During a media conference at an Etobicoke pharamcy on March 19, 2021, Ontario premier
Doug Ford announced the expansion of eligibility for COVID-19 vaccines to residents 75
years and older starting March 22. (Photo: Office of the Premier)
Beginning on Monday (March 22), Ontario residents 75 years and older can make COVID-19 vaccination appointments through the province’s online booking system.
Ontario premier Doug Ford made the announcement on Friday (March 19) during a media conference at an Etobicoke pharmacy.
“As of yesterday, over 50 per cent of all Ontario residents aged 80 and over have received the first shot,” Ford said. “Because of this progress, I can now say we’re ready to take the next step in our vaccine roll-out, and we’re able to do so ahead of schedule.”
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Since launching its booking system this past Monday for residents 80 years and older, the government says more than 239,000 appointments have been scheduled for these residents to receive their first and second doses. After high demand early in the week, the province says the number of bookings has slowed.
The provincial government also announced the AstraZenca vaccine will be available to Ontario residents 60 years and older through pharmacies effective Monday (March 22). Previously, the vaccine was only available for those aged 60 to 64.
Currently, the AstraZenca vaccine is available at 350 pharmacies in Toronto, Windsor-Essex, and Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington. In the next two weeks, another 350 pharmacies across Ontario will begin administering the vaccine.
“So far, we’ve vaccinated more than 91,000 people through our drug stores,” Ford said. “In the coming weeks, we will have about 700 pharmacies offering vaccines all across the province.”
Eligible Ontarians can contact a participating pharmacy directly to make an appointment for the AstraZenca vaccine. Many primary care providers will also directly contacting eligible patients to book an appointment for the vaccine.
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The province will soon provide details on additional pharmacy locations and the application process for getting an appointment.
The government also says it plans to double the number of pharmacies offering vaccines to 1,500 by the end of April, with pharmacies potentially delivering up to 40 per cent of all vaccinations by that time.
For the month of March, the government says Ontario is expecting to receive more than 1.4 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Ontario received limited allocations of the Moderna and AstraZeneca vaccines in March, with 483,700 doses of the Moderna vaccine split over three weeks, and 194,500 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine received the week of March 8th.
As of March 22, Ontario residents 75 years of age or older, or those assisting them, can book appointments through the provincial booking system at www.ontario.ca/bookvaccine or by phone at 1-888-999-6488.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Today, Ontario is reporting 1,553 new cases, with the seven-day average of daily cases increasing by 66 to 1,427. The provincial government’s top science advisors say Ontario is now in a third wave of the pandemic, with variants of concern driving exponential growth of cases in some areas of the province.
While Ontario is reporting only 2 more confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant today (for a total of 1,136) and 1 more case of the P.1 Brazilian variant (for a total of 35), the province’s top science advisors said earlier this week that presumed variants of concern accounted for almost half of new infections on March 15.
The provincial government announced today the Ottawa region is moving to the ‘Red-Control’ level of Ontario’s COVID-19 response framework effective March 19, as a result of worsening trends in key health indicators in the region.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 13 new cases to report and an additional 9 cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region remaining unchanged at 101. See below for details for each health unit in the region.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (404), Peel (294), and York (176).
There are double-digit increases in Durham (85), Ottawa (82), Hamilton (80), Lambton (48), Waterloo (43), Halton (38), Eastern Ontario (33), Windsor-Essex (33), Thunder Bay (30), Niagara (28), Sudbury (24), Middlesex-London (24), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (18), Simcoe Muskoka (15), Chatham-Kent (15), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (12), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (12), Northwestern (11), and Brant (11), with smaller increases in Peterborough (9) and Algoma (8).
The remaining 10 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 2 health units reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s new cases, 58% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (569) among people ages 20-39 followed by 439 cases among people ages 40-59.
With 1,236 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.1% to 93.8%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has decreased by 0.4% from yesterday to 3.1%, meaning that 31 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on March 17.
Ontario is reporting 15 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 1 death in a long-term care home. Ontario has averaged 13 new daily deaths over the past week (no change from yesterday).
Hospitalizations have decreased by 11 from yesterday to 730, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs increasing by 4 to 304, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators decreasing by 4 to 186.
A total of 58,560 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 2,871 to 32,330.
A total of 1,359,453 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 58,119 from yesterday, with 292,269 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 1,610 from yesterday, representing 1.98% of Ontario’s population.
There are 119 new cases in Ontario schools, a decrease of 60 from yesterday, including 99 student cases, 19 staff cases, and 1 case of an unidentified person. There are 22 new cases in licensed child care settings in Ontario, a decrease of 30 from yesterday, with 15 cases among children and 7 cases among staff.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 13 new cases to report, including 5 in Peterborough, 4 in Kawartha Lakes, 2 in Haliburton, 1 in Northumberland, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward.
There are 11 new regional cases of presumed variants of concern, including 10 in Peterborough and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward.
An additional 9 cases have been resolved, including 5 in Peterborough, 3 in Northumberland, and 1 in Kawartha Lakes. Outbreaks at CrossFit Lindsay and Highland Wood long-term care home in Haliburton Highlands have been declared resolved.
There are currently 101 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region (no net change from yesterday), including 56 in Peterborough, 15 in Northumberland, 12 in Kawartha Lakes, 9 in Haliburton, and 9 in Hastings Prince Edward (3 in Quinte West, 2 in Belleville, 2 in Prince Edward County, 1 in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, and 1 in North Hastings).
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 793 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (727 resolved with 10 deaths), 563 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (509 resolved with 55 deaths), 472 in Northumberland County (445 resolved with 12 deaths), 60 in Haliburton County (50 resolved with 1 death), and 441 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (426 resolved with 6 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on March 16.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 12 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: 793 (increase of 6)* Confirmed variants of concern cases: 1 (no change) Presumed variants of concern cases: 136 (increase of 10) Active cases: 56 (increase of 1) Close contacts: 138 (decrease of 5) Deaths: 10 (no change) Resolved: 727 (increase of 5) Hospitalizations (total to date): 27 (no change)** Total tests completed: Over 45,250 (no change)) Outbreaks: Severn Court Student Residence, Trent Champlain College residence, unidentified congregate living facility in Peterborough (no change) Vaccine doses administered: 13,911 (increase of 3,591 as of March 18)
*The health unit reports 5 new cases in the last 24 hours, with 3 cases from previous days added to the total case count.
**As of March 18, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting fewer than 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and 19 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s service area is the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.
The health unit provides reports from Monday to Saturday, excluding Sundays and statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 1,095, including 563 in Kawartha Lakes, 472 in Northumberland, and 60 in Haliburton (increase of 7, including 4 in Kawartha Lakes, 1 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 34, including 5 in Kawartha Lakes and 28 in Northumberland (decrease of 1 in Haliburton)** Active cases: 36, including 12 in Kawartha Lakes, 15 in Northumberland, and 9 in Haliburton (net decrease of 3) Probable cases: 0 (no change) High-risk contacts: 367, including 82 in Kawartha Lakes, 189 in Northumberland, and 60 in Haliburton (net increase of 78)*** Hospitalizations (total to date): 49, including 29 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)**** Deaths (including among probable cases): 68, including 55 in Kawartha Lakes, 12 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change) Resolved: 1,004, including 509 in Kawartha Lakes, 445 in Northumberland, 50 in Haliburton (increase of 4, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes and 3 in Northumberland) Tests completed: 155,685 (increase of 1,701) Outbreaks: Hyland Crest long-term care home in Minden, St. Michael Catholic Elementary School in Cobourg (decrease of 2)*****
*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.
***This total includes an additional 36 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.
****As of March 18, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 1 patient hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change).
*****Outbreaks at CrossFit Lindsay and Highland Wood long-term care home in Haliburton Highlands have been declared resolved.
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health’s service area is Hastings County (including Bancroft) and Prince Edward County.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 441 (increase of 1) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 7 (increase of 1) Active cases: 9 (increase of 1) Deaths: 6 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 0 (no change) Resolved: 426 (no change) Tests completed: 75,726 (no change) Vaccine doses administered: 14,905 (increase of 1,084) Number of people fully vaccinated: 1,345 (no change) Outbreaks: None (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 323,509 (increase of 1,553) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) confirmed cases: 1,136 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 2); 47 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (no change); 35 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 1) VOC R(t): 1.34 (decrease of 0.01, as of March 14)* 7-day average of daily new cases: 1,427 (increase of 66) Resolved: 303,493 (increase of 1,236), 93.8% of all cases (decrease of 0.1%) Positivity rate: 3.1% (decrease of 0.4%) Hospitalizations: 730 (decrease of 11) Hospitalizations in ICU: 304 (increase of 4) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 186 (decrease of 4) Deaths: 7,202 (increase of 15) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 13 (no change) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,888 (increase of 1) Total tests completed: 11,925,298 (increase of 58,560) Tests under investigation: 32,330 (decrease of 2,871) Vaccination doses administered: 1,359,453 (increase of 58,119) People fully vaccinated (two doses): 292,269 (increase of 1,610), 1.98% of Ontario’s population (est. 70-90% required for herd immunity)
*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.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from February 15 – March 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 February 15 – March 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 February 15 – March 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 is a five-day moving average of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from February 15 – March 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 February 15 – March 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)
A COVID-19 outbreak at the Severn Court Student Residence near Fleming College in Peterborough resulted from at least one party held at the privately owned student housing complex on Feburary 20, 2021. A 31-year-old Fleming College student who lived at the residence and did not participate in the parties was infected, hospitalized, and subsequently died as a result of his illness. (Photo: Severn Court Management Company)
As the police probe into the February 20th party or parties at the Severn Court Student Residence continues, Peterborough Police Services Chief Scott Gilbert says while he’s aware of the “great public demand for a speedy conclusion to the investigation,” the required steps that precede the laying of possible charges will not be subject to any shortcuts.
During a Peterborough Public Health media briefing held Thursday (March 18), Chief Gilbert said “an added layer of intricacy” that involves “a lot of close work” with Peterborough Public Health is a factor in the speed of the investigation.
“Peterborough Public Health and Peterborough police have two independent investigations to do (and) Fleming College is also going to be doing their own independent investigation,” said Chief Gilbert.
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“This process involves gathering information and evidence that support any potential charges. There is also a great deal of health information involved and the privacy issues that arise around that information. The process is taking more time and is probably going to require, on our part, production orders and, potentially, search warrants to obtain all of the necessary information.”
Asked if this week’s COVID-related death of a 31-year-old Fleming College student who resided at Severn Court — who CTV News identified on Wednesday as Zachary Root — changes the focus of the investigation and the severity of any possible charges, Chief Gilbert said he’s “not going to speculate on what the outcome of the investigation will be.”
“Right now we’re approaching this investigation as a provincial offences breach under the Reopening Ontario Act. Crown attorneys will be consulted in case evidence leads us in a direction where potentially there is something more than a provincial acts breach. The investigation is ongoing and we’ll see where it takes us.”
Chief Gilbert took aim at social media “rumour mongering” — including demands that criminal charges be laid and prosecuted — as being counterproductive to each investigation involved.
As for the possibility that one or more students involved in the parties could be charged with manslaughter following Root’s death, Chief Gilbert said such a charge was unlikely.
“The threshold for manslaughter is quite high. Quite honestly I don’t see that, but I don’t have a law degree. There are a lot of people that speculate on social media about a lot of stuff. I ask for some patience. Let us do our investigation without all the added layers of conspiracy because that’s really not doing any good.”
Meanwhile, as the probe into the Severn Court outbreak that resulted in 59 positive cases continues, local infection numbers have been trending down last few weeks, from 69 new positive cases the week of March 1st to 20 this week to date.
At present, there are 55 active cases in the Peterborough region, down 26 from March 11th. Also very encouraging is this week’s reporting of 23 active cases per 100,000 people — half of what it was last week.
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That said, the number of total presumed cases of variants of concern (VOC) continues to rise locally, up 37 cases from a week ago for a current total of 126. To date, just one local VOC case has been confirmed out of those 126 presumed cases.
Medical officer of health Dr. Rosanna Salvaterra explained what’s behind the delay in the confirmation of the presumed cases.
“There’s been such an increase in the variants of concern — potentially that explains the delay in their genetic sequencing results,” she said.
“There is now going to be a change in the way the province is testing for variants of concern. The testing that has been done as a screening is going to remain, but they’re going to add another receptor to that testing. Between these two screening tests they will be able to determine which of the variants of concern we’re dealing with.”
“In addition, the province will continue to test five per cent of all positive cases and genetically sequence those. I’m not anticipating we’re going to get many more confirmations as we shift to this new way of identifying variants of concern.”
While the Severn Court outbreak is ongoing, just four of the original 59 positive cases related to are active. Meanwhile, an outbreak at Trent University’s Champlain College that resulted in nine positive cases now has just one case active, and this week’s outbreak at the Brock Mission has resulted in one active case who is now self-isolating.
On the vaccination front, Dr. Salvaterra reported 3,240 appointments were booked this week through the new online booking system for three vaccination clinics at the Evinrude Centre, Peterborough Regional Health Centre, and the Norwood Arena.
Peterborough Public Health’s catchment area of Peterborough city and county and Curve Lake and Hiawatha First Nations remains at the ‘Red-Control’ level of Ontario’s COVID-19 Response Framework – a more restrictive status that has been in place since March 8th.
Also commenting during Thursday’s media briefing were Hiawatha First Nations Chief Laurie Carr and Peterborough board of health chair and Selwyn mayor Andy Mitchell.
Taking action to address climate change will save a business money in the long run. While the initial cost of an energy-efficient appliance is often higher than a conventional model, a business can quickly recover that cost with lower energy bills. (Photo: Ben Hargreaves)
It’s March 2021. We’ve been living for a whole year with COVID-19 — a year of great upheaval, uncertainty, and reflection. As we’ve shifted to new ways because of this pandemic, we’ve been presented the opportunity to consider what is truly important to us.
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s story is by Jackie Donaldson, communications specialist with Green Economy Peterborough, a project of GreenUP.
For many, the prioritization of family and friends, green spaces, and neighbourhoods has intensified. In the greater Peterborough area, we’ve realized our local economy is something we want to fight for.
Our vibrant, unique, and innovative business community is critically important to our shared identity and future prosperity.
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“I want every business to know about the power they have to craft a better future, that they are a force for good in our communities and that there are diverse ways they can have a positive influence,” says Melissa Gerrard, senior manager of national expansion for Green Economy Canada.
Gerrard’s role is to incubate green business hubs across the country, including the latest one to join her network — Green Economy Peterborough.
Her appeal implies that no matter how small or how specialized, a business can make a difference. More specifically, a business that implements sustainable action can positively influence the environmental and economic health of its community.
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make up over 98.2 per cent of private businesses in Canada. They employ nine in 10 Canadians and produce 41 per cent of our GDP. Collectively, they have a significant impact on our environment — globally, SMEs contribute to 70 per cent of all pollution.
With the guidance of Green Economy Peterborough, businesses can make sustainability targets and track reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that are not only better for the environment but also save costs with lower energy bills. (Photo of Otonabee River by Paul Hartley / Getty Images)
Much like COVID-19, the destruction of the environment has an impact on our ability to conduct business.
Businesses face great risk from climate change and degraded air, water, and soil quality. The outcome will be increased costs and diverted revenue, reduced access to resources and food, impacts on property and operations, and decreased employee health.
Sustainability initiatives in the business setting generally centre on efforts to reduce emissions, improve water management, and reduce or recycle waste.
Some companies work to reduce their environmental impact because it aligns with their corporate identity or owner’s conviction. Many organizations recognize there’s a business case for implementing environmentally friendly initiatives.
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As well as direct cost savings from energy, water, and waste reduction, the benefits of action include attracting customers through an enhanced brand identity, increasing employee engagement and company pride, and improving overall resilience.
While COVID-19 remains a pressing circumstance for many local businesses, there is something about spring that hints at renewal, growth, and opportunity. With the welcoming promise of warm weather and longer days, the time is now to benefit from implementing sustainability initiatives in the workplace.
Here are three green business ideas to get you started:
1. Learn about sustainable action in your sector
Educate yourself on green initiatives that might be suitable to your company by exploring industry association resources and sector newsletters.
Identify the best actions for your workplace. Talk to staff, customers, and supply chain representatives.
You may find they’ve already been thinking about greening opportunities relevant to your organization.
Taking action to address climate change will save a business money in the long run. While the initial cost of an energy-efficient appliance is often higher than a conventional model, a business can quickly recover that cost with lower energy bills. (Photo: Ben Hargreaves)
2. Start a ‘Green Team’
Gather a team of employees who are excited about sustainability.
To ensure a company-wide impact, make sure they represent diverse organizational roles and responsibilities, including a staff member with facilities and/or operations knowledge.
Having senior management at the table can help present the team’s interests to decision-makers. They can advocate to include sustainability in your brand identity, governance strategy, operational plan, and budget.
3. Explore available funding and support
Look for financial incentive programs that help organizations become more environmentally responsible.
If you want to tackle energy reduction initiatives, check out SaveOnEnergy’s program for small businesses at www.saveonenergy.ca. They provide financial incentives to retrofit lighting, HVAC, air source heat pumps, and other equipment.
Enbridge also has energy efficiency programming for businesses. For more information, visit enbridgesmartsavings.com.
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Research shows that small businesses face numerous barriers towards meeting their sustainability goals, including having limited knowledge of the issues and solutions, and being short on resources and capacity.
This is where a network with access to experts and business peers comes in.
“Many people in the business community are now stepping forward to look at sustainability, but they are unsure of what to do and where to start,” says Natalie Stephenson, coordinator of Green Economy Peterborough. “The interest is absolutely there but they aren’t sure of the steps to take to make it happen, or which ones are worthwhile for their business. Green Economy Peterborough can help with that.”
Green Economy Peterborough is a new business hub made up of forward-thinking, local organizations that are working towards goals that better their businesses, our community, and the environment.
Natalie Stephenson, coordinator of Green Economy Peterborough, is excited about the potential impact the initiative will have on the community. “The interest is absolutely there but they aren’t sure of the steps to take to make it happen, or which ones are worthwhile for their business. Green Economy Peterborough can help with that.” (Photo: Ben Hargreaves)
Companies that join Green Economy Peterborough receive coaching and support to operationalize meaningful sustainability targets, have access to education and training opportunities, and recognition at an annual celebratory event.
Most importantly, Green Economy Peterborough members become part of a vital network of business peers at the forefront of an emerging green economy.
The greater Peterborough area has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in economic development. Green Economy Peterborough is leveraging these networks and resources. The advisory committee for Green Economy Peterborough includes local business and community leaders, as well as Peterborough & The Kawarthas Economic Development, the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce, and the Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA).
Now is the time to recognize that climate action is good for business. Plant the seeds of sustainability at your organization. You can learn more about Green Economy Peterborough at www.greeneconomypeterborough.ca.
Green Economy Peterborough is hosted by GreenUP, an award-winning environmental non-profit educational and service provider with over 25 years of leadership experience in this region. Support and funding for Green Economy Peterborough is also provided by the City of Peterborough, the County of Peterborough, and the Government of Canada.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Today, Ontario is reporting 1,508 new cases — the highest daily increase without data issues since February 4 when 1,563 cases were reported. The seven-day average of daily cases has increased by 27 to 1,361.
Today’s new cases include 3 more cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant, for a total of 1,134, and 1 more case of the B.1.351 South Africa variant, for a total of 47. The R(t) value for variants of concern — the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time (t) in a partially immunized population — has decreased by 0.03 to 1.35.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 17 new cases to report and an additional 12 cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region increasing by 4 to 101. See below for details for each health unit in the region.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (542), Peel (253), and York (107).
There are double-digit increases in Simcoe Muskoka (74), Ottawa (69), Niagara (66), Thunder Bay (63), Waterloo (45), Durham (42), Hamilton (36), Halton (32), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (25), Middlesex-London (23), Windsor-Essex (23), Sudbury (18), Haldimand-Norfolk (12), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (11), Peterborough (10), and Brant (10), with smaller increases in Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (8), Lambton (7), Chatham-Kent (6), and Southwestern (6).
The remaining 11 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 4 health units reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s new cases, 57% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (575) among people ages 20-39 followed by 404 cases among people ages 40-59.
With 1,488 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases remains unchanged at 93.9%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has decreased by 1.0% from yesterday to 3.5%, meaning that 35 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on March 16.
Ontario is reporting 14 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 5 in long-term care homes. Ontario has averaged 13 new daily deaths over the past week (no change from yesterday).
Hospitalizations have decreased by 20 from yesterday to 741, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs increasing by 8 to 300, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators decreasing by 4 to 190.
A total of 49,128 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation increasing by 7,753 to 35,201.
A total of 1,301,334 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 58,202 from yesterday, with 290,659 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 1,741 from yesterday, representing 1.97% of Ontario’s population.
There are 179 new cases in Ontario schools, a decrease of 188 from yesterday, including 145 student cases, 33 staff cases, and 1 unidentified case. There are 52 new cases in licensed child care settings in Ontario, an increase of 4 from yesterday, with 35 cases among children and 17 cases among staff.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 17 new cases to report, including 9 in Peterborough, 3 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Haliburton, 1 in Northumberland, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward.
An outbreak at Highland Wood long-term care home in Haliburton Highlands was declared on March 16.
There are 3 new cases of presumed variants of concern in Northumberland.
An additional 12 cases have been resolved, including 10 in Peterborough, 1 in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward. An outbreak at an unidentified workplace in Belleville was declared resolved on March 17.
There are currently 101 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 4 from yesterday, including 55 in Peterborough, 18 in Northumberland, 10 in Kawartha Lakes, 10 in Haliburton, and 8 in Hastings Prince Edward (2 in Quinte West, 2 in Belleville, 2 in Prince Edward County, 1 in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, and 1 in North Hastings).
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 787 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (722 resolved with 10 deaths), 561 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (508 resolved with 55 deaths), 472 in Northumberland County (442 resolved with 12 deaths), 61 in Haliburton County (50 resolved with 1 death), and 440 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (426 resolved with 6 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on March 16.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 12 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: 787 (increase of 9) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 1 (no change) Presumed variants of concern cases: 126 (no change) Active cases: 55 (decrease of 1) Close contacts: 143 (decrease of 1) Deaths: 10 (no change) Resolved: 722 (increase of 10) Hospitalizations (total to date): 27 (no change)* Total tests completed: Over 45,250 (increase of 150) Outbreaks: Severn Court Student Residence, Trent Champlain College residence, unidentified congregate living facility in Peterborough (no change) Vaccine doses administered: 10,320 (no change, last updated March 11)
*As of March 17, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting fewer than 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and 19 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s service area is the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.
The health unit provides reports from Monday to Saturday, excluding Sundays and statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 1,094, including 561 in Kawartha Lakes, 472 in Northumberland, and 61 in Haliburton (increase of 7, including 3 in Kawartha Lakes, 1 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 35, including 5 in Kawartha Lakes and 29 in Northumberland, 1 in Haliburton (increase of 3 in Northumberland)** Active cases: 39, including 10 in Kawartha Lakes, 18 in Northumberland, and 10 in Haliburton (net increase of 6) Probable cases: 0 (decrease of 1 in Kawartha Lakes) High-risk contacts: 289, including 138 in Kawartha Lakes, 103 in Northumberland, and 18 in Haliburton (net increase of 29)*** Hospitalizations (total to date): 49, including 29 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)**** Deaths (including among probable cases): 68, including 55 in Kawartha Lakes, 12 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change) Resolved: 1,000, including 508 in Kawartha Lakes, 442 in Northumberland, 50 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Kawartha Lakes) Tests completed: 153,984 (no change) Outbreaks: CrossFit Lindsay, Hyland Crest long-term care home in Minden, St. Michael Catholic Elementary School in Cobourg, Highland Wood long-term care home in Haliburton Highlands (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.
***This total includes an additional 30 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.
****As of March 17, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 1 patient hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change).
*****An outbreak at Highland Wood long-term care home in Haliburton Highlands was declared on March 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: 440 (increase of 1) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 6 (no change) Active cases: 8 (no net change) Deaths: 6 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 0 (no change) Resolved: 426 (increase of 1) Tests completed: 75,726 (increase of 6) Vaccine doses administered: 13,821 (increase of 614) Number of people fully vaccinated: 1,345 (no change) Outbreaks: None (decrease of 1)*
*An outbreak at an unidentified workplace in Belleville was declared resolved on March 17.
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 321,956 (increase of 1,508) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) confirmed cases: 1,134 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 3); 47 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 1); 34 of P.1 Brazilian variant (no change) VOC R(t): 1.35 (decrease of 0.03, as of March 13)* 7-day average of daily new cases: 1,361 (increase of 27) Resolved: 302,257 (increase of 1,488), 93.9% of all cases (no change) Positivity rate: 3.5% (decrease of 1.0%) Hospitalizations: 741 (decrease of 20) Hospitalizations in ICU: 300 (increase of 8) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 190 (decrease of 4) Deaths: 7,187 (increase of 14) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 13 (no change) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,887 (increase of 5) Total tests completed: 11,866,738 (increase of 49,128) Tests under investigation: 35,201 (increase of 7,753) Vaccination doses administered: 1,301,334 (increase of 58,202) People fully vaccinated (two doses): 290,659 (increase of 1,741), 1.97% of Ontario’s population (est. 70-90% required for herd immunity)
*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.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from February 14 – March 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 February 14 – March 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 February 14 – March 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 is a five-day moving average of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from February 14 – March 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 February 14 – March 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)
Ashley Lamothe, owner of Creative Kwe in Peterborough/Nogojiwanong, has been named entrepreneur of the month by the Native Women's Association of Canada. (Photo: Heather Doughty)
Ashley Lamothe, owner of Creative Kwe in Peterborough/Nogojiwanong, has been named entrepreneur of the month by the Native Women’s Association of Canada.
Established in 1974 to represent the political voice of Indigenous women, girls, and gender-diverse people across Canada, the association also runs an entrepreneurial outreach and navigation program called #BeTheDrum, designed to build the skills of Indigenous women entering business, management, and entrepreneurship.
The association selected Lamothe “for the quality of work being done in her business, as well as her amazing contributions to other members of the program”, adding “The generosity of spirit, curiosity, and excitement that Ashley brings to our workshops and events is contagious and we couldn’t be more proud!”
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Along with receiving the honour, Lamothe will also be featured as the ‘star entrepreneur’ in the association’s e-zine called KCI-NIWESQ.
Ashley Lamothe will also be featured in an issue of KCI-NIWESQ, the e-zine of the Native Women’s Association of Canada. (Photo: Native Women’s Association of Canada)
A self-described “solo mompreneur”, Lamothe founded Creative Kwe, a creativity coaching practice, in 2017. She offers workshops, courses, resources, and public speaking on the benefits and beauty of creativity.
“I can’t even begin to describe how this feels, to be recognized as doing something I truly love doing,” Lamothe says. “It’s been a roller coaster of an adventure and I’m so excited to keep growing and be able to help other women gain confidence in whatever adventure awaits them.”
“Chi Miigwetch Be The Drum for giving Indigenous women entrepreneurs a safe space to come together and grow together,” she adds.
For more information about Lamothe and her business, visit creativekwe.ca.
Peterborough Public Health has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Brock Mission, with the first positive case ever detected in the city’s emergency shelter system.
When the health unit confirmed the positive test, the infected person was already self-isolating away from the shelter’s congregate setting, which is temporarily located in an auditorium at 114 Murray Street while the new Brock Mission is being built.
According to a media release issued by the health unit on Wednesday (March 17), it is unknown whether the person is infected with a COVID-19 variant of concern, as the positive sample did not have sufficient virus to be screened for a variant strain.
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High-risk contacts of the infected person will be isolated and tested, the health unit states, with Peterborough Paramedics beginning surveillance testing on Wednesday.
Shelter staff have begun implementing additional public health measures, including enhanced cleaning and disinfecting of common areas and high-touch surfaces.
According to Ontario Ministry of Health guidelines, a single case in congregate living setting constitutes an outbreak.
Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region is now accepting applications for their soon-to-be-completed condo development at 33 Leahy's Lane in Peterborough. The Leahy's Lane condos will provide 41 individuals, couples, seniors, or families the opportunity for affordable homeownership. (Photo courtesy of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region)
Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region is now accepting applications from families, seniors, singles, and couples for affordable homeownership opportunities. The opportunities arise from their soon-to-be-completed project — a 41-unit condo building at 33 Leahy’s Lane in Peterborough.
This project, the first of its kind for Habitat for Humanity across Canada, could not come at a more urgent time. Locally, housing prices have dramatically increased, making decent and affordable homeownership out of reach for may.
“The increased demand due to the 407 extension, the lack of available land, and increases in prices in larger surrounding markets have all had dramatic effects on home prices locally,” says Christina Skuce, director of philanthropy and communications for Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region.
An architectural rendering of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region’s Leahy’s Lane development, which adds multi-residential housing to the non-profit organization’s usual practice of building affordable semi-detached and fully detached homes. Currently under construction, the 41-unit condo development in Peterborough is the local organization’s largest build to date and will serve as a model that can be rolled out to other Habitats across the country. (Rendering courtesy of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region)
“There are people who have been saving or working to pay off debt for years, but they can’t get a down payment because the housing prices are skyrocketing locally,” Skuce adds. “They’re stuck in a cycle of paying rent and not building any equity.”
Operating across Peterborough and the Kawartha region and into Haliburton Highlands, Habitat for Humanity has helped 42 local families into safe, decent, and affordable homeownership since 2002. Habitat’s mission is to bridge a gap for low-income working families and individuals by providing an opportunity to pay an affordable mortgage geared to their income.
The Leahy’s Lane condos will give an additional 41 families and individuals a hand-up to purchase their own homes.
“Our previous efforts to build semi-detached or fully detached homes were great, but building four or five homes a year would not make enough of an impact for the affordable housing crisis that’s going on right now,” Skuce notes. “With this condo development, we can help 41 families and individuals to move into the condo early next year.”
Each unit in the Leahy’s Lane condo development will include appliances such as a fridge, stove, dishwasher, and washer-dryer. The building will also have a social room and basement storage units will be available. (Photo courtesy of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region)
The Leahy’s Lane condos will be a mixture of one, two, and three bedroom units. For the first time ever, Habitat for Humanity is offering homeownership opportunities beyond families. Singles, couples, and seniors are also eligible for these condos. The building is three storeys with an elevator and universal design, meaning it also provides an opportunity for accessible housing in the community.
Each unit includes a fridge, stove, dishwasher, and washer-dryer. There will be a social room, and basement storage units are available. Additionally, the condo is an energy-efficient new build, which will help homeowners save on utility costs.
The building’s location on Leahy’s Lane is perfect for families since there is a park right down the street, and Nicholls Oval Park is only a short walk away. The building is also situated near schools, public transit, and playgrounds.
Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to bring communities together to help families and individuals build strength, stability, and self reliance through affordable homeownership. The families and individuals who partner with Habitat pay an affordable mortgage geared to their income, with no down payment. (Photo courtesy of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region)
What makes Habitat for Humanity’s program affordable is that there is no down payment needed to get into homeownership. Mortgage payments are also capped at no more than a maximum of 30 per cent of the homeowner’s gross income.
“That includes your mortgage payment, your property taxes, and your condo fees,” Skuce explains.
“One hundred per cent of the funds from homeowner mortgage payments go into what’s called a ‘fund for humanity’ — which goes into paying for affordable housing throughout the community,” she adds.
To qualify for one of the units, you must have an annual household income between $30,000 to $80,000 and have an affordable housing need.
Skuce encourages those interested in the homeownership opportunity at Leahy’s Lane to sign up for a virtual info session by visiting www.habitatpkr.ca/community/events/.
For those interested in applying for homeownership at 33 Leahy’s Lane in Peterborough, Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region is offering virtual info sessions almost every other week through their website. From the comfort of your own home, you can learn more about the opportunity and ask questions. (Photo courtesy of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region)
From the comfort of your home, you can learn more about the opportunity and have the chance to talk directly with the Habitat team, who then guide you through the application process. These sessions run just about every other week and are about a half-hour in length.
“We really encourage people not to miss out on this opportunity to get into affordable homeownership,” urges Skuce. “A decent place to live and an affordable loan help homeowners to save more. It’s a chance to invest in education, pursue opportunities, and have more financial stability and flexibility.”
While other Habitat affiliates have completed similar condo projects, this particular model will be the first of its kind for Habitat for Humanity in Canada. According to Skuce, it will be an example that will be rolled out to other Habitat locations across the country when it is completed.
Although construction was delayed due to COVID-19, the Leahy’s Lane condo development is on schedule to be completed by the end of 2021, for residents to move in at the beginning of 2022. (Photo courtesy of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region)
The building’s construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2021 for homeowners to move in at the beginning of 2022. Although COVID-19 delayed the start date in the summer, Skuce says construction is still on schedule.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have some phenomenal construction partners,” says Skuce. “They’ve stepped up in a big way and made this project a priority so that we could stay on schedule and get it done safely. We are following all of the protocols that are put in place by public health.”
The way Habitat acquired the Leahy’s Lane property is an additional reason the project has moved along quickly.
A floor plan for a two-bedroom unit at Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region’s Leahy’s Lane affordable housing development in Peterborough. The 41-unit condo development will have a mix of one, two, and three bedroom units for individuals, couples, seniors, and families. (Graphic courtesy of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region)
“We were approached by a developer who had a piece of property that had already gone through plans with the city,” Skuce explains. “They had planned to build high-end luxury condos but decided that’s not the route they wanted to go anymore.”
“So they came to Habitat to see if we were interested in the property. That was fantastic for us because this was a property that was essentially shovel ready.”
Skuce says they had to make some changes to the developer’s interior plans for the condos, but the build was essentially ready to start construction right away.
“One of the biggest challenges for us and so many others in the community is trying to find affordable land to build housing,” says Skuce. “We’re always looking for more land and more opportunities to build affordable housing.”
VIDEO: Habitat Homeownership – Leahy’s Lane Condos in Peterborough
To support Habitat for Humanity and future projects like this one, anyone with a property that Habitat could use to build affordable housing is encouraged to reach out to the Habitat team by emailing info@habitatpkr.ca or phoning 705-750-1456.
For those who want to support the building of the Leahy’s Lane condos and more affordable homes in the community, donations can be made to Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region through their website at www.habitatpkr.ca/donations/.
You can also support Habitat through their ReStores — non-profit home improvement and building supply stores. Habitat ReStores pay for 100 per cent of their operating costs, operating costs, so any cash donations will 100 per cent go into the building of affordable homes.
Like many other local businesses, extended closures due to COVID-19 have had drastic impacts on the Habitat ReStores, which comprise a significant fundraising stream for the organization.
If you want to help Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region make homeownership affordable for more people, you can make a donation through their website or by donating to and purchasing items from their ReStores — non-profit home improvement and building supply stores. Habitat ReStores pay for 100 per cent of their operating costs, operating costs, so any cash donations will 100 per cent go into the building of affordable homes. (Photo courtesy of Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region)
“We encourage people to shop at or to donate their furniture, appliances, lighting, clothing, and more, at our Habitat ReStores in Peterborough or Lindsay,” Skuce says. “We are very thankful the Habitat ReStores are able to be open again with the new public health measures that are in effect.”
As for future projects, Skuce says Habitat is currently looking for a property for another local condo development.
“We have a couple of opportunities we’re pursuing at the moment, but we are still planning to build detached and semi-detached homes,” says Skuce. “That part of our build program has not gone away.”
For more information about Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region, the Leahy’s Lane condos, and the Habitat ReStores, visit www.habitatpkr.ca. You can also follow them on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
This story was created in partnership with Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region.
With the help of his long-time friend and fellow musician Shane Davey (top right), Sean Daniels (top left) has created "Virtually Peterborough", a new virtual venue that allows musicians to rehearse and perform ensemble music live, in real time and without lag, as long as they have a high-speed internet connection. (Photo courtesy of Sean Daniels)
While online video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams have revolutionized labour during the pandemic, these platforms are simply not conducive for ensemble music rehearsal and performance.
“It’s impossible,” says Sean Daniels, the creator and founder of Virtually Peterborough, a new virtual venue that allows musicians to rehearse and perform ensemble music live — in real time and without lag.
“Zoom does the trick for most of us, but for music — or anything involving rhythm, for instance — it just won’t work if there’s a two-second delay between users.”
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Sean Daniels has a unique skill set to solve the problem of network latency or lag, which is precisely what the musician, videographer, and IT professional has done creating the area’s first and only virtual venue.
Latency refers to the delay between an packet (a segment of data) being sent and received online. Higher latency values will result in noticeable delays.
“When you make a sound, it has to turn into a digital signal,” explains Daniels. “Then it has to travel across the internet to the server, then it has to get mixed in with the other musicians’ sounds, then it has to travel back to you, and then it has to get turned from data back into sound that you can hear in your headphones.”
Real-time jamming
Those video performances that have become popular during the pandemic — of multiple musicians singing or performing together — aren’t recorded in real time. Because of latency, each musician instead records their own individual segment against one or more prerecorded segments by other musicians, and then all the segments are edited and synched together in post production. By addressing the issue of latency, ‘Virtually Peterborough’ provides a way for musicians to perform and record together in real time.
“That period of time can be way too big for us to play in time together, or to even feel like we are playing together,” he continues. “Twenty-five to 34 milliseconds is manageable. Once you start to get over 50 milliseconds, you hear that lag too much. It just kind of pulls you back slowly because you’re trying to play with everybody else, but they sound like they’re playing slower than you all the time and so everything just keeps slowing down.”
For Virtually Peterborough, Daniels enlisted the help of his long-time friend and fellow musician, Shane Davey. Together, using Daniel’s own virtual server located in Toronto, the pair began testing various free open-source software and audio interfaces.
“We just wanted to see if we could actually do this,” recalls Daniels of the process.
“During one test, Shane counted me in on something, and I didn’t really even think about it. He just started playing on bass and I started playing on my keyboard. About 10 of 14 seconds went by and he stopped. He looked up at the camera and said, ‘Dude, dude, dude, I just counted you in!'”
“We both realized it works — we could do this,” says Daniels of the eureka moment.
Sean Daniels began building his own version of the tiny, affordable Raspberry Pi computers, which he’s named a “Raspberry Jam.” Using the Linux operating system, Daniels’ Raspberry Jams have built-in audio interfaces and the open-source software, Jamulus, for low-latency remote ensemble music. (Photo courtesy of Sean Daniels)
Daniels had successfully reduced the lag for musicians playing online. He was certain that his idea for a virtual venue could work. However, he also wanted to make Virtually Peterborough accessible for as many musicians as possible.
“The challenge, then, was for the people who have instruments and everything they need at home, except they don’t have a computer and an audio interface, or they don’t understand how to use the computer they’ve got,” says Daniels.
“Even if I could get them an audio interface, then the challenge would be how to use it and how to use this software,” he adds. “That’s when I went down the Raspberry Pi rabbit hole.”
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Daniels began building his own version of the tiny, affordable Raspberry Pi computers, which he’s named a “Raspberry Jam.” Using the Linux operating system, Daniels’ Raspberry Jams have built-in audio interfaces and the open-source software, Jamulus, for low-latency remote ensemble music.
Daniels’ “Raspberry Jam” computers are incredibly user friendly.
“The beauty of this thing is that, if you’re connecting to my server, if you’re connecting to the Virtually Peterborough studio, then you take it home, you plug it into your internet and your audio, and you power it up,” he explains. “Forty-five seconds later, you hear us in your headphones, and we hear you on the system. So, there’s nothing for people to do.”
“The goal was zero touch,” he adds. “Can I hand this to someone at their front door — not go in the house, not give them any more help — and have them go inside, plug it in and connect to us, and just be able to use what they’re sending us to make a show? I’m 95 per cent sure the answer is yes.”
VIDEO: “Virtually Peterborough” – Playing music online with others live
Now, all Sean Daniels’ virtual venue needs is an audience.
The plan is to eventually use Virtually Peterborough to resume the monthly Deluxe Blues Jams, which were previously hosted at Dr. J’s BBQ & Brews in downtown Peterborough to raise funds for the Peterborough Musicians Benevolent Association (PMBA).
“They’ve been doing so much for everybody, for so long — all through this pandemic,” Daniels says of the PMBA. “And I know that the coffers must be starting to get low, because they’re making regular payments to people in need. The Blues Jams helped fundraise a lot of that money.”
If you’re a musician and you’d like to get involved, visit jamulus.io to download the Jamulus software (it’s available for Windows, macOS, and Linux).
Sean Daniels’ plan is to eventually use Virtually Peterborough to resume the monthly Deluxe Blues Jams, which were previously hosted at Dr. J’s BBQ & Brews in downtown Peterborough to raise funds for the Peterborough Musicians Benevolent Association. (Photo courtesy of Sean Daniels).
But first, there’s one thing even a tech-genius like Sean Daniels can’t get around: playing in the virtual venue requires wired internet connection (not Wi-Fi) with high-speed internet. To test your internet connection, go to syncspace.live/network/ and follow the simple directions on the page.
If you’re a music-lover who wants to support this amazing initiative, you can donate to the PMBA and receive a charitable tax receipt through the Rotary Club Foundation of Peterborough. Your donation will help get more Raspberry Jam computers into the hands of more of your favourite musicians!
To support the PMBA, visit the Rotary Clubs of Peterborough Foundation Inc. on their Canada Helps page at canadahelps.org/en/charities/rotary-club-of-peterborough-foundation-inc/. Next, click on the drop and select “Kawartha Rotary supports Peterborough Musicians Benevolent Association/Covid hurts”.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Today, Ontario is reporting 1,074 new cases — the lowest daily increase since March 5 when 990 cases were reported. The seven-day average of daily cases has decreased by 16 to 1,334.
Today’s new cases include 25 more cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant, for a total of 1,131, and 2 more cases of the B.1.351 South Africa variant, for a total of 46. The R(t) value for variants of concern — the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time (t) in a partially immunized population — has decreased by 0.03 to 1.38.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 13 new cases to report and an additional 16 cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region decreasing by 2 to 97. See below for details for each health unit in the region.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (313), Peel (199), and York (101).
There are double-digit increases in Ottawa (66), Hamilton (66), Windsor-Essex (35), Lambton (31), Waterloo (31), Thunder Bay (29), Durham (27), Halton (27), Brant (21), Niagara (21), Middlesex-London (16), Simcoe Muskoka (15), Southwestern (12), and Eastern Ontario (10), with smaller increases in Sudbury (9), Chatham-Kent (9), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (7), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (7), and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (7).
The remaining 12 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 4 health units reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s new cases, 59% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (417) among people ages 20-39 followed by 294 cases among people ages 40-59 and 214 cases among people 19 and younger.
With 1,085 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has increased by 0.1% to 93.9%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 0.7% from yesterday to 4.5%, meaning that 45 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on March 15.
Ontario is reporting 11 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 1 in a long-term care home. Ontario has averaged 13 new daily deaths over the past week, an increase of 1 from yesterday.
Hospitalizations have increased by 62 from yesterday to 761, the highest number of hospitalizations since February 13 when 786 were reported. The number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs has decreased by 6 from yesterday to 292, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators has increased by 7 to 194.
A total of 28,526 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation increasing by 16,494 to 27,448.
A total of 1,243,132 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 51,579 from yesterday, with 288,918 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 1,635 from yesterday, representing 1.96% of Ontario’s population.
There are 367 new cases in Ontario schools, an increase of 257 from yesterday, including 301 student cases and 60 staff cases. There are 48 new cases in licensed child care settings in Ontario, an increase of 16 from yesterday, with 31 cases among children and 17 cases among staff. Note: cases reported on Tuesdays include the total number of cases reported from Friday afternoon to Monday afternoon.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 13 new cases to report, including 10 in Peterborough and 3 in Northumberland. There are no new cases in Hastings Prince Edward for the third day in a row, and no new cases in Kawartha Lakes or Haliburton.
There has been 1 new COVID-related death. A 30-year-old student hospitalized in Toronto as a result of the outbreak at Severn Court Student Residence in Peterborough passed away on March 15.
An outbreak at an unidentified congregate living facility in Peterborough was declared on March 16. An outbreak at St. Michael Catholic Elementary School in Cobourg was declared on March 14.
There are 9 new regional cases of presumed variants of concern, including 5 in Peterborough, 3 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton.
An additional 16 cases have been resolved, including 8 in Peterborough, 4 in Hastings Prince Edward, 3 in Northumberland, and 1 in Kawartha Lakes.
There are currently 97 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 2 from yesterday, including 56 in Peterborough, 17 in Northumberland, 9 in Kawartha Lakes, 8 in Hastings Prince Edward (2 in Quinte West, 2 in Belleville, 2 in Prince Edward County, 1 in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, and 1 in North Hastings), and 7 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 778 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (712 resolved with 10 deaths), 558 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (507 resolved with 55 deaths), 471 in Northumberland County (442 resolved with 12 deaths), 58 in Haliburton County (50 resolved with 1 death), and 439 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (425 resolved with 6 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on March 16.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 12 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: 778 (increase of 10) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 1 (no change) Presumed variants of concern cases: 126 (increase of 5) Active cases: 56 (increase of 1) Close contacts: 144 (increase of 12) Deaths: 10 (increase of 1)* Resolved: 712 (increase of 8) Hospitalizations (total to date): 27 (no change)** Total tests completed: Over 45,100 (increase of 50) Outbreaks: Severn Court Student Residence, Trent Champlain College residence, unidentified congregate living facility in Peterborough (increase of 1)** Vaccine doses administered: 10,320 (no change, last updated March 11)
*A 30-year-old student hospitalized as a result of the outbreak at Severn Court Student Residence passed away on March 15.
**As of March 16, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting fewer than 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and 19 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).
**An outbreak at an unidentified congregate living facility in Peterborough was declared on March 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: 1,087, including 558 in Kawartha Lakes, 471 in Northumberland, and 58 in Haliburton (increase of 3 in Northumberland)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 32, including 5 in Kawartha Lakes and 26 in Northumberland, 1 in Haliburton (increase of 4, including 3 in Northumberland and 1 in Haliburton)** Active cases: 33, including 9 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 7 in Haliburton (net decrease of 1) Probable cases: 1 in Kawartha Lakes (no change) High-risk contacts: 260, including 146 in Kawartha Lakes, 72 in Northumberland, and 10 in Haliburton (net increase of 26)*** Hospitalizations (total to date): 49, including 29 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)**** Deaths (including among probable cases): 68, including 55 in Kawartha Lakes, 12 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change) Resolved: 999, including 507 in Kawartha Lakes, 442 in Northumberland, 50 in Haliburton (increase of 4, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes and 3 in Northumberland) Tests completed: 153,984 (increase of 1,101) Outbreaks: CrossFit Lindsay, Hyland Crest long-term care home in Minden, St. Michael Catholic Elementary School in Cobourg (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.
***This total includes an additional 32 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.
****As of March 16, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 1 patient hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change).
*****An outbreak at St. Michael Catholic Elementary School in Cobourg was declared on March 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: 439 (no change) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 6 (no change) Active cases: 8 (decrease of 4) Deaths: 6 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 0 (no change) Resolved: 425 (increase of 4) Tests completed: 75,720 (increase of 20) Vaccine doses administered: 13,207 (increase of 699) Number of people fully vaccinated: 1,345 Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Belleville (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 320,448 (increase of 1,074) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) confirmed cases: 1,131 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 25); 46 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 2); 34 of P.1 Brazilian variant (no change) VOC R(t): 1.38 (decrease of 0.03, as of March 12)* 7-day average of daily new cases: 1,334 (decrease of 16) Resolved: 300,769 (increase of 1,085), 93.9% of all cases (increase of 0.1%) Positivity rate: 4.5% (increase of 0.7%) Hospitalizations: 761 (increase of 62) Hospitalizations in ICU: 292 (decrease of 6) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 194 (increase of 7) Deaths: 7,173 (increase of 11) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 13 (increase of 1) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,882 (increase of 1) Total tests completed: 11,817,610 (increase of 28,526) Tests under investigation: 27,448 (increase of 16,494) Vaccination doses administered: 1,243,132 (increase of 51,579) People fully vaccinated (two doses): 288,918 (increase of 1,635), 1.96% of Ontario’s population (est. 70-90% required for herd immunity)
*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 specifc time (t) in a partially immunized population. To successfully eliminate a disease from a population, R(t) needs to be less than 1.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from February 13 – March 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 February 13 – March 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 February 13 – March 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 is a five-day moving average of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from February 13 – March 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 February 13 – March 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)
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