Sunday, August 17, 2025
Home Blog Page 550

Ontario reports 1,185 new COVID-19 cases, including 20 in greater Kawarthas region

By kawarthaNOW -

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

Ontario is reporting 1,185 new cases today, with the seven-day average of daily cases increasing by 32 to 1,187.

There are 29 new cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant, for a total of 908, with no new cases of other variants of concern.

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 12 new cases to report and an additional 13 cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region increasing by 4 to 132.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (343), Peel (234), and York (105).

There are double-digit increases in Hamilton (81), Halton (48), Waterloo (46), Ottawa (45), Thunder Bay (39), Simcoe Muskoka (30), Windsor-Essex (30), Durham (25), Sudbury (24), Niagara (22), Middlesex-London (21), Lambton (14), Chatham-Kent (11), Eastern Ontario (10), and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (10), with smaller increases in Northwestern (9), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (7), and Brant (6).

The remaining 13 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 3 health units reporting no new cases at all.

Of today’s new cases, 61% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (475) among people ages 20-39 followed by 293 cases among people ages 40-59 and 250 cases among people 19 and younger.

With 972 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.1% at 94.1%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 0.3% from yesterday to 3.7%, meaning that 37 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on March 8.

Ontario is reporting 6 new COVID-19 deaths today and, for the second day in a row, no new deaths in long-term care homes. Ontario has averaged 12 new daily deaths over the past week, a decrease of 1 from yesterday.

Hospitalizations have increased by 63 from yesterday to 689, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs increasing by 8 to 290 and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators remaining unchanged at 184.

A total of 33,264 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation increasing by 15,954 to 29,845.

A total of 943,533 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 31,047 from yesterday, with 276,193 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 2,517 from yesterday, representing 1.87% of Ontario’s population.

There are 263 new cases in Ontario schools, an increase of 168 from yesterday, including 209 student cases, 45 staff cases, and 9 cases among unidentified people. There are 59 new cases in licensed child care settings in Ontario, an increase of 25 from yesterday, with 39 cases among children and 20 cases among staff. These are two-day totals, including the number of cases reported on Friday afternoon and Monday afternoon.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 20 new cases to report, including 14 in Peterborough, 3 in Northumberland, 2 in Hastings Prince Edward, and 1 in Kawartha Lakes. There are no new cases in Haliburton.

There are now 87 presumed cases of variants of concern in Peterborough, an increase of 7 since yesterday.

An additional 17 cases have been resolved, including 13 in Peterborough, 3 in Hastings Prince Edward, and 1 in Northumberland.

There are currently 132 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 4 from yesterday, including 86 in Peterborough, 17 in Northumberland, 15 in Kawartha Lakes, and 14 in Hastings Prince Edward (10 in Belleville, 2 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, and 2 in Prince Edward County). There are no active cases in Haliburton.

Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 737 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (642 resolved with 9 deaths), 551 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (494 resolved with 55 deaths), 457 in Northumberland County (429 resolved with 11 deaths), 51 in Haliburton County (50 resolved with 1 death), and 431 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (411 resolved with 6 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Haliburton on March 4.

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).

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Peterborough Public Health

Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.

The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.

Confirmed positive: 737 (increase of 15)*
Confirmed variants of concern cases: 1 (no change)
Presumed variants of concern cases: 87 (increase of 9)
Active cases: 86 (increase of 2)
Close contacts: 226 (decrease of 38)
Deaths: 9 (no change)
Resolved: 642 (increase of 13)
Hospitalizations (total to date): 25 (no change)**
Total tests completed: Over 44,400 (increase of 50)
Outbreaks: Severn Court Student Residence, Trent Champlain College residence, Regency retirement home in Lakefield (no change)
Vaccine doses administered: 5,927 (no change, last updated March 4)

*The health unit is reporting 14 new cases in the last 24 hours. The total case count has increased by 15 as an additional case was added to a previous day.

**As of March 8, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting fewer than 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and 17 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: 1,059, including 551 in Kawartha Lakes, 457 in Northumberland, and 51 in Haliburton (increase of 4, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes and 3 in Northumberland)*
Cases with N501Y mutation: 15, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes and 13 in Northumberland (decrease of 1 in Northumberland)**
Active cases: 32, including 15 in Kawartha Lakes and 17 in Northumberland (increase of 3, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes and 2 in Northumberland)
Probable cases: 0 (no change)
High-risk contacts: 176, including 82 in Kawartha Lakes, 44 in Northumberland, and 4 in Haliburton (net increase of 39)***
Hospitalizations (total to date): 47, including 27 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)****
Deaths (including among probable cases): 67, including 55 in Kawartha Lakes, 11 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change)
Resolved: 973, including 494 in Kawartha Lakes, 429 in Northumberland, 50 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in NOrthumberland)
Tests completed: 149,199 (increase of 1,074)
Outbreaks: CrossFit Lindsay (no change)

*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 2 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.

****As of March 9, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports no patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change).

 

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: 431 (increase of 2)
Confirmed variants of concern cases: 4 (no change)
Active cases: 14 (decrease 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: 411 (increase of 3)
Tests completed: 71,395 (increase of 152)
Vaccine doses administered: 8,522 (increase of 547)
Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Central Hastings, unidentified workplace in Belleville (no change)

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Province of Ontario

Confirmed positive: 311,112 (increase of 1,185)
Total COVID-19 variant cases: 908 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 29); 39 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (no change); 17 of P.1 Brazilian variant (no change)
7-day average of daily new cases: 1,187 (increase of 32)
Resolved: 292,806 (increase of 972), 94.1% of all cases
Positivity rate: 3.7% (increase of 0.3%)
Hospitalizations: 689 (increase of 63)
Hospitalizations in ICU: 290 (increase of 8)
Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 184 (no change)
Deaths: 7,083 (increase of 6)
7-day average of daily new deaths: 12 (decrease of 1)
Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,876 (no change)
Total tests completed: 11,469,681 (increase of 33,264)
Tests under investigation: 29,845 (increase of 15,954)
Vaccination doses administered: 943,533 (increase of 31,047)
People fully vaccinated (two doses): 276,193 (increase of 2,517), 1.87% of Ontario’s population (est. 70-90% required for herd immunity)

COVID-19 cases in Ontario from February 6 - March 8, 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 cases in Ontario from February 6 – March 8, 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 6 - March 8, 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 tests completed in Ontario from February 6 – March 8, 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 6 - March 8, 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 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from February 6 – March 8, 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 6 - March 8, 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 deaths in Ontario from February 6 – March 8, 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 6 - March 8, 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)
COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Ontario from February 6 – March 8, 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)

 

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

Peterborough musician Rick Fines nominated for 2021 Juno Award

By Paul Rellinger -
Peterborough musician Rick Fines has been nominaed for a 2021 Juno Award for Blues Album of the Year for his latest record "Solar Powered Too". (Photo: Wayne Eardley)

Three decades after his first shot at Juno Award fame, Peterborough-based roots musician Rick Fines is returning to the big show.

Fines’ latest album Solar Powered Too was announced Tuesday (March 9) as one of five nominees in the Blues Album of the Year category, stacked up against Hell Bent With Grace (Angel Forrest), Church House Blues (Crystal Shawanda), Spirits In The Water (Dione Taylor), and The Reckless One (Samantha Martin and Delta Sugar).

The winner will be announced at the 2021 Juno Awards presentation on Sunday, May 16th in Toronto, to be broadcast on CBC as well as streamed worldwide on CBC Gem.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

“It’s really, really great,” says Fines of the nomination. “It has been such a tough year.”

“I know it’s the best album I’ve ever made, so to get this nod is gratifying,” he adds. “I’m so grateful for everybody that has brought me to this point.”

Not lost on Fines is the fact that the good news of his nomination comes at a time when the live music performance community, both nationally and locally, has lost countless gig opportunities.

“As musicians, we really are a community within a community and we celebrate each other. I hope everyone is feeling extra good and feeling the love today.”

VIDEO: “Below The Surface” – Written and performed by Rick Fines

Fines acknowledges that no one goes into the recording studio with the sole objective of making an award-winning album. Rather, as he marks 40 years in the music business, the goal is continue to evolve as a musician and a songwriter.

“My goal at this point of my life is to make the best music I can — write the best songs, play as well as I can, and make the best recording,” he says, adding “I don’t ever think about it awards until it’s time to actually apply for them.”

“But I knew we were hitting on some gold when I stumbled on working with my old friend PJ Thomas. She wrote a poem — Fundamental Nature — that I later said ‘PJ, that’s a song.’ Then I sent her music that she wrote words for and that turned into a song as well (Live Forever).”

“Then we sat down together and wrote another one (Scared To Dance). That kind of collaboration doesn’t happen all of the time. That was very cool.”

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Songs co-written with Grainne Ryan and Matt Anderson also found their way onto the album.

“The co-writing thing made me feel really good about this album,” says Fines.

Not unlike Fines’ 2006 album Solar Powered, the bulk of the tracks on Solar Powered Too were recorded at Fines’ cabin in North Kawartha Township in late summer 2019.

“Instead of paying for studio time, I bought a couple of solar panels and four golf cart batteries and set up my little cabin to record,” he explains.

“For Solar Powered Too, I wanted to return to that. I knew I wanted an album that was guitar-based, so that was the plan. This time I took (producer) Alec Fraser with me and had him there right through the whole process.”

VIDEO: “Never Let Go” – Written and performed by Rick Fines

“We recorded it in the gazebo,” Fines adds. “We listened to what we had and Alec said ‘I see five of these songs needing to be re-recorded.’ He had a studio and a drummer in mind, and also a strange cigar-box bass that he had. He said ‘I want to go with that. Really rootsy.'”

And so it was off to the Toronto recording studio of Grammy Award-winning producer Peter J. Moore, who served as engineer for the album.

The final product is chock full of collaborations, featuring Gary Craig, Roly Platt, Melissa Payne, Jimmy Bowskill, Rob Phillips, Suzie Vinnick, Stacie Tabb, Sherie Marshall, and Samantha Martin.

“We kind of stacked the deck,” Fines laughs.

“It was such an organic process and then redoing five of the songs in the studio. And then bringing, for instance, Rob Phillips into my dining room and micing up my old upright piano and having him play that. Jimmy Bowskill coming into my home and playing mandolin, mandola, and fiddle. And of course Roly Platt and his harmonica playing. Brilliant.”

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Solar Powered Too is Fines’ sixth solo album and the first since 2015’s Driving Home, but his musical journey began in earnest with 1980s’ formation of the blues trio Jackson Delta, with Fines playing alongside guitarist Gary Peeples and drummer Al Black — both still active members of the Peterborough music community, COVID aside.

Jackson Delta released its debut album Delta Sunrise in 1989, but it was the band’s subsequent recorded work that brought it fame. Their 1990 album Acoustic Blues was nominated for a 1991 Juno Award for Best Roots and Traditional Album. Two years later, I Was Just Thinking That was nominated for a Juno in the same category.

“T think it’s the nature of someone who’s doing a creative venture to think that they are always doing their best work,” says Fines. “What would lead you to continue on if you thought your best work was 20 years ago?”

“For self preservation, even psychologically, you must think what you’re doing now is your best work. As far as achieving the vision of what we were trying to do, I feel very, very good about this. I feel it’s my best work to date.”

Rick Fines' Juno-nominated album "Solar Powered Too" features Gary Craig, Roly Platt, Melissa Payne, Jimmy Bowskill, Rob Phillips, Suzie Vinnick, Stacie Tabb, Sherie Marshall, and Samantha Martin (who is also nominated for a Juno in the same category). The Juno Awards will be presented on May 16, 2021 in Toronto. (Photo courtesy of Rick Fines)
Rick Fines’ Juno-nominated album “Solar Powered Too” features Gary Craig, Roly Platt, Melissa Payne, Jimmy Bowskill, Rob Phillips, Suzie Vinnick, Stacie Tabb, Sherie Marshall, and Samantha Martin (who is also nominated for a Juno in the same category). The Juno Awards will be presented on May 16, 2021 in Toronto. (Photo courtesy of Rick Fines)

The album’s release and its subsequent Juno nomination is a perfect tonic following a year of COVID restrictions that left Fines, like all live performance musicians, with little work and reduced income.

“I had a great summer (planned for 2020) spanning two trips to the west coast, two trips to the east coast, and a tour of the Northwest Territories and Yukon — all that got cancelled,” says Fines, noting he’s anxious to get on the road to perform songs from his new album but doesn’t expect that to happen this summer.

“I’m starting to write again. Who knows? When summer 2022 comes, maybe it’ll be a double album release tour.”

Solar Powered Too can be purchased at www.rickfines.ca as well as at Bluestreak Records at 444 George Street North in downtown Peterborough.

Peterborough’s klusterfork offers online lessons from the best in Canada’s entertainment industry

By Sarah McNeilly -
Students participating in klusterfork's online musical theatre workshop with Stratford Festival actor Steve Ross in October 2020. klusterfork's spring 2021 Learn OnLine (LOL) Unique Access Workshops offer live, intimate, and interactive classes with the best in Canada's entertainment industry, suitable for beginners, professionals, and everyone in between. (Graphic courtesy of klusterfork entertainment)

If you’re reading this, it means you’ve survived a year of this godforsaken pandemic. Congratulations?

It will suffice to say it’s been difficult. Amidst much uncertainty, however, one thing is certain: there is an “afterwards” — we will get through this.

One day, we will look back on this year of collective trauma and, like our elders before us who survived years of war, the stories we will tell — the lasting memories — will be about the times we made the most of things.

The masterminds behind klusterfork (Pat Maitland, Ian Burns, and Hollywood actor Linda Kash) have certainly been making the most of this pandemic. When the world was forced indoors, they seized upon a unique opportunity.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Industry giants — professionals in high demand — are, for the first time ever, available to teach live, intimate, and interactive classes online.

Since the summer of 2020, klusterfork’s Learn OnLine (LOL) Unique Access Workshops have brought joy, laughter, and human connection to 200 regional, national, and international participants.

The classes are designed to provide creative development for novices and professionals, and pandemic relief for anyone who may need it. The spring 2021 round of workshops offer courses that will help participants their voices.

Peterborough radio and commercial guru Dan Duran is one of four industry heavyweights who are the instructors in klusterfork's 'All Things Voiceover' online course running from March 23 to April 13, 2021. (Supplied photo)
Peterborough radio and commercial guru Dan Duran is one of four industry heavyweights who are the instructors in klusterfork’s ‘All Things Voiceover’ online course running from March 23 to April 13, 2021. (Supplied photo)

‘All Things Voiceover’ aims to help participants find confidence and expand their vocal range with coaching from Canada’s top voice artists.

“Voiceover is a huge industry,” says klusterfork cofounder, Ian Burns. “When you think of audio books, video games — there’s just a vast number of possibilities for employment.”

The course instructors for ‘All Things Voiceover’ are Dan Chameroy (Paw Patrol, Hotel Transylvania: The Series, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs), Nicky Gaudagni (Gemini award-winning actress, cofounder of OutLoud Speakers School, and narrator of The Nature of Things), and local radio and commercial guru Dan Duran.

Additional feedback will be provided by top Canadian voice casting agent Sherry Dayton of Dayton/Walters Casting.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

‘The Art of the Self Tape Audition’ will help students hone their audition skills to make it in this new digital frontier.

“Now, with the pandemic, everyone’s self taping,” Burns explains. “Formerly, casting directors could only see about 10 people in a day. Now they can easily see 20 or more, so the competition is even harder.”

Though competition is fierce, the pandemic has in a sense levelled the playing field for actors living outside of urban centres, insofar as self-tape auditions can be submitted from anywhere in the world.

Toronto-based film, television, and stage actor and self-tape consultant Jesse Collins is one of the instructors of klusterfork's 'The Art of the Self Tape Audition' online course running from March 21 to April 19, 2021. (Supplied photo)
Toronto-based film, television, and stage actor and self-tape consultant Jesse Collins is one of the instructors of klusterfork’s ‘The Art of the Self Tape Audition’ online course running from March 21 to April 19, 2021. (Supplied photo)

Working with Toronto self-tape consultant Jesse Collins and actor Linda Kash, participants will learn technical requirements and acting insights to make choices with confidence and deliver a polished self tape for feedback from Canadian casting agent Lisa Parasyn.

Related story

Peterborough’s Linda Kash turns to the dark side for her role on Batwoman

Collins worked as a coach to prepare Kash for her recent role in Batwoman.

“He taught me so much,” Kash says. “I got Batwoman because of him. There is so much to learn about [self-tape] auditioning. It is such a different skill.”

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Whether you’re an artist seeking professional development or you’re just looking for a new and interesting way to break up the monotony and loneliness that is this godforsaken pandemic, klusterfork’s LOL Unique Access Workshops will help you make the most of it.

Linda Kash and friends will also offer two more of their wildly successful improv classes, which provide a safe and welcoming place for anyone who wants to learn how improv works. ‘Start Me Up’ is best suited for beginners and ‘Keep Me Up’ for those looking to continue honing their skills.

If, like many, you’re in need of some pandemic-stress relief, I highly recommend you sign up for one of the improv classes. I was privileged to attend one in January and it was nothing short of transformative.

VIDEO: klusterfork promo

This spring, ‘Start Me Up Guitar with Dan Fewings’ is new to klusterfork’s LOL Unique Access Workshops. The class, taught by retired music and drama teacher and performer Dan Fewings (The Three Martinis, Bowskill & Fewings), introduces guitar to beginners and offers refreshers for those who want to learn in a group setting.

To say the last year has been tough would be the understatement of the century. It’s been hell. Which is precisely why we ought to find any and every way to enjoy life as much as possible.

Beyond incredible access to industry giants or cathartic, collective laughter, klusterfork’s LOL Unique Access Workshops offer a master class in the art of making the most of it.

The deadline to register for the spring 2021 sessions is Sunday, March 14th. Classes are live, interactive, and intimate (eight to 12 students) and run from four to six weeks through March, April, and May. To register, visit www.klusterfork.com/lol-workshops/.

Hospice Peterborough staff receive their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine

By kawarthaNOW -
Laura Zielinski, a personal support worker at Hospice Peterborough, received her first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on March 8, 2021 at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. (Photo courtesy of Hospice Peterborough)

Staff at Hospice Peterborough began receiving their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Saturday (March 6).

The organization — which provides programs and services for those in the community who are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, are at the end of life, and who are grieving — expects all staff to be fully vaccinated (with both doses of vaccine) by early summer, according to a media release.

“We are immensely proud of how our staff has risen to every challenge during these extremely difficult times,” says executive director Hajni Hõs. “We are pleased this vaccine is available to them so they can continue their work safely.”

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

While residents at Hospice Peterborough will not receive the vaccination, states the media release, all staff will be vaccinated and will continue to observe social distancing and proper usage of personal protective equipment to ensure the safety of clients, residents, their families, and each other.

“We would like to thank all our community partners, especially PRHC and Peterborough Public Health, for the tremendous amount of work that has gone into coordinating and rolling out vaccines to the community,” Hos says.

Ontario reports 1,631 new COVID-19 cases, including 12 in greater Kawarthas region

By kawarthaNOW -

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

Ontario is reporting another spike of 1,631 new cases, although the province states today’s case count is higher than expected due to a “data catch-up process” in the province’s case and contact management system. Today’s total increases the seven-day average of daily cases by 120 to 1,155.

There are 51 new cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant, for a total of 879, 8 new cases of the B.1.351 South Africa variant, for a total of 39, and 4 new cases of the P.1 Brazilian variant, for a total of 17.

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 12 new cases to report and an additional 13 cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region decreasing by 1 to 128.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (568), Peel (322), and York (119), with Thunder Bay approaching triple digits for the first time at 91 cases.

There are double-digit increases in Durham (68), Ottawa (57), Halton (51), Waterloo (51), Simcoe Muskoka (48), Windsor-Essex (46), Niagara (31), Sudbury (27), Hamilton (22), Brant (20), Lambton (19), Middlesex-London (18), Eastern Ontario (15), Northwestern (11), and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (10), with smaller increases in Peterborough (9) and Renfrew County (6).

The remaining 13 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 6 health units reporting no new cases at all.

Of today’s new cases, 56% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (596) among people ages 20-39 followed by 447 cases among people ages 40-59.

With 994 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.1% at 94.2%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 0.3% from yesterday to 3.4%, meaning that 34 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on March 7.

Ontario is reporting 10 new COVID-19 deaths today, with no new deaths in long-term care homes. Ontario has averaged 13 new daily deaths over the past week, an increase of 1 from yesterday.

Hospitalizations have increased by 26 from yesterday to 626, although more than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for today’s report, so the actual number of hospitalizations may be higher. The number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs has increased by 9 from yesterday to 282 and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators has increased by 5 to 184.

A total of 38,063 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 6,166 to 13,891.

A total of 912,486 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 21,882 from yesterday, with 273,676 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 1,869 from yesterday, representing 1.86% of Ontario’s population.

There are 95 new cases in Ontario schools, a decrease of 1 from March 5, including 84 student cases and 11 staff cases. There are 34 new cases in licensed child care settings in Ontario, an increase of 10 from March 5, with 20 cases among children and 14 cases among staff.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 12 new cases to report, including 4 in Peterborough, 4 in Kawartha Lakes, 2 in Northumberland, and 2 in Hastings Prince Edward. There are no new cases in Haliburton.

There are now 78 presumed cases of variants of concern in Peterborough, an increase of 5 since yesterday.

An additional 13 cases have been resolved, including 5 in Peterborough, 4 in Northumberland, 2 in Kawartha Lakes, and 2 in Hastings Prince Edward. Outbreaks at Empress Gardens retirement home in Peterborough and Regency long-term care home in Port Hope have been declared resolved.

There are currently 128 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 1 from yesterday, including 84 in Peterborough, 15 in Hastings Prince Edward (11 in Belleville, 2 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, and 2 in Prince Edward County), 15 in Northumberland, and 14 in Kawartha Lakes. There are no active cases in Haliburton.

Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 722 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (629 resolved with 9 deaths), 550 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (494 resolved with 55 deaths), 454 in Northumberland County (428 resolved with 11 deaths), 51 in Haliburton County (50 resolved with 1 death), and 429 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (408 resolved with 6 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Haliburton on March 4.

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).

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Peterborough Public Health

Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.

The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.

Confirmed positive: 722 (increase of 4)
Confirmed variants of concern cases: 1 (no change)
Presumed variants of concern cases: 78 (increase of 5)
Active cases: 84 (decrease of 2)
Close contacts: 264 (decrease of 13)
Deaths: 9 (no change)
Resolved: 629 (increase of 5)
Hospitalizations (total to date): 25 (no change)*
Total tests completed: Over 44,350 (increase of 50)
Outbreaks: Severn Court Student Residence, Trent Champlain College residence, Regency retirement home in Lakefield (decrease of 1)**
Vaccine doses administered: 5,927 (no change, last updated March 4)

*As of March 8, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting fewer than 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and 17 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).

**The outbreak at Empress Gardens retirement home in Peterborough was declared resolved on March 8.

 

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 number are from March 7 and 8.

Confirmed positive: 1,055, including 550 in Kawartha Lakes, 454 in Northumberland, and 51 in Haliburton (increase of 6, including 4 in Kawartha Lakes and 2 in Northumberland)*
Cases with N501Y mutation: 16, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes and 14 in Northumberland (increase of 1 in Northumberland)**
Active cases: 29, including 14 in Kawartha Lakes and 15 in Northumberland (net increase of 1)
Probable cases: 0 (no change)
High-risk contacts: 137, including 45 in Kawartha Lakes, 59 in Northumberland, and 4 in Haliburton (net increase of 35)***
Hospitalizations (total to date): 47, including 27 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)****
Deaths (including among probable cases): 67, including 55 in Kawartha Lakes, 11 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change)
Resolved: 972, including 494 in Kawartha Lakes, 428 in Northumberland, 50 in Haliburton (increase of 6, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes and 4 in NOrthumberland)
Tests completed: 148,125 (increase of 379)
Outbreaks: CrossFit Lindsay (decrease of 1)*****

*The health unit states that total counts and counts for individual counties may fluctuate from previously reported counts as cases are transferred to or from the health unit based on case investigation details and routine data cleaning.

**The N501Y mutation has been identified in variants of concern including the B.1.1.7 UK variant, the B.1.351 South Africa variant, and the P.1 Brazilian variant.

***This total includes an additional 29 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.

****As of March 8, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports no patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change).

*****An outbreak at Regency long-term care home in Port Hope has 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: 429 (increase of 2)
Confirmed variants of concern cases: 4 (no change)
Active cases: 15 (no 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: 408 (increase of 2)
Tests completed: 71,243 (increase of 753)
Vaccines administered: 7,976 (increase of 745)
Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Central Hastings, unidentified workplace in Belleville (no change)

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Province of Ontario

Confirmed positive: 309,927 (increase of 1,631)*
Total COVID-19 variant cases: 879 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 51); 39 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 8); 17 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 4)
7-day average of daily new cases: 1,155 (increase of 120)
Resolved: 291,834 (increase of 994), 94.2% of all cases
Positivity rate: 3.4% (increase of 0.3%)
Hospitalizations: 626 (decrease of 20)**
Hospitalizations in ICU: 282 (increase of 9)
Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 184 (increase of 5)
Deaths: 7,077 (increase of 10)
7-day average of daily new deaths: 13 (increase of 1)
Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,876 (no change)
Total tests completed: 11,436,417 (increase of 38,063)
Tests under investigation: 13,891 (decrease of 6,166)
Vaccination doses administered: 912,486 (increase of 21,882)
People fully vaccinated (two doses): 273,676 (increase of 1,869), 1.86% of Ontario’s population (est. 70-90% required for herd immunity)

*The Ontario government states today’s csse count is higher than expected due to a “data catch-up process” in the province’s case and contact management system.

**More than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for this report, so the actual number of hospitalizations may be higher.

COVID-19 cases in Ontario from February 5 - March 7, 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 cases in Ontario from February 5 – March 7, 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 5 - March 7, 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 tests completed in Ontario from February 5 – March 7, 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 5 - March 7, 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 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from February 5 – March 7, 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 5 - March 7, 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 deaths in Ontario from February 5 – March 7, 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 5 - March 7, 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)
COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Ontario from February 5 – March 7, 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)

 

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

Kawartha Lakes community steps up to help vandalized Gamiing Nature Centre

By kawarthaNOW -
Some of the estimated $20,000 worth of damage caused by recent vandalism in the 'Discovery Shack' at Gamiing Nature Centre south of Bobcaygeon. (Video screenshot courtesy of Gamiing Nature Centre)

The Kawartha Lakes community is rallying behind Gamiing Nature Centre following a recent major vandalism incident at the outdoor and wildlife education centre.

The non-profit centre, which receives no government funding and relies entirely on private and corporate donations, is located on privately owned land on the shores of Pigeon Lake south of Bobcaygeon.

The vandalism was discovered last Thursday (March 4) in the Discovery Shack, a heated portable at the centre used for educational purposes.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Windows were broken, furniture and educational displays smashed, and the furnace was damaged. The cost of the damage, which has rendered the Discovery Shack unusable, is estimated at $20,000.

“I am speechless,” says Mieke Schipper, volunteer executive director of the centre. “This is so disheartening.”

Schipper, who owns the 100-acre property and has a conservation easement agreement with Kawartha Land Trust to protect the land in perpetuity, founded the grassroots Gamiing organization in 1995. The name is Ojibwa for ‘near the shore’ and was chosen to honour the land’s first inhabitants and its lakeshore location.

The 'Discovery Shack' at Gamiing Nature Centre, a non-profit outdoor and wildlife education organization south of Bobcaygeon, is a heated portable used to house educational displays. (Photo courtesy of Gamiing Nature Centre)
The ‘Discovery Shack’ at Gamiing Nature Centre, a non-profit outdoor and wildlife education organization south of Bobcaygeon, is a heated portable used to house educational displays. (Photo courtesy of Gamiing Nature Centre)

Also damaged, possibly beyond repair, are some rare taxidermy displays of wildlife used for educational purposes. A taxidermist will be evaluating whether any of the fragile wildlife displays can be salvaged.

It is unknown when the vandalism occurred.

The City of Kawartha Lakes OPP is currently investigating the crime and is asking anyone having information to contact police at 1-888-310-1122. Anonymous information can be reported by contacting Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or online at www.khcrimestoppers.com.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

While the centre has insurance, it is unknown how much of the damage will be covered, and Schipper says the centre will face financial difficulty repairing the damage.

Since Gamiing Nature Centre shared news of the vandalism on its Facebook page on Thursday night, members of the local community have stepped up to assist.

Some people have donated cash through the centre’s Facebook page at facebook.com/gamiing/, while others have offered to donate their time and effort to help with clean up.

Vandals damaged, possibly byond repair, some rare taxidermy displays of wildlife used for educational purposes at Gamiing Nature Centre. (Video screenshot courtesy of Gamiing Nature Centre)
Vandals damaged, possibly byond repair, some rare taxidermy displays of wildlife used for educational purposes at Gamiing Nature Centre. (Video screenshot courtesy of Gamiing Nature Centre)

Cailey Lynn, who regularly organizes group snowshoe yoga, hosted two sessions over the weekend and donated all proceeds from the sessions to the centre.

Despite the setback, the centre is hoping to be able to proceed with its nature school starting on Friday, March 19th. The 10-week program runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Friday at a cost of $60 per week.

For more information about Gamiing Nature Centre, or to become a member or make a donation, visit gamiing.org.

VIDEO: Vandalism at Gamiing Nature Centre

Posted by Gamiing Nature Centre on Saturday, March 6, 2021

Showplace Performance Centre in Peterborough seeking more than 200 original seat-naming donors from 1996

By Sarah McNeilly -
Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough is replacing the 647 aging seats in the Erica Cherney Theatre, including 368 on the main floor and 279 in the balcony. To help raise funds for the seat replacement, the non-profit organization will be offering the general public the opportunity to purchase seat-naming rights. Showplace is first seeking to locate more than 200 donors (or their families) who purchased the naming rights for the original seats when the theatre opened in 1996. (Photo courtesy of Showplace Performance Centre)

Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough is looking for help from local residents to find over 200 people who purchased naming rights for the theatre’s original seats when the performance venue first opened in 1996.

Over 25 years ago, a dedicated group of Peterborough residents formed ‘The Committee for the Performing Arts’, with a mission to create a much-needed performing arts centre in Peterborough.

The committee did much work, including securing vital funds during a recession, which led the eventual acquisition and renovation of the building at 290 George Street North — which was originally built as the Odeon movie theatre in 1947 — and the incorporation of Showplace Performance Centre as a non-profit organization.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

In one of many fundraising campaigns required to make Showplace a reality, the founding board of directors invited members of the community to ‘purchase’ theatre seats by making a donation and submitting a name to be mounted on each seat.

“In the original seat naming, we decided to form a club and we called it 626,” says Beth McMaster, founding chair of the Showplace board. “This was even before the theatre was built and we thought there were going to be 626 seats in it. As it turned out, there were closer to 650.”

Fast forward to 2019, when Showplace began a fundraising campaign for much-needed renovations, including the marquee, technical equipment, improved accessibility infrastructure, and replacing the aging seats in the main theatre.

Although the fundraising campaign was paused when the pandemic forced the venue into survival mode, Showplace has resumed a scaled-back version focused on replacing the seats in the Erica Cherney Theatre, which were originally purchased second-hand from the Annapolis Naval Academy in Maryland in 1996.

Like the original seat-naming campaign from the mid-1990s, ‘Take a Seat for Act II’ will give Showplace supporters the opportunity to purchase naming rights for the new seats, with the name of the donor engraved on a placard and mounted on the seats.

In a photo from August 2019, former Showplace board chairs and current volunteers Pat Hooper and Beth McMaster (middle) launch a capital fundraising campaign for much-needed renovations at the downtown Peterborough performance venue, including replacing 647 aging seats in the Erica Cherney Theatre, with the support of local celebrities Linda Kash and Megan Murphy. (Photo courtesy of Showplace Performance Centre)
In a photo from August 2019, former Showplace board chairs and current volunteers Pat Hooper and Beth McMaster (middle) launch a capital fundraising campaign for much-needed renovations at the downtown Peterborough performance venue, including replacing 647 aging seats in the Erica Cherney Theatre, with the support of local celebrities Linda Kash and Megan Murphy. (Photo courtesy of Showplace Performance Centre)

However, before opening the seat-naming campaign to the general public, Showplace’s board wants to give the original ‘Club 626’ donors the first right of refusal to re-purchase their seats at a discounted price.

“We are going to re-sell the seats to people who originally bought them 25 years ago, if they want them,” says Pat Hooper, former board chair.

“In fairness to those people, we’re offering the seats for the same price they paid 25 years ago — $626 — with a charitable tax receipt of course,” she explains. “The problem is trying to find these people. We have biographical information, but we don’t have any contact information.”

As such, what began solely as a fundraising initiative has now also become an archival project.

“It’s been a real trip down memory lane,” says McMaster, who has hand-written personal notes to each of the 75 seat-holders or their descendants who have been successfully located so far.

“We’re hoping to get the word out to the public so the community might be able to provide us with information to help us find over 200 people,” Hooper adds. “If you or someone you know bought a seat 25 years ago, we’d love to hear from you.”

“Even if you’re not in a position to re-purchase a seat, please reach out. We will continue to honor the original Club 626 seat-holders. We will still retain that history in some form.”

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Peterborough native Dave Carley, an award-winning playwright now living in Toronto, will be re-naming seats for both of his parents, original members of Club 626, as well as himself.

“One thing I’ve learned about theatres, in my career as a playwright, is that if an audience isn’t physically comfortable, they won’t be able to focus on what I’ve written on stage, so I have a really strong interest in good seating,” Carley says.

“Showplace is a wonderful venue. I’ve had two of my plays put on there by New Stages. Also, when it comes to good causes, Beth McMaster is the most charming pickpocket there is,” Carley laughs, adding “she’s a woman you can’t say no to.”

Sadly, some of the original Club 626 seat-holders are no longer with us but their legacies live on. In a sense, the torch has been passed down to the next generation to continue the important philanthropic work these dedicated community members started over 25 years ago.

That includes Erica Cherney, the late well-respected Peterborough businesswoman and community supporter after whom Showplace’s main theatre is now named, whose son Michael is taking up the torch.

“She and Beth McMaster and a bunch of other people spearheaded putting together Showplace and, against all odds, they succeeded,” Cherney recalls. “As a member of the next generation, I am excited and pleased to be involved in this fundraising campaign by renewing Mom’s purchase of seats.”

“I’m hoping that other supporters of Showplace and downtown Peterborough will join me in supporting this great cause, especially in light of what’s happened during COVID,” he adds.

‘Take a Seat for Act II’ is so much more than a fundraising campaign. In many ways, it closes a circle.

Against all odds, dedicated community members raised funds during a recession to establish Showplace over 25 years ago. Now, during a global pandemic that has devastated the arts sector, Showplace is calling on supporters to keep the non-profit performance centre going strong — to ensure the future holds many more live performances for us to enjoy together.

Showplace is presenting the original Club 626 members or their descendants with a poignantly unique opportunity to honour the past with a pledge for the future.

If you or somebody you know donated to name a seat 25 years ago, you can reach out to Showplace at 705-742-7469 or boxoffice@showplace.org.

Ontario reports 1,299 new COVID-19 cases, including 9 in greater Kawarthas region

By kawarthaNOW -

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

Ontario is reporting another spike of 1,299 new cases, increasing the seven-day average of daily cases by 34 to 1,035.

There are 10 new cases of the P.1 Brazilian variant, for a total of 13, and 2 new cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant, for a total of 828.

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 9 new cases to report and an additional 7 cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region increasing by 1 to 129. These numbers do not include Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton as that health unit does not issue reports on Sundays.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (329), Peel (192), and York (116).

There are double-digit increases in Hamilton (89), Waterloo (59), Durham (58), Thunder Bay (53), Ottawa (48), Halton (39), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (38), Simcoe Muskoka (36), Sudbury (34), Niagara (33), Windsor-Essex (32), Middlesex-London (29), Lambton (21), Peterborough (12), Brant (12), and Haldimand-Norfolk (12), with smaller increases in Eastern Ontario (9), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (8), Huron Perth (7), and Renfrew (6).

The remaining 11 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 3 health units reporting no new cases at all.

Of today’s new cases, 55% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (448) among people ages 20-39 followed by 355 cases among people ages 40-59.

With 1,105 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.1% at 94.3%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 0.8% from yesterday to 3.1%, meaning that 31 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on March 6.

Ontario is reporting 15 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 1 new death in a long-term care home. Ontario has averaged 12 new daily deaths over the past week, a decrease of 1 from yesterday.

Hospitalizations have decreased by 14 from yesterday to 606, although more than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for today’s report, so the actual number of hospitalizations may be higher. The number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs has decreased by 5 from yesterday to 273 and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators has decreased by 2 to 179.

A total of 46,586 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 7,739 to 20,057.

A total of 890,604 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 30,192 from yesterday, with 271,807 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 1,182 from yesterday, representing 1.84% of Ontario’s population.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 9 new cases to report, including 8 in Peterborough and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward. Updated numbers for Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton are unavailable because the health unit does not issue reports on Sundays.

There are now 73 presumed cases of variants of concern in Peterborough, an increase of 17 since yesterday.

An additional 7 cases have been resolved, including 4 in Peterborough and 3 in Hastings Prince Edward.

There are currently 129 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 1 from yesterday, including 86 in Peterborough, 15 in Hastings Prince Edward (11 in Belleville, 2 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, and 2 in Prince Edward County), 17 in Northumberland, and 11 in Kawartha Lakes. There are no active cases in Haliburton.

Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 718 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (623 resolved with 9 deaths), 545 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (492 resolved with 55 deaths), 452 in Northumberland County (424 resolved with 11 deaths), 51 in Haliburton County (50 resolved with 1 death), and 427 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (406 resolved with 6 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Haliburton on March 4.

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).

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Peterborough Public Health

Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.

The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.

Confirmed positive: 718 (increase of 7)*
Confirmed variants of concern cases: 1 (no change)
Presumed variants of concern cases: 73 (increase of 17)
Active cases: 86 (increase of 3)
Close contacts: 277 (increase of 15)
Deaths: 9 (no change)
Resolved: 623 (increase of 4)
Hospitalizations (total to date): 25 (no change)**
Total tests completed: Over 44,300 (increase of 200)
Outbreaks: Empress Gardens retirement home, Severn Court Student Residence, Trent Champlain College residence, Regency retirement home in Lakefield (no change)
Vaccine doses administered: 5,927 (no change)

*The health unit is reporting 8 new cases in the last 24 hours, although the total case count has increased by 7.

**As of March 5, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting fewer than 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and 17 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 number are from March 6.

Confirmed positive: 1,048, including 545 in Kawartha Lakes, 452 in Northumberland, and 51 in Haliburton (increase of 6, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes and 5 in Northumberland)*
Cases with N501Y mutation: 15, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes and 13 in Northumberland (increase of 1 in Northumberland)**
Active cases: 28, including 11 in Kawartha Lakes and 17 in Northumberland (net increase of 2)
Probable cases: 0 (no change)
High-risk contacts: 102, including 41 in Kawartha Lakes, 55 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (net increase of 9)***
Hospitalizations (total to date): 47, including 27 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)****
Deaths (including among probable cases): 67, including 55 in Kawartha Lakes, 11 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change)
Resolved: 966, including 492 in Kawartha Lakes, 424 in Northumberland, 50 in Haliburton (increase of 4, including 3 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in NOrthumberland)
Tests completed: 147,746 (increase of 654)
Outbreaks: Regency long-term care home in Port Hope, CrossFit Lindsay (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 3 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.

****As of March 5, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports no patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change).

*****An outbreak was declared at CrossFit Lindsay on March 5.

 

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: 427 (increase of 1)
Confirmed variants of concern cases: 4 (no change)
Active cases: 15 (decrease of 2)
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: 406 (increase of 3)
Tests completed: 70,490 (increase of 4,191)
Vaccines administered: 7,231 (increase of 860)
Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Central Hastings, unidentified workplace in Belleville (no change)

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Province of Ontario

Confirmed positive: 308,296 (increase of 1,299)
Total COVID-19 variant cases: 828 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 2); 31 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (no change); 13 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 10)
7-day average of daily new cases: 1,035 (increase of 34)
Resolved: 290,840 (increase of 1,105), 94.3% of all cases
Positivity rate: 3.1% (increase of 0.8%)
Hospitalizations: 606 (decrease of 14)*
Hospitalizations in ICU: 273 (decrease of 5)
Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 179 (decrease of 2)
Deaths: 7,067 (increase of 15)
7-day average of daily new deaths: 12 (decrease of 1)
Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,876 (increase of 1)
Total tests completed: 11,398,354 (increase of 46,586)
Tests under investigation: 20,057 (decrease of 7,739)
Vaccination doses administered: 890,604 (increase of 30,192)
People fully vaccinated (two doses): 271,807 (increase of 1,182), 1.84% of Ontario’s population (est. 70-90% required for herd immunity)

*More than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for this report, so the actual number of hospitalizations may be higher.

COVID-19 cases in Ontario from February 4 - March 6, 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 cases in Ontario from February 4 – March 6, 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 4 - March 6, 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 tests completed in Ontario from February 4 – March 6, 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 4 - March 6, 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 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from February 4 – March 6, 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 4 - March 6, 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 deaths in Ontario from February 4 – March 6, 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 4 - March 6, 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)
COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Ontario from February 4 – March 6, 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)

 

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

Our top nine Instagram photographers for February 2021

By Jeannine Taylor -
This "snow heart" on the southern shores of Lake Scugog from View Lake, on the boundary of Durham and Kawartha Lakes, was one of a series of Valentine's Day photographs from five photographers that was our top post on Instagram in February 2021. (Photo: Rachelle Richard Mack @rachelle_richard_photography / Instagram)

February, the month of love, warmed our spirits if not our bodies.

While the weather was certainly chilly, a few signs of the coming spring started to emerge, and our collective love of the Kawarthas shone through — as always.

From serene landscapes to colourful sunsets to winter wildlife, we had it all in February. And for that we are grateful.

Do you want to get on our top photographers list? All you need is an Insta account and to tag us using our hashtag #kawarthanow when posting your photo.

We share photos from across our readership area, which is the five-county area surrounding Peterborough which includes Peterborough, Northumberland, City of Kawartha Lakes, Haliburton, and Hastings (we sneak in the occasional Algonquin Park picture as well, particularly if it’s by a Kawartha photographer).

To see our daily shares of photos, follow us on Instagram @kawarthanow and check out our feed’s highlight reels for recaps of every month in 2021.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

#1. Happy Valentine’s Day by Rachelle Richard Mack @rachelle_richard_photography, Lee Higginson @pohopics,
Kathryn Frank @_katy.did.it_, Brad Carson @bradcarson, and Tracy Faught Wazny @tracy_wazny

Posted February 14, 2021. 22.2K impressions, 1,025 likes

 

#2. Snowy owl by Tim Haan @tim.haan.photography

Posted February 8, 2021. 17.6K impressions, 877 likes

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

#3. Sunset on Millbrook pond by Kirk Hillsley @kirkhillsley

Posted February 28, 2021. 17.3K impressions, 1,052 likes

 

#4. Warm winter glow by Henry Rozema @hjrozemaphotography

Posted February 4, 2021. 16K impressions, 990 likes

 

#5. Lakefield sunset by Joe Yusiw @kawartha_joe

Posted February 21, 2021. 14.5K impressions, 831 likes

 

#6. Canadian sunset on Chemong Lake by Barry Killen @theburleighridge_beareh

Posted February 20, 2021. 14K impressions, 739 likes

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

#7. Sunset on Lower Buckhorn Lake by Memtyme @memtyme

Posted February 3, 2021. 13.6K impressions, 925 likes

 

#8. Chilly morning on Little Lake by Brian @bparypa73

Posted February 18, 2021. 13.3K impressions, 761 likes

 

#9. Swans on Chandos Lake by Angela Spence @ang_spnc

Posted February 6, 2021. 11.9K impressions, 680 likes

Ontario reports 990 new COVID-19 cases, including 19 in greater Kawarthas region

By kawarthaNOW -

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

Today, Ontario is reporting 990 new cases, with the seven-day average of daily cases decreasing by 28 to 1,035.

Ontario is also reporting 27 new cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant, for a total of 826, with no increase in other variants of concern.

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 19 new cases to report and an additional 16 cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region increasing by 2 to 128.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (284) and Peel (173).

There are double-digit increases in York (82), Ottawa (60), Thunder Bay (54), Waterloo (33), Durham (32), Simcoe Muskoka (27), Lambton (27), Windsor-Essex (27), Hamilton (24), Halton (24), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (19), Sudbury (17), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (17), and Eastern Ontario (12), with smaller increases in Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (8), Peterborough (8), Middlesex-London (8), Brant (8), Niagara (8), and Huron Perth (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, 58% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (396) among people ages 20-39 followed by 287 cases among people ages 40-59.

With 1,152 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has increased by 0.1% at 94.4%. The average positivity rate across Ontario remains unchanged since yesterday at 2.3%, meaning that 23 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on March 5.

Ontario is reporting 6 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 2 new deaths in long-term care homes. Ontario has averaged 13 new daily deaths over the past week, a decrease of 2 from yesterday.

Hospitalizations have decreased by 23 from yesterday to 620, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs decreasing by 2 from yesterday to 278 and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators also decreasing by 2 to 181.

A total of 57,829 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 6,241 to 27,796.

A total of 860,412 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 39,698 from yesterday, with 270,625 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 1,562 from yesterday, representing 1.84% of Ontario’s population.

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 19 new cases to report, including 12 in Peterborough, 5 in Northumberland, 1 in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward. There are no new cases in Haliburton.

There are now 56 presumed cases of variants of concern in Peterborough. An outbreak was declared at CrossFit Lindsay on March 5.

An additional 16 cases have been resolved, including 10 in Peterborough, 3 in Kawartha Lakes, 2 in Hastings Prince Edward, and 1 in Northumberland.

There are currently 128 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 2 from yesterday, including 83 in Peterborough, 17 in Hastings Prince Edward (14 in Belleville, 1 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, and 2 in Prince Edward County), 17 in Northumberland, and 11 in Kawartha Lakes. There are no active cases in Haliburton.

Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 711 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (619 resolved with 9 deaths), 545 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (492 resolved with 55 deaths), 452 in Northumberland County (424 resolved with 11 deaths), 51 in Haliburton County (50 resolved with 1 death), and 426 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (403 resolved with 6 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Haliburton on March 4.

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).

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Peterborough Public Health

Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.

The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.

Confirmed positive: 711 (increase of 11)*
Confirmed variants of concern cases: 1 (no change)
Presumed variants of concern cases: 56 (increase of 5)
Active cases: 83 (increase of 7)
Close contacts: 263 (increase of 5)
Deaths: 9 (no change)
Resolved: 619 (increase of 10)
Hospitalizations (total to date): 25 (no change)**
Total tests completed: Over 44,100 (increase of 100)
Outbreaks: Empress Gardens retirement home, Severn Court Student Residence, Trent Champlain College residence, Regency retirement home in Lakefield (no change)
Vaccine doses administered: 5,927 (no change)

*The health unit is reporting 12 new cases in the last 24 hours. A previously reported case has been removed from the total case count, for an increase of 11.

*As of March 5, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting fewer than 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and 17 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: 1,048, including 545 in Kawartha Lakes, 452 in Northumberland, and 51 in Haliburton (increase of 6, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes and 5 in Northumberland)*
Cases with N501Y mutation: 15, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes and 13 in Northumberland (increase of 1 in Northumberland)**
Active cases: 28, including 11 in Kawartha Lakes and 17 in Northumberland (net increase of 2)
Probable cases: 0 (no change)
High-risk contacts: 102, including 41 in Kawartha Lakes, 55 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (net increase of 9)***
Hospitalizations (total to date): 47, including 27 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)****
Deaths (including among probable cases): 67, including 55 in Kawartha Lakes, 11 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change)
Resolved: 966, including 492 in Kawartha Lakes, 424 in Northumberland, 50 in Haliburton (increase of 4, including 3 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Northumberland)
Tests completed: 147,746 (increase of 654)
Outbreaks: Regency long-term care home in Port Hope, CrossFit Lindsay (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 3 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.

****As of March 5, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports no patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change).

*****An outbreak was declared at CrossFit Lindsay on March 5.

 

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: 426 (increase of 1)
Confirmed variants of concern cases: 4 (no change)
Active cases: 17 (decrease 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: 403 (increase of 2)
Tests completed: 66,299 (no change)
Vaccines administered: 6,371 (increase of 1,588)
Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Central Hastings, unidentified workplace in Belleville (no change)

Advertisement - content continues below

 

 

Province of Ontario

Confirmed positive: 306,997 (increase of 990)
Total COVID-19 variant cases: 826 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 27); 31 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (no change); 3 of P.1 Brazilian variant (no change)
7-day average of daily new cases: 1,035 (decrease of 28)
Resolved: 289,735 (increase of 1,152), 94.4% of all cases
Positivity rate: 2.3% (no change)
Hospitalizations: 620 (decrease of 23)
Hospitalizations in ICU: 278 (decrease of 2)
Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 181 (decrease of 2)
Deaths: 7,052 (increase of 6)
7-day average of daily new deaths: 13 (decrease of 2)
Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,875 (increase of 2)
Total tests completed: 11,351,768 (increase of 57,829)
Tests under investigation: 27,796 (decrease of 6,241)
Vaccination doses administered: 860,412 (increase of 39,698)
People fully vaccinated (two doses): 270,625 (increase of 1,562), 1.84% of Ontario’s population (est. 70-90% required for herd immunity)

COVID-19 cases in Ontario from February 3 - March 5, 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 cases in Ontario from February 3 – March 5, 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 3 - March 5, 2021. The red line is the number of tests completed daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
COVID-19 tests completed in Ontario from February 3 – March 5, 2021. The red line is the number of tests completed daily, 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 3 - March 5, 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 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from February 3 – March 5, 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 3 - March 5, 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 deaths in Ontario from February 3 – March 5, 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 3 - March 5, 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)
COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Ontario from February 3 – March 5, 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)

 

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

1...549550551...1,117Page 550 of 1,117

Become a #kawarthaNOW fan

30,896FollowersLike
25,371FollowersFollow
17,704FollowersFollow
4,496FollowersFollow
3,620FollowersFollow
3,052FollowersFollow

Sign up for kawarthNOW's Enews

Sign up for our VIP Enews

kawarthaNOW.com offers two enews options to help readers stay in the know. Our VIP enews is delivered weekly every Wednesday morning and includes exclusive giveaways, and our news digest is delivered daily every morning. You can subscribe to one or both.




Submit your event for FREE!

Use our event submission form to post your event on our website — for free. To submit editorial content or ideas, please contact us.

EDITOR'S PICKS

SIGN UP FOR OUR ENEWS




© Copyright kawarthaNOW® 1996 - 2025. All rights reserved. Unauthorized distribution, transmission, or republication strictly prohibited. Trademarks owned by kawarthaNOW include kawarthaNOW®, Keep It In The Kawarthas®, Web Sites That Work®, Kawartha Localist™, Know Your Locals™, businessNOW™, musicNOW™, artNOW™, nightlifeNOW™, encoreNOW™, and KNosh™.