three characters of your postal code.
The vaccine is available by appointment only. Contact the pharmacy using the information available on the Ontario government website.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Today, Ontario is reporting 4,250 new cases, with Toronto reporting 1,392 new cases and 9 other health units reporting triple-digit increases. The seven-day average of daily cases has decreased by 29 to 4,341.
There are now 34,112 cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant in Ontario, an increase of 1,785 from yesterday, with 3 more cases of the B.1.351 South Africa variant. Hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and patients on ventilators continue to reach record highs.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 22 new cases and an additional 16 cases resolved, with the number of active cases increasing by 5 to 422. These numbers do not include Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton as the health unit does not issue reports on Sundays. See below for detailed numbers from each regional health unit.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (1,392), Peel (714), York (483), Durham (279), Ottawa (239), Hamilton (151), Niagara (149), Halton (127), Middlesex-London (117), and Simcoe Muskoka (101).
There are double-digit increases today in Windsor-Essex (75), Waterloo (74), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (73), Eastern Ontario (52), Haldimand-Norfolk (35), Grey Bruce (24), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (22), Southwestern (22), Sudbury (15), Peterborough (15), Lambton (14), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (11), Huron Perth (11), Brant (11), Northwestern (10), and Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (10), with smaller increases in Hastings Prince Edward (8) and Chatham-Kent (6).
The remaining 6 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with only 1 health unit (Timiskaming) reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s new cases, 55% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (1,556) among people ages 20-39 followed by 1,259 cases among people ages 40-59 and 775 cases among people 19 and under.
With 3,338 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.1% to at 88.2%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 2.3% to 9.2%, meaning that 92 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on April 17.
Ontario is reporting 18 new COVID-19 deaths today, with no new deaths in long-term care homes. Ontario has averaged 23 new daily deaths over the past week, a decrease of 1 from yesterday.
The number of hospitalizations has increased by 42 to 2,107, but this total does not include data from than 10% of hospitals so the actual number of hospitalizations may be higher. The number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs has increased by 15 to 741 and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators has increased by 5 to 506.
A total of 53,776 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 8,869 to 28,651.
A total of 3,837,881 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 86,565 from yesterday, with 345,310 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 1,066.
The number of fully vaccinated people represents 2.34% of Ontario’s population (no change from yesterday), with fully and partially vaccinated people representing 26.05% of the population, an increase of 0.59% from yesterday. An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 22 new cases to report, including 11 in Peterborough and 11 in Hastings Prince Edward. Updated numbers are unavailable for Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton as the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit does not issue a report on Sundays.
There are 26 new regional cases of variants of concern, including 19 in Peterborough and 7 in Hastings Prince Edward.
An additional 16 cases have been resolved, including 11 in Hastings Prince Edward and 5 in Peterborough.
There are currently 422 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 5 from yesterday, including 132 in Peterborough, 118 in Northumberland, 114 in Hastings Prince Edward (23 in Quinte West, 58 in Belleville, 5 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 16 in Prince Edward County, 6 in Central Hastings, and 6 in North Hastings), 48 in Kawartha Lakes, and 10 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,108 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (964 resolved with 12 deaths), 657 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (569 resolved with 56 deaths), 712 in Northumberland County (583 resolved with 12 deaths), 85 in Haliburton County (75 resolved with 1 death), and 814 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (693 resolved with 7 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Kawartha Lakes on April 16.
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: 1,108 (increase of 11) Total variants of concern cases: 360 (increase of 19) Active cases: 132 (increase of 6) Close contacts: 365 (decrease of 19) Deaths: 12 (no change) Resolved: 964 (increase of 5) Hospitalizations (total to date): 38 (no change)* Total tests completed: Over 48,400 (increase of 250) 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)
*As of April 16, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 21 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and a total of 45 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. These numbers are from April 17.
Confirmed positive: 1,471, including 661 in Kawartha Lakes, 723 in Northumberland, and 87 in Haliburton (increase of 16, including 5 in Kawartha Lakes, 9 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 223, including 76 in Kawartha Lakes, 139 in Northumberland, and 9 in Haliburton (increase of 8, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 5 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton)** Active cases: 176, including 48 in Kawartha Lakes, 118 in Northumberland, and 10 in Haliburton (increase of 5, including 3 in Kawartha Lakes, 1 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Probable cases: 2, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Haliburton (increase of 2) High-risk contacts: Not available*** Hospitalizations (total to date): 55, including 32 in Kawartha Lakes, 20 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)**** Deaths (including among probable cases): 69, including 56 in Kawartha Lakes, 12 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change) Resolved: 1,239, including 570 in Kawartha Lakes, 593 in Northumberland, and 76 in Haliburton (increase of 12, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 10 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Tests completed: 167,408 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, 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, St. John Vianney Church in Highland Grove in Haliburton County, Our Lady of Lourdes in Cardiff in Haliburton County (net 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 16, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change).
*****An outbreak at Christian Horizons in Port Hope has been resolved. Outbreaks at St. John Vianney Church in Highland Grove and Our Lady of Lourdes in Cardiff, both in Haliburton County, were declared on April 16.
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: 814 (increase of 11) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 219 (increase of 7) Active cases: 114 (decrease of 1) Deaths: 7 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 12 (decrease of 1) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 5 (decrease of 1) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 1 (no change) Resolved: 693 (increase of 11) Tests completed: 124,395 (increase of 3,697) Vaccine doses administered: 51,057 (increase of 911) Number of people fully vaccinated: 3,289 (increase of 8) Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Belleville, Tri-board Bus #499 in Belleville, Unidentified congregate living facility in Belleville, Unidentified community outbreak in Belleville (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 416,995 (increase of 4,250) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) cases: 34,112 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 1,785); 104 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 3); 207 of P.1 Brazilian variant (no change)* VOC R(t): 1.23 (last updated April 2)** 7-day average of daily new cases: 4,341 (decrease of 29) Positivity rate: 9.2% (increase of 2.3%) Resolved: 367,691 (increase of 3,338), 88.2% of all cases (decrease of 0.1%) Hospitalizations: 2,107 (increase of 42)*** Hospitalizations in ICU: 741 (increase of 15) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 506 (increase of 5) Deaths: 7,716 (increase of 18) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 23 (decrease of 1) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,912 (no change) Total tests completed: 13,533,157 (increase of 53,776) Tests under investigation: 28,651 (decrease of 8,869) Vaccination doses administered: 3,837,881 (increase of 86,565), 26.05% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.59%)**** People fully vaccinated (two doses): 345,310 (increase of 1,066), 2.34% of Ontario’s population (no change)****
*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.
***As more than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for this report, the actual number of hospitalizations may be higher.
****An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from March 18 – April 17, 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 18 – April 17, 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 18 – April 17, 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 18 – April 17, 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 18 – April 17, 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)
On the same day the new measures went into effect, the Ontario government has reversed course on giving police the authority to stop and question pedestrians and motorists during the province’s stay-at-home order and on closing playgrounds.
The government was widely criticized for both measures, particularly the expanded police authority that raised fears among racialized and marginalized communities. Both measures went into effect on Saturday (April 17).
By Saturday afternoon, many police forces in Ontario had publicly stated they would not be using the expanded authority to stop people at random. By Saturday evening, the government had amended the regulation to scale back the authority.
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The amended regulation now only allows police to question a person if they suspect a person is participating in a prohibited gathering. People are not required to give police any information other than whether they are participating in such a gathering.
Under the previous regulation, police had the authority to stop vehicles at random, and people were required to provide police with their address and the reason why they were not staying at home. People who refused to provide the information to police were subject to a fine up to $750.
The government also amended the regulation of prohibited outdoor recreational amenities to exclude playgrounds, outdoor play structures, and outdoor play equipment. The regulation also now specifies that park benches and off-leash dog parks can remain open — these weren’t mentioned in the original regulation.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
The day after the Ontario government announced stricter new public health measures, the province is already reversing one of them after negative public feedback. In a tweet on Saturday afternoon, Premier Doug Ford said playgrounds would be allowed to remain open, although the restrictions on outside gatherings will still be enforced.
Ontario’s enhanced restrictions were always intended to stop large gatherings where spread can happen.
Our regulations will be amended to allow playgrounds but gatherings outside will still be enforced. Play outside safely. Parents keep your distance & wear masks if you can’t.
The government is also expected to scale back new powers given to police to stop pedestrians and drivers to ask them why they are not staying at home, after widespread criticism and statements from many police forces across Ontario that their officers would not be using these powers.
Meanwhile, the third wave of the pandemic continues to sweep across Ontario with another 4,362 new cases reported today. The seven-day average of daily cases has increased by 78 to a new record high of 4,370. Toronto is reporting 1,162 new cases and 9 other health units are reporting triple-digit increases.
There are now 32,327 cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant in Ontario, an increase of 2,152 from yesterday, with 2 more cases of the B.1.351 South Africa variant and 5 more cases of the P.1 Brazilian variant. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 is now over 2,000 with more than 700 patients in ICUs and more than 500 patients on ventilators.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 38 new cases and an additional 69 cases resolved, with the number of active cases decreasing by 31 to 417. See below for detailed numbers from each regional health unit.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (1,162), Peel (936), York (430), Durham (301), Ottawa (251), Hamilton (211), Niagara (151), Halton (144), Middlesex-London (117), and Simcoe Muskoka (114).
There are double-digit increases today in Waterloo (84), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (72), Windsor-Essex (70), Brant (46), Eastern Ontario (44), Haldimand-Norfolk (37), Porcupine (31), Grey Bruce (29), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (25), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (18), Southwestern (15), Hastings Prince Edward (16), Sudbury (13), Peterborough (12), and Northwestern (10), with smaller increases in Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (9), Thunder Bay (7), and Lambton (6).
The remaining 6 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 2 health units (North Bay Parry Sound and Renfrew) reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s new cases, 55% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (1,632) among people ages 20-39 followed by 1,288 cases among people ages 40-59 and 749 cases among people 19 and under.
With 3,611 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases remains unchanged at 88.3%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has decreased by 1.3% to 6.9%, meaning that 69 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on April 16.
Ontario is reporting 34 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 3 new deaths in long-term care homes. Ontario has averaged 24 new daily deaths over the past week, an increase of 2 from yesterday.
The number of hospitalizations has increased by 110 to 2,065, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs increasing by 25 to 726, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators increasing by 21 to 501.
A total of 56,852 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 1,295 to 37,520.
A total of 3,751,316 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 107,278 from yesterday, with 344,244 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 2,311.
The number of fully vaccinated people represents 2.34% of Ontario’s population, an increase of 0.02% from yesterday, with fully and partially vaccinated people representing 25.46% of the population, an increase of 0.73% from yesterday. An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 38 new cases to report, including 13 in Peterborough, 9 in Hastings Prince Edward, 9 in Northumberland, 5 in Kawartha Lakes, and 2 in Haliburton.
There are 30 new regional cases of variants of concern, including 16 in Peterborough, 5 in Hastings Prince Edward, 5 in Northumberland, 2 in Haliburton, and 1 in Kawartha Lakes.
Outbreaks at St. John Vianney Church in Highland Grove and Our Lady of Lourdes in Cardiff, both in Haliburton County, were declared on April 16.
There are 2 new hospitalizations in Peterborough.
An additional 69 cases have been resolved, including 29 in Peterborough, 28 in Hastings Prince Edward, 10 in Northumberland, 1 in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 in Haliburton. Outbreaks at Christian Horizons in Port Hope and an unidentified workplace in Peterborough County have been declared resolved.
There are currently 417 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 31 from yesterday, including 126 in Peterborough, 118 in Northumberland, 115 in Hastings Prince Edward (21 in Quinte West, 58 in Belleville, 5 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 16 in Prince Edward County, 9 in Central Hastings, and 6 in North Hastings), 48 in Kawartha Lakes, and 10 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,097 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (959 resolved with 12 deaths), 657 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (569 resolved with 56 deaths), 712 in Northumberland County (583 resolved with 12 deaths), 85 in Haliburton County (75 resolved with 1 death), and 804 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (682 resolved with 7 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Kawartha Lakes on April 16.
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: 1,097 (increase of 12)* Total variants of concern cases: 341 (increase of 17) Active cases: 126 (decrease of 17) Close contacts: 365 (decrease of 19) Deaths: 12 (no change) Resolved: 959 (increase of 29) Hospitalizations (total to date): 38 (increase of 2)** Total tests completed: Over 48,150 (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 (decrease of 1)*** 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, with 1 case removed from a previous day increasing the total case count by 12.
**As of April 16, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 21 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and a total of 45 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).
***An outbreak at an unidentified workplace (#4) in Peterborough County was declared resolved on April 17.
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: 1,471, including 661 in Kawartha Lakes, 723 in Northumberland, and 87 in Haliburton (increase of 16, including 5 in Kawartha Lakes, 9 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 223, including 76 in Kawartha Lakes, 139 in Northumberland, and 9 in Haliburton (increase of 8, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 5 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton)** Active cases: 176, including 48 in Kawartha Lakes, 118 in Northumberland, and 10 in Haliburton (increase of 5, including 3 in Kawartha Lakes, 1 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Probable cases: 2, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Haliburton (increase of 2) High-risk contacts: Not available*** Hospitalizations (total to date): 55, including 32 in Kawartha Lakes, 20 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)**** Deaths (including among probable cases): 69, including 56 in Kawartha Lakes, 12 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change) Resolved: 1,239, including 570 in Kawartha Lakes, 593 in Northumberland, and 76 in Haliburton (increase of 12, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 10 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Tests completed: 167,408 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, 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, St. John Vianney Church in Highland Grove in Haliburton County, Our Lady of Lourdes in Cardiff in Haliburton County (net 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 16, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change).
*****An outbreak at Christian Horizons in Port Hope has been resolved. Outbreaks at St. John Vianney Church in Highland Grove and Our Lady of Lourdes in Cardiff, both in Haliburton County, were declared on April 16.
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: 804 (increase of 9) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 212 (increase of 5) Active cases: 115 (decrease of 19) Deaths: 7 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 13 (decrease of 1) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 6 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 1 (no change) Resolved: 682 (increase of 28) Tests completed: 120,698 (no change) Vaccine doses administered: 50,146 (increase of 1,715) Number of people fully vaccinated: 3,281 (increase of 10) Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Belleville, Tri-board Bus #499 in Belleville, Unidentified congregate living facility in Belleville, Unidentified community outbreak in Belleville (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 412,745 (increase of 4,362) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) cases: 32,327 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 2,152); 101 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 2); 207 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 5)* VOC R(t): 1.23 (last updated April 2)** 7-day average of daily new cases: 4,370 (increase of 78) Positivity rate: 6.9% (decrease of 1.3%) Resolved: 364,353 (increase of 3,611), 88.3% of all cases (no change) Hospitalizations: 2,065 (increase of 110) Hospitalizations in ICU: 726 (increase of 25) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 501 (increase of 21) Deaths: 7,698 (increase of 34) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 24 (increase of 2) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,912 (increase of 3) Total tests completed: 13,479,381 (increase of 56,852) Tests under investigation: 37,520 (decrease of 1,295) Vaccination doses administered: 3,751,316 (increase of 107,278), 25.46% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.73%)*** People fully vaccinated (two doses): 344,244 (increase of 2,311), 2.34% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.02%)***
*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.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from March 17 – April 16, 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 17 – April 16, 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 17 – April 16, 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 17 – April 16, 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 17 – April 16, 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)
Police services in Peterborough and the City of Kawartha Lakes are among several in the province that have stated they won’t be conducting random stops of pedestrians or vehicles to enforce Ontario’s stay-at-home order.
On Friday (April 16), the provincial government announced it was giving police officers and other provincial offences officers enhanced authority to require any person to provide their home address and purpose for not being at their residence, and to stop vehicles to inquire about a person’s reasons for leaving their home.
The enhanced authority, which took effect as of Saturday, is only in place during the stay-at-home order and exclusively to enforce the order. People who refuse to provide police with information are subject to a minimum $750 fine.
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In justifying the decision against conducting random stops, Peterborough police state “the trust of our communities is of the utmost importance” and “great care will be taken to ensure there is no misuse or perceived misuse of any enforcement measures.”
The Kawartha Lakes Police Service made a similar statement on its Facebook page on Saturday morning.
“We are still reviewing the new legislation, but our enforcement response will remain evidence driven and Kawartha Lakes Police officers will not be arbitrarily stopping pedestrians or motorists,” reads the Facebook post.
On Saturday afternoon, both the Port Hope Police Service and the Cobourg Police Service also stated they would also not randomly stop vehicles or pedestrians.
“Officers will investigate only if they have reasonable grounds to believe the individual is violating the government measures,” reads a statement on the Cobourg Police Service’s Facebook page.
Other police forces in Ontario that have stated they will not be conducting random stops include Ottawa, London, Halton, Waterloo, Guelph, and Sault Ste. Marie.
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The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), which provides policing services for rural communities in the greater Kawarthas region such as Bancroft, issued a media release on Friday stating “Although voluntary compliance is always preferred, under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA), Re-Opening Ontario Act (ROA) and federal Quarantine Act, there are consequences for individuals who choose to defy the emergency orders that are in force.”
The OPP has also stated they will be stopping vehicles at border checkpoints in their jurisdiction, and enforcing the new limits prohibiting the use of outdoor recreational facilities and limiting outside gatherings to household members only.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has called the Ontario government’s Friday announcement of additional police powers a “Black Friday of rights” that creates a potential risk of racial profiling.
#BREAKING It’s a Black Friday of rights slashing by Queen’s Park today, risking a rash of racial profiling and overbroad police powers, presuming everyone outside guilty until proven otherwise. The mobility rights restrictions fail to achieve constitutional proportionality.
— Canadian Civil Liberties Association (@cancivlib) April 16, 2021
This story has been updated with statements from Port Hope Police Service and the Cobourg Police Service.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Today, on the same day the Ontario government announced new public health measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 variants, the province is reporting another record increase of 4,812 new cases, with the seven-day average of daily cases increasing by 84 to a new record high of 4,292. Toronto is reporting a record 1,469 cases, with 9 other health units reporting triple-digit increases.
There are now 30,175 cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant in Ontario, an increase of 2,897 from yesterday, with 4 more cases of the B.1.351 South Africa variant, and 11 more cases of the P.1 Brazilian variant. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has reached another record high at 1,955, as has the number of patients in ICUs at 701 and the number of patients on ventilators at 480.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 57 new cases to report and an additional 69 cases resolved, with the number of active cases decreasing by 16 to 448. There has been 1 new COVID-related death in Kawartha Lakes. See below for detailed numbers from each regional health unit.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (1,469), Peel (851), York (491), Ottawa (366), Durham (268), Hamilton (204), Niagara (192), Halton (175), Middlesex-London (123), and Simcoe Muskoka (101).
There are double-digit increases today in Windsor-Essex (74), Waterloo (61), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (60) Eastern Ontario (56), Brant (50), Haldimand-Norfolk (44), Southwestern (30), Peterborough (28), Grey Bruce (24), Porcupine (23), Sudbury (20), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (15), Hastings Prince Edward (13), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (13), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (13), and Lambton (12), with smaller increases in Renfrew (8), Northwestern (7), Algoma (7), and Thunder Bay (6).
The remaining 4 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with all health units reporting at least 1 case.
Of today’s new cases, 57% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (1,890) among people ages 20-39 followed by 1,376 cases among people ages 40-59 and 831 cases among people 19 and under.
With 3,151 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.3% to 88.3%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 0.3% to 8.3%, meaning that 83 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on April 15.
Ontario is reporting 25 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 1 new death in a long-term care home. Ontario has averaged 22 new daily deaths over the past week, an increase of 1 from yesterday.
The number of hospitalizations has increased by 23 to 1,955, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs increasing by 42 to 701, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators increasing by 38 to 480.
A total of 64,304 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 867 to 38,815.
A total of 3,644,038 doses of vaccine have now been administered, a record increase of 115,634 from yesterday, with 341,933 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 2,442.
The number of fully vaccinated people represents 2.32% of Ontario’s population, an increase of 0.02% from yesterday, with fully and partially vaccinated people representing 24.73% of the population, an increase of 0.78% from yesterday. An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 57 new cases to report, including 22 in Northumberland, 15 in Hastings Prince Edward, 12 in Peterborough, 6 in Kawartha Lakes, and 2 in Haliburton.
There has been 1 new COVID-related death in Kawartha Lakes. There is 1 new hospitalization and 1 new ICU admission in Hastings Prince Edward.
An outbreak at Trent Champlain Residence: West Towers in Peterborough was declared on April 16. An outbreak at Grafton Public School in Grafton was declared on April 15. An unidentified community outbreak in Belleville was declared on April 16.
There are 46 new regional cases of variants of concern, including 20 in Hastings Prince Edward, 14 in Peterborough, 8 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton.
An additional 69 cases have been resolved, including 28 in Hastings Prince Edward, 24 in Northumberland, 8 in Peterborough, 6 in Kawartha Lakes, and 3 in Haliburton.
Outbreaks at Champlain Annex at Trent University in Peterborough and Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School in Peterborough were declared resolved on April 16. An outbreak at an unidentified child care facility in Belleville was declared resolved on April 16. An outbreak at an unidentified workplace in Peterborough was declared resolved on April 15. An outbreak at an unidentified workplace in Trenton was declared resolved on April 14.
There are currently 448 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 16 from yesterday, including 143 in Peterborough, 134 in Hastings Prince Edward (24 in Quinte West, 68 in Belleville, 6 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 18 in Prince Edward County, 12 in Central Hastings, and 6 in North Hastings), 117 in Northumberland, 45 in Kawartha Lakes, and 9 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,085 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (930 resolved with 12 deaths), 657 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (569 resolved with 56 deaths), 712 in Northumberland County (583 resolved with 12 deaths), 85 in Haliburton County (75 resolved with 1 death), and 795 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (654 resolved with 7 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Kawartha Lakes on April 16.
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: 1,085 (increase of 12)* Total variants of concern cases: 324 (increase of 14) Active cases: 143 (increase of 4) Close contacts: 384 (decrease of 37) Deaths: 12 (no change) Resolved: 930 (increase of 8) Hospitalizations (total to date): 36 (no change)** Total tests completed: Over 48,150 (increase of 50) Outbreaks: Empress Gardens retirement home 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, Trent Champlain Residence: West Towers in Peterborough (net decrease of 2)*** 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 16, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 21 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 (an increase of 4) and a total of 45 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (increase of 4).
***An outbreak at Trent Champlain Residence: West Towers in Peterborough was declared on April 16. An outbreak at an unidentified workplace (#3) in Peterborough was declared resolved on April 15. Outbreaks at Champlain Annex at Trent University in Peterborough and Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School in Peterborough were declared resolved on April 16.
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: 1,454, including 657 in Kawartha Lakes, 712 in Northumberland, and 85 in Haliburton (increase of 30, including 6 in Kawartha Lakes, 22 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 215, including 75 in Kawartha Lakes, 134 in Northumberland, and 6 in Haliburton (increase of 12, including 8 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton)** Active cases: 171, including 45 in Kawartha Lakes, 117 in Northumberland, and 9 in Haliburton (decrease of 6, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 2 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton) 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 (no change)**** Deaths (including among probable cases): 69, including 56 in Kawartha Lakes, 12 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Kawartha Lakes) Resolved: 1,227, including 569 in Kawartha Lakes, 583 in Northumberland, and 75 in Haliburton (increase of 33, including 6 in Kawartha Lakes, 24 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton) Tests completed: 171,316 (no change) 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, Grafton Public School in Grafton (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 16, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change).
*****An outbreak at Grafton Public School in Grafton was declared on April 15.
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: 795 (increase of 15) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 207 (increase of 20) Active cases: 134 (decrease of 14) Deaths: 7 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 14 (increase of 1) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 6 (increase of 1) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 1 (no change) Resolved: 654 (increase of 28) Tests completed: 120,698 (increase of 12) Vaccine doses administered: 48,431 (increase of 1,853) Number of people fully vaccinated: 3,271 (increase of 10) Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Belleville, Tri-board Bus #499 in Belleville, Unidentified congregate living facility in Belleville, Unidentified community outbreak in Belleville (net decrease of 1)*
*An outbreak at an unidentified child care facility in Belleville was declared resolved on April 16. An outbreak at an unidentified workplace in Trenton was declared resolved on April 14. An unidentified community outbreak in Belleville was declared on April 16.
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 408,383 (increase of 4,812) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) cases: 30,175 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 2,897); 99 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 4); 202 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 11)* VOC R(t): 1.23 (last updated April 2)** 7-day average of daily new cases: 4,292 (increase of 84) Positivity rate: 8.2% (increase of 0.2%) Resolved: 360,742 (increase of 3,151), 88.3% of all cases (decrease of 0.3%) Hospitalizations: 1,955 (increase of 23) Hospitalizations in ICU: 701 (increase of 42) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 480 (increase of 38) Deaths: 7,664 (increase of 25) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 22 (increase of 1) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,909 (increase of 1) Total tests completed: 13,422,529 (increase of 64,304) Tests under investigation: 38,815 (decrease of 867) Vaccination doses administered: 3,644,038 (increase of 115,634), 24.73% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.78%)*** People fully vaccinated (two doses): 341,933 (increase of 2,442), 2.32% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.02%)***
*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.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from March 16 – April 15, 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 16 – April 15, 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 16 – April 15, 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 16 – April 15, 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 16 – April 15, 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)
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announces additional province-wide public health restrictions at Queen's Park on April 16, 2021. (CPAC screenshot)
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.
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“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.
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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.
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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.
Adalsteinn Brown, co-chair of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, and Dr. David Williams, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, present updated COVID-19 modelling projections at a media briefing on April 16, 2021. (CPAC screenshot)
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.
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“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.”
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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.”
Unlike under Ontario’s previous stay-at-home order, many Ontarians have not been reducing their mobility enough under the current stay-at-home order. (Graphic: Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table)
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.
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