The Peterborough Chamber of Commerce's annual Seniors Showcase, the region's largest seniors-focused event, is going virtual for 2021 with a series of free videos available for streaming on demand, including workshops, exhibitor presentations, not-for-profit showcases, and a panel discussion. The event runs for the entire month of June.
The Peterborough Chamber of Commerce’s annual Seniors Showcase, the region’s largest seniors-focused event, is back for 2021.
Normally held for a single day in June at the Peterborough Sport and Wellness Centre, the virtual Seniors Showcase has expanded to the entire month of June with a series of free workshops, exhibitor presentations, not-for-profit showcases, and a panel discussion.
This year’s virtual Seniors Showcase, held in partnership with Age Friendly Peterborough, will be hosted on the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce’s website at peterboroughchamber.ca/seniors-showcase and on the Chamber’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.
“This year’s event will feature all of the informative and engaging elements of our annual trade show event, now accessible all month long,” says Stuart Harrison, president and CEO of the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce. “It will be a one-stop shop for products, services, and education for seniors and their families.”
Beginning on Tuesday, June 1st, the Chamber will be posting a series of free videos, available for streaming on demand.
These will include exhibitor presentations on shopping, healthcare, finances, recreation, and more.
The Peterborough Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Seniors Showcase, presented in partnership with Age Friendly Peterborough, is running virtually for the entire month of June on the Chamber’s website and social media channels.
Nine virtual workshops will also be available on topics of special interest to seniors, including “Dealing with Isolation”, “How Well Do You Know Dementia?”, “211, Who Can Help – Connecting You to Your Community”, “Nutrition: Eat Well Age Well”, “Decluttering Tips and Tricks”, “The Grass is Greener – Lawn Maintenance “, “Yoga + Mindful Movement”, “New Rules for Estates and Executors in Ontario?”, and “Understanding Consent and Capacity”.
Fifteen not-for-profit exhibitors will also be showcased during the month-long Seniors Showcase.
As a taste of the virtual Seniors Showcase, a 45-minute virtual panel discussion on transit called “Getting You from A to B” is already available for streaming at peterboroughchamber.ca/seniors-showcase.
The Peterborough Chamber of Commerce’s 2021 Seniors Showcase includes a 45-minute virtual panel discussion on transit with representatives from Peterborough Transit, Selwyn Township, Community Care Peterborough, and the City of Peterborough.
Facilitated by Jayne Culbert of Age Friendly Peterborough, panellists include Laurie Stratton and Robin St. Pierre of Peterborough Transit, Anna Currier of Selwyn Township, Catherine Pink of Community Care Peterborough, and Sue Sauve of the City of Peterborough.
The 2021 Seniors Showcase is sponsored by Trent Security (show sponsor), Living Well Home Medical Equipment (workshop sponsor), Freq 90.5 and Oldies 96.7 (exhibitor sponsors), Peterborough Disability Tax Services (exhibit sponsor), and The Gardens of Peterborough (community sponsor).
: To register as an exhibitor or for the not-for-profit showcases or for sponsorship opportunities, email Tiffany Arcari at tiffany@peterboroughchamber.ca.
This story was created in partnership with the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 1,033 new cases today, the lowest daily increase since February 17 when 1,038 cases were reported. For the second day in a row, only Toronto and Peel are reporting triple-digit increases. The seven-day average of daily cases has fallen to 1,154 and the proportion of active cases has decreased for the 41st straight day.
Hospitalizations have decreased significantly, but more than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for today’s report so the actual number may be higher. Both ICU admissions and ventilated patients continue to decline. Ontario is reporting 18 new deaths, with 1 death in a long-term care home.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 3 new cases to report in Peterborough, which is also reporting its 21st COVID-related death. There are no new cases in Hastings Prince Edward, and numbers are unavailable on Sundays for Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton. With 9 additional cases resolved in Peterborough and Hastings Prince Edward, the number of active cases across the region has decreased by 7 to 248. See below for details from each regional health unit.
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Most of the new cases reported today are in Toronto (237) and Peel (214).
There are double-digit increases reported today in York (80), Hamilton (59), Durham (54), Porcupine (51), Ottawa (50), Waterloo (37), Simcoe Muskoka (31), Halton (30), Middlesex-London (20), Windsor-Essex (20), Thunder Bay (19), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (18), Southwestern (17), Niagara (16), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (16), Brant (11), and Renfrew (10), with smaller increases in Huron Perth (9), Haldimand-Norfolk (9), Lambton (8), Sudbury (6), and Peterborough (6).
The remaining 10 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 6 health units reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s new cases, 63% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (427) among people ages 20-39 followed by 269 cases among people ages 40-59 and 227 cases among people 19 and under.
With 2,067 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has increased by 0.2% to at 95.8% — the 41st straight day the percentage of resolved cases has increased. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 0.6% to 4.2%, meaning that 42 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on May 29.
Ontario is reporting 18 new COVID-19 deaths today, with 1 new death in a long-term care home. The seven-day average of daily deaths has increased by 1 to 19.
Hospitalizations have decreased by 185 from yesterday to 749, but more than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for today’s report so the actual number may be higher. The number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs has decreased by 12 to 614 and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators has decreased by 21 to 417.
A total of 26,565 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 5,943 to 8,735.
A total of 8,984,278 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 144,833 from yesterday, and 687,894 people have been fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 28,755 from yesterday.
The number of fully vaccinated people represents 4.67% of Ontario’s population, an increase of 0.20% from yesterday, with fully and partially vaccinated people representing 60.98% of the total population, an increase of .098% from yesterday. An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 3 new cases to report in Peterborough. An outbreak at Riverview Manor long-term care home in Peterborough was declared on May 30.
There are no new cases in Hastings Prince Edward. Numbers of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton are unavailable as that health unit does not issue updates on Sundays.
Peterborough is reporting 1 new death, the region’s 21st COVID-related death since the pandemic began. There is 1 new hospitalization in Peterborough.
There are 11 new regional cases of variants of concern, including 6 in Peterborough and 5 in Hastings Prince Edward.
An additional 9 cases have been resolved, including 6 in Peterborough and 3 in Hastings Prince Edward.
There are currently 248 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 7 since yesterday, including 140 in Kawartha Lakes, 59 in Peterborough, 25 in Hastings Prince Edward (4 in Quinte West, 5 in Belleville, 4 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 4 in Prince Edward County, 3 in Central Hastings, and 5 in North Hastings), and 24 in Northumberland. There are no active cases in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,498 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,418 resolved with 21 deaths), 995 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (812 resolved with 56 deaths), 916 in Northumberland County (875 resolved with 17 deaths), 118 in Haliburton County (117 resolved with 1 death), and 1,120 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,084 resolved with 11 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on May 30.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 4 p.m. the previous day, as well as from systems in Toronto, Ottawa, and Middlesex-London at 2 p.m. the previous day. Data from local health units is more current and is usually reflected in the provincial data the following day. There may be discrepancies between the Ontario data reported today (which is from yesterday) and the local health unit data reported today (which is from today).
Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 1,498 (increase of 3) Total variants of concern cases: 681 (increase of 6) Active cases: 59 (decrease of 4) Close contacts: 161 (decrease of 4) Deaths: 21 (increase of 1) Resolved: 1,418 (increase of 6) Hospitalizations (total to date): 68 (increase of 1)* ICU admissions (total to date): 15 (no change) Total tests completed: Over 52,450 (increase of 150) Total vaccine doses administered (residents and non-residents): 79,150 (increase of 9,161 as of May 27) Number of residents who have received first dose: 72,120 (increase of 7,921 as of May 27) Number of residents fully vaccinated: 6,659 (increase of 1,807 as of May 20) Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace #10 in Peterborough County, Fairhaven long-term care home in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #11 in Peterborough, Riverview Manor long-term care home in Peterborough (increase of 1)**
*As of May 28, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 9 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and a total of 76 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).
**An outbreak at Riverview Manor long-term care home in Peterborough was declared on May 30.
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s service area is the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.
The health unit provides reports from Monday to Saturday, excluding Sundays and statutory holidays. These numbers are for May 29.
Confirmed positive: 2,029, including 995 in Kawartha Lakes, 916 in Northumberland, and 118 in Haliburton (increase of 6, including 4 in Kawartha Lakes and 2 in Northumberland)* Total variants of concern cases: 706, including 354 in Kawartha Lakes, 319 in Northumberland, and 33 in Haliburton (increase of 4 in Kawartha Lakes) Active cases: 164, including 140 in Kawartha Lakes, 24 in Northumberland, and 0 in Haliburton (decrease of 19, including 18 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Northumberland) Probable cases: 1 in Kawartha Lakes (no change) Hospitalizations (total to date): 74, including 40 in Kawartha Lakes, 31 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)** Deaths (including among probable cases): 74, including 56 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change) Resolved: 1,804, including 812 in Kawartha Lakes, 875 in Northumberland, and 117 in Haliburton (increase of 25, including 22 in Kawartha Lakes and 3 in Northumberland) Tests completed: 193,796 (increase of 508) Vaccine doses administered to residents: 95,921 (increase of 10,136 as of May 25) Number of residents fully vaccinated: 7,335 (increase of 2,458 as of May 25) Outbreaks: Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Campbellford Farm Supply LTD, Medi-Share Inc. in 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.
**As of May 28, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 3 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: 1,120 (no change) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 489 (increase of 5) Active cases: 25 (decrease of 3) Deaths: 11 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 6 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 3 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 1 (no change) Resolved: 1,084 (increase of 3) Tests completed: 145,264 (increase of 1,077) Vaccine doses administered: 94,315 (increase of 1,908) Number of people fully vaccinated: 7,658 (increase of 114) Outbreaks: None (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 530,543 (increase of 1,033) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) cases: 125,035 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 863); 947 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 21); 2,814 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 20) VOC R(t): 0.72 (decrease of 0.02 as of May 24)* 7-day average of daily new cases: 1,154 (decrease of 94) Positivity rate: 4.2% (increase of 0.6%) Resolved: 508,428 (increase of 2,067), 95.8% of all cases (increase of 0.2%) Hospitalizations: 749 (decrease of 185)** Hospitalizations in ICU: 614 (decrease of 12) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 417 (decrease of 21) Deaths: 8,744 (increase of 18) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 19 (increase of 1) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,950 (increase of 1) Total tests completed: 15,204,427 (increase of 26,565) Tests under investigation: 8,735 (decrease of 5,943) Vaccination doses administered: 8,984,278 (increase of 144,833), 60.98% of Ontario’s total population (increase of 0.98%)*** People fully vaccinated (two doses): 687,894 (increase of 28,755), 4.67% of Ontario’s total population (increase of 0.20%)***
*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.
**More than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for this report, so the actual number of hospitalizations may be higher.
***An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from April 29 – May 29, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 tests completed in Ontario from April 29 – May 29, 2021. The red line is the daily number of tests completed, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from April 29 – May 29, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling 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 rolling average of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from April 29 – May 29, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily deaths, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily deaths. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 vaccinations in Ontario from April 29 – May 29, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily doses, and the blue line is the cumulative number of people fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
Christian Rose, a 20-year-old actor and musician from Peterborough, landed a named role in the NBC's sci-fi drama series "Debris", appearing in three episodes. (Photo: Markus Maar)
It’s autumn of 2020, smack dab in the middle of a mind-numbing global pandemic. Christian Rose gets an email from his talent agency, Strutt Central, reminding him about his self-tape audition for NBC’s sci-fi drama series Debris.
The audition tape was due five minutes ago.
Leading up to this moment, the 20-year-old actor and musician from Peterborough-Nogojiwanong had already auditioned for some big roles but, beyond some commercial work, he wasn’t really landing many parts.
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Rose was almost ready to give up.
“I was kind of starting to feel a bit defeated,” he recalls. “Like maybe I’m not a good actor, maybe this just isn’t my thing. So when I got the email reminder for the audition, I was going to just say ‘I’m sorry, I forgot, it’s past the deadline, never mind.’ But instead, I said I would send it right away.”
Rose scrambled to his room to hastily make his self-tape audition, battling his stubborn computer to create something — anything — to send in, even though it was already late.
“I made the tape as quickly as I could. Before that, I had always done like five and six takes for each clip. I would really overthink it. This time, I didn’t. There wasn’t any time to, they were waiting.”
“As soon as I sent it, I thought ‘There’s no way I’m getting that part. It was rushed. It was late. It was terrible. I’m going to look unprofessional. There’s no way.’ It didn’t seem good at all.”
It wasn’t long after that fateful day that Rose found himself being flown first-class to Vancouver, to shoot his first of three episodes of the NBC sci-fi drama series Debris.
VIDEO: “Debris” trailer
The 13-episode series from Fringe creator J.H. Wyman follows two agents, one MI6 and one CIA, as they investigate the mysterious effects caused by debris that falls to earth from an alien spaceship explosion.
Rose plays the role of 17-year-old Dario Maddox, the son of CIA operative and handler Craig Maddox. Dario has not been able to speak or move since surviving a terrible accident at the age of six.
“I don’t want to spoil anything, but a lot of Craig’s actions throughout the show are because of that accident — because of what happened to Dario,” Rose explains. “It’s actually a very interesting kind of role. That backstory underlies a lot of the show, you know, a lot of the conflict.”
Many career actors dream about landing a role as a named character. Portraying a named character whose story moves the plot forward is no small feat, especially for a young actor’s breakout role.
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“This is my first really big role,” says Rose. “It was challenging, for sure, because you have to convey a lot without being able to move or speak. So, it was tricky, and I was really nervous. But at some point, I thought ‘just go with it.'”
“Because I use a wheelchair, I grew up kind of feeling trapped in a wheelchair, so I can relate to Dario. I was always kind of tapping into that. Getting into that character was just like, ‘Okay, what is my experience?’ The actor brings something unique to the character and, for this one in particular, I didn’t have to really do a lot of digging.”
Rose says his own lived experience gave him a unique insight into the character of Dario Maddox.
“At one point, I kind of was that kid. Mind you, I have a lot more ability than Dario does. But still, I very much understand. I didn’t go out and do a whole lot because of the wheelchair and a lot of other reasons. I mean, in the winter, the sidewalks (in Peterborough) are garbage — ableism is absolutely a thing. So I know what it’s like to kind of feel trapped in your own body, so to speak.”
When he’s not acting or making music, Christian Rose works at Maar’s Music in Peterborough. (Photo: Maar’s Music / Facebook)
When he’s not jet setting the world to shoot a major network television series, Rose works at Maar’s Music, a popular independent music store in Peterborough opened in 1993 by Markus and Nicole Maar.
“Maar’s is amazing — I might be biased, but I think they’re the best,” he laughs. “They’re like family. Markus is actually my main photographer. We’re going to be doing a photo shoot at the store here soon to update my IMDB page.”
While he’s thrilled to have landed an acting role, Rose considers himself first and foremost a musician. He has a new album on the way, and his newest single “Hello” will be available for streaming on Spotify soon.
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“Music, for me, is a way that I can escape,” Rose explains. “When I’m focused, when I’m writing a song, it’s like I’m not thinking about stuff — I’m not getting stuck in my own head. With music, I can express myself. That’s why art is so amazing. It gives a voice to the people who don’t have a voice.”
As a wheelchair user, Rose says he has been “very much underestimated and overlooked” — but, instead of allowing that perception to limit what he can do, he’s used it for motivation.
“That drives a person to say, ‘You know what? Screw that! I’m good enough! I’m so much more than what you thought I was and screw you for thinking that in the first place!’ Just do what your heart tells you to do, regardless of all the doubt — whether it’s from yourself or from others — just do the thing, whatever it is. Do it for yourself.”
Peterborough actor and musician Christian Rose landed his first named role playing Dario Maddox in three episodes of the NBC’s sci-fi drama series “Debris”, which was filmed in Vancouver. (Photo: Markus Maar)
So what’s next for this remarkable, talented young man? Well, first thing’s first, he’s going to watch the 13-episode series in which he had a named role.
“I’m going to be completely honest, I haven’t even seen the whole first season yet,” Rose laughs. “I have them all recorded on my TiVo so I can binge them all at once.”
Rose appears as Dario Maddox in episodes three and four of Debris as well as in the season finale.
Editor’s note: Following this interview and the season finale on May 24, NBC cancelled Debris after just one season — despite the show being well received by critics. Debris is currently unavailable to watch or stream in Canada; it can be seen in the U.S. on NBC, Peacock, and Hulu.
This story has been updated to clarify Maar’s Music is owned by Markus and Nicole Maar.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 1,057 new cases today, the lowest daily increase since February 21 when 1,058 cases were reported. Only 2 of Ontario’s 34 health units (Toronto and Peel) are reporting triple-digit increases. The seven-day average of daily cases has fallen to 1,248 and the proportion of active cases has decreased for the 40th straight day.
Hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and ventilated patients have all declined. Ontario is reporting 15 new deaths, with no deaths in long-term care homes (2 deaths previously attributed to COVID-19 have been removed from the count).
With over 8.8 million vaccine doses administered, 60% of Ontario’s total population has now received at least one dose of vaccine. A record number of people received their second dose yesterday, with almost 4.5% of the entire population now fully vaccinated.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 10 new cases to report (including 4 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Peterborough, 2 in Northumberland, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward) and an additional 36 cases resolved. The number of active cases across the region has decreased by 27 to 255, with active cases decreasing in every health unit. See below for details from each individual health unit.
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Most of the new cases reported today are in Toronto (228) and Peel (178).
There are double-digit increases reported today in York (82), Hamilton (71), Ottawa (64), Waterloo (58), Durham (54), Simcoe Muskoka (45), Porcupine (43), Middlesex-London (41), Halton (37), Windsor-Essex (31), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (23), Niagara (22), Brant (17), Huron Perth (15), and Eastern Ontario (11), with smaller increases in Haldimand-Norfolk (6).
The remaining 16 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 4 health units reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s new cases, 64% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (436) among people ages 20-39 followed by 255 cases among people ages 40-59 and 243 cases among people 19 and under.
With 2,057 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has increased by 0.2% to at 95.6% — the 40th straight day the percentage of resolved cases has increased. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 0.2% to 3.6%, meaning that 36 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on May 28.
The effective reproduction number of the COVID-19 variants, which is the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time in a partially immunized population, has decreased by 0.02 to 0.72. To successfully eliminate a disease from a population, this number needs to remain less than 1.
Ontario is reporting 15 new COVID-19 deaths today, with no new deaths in long-term care homes (2 deaths previously attributed to COVID-19 have been removed from the count). The seven-day average of daily deaths has decreased by 1 to 18.
Hospitalizations have decreased by 89 from yesterday to 934, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs decreasing by 19 to 626 and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators decreasing by 20 to 438.
A total of 33,559 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 1,324 to 14,678.
A total of 8,839,445 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 148,972 from yesterday, and 659,139 people have been fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, a record increase of 34,219 from yesterday.
The number of fully vaccinated people represents 4.47% of Ontario’s population, an increase of 0.23% from yesterday, with fully and partially vaccinated people representing 60% of the total population, an increase of 1.01% from yesterday. An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 10 new cases to report, including 4 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Peterborough, 2 in Northumberland, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward. There are no new cases in Haliburton.
An outbreak at an unidentified workplace in Peterborough was declared on May 28.
There are 5 new regional cases of variants of concern, including 4 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward.
An additional 36 cases have been resolved, including 22 in Kawartha Lakes, 6 in Peterborough, 5 in Hastings Prince Edward, and 3 in Northumberland. An outbreak at an unidentified workplace in Peterborough County was declared resolved on May 29.
There are currently 255 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 27 since yesterday, including 140 in Kawartha Lakes, 63 in Peterborough, 28 in Hastings Prince Edward (6 in Quinte West, 5 in Belleville, 4 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 4 in Prince Edward County, 3 in Central Hastings, and 6 in North Hastings), and 24 in Northumberland. There are no active cases in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,495 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,412 resolved with 20 deaths), 995 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (812 resolved with 56 deaths), 916 in Northumberland County (875 resolved with 17 deaths), 118 in Haliburton County (117 resolved with 1 death), and 1,120 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,081 resolved with 11 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on May 27.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 4 p.m. the previous day, as well as from systems in Toronto, Ottawa, and Middlesex-London at 2 p.m. the previous day. Data from local health units is more current and is usually reflected in the provincial data the following day. There may be discrepancies between the Ontario data reported today (which is from yesterday) and the local health unit data reported today (which is from today).
Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 1,495 (increase of 2)* Total variants of concern cases: 675 (no change) Active cases: 63 (decrease of 4) Close contacts: 165 (decrease of 17) Deaths: 20 (no change) Resolved: 1,412 (increase of 6) Hospitalizations (total to date): 67 (no change)** ICU admissions (total to date): 15 (no change) Total tests completed: Over 52,400 (increase of 100) Total vaccine doses administered (residents and non-residents): 79,150 (increase of 9,161 as of May 27) Number of residents who have received first dose: 72,120 (increase of 7,921 as of May 27) Number of residents fully vaccinated: 6,659 (increase of 1,807 as of May 20) Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace #10 in Peterborough County, Fairhaven long-term care home in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #11 in Peterborough (no net change)***
*The health unit is reporting 3 new cases in the last 24 hours. The total case count has increased by 2 because 1 case has been removed from a previous day.
**As of May 28, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 9 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and a total of 76 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).
***An outbreak at an unidentified workplace (#11) in Peterborough was declared on May 28. An outbreak at an unidentified workplace #9 in Peterborough County was declared resolved on May 29.
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: 2,029, including 995 in Kawartha Lakes, 916 in Northumberland, and 118 in Haliburton (increase of 6, including 4 in Kawartha Lakes and 2 in Northumberland)* Total variants of concern cases: 706, including 354 in Kawartha Lakes, 319 in Northumberland, and 33 in Haliburton (increase of 4 in Kawartha Lakes) Active cases: 164, including 140 in Kawartha Lakes, 24 in Northumberland, and 0 in Haliburton (decrease of 19, including 18 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Northumberland) Probable cases: 1 in Kawartha Lakes (no change) Hospitalizations (total to date): 74, including 40 in Kawartha Lakes, 31 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)** Deaths (including among probable cases): 74, including 56 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change) Resolved: 1,804, including 812 in Kawartha Lakes, 875 in Northumberland, and 117 in Haliburton (increase of 25, including 22 in Kawartha Lakes and 3 in Northumberland) Tests completed: 193,796 (increase of 508) Vaccine doses administered to residents: 95,921 (increase of 10,136 as of May 25) Number of residents fully vaccinated: 7,335 (increase of 2,458 as of May 25) Outbreaks: Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Campbellford Farm Supply LTD, Medi-Share Inc. in 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.
**As of May 28, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 3 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: 1,120 (increase of 1) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 484 (increase of 1) Active cases: 28 (decrease of 4) Deaths: 11 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 6 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 3 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 1 (no change) Resolved: 1,081 (increase of 5) Tests completed: 142,929 (no change) Vaccine doses administered: 93,238 (increase of 1,908) Number of people fully vaccinated: 7,544 (increase of 132) Outbreaks: None (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 529,510 (increase of 1,057) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) cases: 124,172 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 986); 945 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 31); 2,794 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 178) VOC R(t): 0.72 (decrease of 0.02 as of May 24)* 7-day average of daily new cases: 1,248 (decrease of 105) Positivity rate: 3.6% (increase of 0.2%) Resolved: 506,361 (increase of 2,057), 95.6% of all cases (increase of 0.2%) Hospitalizations: 934 (decrease of 89) Hospitalizations in ICU: 626 (decrease of 19) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 438 (decrease of 20) Deaths: 8,726 (increase of 15) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 18 (decrease of 1) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,949 (decrease of 2) Total tests completed: 15,177,862 (increase of 33,559) Tests under investigation: 14,678 (decrease of 1,324) Vaccination doses administered: 8,839,445 (increase of 148,972), 60.00% of Ontario’s total population (increase of 1.01%)** People fully vaccinated (two doses): 659,139 (increase of 34,219), 4.47% of Ontario’s total population (increase of 0.23%)**
*R(t) is a virus’s effective reproduction number, which is the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time (t) in a partially immunized population. To successfully eliminate a disease from a population, R(t) needs to be less than 1.
**An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from April 28 – May 28, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 tests completed in Ontario from April 28 – May 28, 2021. The red line is the daily number of tests completed, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from April 28 – May 28, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling 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 rolling average of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from April 28 – May 28, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily deaths, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily deaths. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 vaccinations in Ontario from April 28 – May 28, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily doses, and the blue line is the cumulative number of people fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
There are five splash pads operated by the City of Peterborough in municipal parks. (Photo: City of Peterborough)
Splash pads in City of Peterborough parks open for the season today (Saturday, May 29), around three weeks earlier than normal.
The early opening may have been prompted by the need to give families at outlet outdoor activities, as well as by last week’s summer-like temperatures — although cold weather (including snow showers) returned yesterday.
Although Environment Canada issued a frost advisory on Friday night and expects to issue one for Saturday night as well, daytime temperatures will reach 18°C on Saturday and 19°C on Sunday, with temperatures climbing into the low to mid 20s next week.
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The splash pads are located at King Edward Park (455 George St. S.), Nicholls Oval (725 Armour Rd.), Rogers Cove (131 Maria St.), Kinsmen Park (1 Kinsmen Way at Sherbrooke Street and Clonsilla Avenue), and Barnardo Park (Barnardo Avenue north of Sunset Boulevard).
The splash pads will be open daily over the summer from noon until 7 p.m.
People encouraged to follow public health guidelines when using the water play structures. Maintain physical distancing of at least two metres from people who are not from the same household. If the splash pad is crowded or busy, come back another time.
Water play features in the splash pads that require gripping, such as water cannons, have been turned off or removed. Where there are buttons to activate water features, people should use their elbows or feet (depending on the height) to push the buttons instead of their hands.
Signage is posted at the splash pads to provide guidance on the measures.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Today, Ontario is reporting 1,273 new cases, with 3 of Ontario’s 34 health units (Toronto, Peel, and Ottawa) reporting triple-digit increases. The seven-day average of daily cases has fallen to 1,353 and the proportion of active cases has decreased for the 39th straight day.
Both hospitalizations and ICU admissions have decreased, with a small increase in the number of patients on ventilators. Ontario is reporting 14 new deaths, with no deaths in long-term care homes.
With over 8.6 million vaccine doses administered, 59% of Ontario’s total population has now received at least one dose of vaccine. A record number of people received their second dose yesterday, with over 4.2% of the entire population now fully vaccinated.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 29 new cases to report (including 23 in Kawartha Lakes, 5 in Peterborough, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward) and an additional 30 cases resolved. The net number of active cases across the region has decreased by 1 to 282, with active cases decreasing everywhere except Kawartha Lakes, which saw a jump of 22 active cases. See below for details from each individual health unit.
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Most of the new cases reported today are in Toronto (269), Peel (268), and Ottawa (101).
There are double-digit increases reported today in Hamilton (78), Durham (72), York (56), Niagara (55), Halton (51), Waterloo (46), Middlesex-London (39), Simcoe Muskoka (28), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (27), Windsor-Essex (25), Porcupine (22), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (22), Thunder Bay (16), Brant (15), Peterborough (14), Lambton (13), and Huron Perth (12), with smaller increases in Hastings Prince Edward (8), and Haldimand-Norfolk (7).
The remaining 12 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 3 health units (Northwestern, Timiskaming, and Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington) reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s new cases, 62% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (544) among people ages 20-39 followed by 325 cases among people ages 40-59 and 249 cases among people 19 and under.
With 2,362 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has increased by 0.2% to at 95.4% — the 39th straight day the percentage of resolved cases has increased. The average positivity rate across Ontario has decreased by 0.2% to 3.4%, meaning that 34 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on May 27.
The effective reproduction number of the COVID-19 variants, which is the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time in a partially immunized population, has decreased by 0.05 to 0.74. To successfully eliminate a disease from a population, this number needs to remain less than 1.
Ontario is reporting 14 new COVID-19 deaths today, with no new deaths in long-term care homes. The seven-day average of daily deaths has decreased by 2 to 19.
Hospitalizations have decreased by 49 from yesterday to 1,023, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs decreasing by 5 to 645 and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators increasing by 6 to 458.
A total of 40,866 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 7,066 to 16,002.
A total of 8,690,473 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 159,775 from yesterday, and 624,920 people have been fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, a record increase of 30,066 from yesterday.
The number of fully vaccinated people represents 4.24% of Ontario’s population, an increase of 0.20% from yesterday, with fully and partially vaccinated people representing 58.99% of the total population, an increase of 1.08% from yesterday. An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 29 new cases to report, including 23 in Kawartha Lakes, 5 in Peterborough, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward. There are no new cases in Northumberland or Haliburton. An outbreak at Medi-Share Inc. in Lindsay was declared on May 27.
There has been 1 new hospitalization in Peterborough, 1 new hospitalization in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 new ICU admission in Hastings Prince Edward.
There are 42 new regional cases of variants of concern, including 16 in Kawartha Lakes, 14 in Hastings Prince Edward, 6 in Northumberland, and 6 in Peterborough.
An additional 30 cases have been resolved, including 19 in Peterborough, 7 in Hastings Prince Edward, and 4 in Northumberland.
There are currently 282 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 1 since yesterday, including 158 in Kawartha Lakes, 67 in Peterborough, 32 in Hastings Prince Edward (7 in Quinte West, 6 in Belleville, 4 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 4 in Prince Edward County, 4 in Central Hastings, and 7 in North Hastings), and 25 in Northumberland. There are no active cases in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,493 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (1,406 resolved with 20 deaths), 991 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (790 resolved with 56 deaths), 914 in Northumberland County (872 resolved with 17 deaths), 118 in Haliburton County (117 resolved with 1 death), and 1,119 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (1,076 resolved with 11 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on May 27.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 4 p.m. the previous day, as well as from systems in Toronto, Ottawa, and Middlesex-London at 2 p.m. the previous day. Data from local health units is more current and is usually reflected in the provincial data the following day. There may be discrepancies between the Ontario data reported today (which is from yesterday) and the local health unit data reported today (which is from today).
Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 1,493 (increase of 6)* Total variants of concern cases: 675 (increase of 6) Active cases: 67 (decrease of 13) Close contacts: 182 (decrease of 24) Deaths: 20 (no change) Resolved: 1,406 (increase of 19) Hospitalizations (total to date): 67 (increase of 1)* ICU admissions (total to date): 15 (no change) Total tests completed: Over 52,300 (increase of 50) Total vaccine doses administered (residents and non-residents): 79,150 (increase of 9,161 as of May 27) Number of residents who have received first dose: 72,120 (increase of 7,921 as of May 27) Number of residents fully vaccinated: 6,659 (increase of 1,807 as of May 20) Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace #9 in Peterborough County, Unidentified workplace #10 in Peterborough County, Fairhaven long-term care home in Peterborough (no change)
The health unit is reporting 5 new cases in the last 24 hours. The total case count has increased by 6 because 1 case has been added to a previous day.
*As of May 28, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 9 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and a total of 76 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: 2,023, including 991 in Kawartha Lakes, 914 in Northumberland, and 118 in Haliburton (increase of 23 in Kawartha Lakes)* Total variants of concern cases: 702, including 350 in Kawartha Lakes, 319 in Northumberland, and 33 in Haliburton (increase of 22, including 16 in Kawartha Lakes and 6 in Northumberland) Active cases: 183, including 158 in Kawartha Lakes, 25 in Northumberland, and 0 in Haliburton (net increase of 18, including increase of 22 in Kawartha Lakes and decrease of 4 in Northumberland) Probable cases: 1 in Kawartha Lakes (no change) Hospitalizations (total to date): 74, including 40 in Kawartha Lakes, 31 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Kawartha Lakes)** Deaths (including among probable cases): 74, including 56 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change) Resolved: 1,779, including 790 in Kawartha Lakes, 872 in Northumberland, and 117 in Haliburton (increase of 4 in Northumberland) Tests completed: 193,288 (increase of 1,527) Vaccine doses administered to residents: 95,921 (increase of 10,136 as of May 25) Number of residents fully vaccinated: 7,335 (increase of 2,458 as of May 25) Outbreaks: Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Campbellford Farm Supply LTD, Medi-Share Inc. in 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.
**As of May 28, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 3 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change).
***An outbreak at Medi-Share Inc. in Lindsay was declared on May 27.
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: 1,119 (increase of 1) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 483 (increase of 14) Active cases: 32 (decrease of 6) Deaths: 11 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 6 (decrease of 4) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 3 (increase of 1) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 1 (no change) Resolved: 1,076 (increase of 7) Tests completed: 142,929 (no change) Vaccine doses administered: 91,330 (increase of 2,303) Number of people fully vaccinated: 7,412 (increase of 279) Outbreaks: None (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 528,453 (increase of 1,273) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) cases: 123,186 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 837); 914 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 74); 2,616 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 72) VOC R(t): 0.74 (decrease of 0.05 as of May 23)* 7-day average of daily new cases: 1,353 (decrease of 88) Positivity rate: 3.4% (decrease of 0.2%) Resolved: 504,304 (increase of 2,362), 95.4% of all cases (increase of 0.2%) Hospitalizations: 1,023 (decrease of 49) Hospitalizations in ICU: 645 (decrease of 5) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 458 (increase of 6) Deaths: 8,711 (increase of 14) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 19 (decrease of 2) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,951 (no change) Total tests completed: 15,144,303 (increase of 40,866) Tests under investigation: 16,002 (decrease of 7,066) Vaccination doses administered: 8,690,473 (increase of 159,775), 58.99% of Ontario’s total population (increase of 1.08%)** People fully vaccinated (two doses): 624,920 (increase of 30,066), 4.24% of Ontario’s total population (increase of 0.20%)**
*R(t) is a virus’s effective reproduction number, which is the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time (t) in a partially immunized population. To successfully eliminate a disease from a population, R(t) needs to be less than 1.
**An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from April 27 – May 27, 2021. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 tests completed in Ontario from April 27 – May 27, 2021. The red line is the daily number of tests completed, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from April 27 – May 27, 2021. The red line is the daily number of COVID-19 hospitalizations, the dotted green line is a five-day rolling 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 rolling average of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from April 27 – May 27, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily deaths, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily deaths. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in Ontario from April 27 – May 27, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered, and the dotted green line is a five-day rolling average of daily doses. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
A few of the 9,000 people in the Peterborough region who received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the past week, at the mass vaccination clinic at Evinrude Centre on May 26, 2021. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
With more than 9,000 Peterborough region residents vaccinated in just the past week, the region’s medical officer of health expects 60 per cent of all vaccine-eligible city and county residents will have received at least their first dose by the end of day Saturday.
“We’ve seen a dramatic jump … we’ve really turned on the tap,” said Dr. Rosana Salvaterra during a Peterborough Public Health media briefing held Friday (May 28).
As of 5 p.m. Thursday (May 27), 79,150 vaccine doses had been administered locally, 72,120 of those going into residents’ arms with 6,659 having received two doses and considered fully vaccinated.
On Friday, the province confirmed 65 per cent of Ontario’s adult population has now received a first dose of vaccine and announced it is accelerating the administering of second doses, starting with those who at at least 80 years of age.
The increased eligibility will be coupled with additional doses of vaccine, according to Dr. Salvaterra.
“We have been assured that those (health units) not in hot spots that have received less vaccine per capita can expect to receive more vaccine throughout June to help us catch up,” she said.
“Starting May 31, anyone who is age 80 years or older who has had their first dose can reschedule an earlier second dose according to local (vaccine) availability,” Dr. Salvaterra explained. “Most of those over 80 do have their second dose appointments (already booked) but even if that’s not the case, the provincial booking system will now allow people to book a single appointment.”
“You must go online if you’re looking to rebook an earlier date for that second dose, or call the provincial vaccine booking line at 1-833-943-3900. New appointments will replace those that had been previously booked.”
Those who received their first dose at a hospital clinic should contact their public health unit for booking details. People who received their first dose through a primary care provider or a pharmacy should contact them for booking details.
During a technical media briefing the morning of May 28, 2021, provincial officials released this schedule for second doses of COVID-19 vaccines. (Graphic: Ontario government)
Starting on June 14, the age 70 to 79 years old group can begin booking their second dose appointments. The following weeks will see eligibility to book extended to lower age groups, roughly based on four weeks after the date they received their first does.
Meanwhile, those waiting for their second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be eligible for that within 12 weeks of their first dose. Those who received a first dose of AstraZeneca may become eligible for a second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, depending on pending guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.
According to Dr. Salvaterra, 200 doses of AstraZeneca due to expire May 31 were made available to local health care providers to provide second doses to those patients who were immunized with a first dose before March 20.
“Here in Peterborough, primary care immunized more than 5,000 people (with AstraZeneca),” said Dr. Salvaterra, adding “We’ve had indication from the province that more AstraZeneca will be arriving here in June.”
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As the vaccination pace picks up speed, local infection numbers continue to show steady improvement.
As of Thursday (May 27) at 4:30 p.m., the number of active cases in Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake and Hiawatha was reported as 80 — a decrease of nine since Tuesday. Meanwhile, the number of close contacts of positive cases being monitored by public health staff has also dropped significantly and now stands at 206, 118 less than what was reported Tuesday.
This week has seen 29 new cases detected. With May winding down, the total news cases count for the month stands at 260, well less than April’s new case count of 353.
Two additional COVID-related deaths have been reported this week. Dr. Salvaterra offered few details but did confirm both are community members, not residents of a long-term care or retirement homes.
She added both had been immunized, noting one of two things occurred: they either became infected before their vaccine protection kicked in, or they became infected despite being vaccinated but had an underlying health condition that contributed to the extent of their illness.
There are currently three outbreaks in the Peterborough region, including one at Fairhaven that Dr. Salvaterra described as “stable” with one resident and two staff members infected and now self-isolating.
With the provincial government confirming Ontario’s stay-at-home order will expire June 2, there has been much speculation as to whether the province will initiate step one of its three-step reopening plan immediately or wait until the week of June 14 as originally scheduled.
“We might be in a position where we have good reason to move ahead,” said Dr. Salvaterra. “It will be a provincial decision. We’re not going back to the regional (colour-coded) framework.”
“I’ve been watching those (provincial) numbers every night. They’re still above 1,000 (new cases daily). We need to see those go down below 1,000 and stay there. That’s what we’ll need to see before the Premier feels confident taking us into the next step of reopening.”
Also commenting during Friday’s briefing were Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef, and Peterborough board of health chair and Selwyn mayor Andy Mitchell.
Katie Richardson of Bethany receives a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the drive-through vaccination clinic at the Lindsay Exhibition on May 28, 2021, the 25,000th dose administered at the clinic since it opened in March. Lorah Otter, a registered practical nurse at Ross Memorial Hospital, administered the vaccine to Richardson and her fiancé. (Photo courtesy of Ross Memorial Hospital)
Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay has administered the 25,000th dose of COVID-19 vaccine at its drive-through clinic at the Lindsay Exhibition.
Katie Richardson of Bethany received the 25,000th dose on Friday morning (May 28). The 29-year-old Richardson and her 29-year-old fiancé Alex Gambino were given the vaccine by Lorah Otter, a registered practical nurse at Ross Memorial Hospital.
“As soon as I could get the vaccine, I wanted to get it,” Richardson said after receiving her vaccine. “I had the day off work and am eligible, so I decided to come. It was a really good experience, really efficient. I feel good.”
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The 25,000 doses delivered at the hospital’s clinic — all of which have been the Pfizer vaccine — represent more than a third of all vaccine doses administered in the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s region, which includes Northumberland County, Haliburton County, and the City of Kawartha Lakes.
A total of 74,661 doses have vaccine have been administered to date in Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton. In Kawartha Lakes, almost 54 per cent of residents 12 years and older have received at least one dose of vaccine.
Ross Memorial Hospital’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic is supported by the local health unit, the City of Kawartha Lakes, Kawartha Lakes Paramedic Services, and the Lindsay Exhibition where the clinic has been operating Monday to Friday since March 18. The clinic operates as a drive-through model, with people remaining in their vehicles for the duration of their appointment.
The staff at Ross Memorial Hospital’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Lindsay Exhibition celebrates the 25,000th dose administered at the clinic on May 28, 2021. (Photo courtesy of Ross Memorial Hospital)
“Our mission from the outset was to organize and operate the clinic so that it runs efficiently, effectively, and above else, safely for everyone who attends,” says Ross Memorial’s vaccination clinic manager Jennifer Burns-West.
“A big thank you is in order for the support of our clinic partners and to our on-site Ross Memorial staff as this has truly been an all-hands-on-deck operation. I am very proud of how our efforts have been received by the community.”
There's been no through traffic on Parkhill Road East in Peterborough since October 2020, when Parks Canada began a project to replace the Warsaw Swing Bridge. Originally expected to reopen in the spring before the opening of navigation on the Trent-Severn Waterway, the bridge is now scheduled to reopen by early July. (Photo: Jeannine Taylor / kawarthaNOW.com)
Parks Canada has announced the reopenings of both the Warsaw Road Swing Bridge in Peterborough and the Bobcaygeon Swing Bridge for vehicle and pedestrian use have been delayed until July.
Boater navigation is unaffected by the delays.
The Warsaw Road Swing Bridge, located on Parkhill Road East, is expected to reopen to vehicles and pedestrians in early July. In the interim, local traffic continues to be detoured along alternate routes.
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Over the winter months, the steel swing bridge structure was completely replaced, with repairs to concrete abutments and replacement of mechanical and electrical operating systems also completed.
The bridge is also now capable of handling full highway loading. During early July, the contractor will conduct five days of testing of the bridge with a live load. If testing is successful, the bridge will open for vehicle and pedestrian use. Otherwise, the bridge will remain closed until additional hydraulic or mechanical adjustments can be completed..
After the bridge is reopened, some work will continue, including installation of signage and paving. This work may require single-lane closures or short delays without notice. Landscaping will take place in the fall.
The Bobcaygeon Swing Bridge, located on Main Street at Canal Street, will reopen by the end of July for vehicle use. A temporary measure will be installed to complete bridge swings, which will operate slower than normal and may result in delays.
For pedestrians, access will be provided across the lock gates. A temporary pedestrian bridge has been removed. An enhanced crossing including wheelchair access ramps will be available in mid-June.
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Areas on the lock station grounds currently gated due to construction will remain so until construction is completed. Safe access to the lower north island mooring area will be provided (follow the onsite signage).
The bridge’s steel superstructure and concrete foundations have been rehabilitated, with mechanical and electrical operating systems replaced. The steel deck is being replaced with a new wooden deck in keeping with the original heritage structure.
The project was not completed in May as originally scheduled because of delays with the fabrication and delivery of hydraulic and mechanical components. As well, some components of the bridge were in worse condition than originally anticipated.
People leave the Evinrude Centre in Peterborough on May 26, 2021, after receiving their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Under the province's accelerated schedule for second doses, they will be eligible to receive their second dose during the first week of August. (Photo: Bruce Head / kawarthaNOW)
The Ontario government “is ready to deliver a two-dose summer” by offering everyone in the province their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine by the end of August — as long as the expected vaccine supply holds up.
With 65 per cent of Ontario’s adult population having now received their first vaccine dose, the province is shortening the interval between first and second doses from 16 weeks to as little as four weeks.
“We’re now in a position to accelerate second doses in Ontario,” Premier Doug Ford said during a media conference at Queen’s Park on Friday (May 28). “This is great news, and I know many of you have been waiting for it.”
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“The faster we can deliver vaccines, the faster we can put this pandemic behind us for good,” Ford said. “We see what’s happening in other places, where people have been fully vaccinated. The good news is, that can be us. Based on what we know about upcoming shipments, everyone in Ontario who wants a vaccine could be fully vaccinated by the end of August … Ontario is ready to deliver a two-dose summer.
Beginning next week (May 31), people 80 years and older in Ontario will become eligible for their second dose of vaccine, followed by people ages 70 to 79 during the week of June 14.
Starting at the end of June, everyone over the age of 25 will become eligible for their second dose based on the date of their first dose.
People who received their first dose between March 8 and April 18 will become eligible the week of June 28. Those who received their first dose between April 19 and May 9 become eligible the week of July 19, those who received their first dose between May 10 and 30 become eligible the week of August 2, and those who received their first dose on May 31 and after become eligible the week of August 9.
For those under 25, including children and youth ages 12 to 17, they will become eligible for their second dose the week of August 9.
During a technical media briefing the morning of May 28, 2021, provincial officials released this schedule for second doses of COVID-19 vaccines. (Graphic: Ontario government)
The interval between first and second doses could be as little as four weeks, depending on the local availability of appointments and vaccine supply.
People who have already received their first dose and have a second appointment booked are not required to reschedule their second appointment unless they choose to do so.
The government is encouraging people to receive their second dose at the same location where they received their first dose, such as a mass vaccination clinic or a pharmacy. However, Ontarians will have the option to reschedule their second appointment at a different location if they choose to do so.
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Second dose appointments can be scheduled through the provincial booking system or at pharmacies offering COVID-19 vaccines. People who received their first dose at a hospital clinic should contact their public health unit for booking details. People who received their first dose through a primary care provider or a pharmacy should contact them for booking details.
For people waiting for their second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, they will be eligible for the second dose within 12 weeks of their first dose. People who received their first dose of AstraZeneca between March 10 and 19 were offered the opportunity to book their second dose during the week of May 24.
Those who received a first dose of AstraZeneca may become eligible for a second dose of Pfizer or Moderna, depending on pending guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.
The Ontario government also confirmed the provincial declaration of emergency and stay-at-home order will expire on Wednesday, June 2nd. The province’s “emergency brake” will remain in effect, with public health measures and restrictions still in place, until the province is ready to enter step one of its reopening plan, expected to begin Monday, June 14th.
At a media conference at Queen’s Park on May 28, 2021, Ontario premier Doug Ford announced the province is accelerating administration of second doses of COVID-19 vaccine during the summer. (CPAC screenshot)
During Friday’s media conference, Premier Ford also addressed the issue of the reopening of schools, saying he is seeking more opinions before making a decision.
On Thursday (May 27), Ford sent a letter to pediatric and medical experts, local medical officers of health, and teachers’ unions and associations — 55 in all — asking them to respond to seven detailed questions on whether it is safe to reopen schools before the end of the academic year. Ford asked for their responses by 5 p.m. the following day.
“We have to ensure any decision is based on sound scientific and medical advice that protects students and staff in schools,” Ford said during the media conference. “I look forward to hearing back from our experts and using their input to make the decision that best protects our students and school staff.”
Asked by a reporter to respond to critics who have said “you’re looking for someone else to blame if reopening of schools goes south”, Ford said he will take responsibility for the consequences of his decision, but he remains concerned by projections by the province’s top science experts that reopening schools could result in thousands of additional cases.
“I want to make sure, looking forward, that we’re able to get the kids in camp,” Ford said. “I want to look forward to make sure we have a great September for the kids to go back into school. This could affect our opening as well … I’m going to be super cautious.”
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