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.”
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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.
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.
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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.
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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).
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)
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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 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 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)
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.
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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)
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.
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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)
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.
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.
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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)
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.”
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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.
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.
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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.
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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).
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)
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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 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 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)
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.
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.
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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.
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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).
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)
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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 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 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)
Peterborough actor Beau Dixon will perform Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour's critically acclaimed "White Rabbit Red Rabbit" live from Market Hall Performing Arts Centre at 8 p.m. on March 13, 2021. Presented by Public Energy with support from 4th Line Theatre, the performance is part of the global 'Let There Be Theatre' project, marking the one-year anniversary of theatres going dark because of the pandemic. (Publicity photo)
It was Friday the 13th last year when most theatres around the world went dark.
It’s hard to believe it’s been a year. It’s even harder to believe that most theatres, worldwide, have remained dark since that fateful Friday in our year of the virus.
To mark the anniversary of theatres going dark, Aurora Nova Productions — a Berlin-based international theatre-booking agency — issued a global call to action in January to “let there be theatre”, inviting theatre companies and venues all over the world to produce Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour’s White Rabbit Red Rabbit free of charge on March 13, 2021.
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In Peterborough-Nogojiwanong, Public Energy’s Bill Kimball, with support from 4th Line Theatre in Millbrook, answered that call.
On Saturday, March 13th, Public Energy and Market Hall Performing Arts Centre will join companies and venues both big and small and on every continent to present the critically acclaimed White Rabbit Red Rabbit, one of the most widely performed plays in the world. The production will be staged at 8 p.m. in every time zone around the world, resulting in a massive 24-hour global theatrical event.
The “Let There Be Theatre” project is a truly profound way to mark such an historical milestone — it is, in itself, history in the making.
The concept speaks to the impossible circumstances from which it was born. It boldly represents an act of hope, of resiliency, of art in spite of all — daring to remind us there does exist an “after”, filled with the powers and possibilities of performance, just waiting to be actualized.
Public Energy with support from 4th Line Theatre presents Beau Dixon in the critically acclaimed play “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” by Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour on March 13, 2021 — one year after the pandemic forced all theatrical venues to close. (Graphic: Public Energy)
The concept is made even more poignant by the script that has been selected for the “Let There Be Theatre” project. In 2011, Soleimanpour was unable to get a passport because he had refused to do military service. Unable to leave his homeland, but eager to have his work performed before international audiences, he wrote a play that could travel on his behalf — he wrote himself to freedom.
What makes Soleimanpour’s White Rabbit Red Rabbit so unique is that it is performed as a cold read — without the need of a director, set, or rehearsals. Rather, the script requires only a brave performer willing to read it in front of a live audience, without having read it before or knowing anything about it.
For the “Let There Be Theatre” project, Soleimanpour is making his play available free of charge for anyone to perform, allowing local producers to keep any box office revenues as a way to help local actors and theatres.
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Joining the ranks of brave artists around the world performing the play is the imitable Beau Dixon, who will represent Peterborough-Nogojiwanong by reading White Rabbit Red Rabbit live from Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough — the first live theatre performance at the Market Hall in a year. The performance will livestreamed to a virtual audience via Zoom.
“I’m looking forward to doing this reading online, because the actors are not able to read the script ahead of time,” says Dixon, “I don’t have anything to say about the script — and I like it that way.”
Dixon will be following in the theatrical footsteps of many famous actors who have cold read the script over the years, including John Hurt, Martin Short, Dominic West, Stephen Rea, Nathan Lane, Whoopi Goldberg, Andrea Martin, Brian Dennehy, George Takei, F. Murray Abraham, and more.
VIDEO: “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” trailer
“I find the spontaneity exciting and frightening,” Dixon says of the cold read. “Those are two elements that make for great theatre. Cumulating those two things — fear and excitement — creates an intimate connection with the audience. That’s what makes theatre so magical.”
“Beau has agreed to really push his acting skills to the limit by performing a play without ever reading it in advance,” adds Kimball, Public Energy’s executive director. “We had planned for this to be shown to a limited-size live audience at the Market Hall. But now, due to the local spike in COVID variant cases, it will be presented online only.”
“That said,” Kimball continues, “Beau will still be performing the show from the Market Hall stage, so we have partially accomplished our goal of presenting the first live show at Market Hall in a year — just like the producers of White Rabbit Red Rabbit intended when they put out the call to ‘let there be theatre’.”
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While there will be no live audience inside the Market Hall, Dixon’s performance of White Rabbit Red Rabbit is the first on the Market Hall stage since the pandemic wrenched all programming to a halt last year.
“It’s very exciting to see the lights being turned on and building being used,” says Chad Hogan, Market Hall’s general manager.
“The space is more than just a room to me,” he adds. “Having artists on stage, that’s why we exist. Being able to do something like this — drawing attention to the fact that the Market Hall stage has been dark for a year — it’s extremely exciting and emotional, really. Hats off to Public Energy for putting it together.”
Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour is making his play “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” available free of charge to theatres everywhere for one day on March 13, 2021 as a way to celebrate the resiliency of live theatre and show that creativity can overcome adversity. Local producers keep any box office revenues as a way to help local actors and theatres. (Publicity photo)
As part of the “Let There Be Theatre” project, but unique to Peterborough-Nogojiwanong, is Public Energy’s online presentation of Alone, with you, a world premiere of devised digital theatre created by Ashley Frederick and Noah Sisson. The innovative piece of digital theatre premiered Saturday, March 6th on Public Energy’s website, free of charge for audiences.
“It’s a terrific piece of work, not only in terms of showcasing these gifted artists, which is does, but also as a brave exploration of the possibilities for creating online from a devised theatre perspective,” says local artist Kate Story, who operated as an outside advisor for the performance.
“I’m in great admiration of the artists,” Kimball adds. “They have created a new work collaboratively, but entirely in separate cities, using online communication. And working with a stage manager, Eryn Lidster, in a third city.”
Public Energy is also presenting “Alone, with you”, devised digital theatre created by Ashley Frederick and Noah Sisson, which premiered on March 6, 2021. (Graphic: Public Energy)
Public Energy presents online audiences with a unique opportunity to participate in an historic global movement, marking a day that will live in infamy: the day our beloved theatres went dark.
In the spirit of resiliency, by turning the lights back on, if only for a moment, each of us can celebrate a glimmer of hope while we also lament.
Beau Dixon’s reading of White Rabbit Red Rabbit will be livestreamed from the Market Hall stage at 8 p.m. on Saturday, March 13th. The performance will not be available for later viewing, so get your tickets at publicenergy.ca/performance/white-rabbit-red-rabbit/. Tickets are free or pay what you can.
The Avant-Garden Shop owner Brenda Ibey says the high demand for birdseed and backyard birding supplies, along with puzzles, has helped her downtown Peterborough business push through the pandemic, despite the decrease of in-person shoppers who would normally browse through her home and garden shop for decor and gift items. (Photo: Clayton Ibey)
This story is one of an ongoing series by kawarthaNOW in support of locally owned businesses.
Everybody knows locally owned small businesses have taken a massive hit because of the pandemic. They’ve had to pivot to adjust to lockdowns and safety measures, while struggling to stay afloat with fewer walk-in customers and less revenue.
But some businesses have seen some unexpected benefits too, as people have adjusted their lifestyles during the pandemic to include more solitary pursuits that can be enjoyed from home.
In the case of The Avant-Garden Shop, located on Sherbrooke Street in downtown Peterborough, that includes an activity that has seen a huge surge of popularity during the pandemic — birdwatching.
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“COVID-19 is not something I ever would have thought to put in our business plan, but we’ve been pandemic-proof and recession-proof,” says owner Brenda Ibey, who is celebrating 18 years in business this year. “It shows that people, when they have to hunker down, like to enjoy their gardens, slow down, and enjoy the birds and the flowers.”
The Avant Garden Shop sells a variety of garden decor and gardening accessories, in addition to gift items such as greeting cards, fragrances, bath products, and jewellery. But the shop’s biggest sellers during the pandemic have been backyard birding supplies, including birdseed.
When the pandemic initially hit, Ibey says she was grateful to already have an operable website for online purchasing.
Birdwatching has surged in popularity during the pandemic, keeping Avant-Garden Shop owner Brenda Ibey busy filling orders for birdseed and backyard birding supplies including feeders. (Photo courtesy of The Avant-Garden Shop)
“We were able to quickly add the birdseed to it,” Ibey recalls. “That’s what we’ve been selling most. People couldn’t get into their usual spots, and they started coming to us instead because we could get them what they needed within an hour.”
According to Ibey, since the pandemic’s onset, The Avant-Garden Shop has been incredibly busy working to fill the demand for birdseed and feeders. The shop was recently awarded the 2021 Wild Bird Store of the Year by Newmarket-based Wild Bird Trading, the leading supplier to the wild bird industry across Canada for the past 28 years.
“They deliver to me every week, and there were some points during the shutdown where I was selling so much they came with two trucks,” Ibey says. “People are spending so much time watching the birds. It’s good for their mental health to be able to see these beautiful creatures of nature and not have to look at the news all the time.”
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Seeing how birdwatching can help lift spirits prompted Ibey’s involvement in an initiative last fall to install bird feeders at Hospice Peterborough, an organization that supports individuals and families at the end of life, facing a life-threatening illness, or grieving.
Typically, The Avant Garden Shop gives back to the community each year by donating items like door prizes to dozens of charities. With the relative scarcity of charity events and fundraisers during the pandemic, Ibey was open to other opportunities to support her community.
According to Ibey, the Peterborough Field Naturalists contacted her to ask if she was interested in participating in the initiative.
Clayton and Brenda Ibey of The Avant-Garden Shop with King Baker and and Martin Parker of the Peterborough Field Naturalists after installing bird feeders installed at Hospice Peterborough in fall 2020. (Photo courtesy of Hospice Peterborough)
“I thought it was a great idea,” Ibey explains. “They paid part of it, and I paid part of it, and we went and set it up together.”
“It’s a hard thing to be in that situation, and if there’s anything possible to make it more enjoyable for a person, or relive their stress, or distract them for a few minutes — that’s what watching the birds may do. It’s better than watching television all the time.”
Puzzles are another popular pandemic pastime, and The Avant Garden Shop carries four different lines of high-quality puzzles. Ibey says their puzzles, like birdseed and feeders, have sold well throughout the lockdowns.
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Despite the popularity of birding and puzzles, Ibey has experienced other challenges during the pandemic — especially when the shop was limited to curbside pickup and delivery. Many of the other products in the shop sell when people are able to come into the store and browse.
“All of the products that we carry in the store are high quality,” Ibey notes. “A lot of what we carry — wall art and gift items — is Canadian made. The problem is people couldn’t come in to look at those things during a shutdown, and those are products people typically like to see.”
Now that the shop has reopened for in-person shopping under the province’s colour-coded framework, Ibey is hoping this may change.
Prior to the pandemic, many shoppers would crowd the aisles of The Avant-Garden Shop browsing for unique decor and gift items. The store is open again for browsing, but limited to a maximum of six customers at a time with one-way aisles. (Photo: Paula Kehoe / kawarthaNOW.com)
“We did have to rearrange things a bit,” Ibey explains. “We’ve created one-way traffic with good signage directing customers to turn to the right and sanitize upon entry.”
There is currently a limit of six customers permitted at a time in the Sherbrooke street shop. Brenda and her one employee are always masked, and there is a plexiglass shield at the checkout counter.
“People are also now more aware of what they need to be doing — that they need to try to follow one-way traffic and keep their distance,” Ibey adds.
The popularity of puzzles during the pandemic has also helped The Avant-Garden Shop offset slower sales of other items in the store. (Photo courtesy of The Avant-Garden Shop)
Throughout the lockdown, The Avant-Garden Shop remained open for curbside pickup and delivery. Even though the store has reopened for in-person shopping, these are both still options for customers.
You can order products online at www.avantgardenshop.com or by calling the store at 705-743-0068.
The store can deliver out-of-town orders using Canada Post. Brenda’s husband Clayton delivers in-town orders himself, one day a week. To request a curbside pickup, you can call the store, and staff will bring your order out to your vehicle.
The doors to The Avant-Garden Shop in downtown Peterborough are open again for in-person shoppers, with COVID-19 health and safety protocols in place. You can also order online for shipping, curbside pickup, or delivery. (Photo courtesy of The Avant-Garden Shop)
Ibey prefers if customers can pay using cash, e-transfer, or debit, since credit card fees add up.
“When people phone in and ask to put it on their credit card, I have to put their numbers into my machine manually, and that costs me more money than a card inserted into the machine,” Ibey explains. “Debit cards are better. Cash or e-transfer is the best.”
Ibey offers customers who pay with cash five per cent back in coupons she calls “bonus bucks”. The coupons are redeemable credit for later use in the store.
“I would rather give you the bonus bucks than give it to the credit-card companies,” Ibey points out.
The Avant-Garden Shop owner Brenda Ibey with 2021 Wild Bird Store of the Year Award from Newmarket-based Wild Bird Trading, the leading supplier to the wild bird industry across Canada. During some period during lockdown, trucks of birdseed were literally being delivered to Ibey’s store. (Photo courtesy of The Avant-Garden Shop)
As for why it is vital to support local businesses like The Avant Garden Shop, Ibey says keeping small businesses like hers afloat means they can continue to give back to the community.
“If we don’t support each other, if we don’t keep our money in the community, it’s going away, and it’s not going to come back. Our town would be so boring if there were no little stores to shop and look around in.”
“My customers have been fantastic,” she adds. “Please continue to come in, and also to support the other businesses and artists in our community. Continue to stay loyal so that we’re all here when this is over.”
The Avant-Garden Shop is located at 165 Sherbrooke Street in downtown Peterborough. They are currently open for in-store shopping Mondays to Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. They are closed on Sundays.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
After three days of daily cases under 1,000, today Ontario is reporting a spike of 1,250 new cases, with the seven-day average of daily cases decreasing by 1 to 1,063.
Ontario is also reporting a spike of 155 new cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant, for a total of 799, but is reporting no increase in other variants of concern.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 12 new cases to report and an additional 6 cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region increasing by 8 to 126.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (337), Peel (167), and York (129).
There are double-digit increases in Hamilton (74), Thunder Bay (71), Ottawa (63), Durham (55), Halton (47), Waterloo (47), Simcoe Muskoka (35), Middlesex-London (26), Niagara (26), Lambton (23), Windsor-Essex (23), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (21), Sudbury (18), Peterborough (15), Eastern Ontario (11), and Haldimand-Norfolk (10), with smaller increases in Southwestern (9), Brant (9), Northwestern (8), and Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (7).
The remaining 11 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with only 1 health unit (North Bay Parry Sound) reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s new cases, 55% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (465) among people ages 20-39 followed by 364 cases among people ages 40-59.
With 1,159 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases remains unchanged at 94.3%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 0.2% from yesterday to 2.3%, meaning that 23 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on March 4.
Ontario is reporting 22 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 2 new deaths in a long-term care homes. Ontario has averaged 15 new daily deaths over the past week (no change from yesterday).
Hospitalizations have decreased by 6 from yesterday to 643, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs decreasing by 1 from yesterday to 280, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators remaining unchanged at 183.
A total of 64,748 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 8,686 to 34,037.
A total of 820,714 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 35,886 from yesterday, with 269,063 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 945 from yesterday, representing 1.83% of Ontario’s population.
There are 96 new cases in Ontario schools, a decrease of 5 from yesterday, including 82 student cases, 13 staff cases, and 1 case among an unidentified person. There are 24 new cases in licensed child care settings in Ontario, an increase of 2 from yesterday, with 16 cases among children and 8 cases among staff.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 12 new cases to report, including 9 in Peterborough and 3 in Northumberland. There are no new cases in Hastings Prince Edward, Kawartha Lakes, or Haliburton.
There are now 51 presumed cases of variants of concern in Peterborough. An outbreak was declared at Regency retirement home in Lakefield on March 5.
There are 2 new hospitalizations in Northumberland and 1 in Haliburton.
An additional 6 cases have been resolved, including 3 in Peterborough and 3 in Hastings Prince Edward.
There are currently 126 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 8 from yesterday, including 82 in Peterborough, 18 in Hastings Prince Edward (14 in Belleville, 2 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 1 in Prince Edward County, and 1 in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory), 13 in Kawartha Lakes, and 13 in Northumberland. There are no active cases in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 700 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (609 resolved with 9 deaths), 544 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (489 resolved with 55 deaths), 447 in Northumberland County (423 resolved with 11 deaths), 51 in Haliburton County (50 resolved with 1 death), and 425 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (401 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).
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: 700 (increase of 9) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 1 (no change) Presumed variants of concern cases: 51 (increase of 8) Active cases: 82 (increase of 7) Close contacts: 258 (increase of 6) Deaths: 9 (no change) Resolved: 609 (increase of 3) Hospitalizations (total to date): 25 (no change)* Total tests completed: Over 44,000 (increase of 150) Outbreaks: Empress Gardens retirement home, Severn Court Student Residence, Trent Champlain College residence, Regency retirement home in Lakefield (increase of 1)** Vaccine doses administered: 5,927 (increase of 4,791)
*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).
**An outbreak was declared at Regency retirement home in Lakefield on March 5.
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: 1,042, including 544 in Kawartha Lakes, 447 in Northumberland, and 51 in Haliburton (increase of 3 in Northumberland)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 14, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes and 12 in Northumberland (no change)** Active cases: 26, including 13 in Kawartha Lakes and 13 in Northumberland (increase of 5, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes and 3 in Northumberland) Probable cases: 0 (no change) High-risk contacts: 93, including 38 in Kawartha Lakes, 50 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (net increase of 2)*** Hospitalizations (total to date): 47, including 27 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (increase of 3, including 2 in Northumberland and 1 in Haliburton)**** Deaths (including among probable cases): 67, including 55 in Kawartha Lakes, 11 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change) Resolved: 962, including 489 in Kawartha Lakes, 423 in Northumberland, 50 in Haliburton (no change) Tests completed: 147,092 (increase of 828) Outbreaks: Regency long-term care home in Port Hope (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 5, 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: 425 (no change) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 4 Active cases: 18 (decrease of 3) 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: 401 (increase of 3) Tests completed: 66,299 (increase of 3) Vaccines administered: 4,783 (increase of 660) Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Central Hastings, unidentified workplace in Belleville (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 306,007 (increase of 1,250) Total COVID-19 variant cases: 799 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 155); 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: 1,063 (decrease of 1) Resolved: 288,583 (increase of 1,159), 94.3% of all cases Positivity rate: 2.3% (decrease of 0.2%) Hospitalizations: 643 (decrease of 6) Hospitalizations in ICU: 280 (decrease of 1) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 183 (no change) Deaths: 7,046 (increase of 22) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 15 (no change) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,873 (increase of 2) Total tests completed: 11,293,939 (increase of 64,748) Tests under investigation: 34,037 (decrease of 8,686) Vaccination doses administered: 820,714 (increase of 35,886) People fully vaccinated (two doses): 269,063 (increase of 945), 1.83% of Ontario’s population (est. 70-90% required for herd immunity)
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from February 2 – March 4, 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 2 – March 4, 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 2 – March 4, 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 2 – March 4, 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 2 – March 4, 2021. The red line is the cumulative number of daily doses administered, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of daily doses. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
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