For her project "Inspire: The Women's Portrait Project", Peterborough photographer Heather Doughty has taken almost 400 photos of inspiring women, including Ilana Overink of the Selwyn Fire Department. For her latest project "She Inspires Me", Doughty is encouraging people to submit their own photos and stories of inspirational women, including young girls, female-identifying, and non-binary individuals. (Photo: Heather Doughty)
When Peterborough photographer Heather Doughty first launched ‘Inspire: The Women’s Portrait Project’ in 2017, she wanted to create a project that celebrated remarkable women by sharing their portraits and stories.
Four years and over 368 women later, Doughty’s latest initiative ‘She Inspires Me’ invites everyone to pick up a camera to take and submit photos and stories of the remarkable women, young girls, female-identifying, and non-binary individuals in their lives.
“You take photos of women who inspire you and submit them along with a 300-word blurb,” Doughty explains. “All of the photos will live on the web page, but we’re going to curate six that best embody the spirit of what Inspire is.”
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A panel of judges will be looking for a good quality photograph and a well-written accompanying bio under 300 words. Doughty says they are looking for stories that underline what’s in the image — women who inspire, support, uplift, and empower others.
You do not need to be a professional photographer or have an expensive camera to enter.
“Everybody is a photographer because your cell phone has a camera,” says Doughty. “The Inspire mandate is to celebrate the remarkable in the regular and to uplift and inspire. We’re going to be looking for nominees who represent that.”
Peterborough photographer Heather Doughty launched “Inspire: The Women’s Portrait Project” in 2017 to celebrate remarkable women by taking their photos and sharing their stories. Her latest project, “She Inspires Me”, invites members of the public to do the same. (Photo: Heather Doughty)
The six winning portraits will be shared on the Inspire Facebook and Instagram channels, become the cover pages for the Inspire website, and may be printed and hung for a period of time at the Venture North building in downtown Peterborough. Written bios will be shared with the public alongside the photographs.
Submissions are now being accepted for ‘She Inspires Me’, which launched on International Women’s Day, through a simple online form at inspirethewomensportraitproject.com/contest/she-inspires-me/. Submissions close on Thursday, April 22nd (the deadline was originally Thursday, April 8th).
‘She Inspires Me’ is a sub-project with the same mission as its umbrella project ‘Inspire: The Women’s Portrait Project’. Inspire began with Doughty’s idea to celebrate some of the remarkable women in the Peterborough area by taking and curating their portraits and sharing their stories.
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“It came from a conversation that I had with some friends about women’s self-perception and how we never accept or are happy with the way we look, and how we never own the amazing things that we do,” Doughty recalls. “Most of us are the best cheering section for our friends, but we get awkward when it comes to accepting ourselves.”
“I went to a select group of women and said ‘You inspire me. I would like to take your photo and share your story, and then I would like you to nominate two women who inspire you.'”
The project took off through the nomination process and grew organically into a large inspirational movement that reaches beyond the Peterborough region. Doughty has now taken portraits and shared the stories of 368 incredible women — with this number consistently growing as nominations continue to roll in.
Not long after launching “Inspire: The Women’s Portrait Project”, Peterborough photographer Heather Doughty started a parallel project called “Day of the Girl”, featuring young women like 11-year-old Ammielia Garbutt of the Curve Lake First Nation Girl’s Drumming Group. (Photo: Heather Doughty)
“The project not only shares these women’s stories so that women don’t feel alone, but the women are able to see ‘This is me, and this is the way somebody thinks of me as inspiring,'” explains Doughty. “The photos are what I call candid — they’re not posed. Part of the process is the nominee chooses a location that is meaningful to them.”
Not long after launching ‘Inspire: The Women’s Portrait Project’, Doughty started a parallel project called ‘Day of the Girl’, since she noticed Inspire wasn’t receiving many nominations for young women and girls. This project honours International Day of the Girl, a United Nations day of observance first declared in 2012.
Doughty’s ‘Day of the Girl’ project is similar to her Inspire project, but celebrates girls under 19.
“I decided to create what I first initially thought was a sub-project, which has now actually become a parallel project,” Doughty says. “It’s amazing to share the accomplishments of these incredible young women.”
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According to Doughty, her next goal for growing the Inspire project is to take it further across Canada. However, due to the COVID-19, Doughty cannot yet make this happen safely — hence the idea for ‘She Inspires Me’.
Submissions for Peterborough photographer Heather Doughty’s “She Inspires Me” project close on April 22, 2021. (Photo: Heather Doughty)
“I had really wanted to take this across Canada, but that’s not in the cards for a while,” Doughty notes. “This is why I came up with the idea of handing the camera off to anyone in Canada to take the photo and created ‘She Inspires Me’.”
A positive and uplifting project is needed now more than ever, since the pandemic has been a difficult and dispiriting time for many — with women being disproportionately affected. As women nominate and celebrate one another, the project also builds community when physical distancing and isolation have made it harder to find.
“COVID has been extremely hard on everybody,” Doughty remarks. “It’s even harder on women. This project reminds women of how amazing they are. It’s a positive. It’s a bit of happiness and positivity to share with the rest of the world.”
Doughty asks everyone to support the project by submitting nominations and sharing the web page link.
The women featured in Peterborough photographer Heather Doughty’s “Inspire: The Women’s Portrait Project” are from all walks of life, such as Peterborough musician and actor Kate Suhr. For her latest project “She Inspires Me”, Doughty is encouraging the public to step behind the lends and take photos of the women who inspire them. (Photo: Heather Doughty)
“If you are in an organization, or you have contacts with organizations, please share the web page link about ‘She Inspires’ so that we can spread it across Canada,” Doughty urges. “Or you can reach out to me at my email info@inspirethewomensportraitproject.com. I’m happy to answer questions. We are always looking for volunteers and supporters.”
Charles Parkinson, 26, of Northumberland County has been charged with attempted murder and disarming a peace officer following a traffic stop north of Belleville in Quinte West in Hastings County. (Police-supplied photo)
A 26-year-old Northumberland County man is facing an attempted murder charge following an assault on an OPP officer early Sunday morning (March 21).
Shortly before 1 a.m. on Sunday, an officer with the OPP’s Quinte West Detachment conducted a traffic stop of a pickup truck on Highway 14, just west of Highway 62 in Quinte West in Hastings County.
The pickup truck struck the officer’s cruiser and the officer suffered stab wounds in a subsequent assault. The officer is recovering in hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
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The driver of the pickup truck left the scene on foot. At 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, the OPP issued an alert to warn residents of the Foxboro area north of Belleville of a potentially dangerous situation and to shelter in place while police searched for the suspect.
After an extensive search by the OPP’s Tactics and Rescue Unit, Emergency Response Team, Canine Unit, and Aviation Services, with the assistance of the Durham Regional Police Air Support Unit and the Belleville Police Service, the suspect was arrested without incident at around 9 a.m. on Sunday.
Charles Parkinson, 26, of Northumberland County has been charged with attempted murder and disarming a peace officer.
Parkinson is being held in custody and is scheduled to appear in court by video on Thursday, March 25th.
Anyone with information regarding this incident or the person responsible is asked to contact the Quinte West OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 1,699 new cases today, with the seven-day average of daily cases increasing by 22 to 1,600. The province is also reporting 53 more confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant and 1 new case of the B.1.351 South Africa variant.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 12 new cases to report and an additional 14 cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region decreasing by 2 to 91. See below for detailed numbers from each regional health unit.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (500), Peel (318), York (155), and Hamilton (114).
There are double-digit increases in Ottawa (85), Durham (79), Simcoe Muskoka (64), Halton (57), Lambton (42), Eastern Ontario (39), Sudbury (34), Waterloo (31), Niagara (24), Thunder Bay (16), Windsor-Essex (16), Brant (15), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (14), Northwestern (13), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (13), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (12), Middlesex-London (11), Southwestern (11), and Chatham-Kent (10), with smaller increases in Grey Bruce (8) and Haldimand-Norfolk (6).
The remaining 9 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 2 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 (604) among people ages 20-39 followed by 493 cases among people ages 40-59.
With 1,175 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.2% to 93.3%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 1.7% from yesterday to 5.4%, meaning that 54 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on March 21.
Ontario is reporting only 3 new COVID-19 deaths today, with no new deaths in long-term care homes. Ontario has averaged 12 new daily deaths over the past week, a decrease of 1 from yesterday.
Hospitalizations have increased by 53 from yesterday to 813, but more than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for today’s report, so the actual number of hospitalization may be higher. The number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs decreased by 7 to 298, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators remains the same at 186.
A total of 31,089 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 5,079 to 14,407.
A total of 1,553,040 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 31,335 from yesterday, with 299,297 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 748 from yesterday. The number of fully vaccinated people represents 2.03% of Ontario’s population (no change from yesterday).
There are 140 new cases in Ontario schools, an increase of 8 from March 19, including 120 student cases, 19 staff cases, and 1 case of an unidentified person. There are 29 new cases in licensed child care settings in Ontario, a decrease of 16 from March 19, with 17 cases among children and 12 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 Haliburton, 3 in Northumberland, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward. There are no new cases in Kawartha Lakes.
There are 8 new regional cases of presumed variants of concern, including 5 in Peterborough, 2 in Northumberland, and 1 in Kawartha Lakes.
An outbreak at Empress Gardens retirement home in Peterborough was declared on March 22.
There is 1 new hospitalization in Peterborough.
An additional 14 cases have been resolved, including 5 in Peterborough, 3 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton.
There are currently 91 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 2 from yesterday, including 55 in Peterborough, 10 in Northumberland, 10 in Haliburton, 9 in Kawartha Lakes, and 7 in Hastings Prince Edward (1 in Quinte West, 3 in Belleville, 1 in Prince Edward County, 1 in Central Hastings, and 1 in North Hastings).
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 817 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (752 resolved with 10 deaths), 567 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (516 resolved with 55 deaths), 478 in Northumberland County (456 resolved with 12 deaths), 66 in Haliburton County (55 resolved with 1 death), and 444 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (431 resolved with 6 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on March 16.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 12 p.m. the previous day. Data from local health units is more current and is usually reflected in the provincial data the following day. There may be discrepancies between the Ontario data reported today (which is from yesterday) and the local health unit data reported today (which is from today).
Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 817 (increase of 4) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 1 (no change) Presumed variants of concern cases: 161 (increase of 5) Active cases: 55 (decrease of 1) Close contacts: 200 (decrease of 11) Deaths: 10 (no change) Resolved: 752 (increase of 5) Hospitalizations (total to date): 29 (increase of 1)* Total tests completed: Over 45,650 (increase of 50) Outbreaks: Severn Court Student Residence in Peterborough, Champlain College residence at Trent University in Peterborough, unidentified congregate living facility in Peterborough, Gzowski College student residence at Trent University, Empress Gardens retirement home in Peterborough (increase of 1)** Vaccine doses administered: 13,911 (last updated on March 18)
*As of March 22, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting fewer than 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and 20 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).
**An outbreak at Empress Gardens retirement home in Peterborough was declared on March 22.
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s service area is the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.
The health unit provides reports from Monday to Saturday, excluding Sundays and statutory holidays. These numbers are from March 21 and 22.
Confirmed positive: 1,111, including 567 in Kawartha Lakes, 478 in Northumberland, and 66 in Haliburton (increase of 7, including 4 in Haliburton and 3 in Northumberland)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 41, including 8 in Kawartha Lakes, 32 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (increase of 3, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes and 2 in Northumberland)** Active cases: 29, including 9 in Kawartha Lakes, 10 in Northumberland, and 10 in Haliburton (net decrease of 2) Probable cases: 0 (no change) High-risk contacts: 249, including 34 in Kawartha Lakes, 123 in Northumberland, and 69 in Haliburton (net decrease of 34)*** Hospitalizations (total to date): 49, including 29 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)**** Deaths (including among probable cases): 68, including 55 in Kawartha Lakes, 12 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change) Resolved: 1,027, including 516 in Kawartha Lakes, 456 in Northumberland, 55 in Haliburton (increase of 9, including 3 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton) Tests completed: 157,451 (increase of 434) Vaccine doses administered: 15,788 (increase of 4,799) Number of people fully vaccinated: 2,283 (increase of 25) Outbreaks: Hyland Crest long-term care home in Minden, St. Michael Catholic Elementary School in Cobourg (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 23 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.
****As of March 22, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 2 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (increase of 1).
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: 444 (increase of 1) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 8 (no change) Active cases: 7 (increase of 1) Deaths: 6 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 0 (no change) Resolved: 431 (no change) Tests completed: 78,866 (no change) Vaccine doses administered: 20,022 (increase of 64) Number of people fully vaccinated: 1,893 (no change) Outbreaks: None (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 330,573 (increase of 1,699) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) confirmed cases: 1,340 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 53); 48 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 1); 36 of P.1 Brazilian variant (no change) VOC R(t): 1.25 (decrease of 0.08 as of March 18)* 7-day average of daily new cases: 1,600 (increase of 22) Resolved: 308,578 (increase of 1,175), 93.3% of all cases (decrease of 0.2%) Positivity rate: 5.4% (increase of 1.7%) Hospitalizations: 813 (increase of 53)** Hospitalizations in ICU: 298 (decrease of 7) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 186 (no change) Deaths: 7,244 (increase of 3) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 12 (decrease of 1) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,891 (no change) Total tests completed: 12,113,837 (increase of 31,089) Tests under investigation: 14,407 (decrease of 5,079) Vaccination doses administered: 1,553,040 (increase of 31,335) People fully vaccinated (two doses): 299,297 (increase of 748), 2.03% of Ontario’s population (est. 70-90% required for herd immunity)
*R(t) is a virus’s effective reproduction number, which is the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time (t) in a partially immunized population. To successfully eliminate a disease from a population, R(t) needs to be less than 1.
**More than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for this report, so the actual number of hospitalization may be higher.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from February 19 – March 21, 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 19 – March 21, 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 19 – March 21, 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 19 – March 21, 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 19 – March 21, 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)
Crayola Canada in Lindsay has donated coloured pencils, coloured markers, pencil sharpeners, and crayons to Gamiing Nature Centre as the non-profit outdoor and wildlife education centre restores its recently vandalized 'Discovery Shack' educational portable. (Photo: Gamiing Nature Centre / Facebook)
With the help of the Kawartha Lakes community, Gamiing Nature Centre near Bobcaygeon is continuing to recover from a vandalism incident earlier in March.
The Discovery Shack, a heated portable at the non-profit outdoor and wildlife education centre, suffered an estimated $20,000 worth of damage when educational displays were smashed, as well as furniture and windows and the portable’s propane furnace.
Crayola Canada, headquartered in Lindsay, has donated coloured pencils, coloured markers, pencil sharpeners, and crayons to Gamiing, which is located on the shores of Pigeon Lake south of Bobcaygeon.
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“With enormous gratitude we humbly accept this donation,” Mieke Schipper, volunteer executive director of the centre, writes on social media.
Some of the educational displays in the Discovery Shack that were vandalized include animal furs and skeletons, birds of prey displays, a nature craft station, a nature puppet show theatre, and Parks Canada nature posters.
Volunteers from the community have also donated their time and labour to help Gamiing clean up the vandalized Discovery Shack, while others have stepped up with donations to help replace some of the damaged wildlife exhibits.
John Hulcoop has donated this mounted display of a rainbow trout to Gamiing Nature Centre. (Photo: Gamiing Nature Centre / Facebook)
For example, John Hulcoop has donated a mounted display of a rainbow trout. Support has also come from beyond the Kawartha Lakes, with Bill and Barb Issac — two retired outdoor education teachers from Warkworth — donating a mounted display of a 11 point white-tailed deer buck.
If you’d like to support Gamiing Nature Centre’s restoration of its Discovery Shack, either as a volunteer or by donating materials, you can email info@gamiing.org.
Gamiing Nature Centre receives no government funding and relies entirely on private and corporate donations. For more information about Gamiing Nature Centre, or to become a member or make a monetary donation, visit gamiing.org.
Peterborough Fire Services provides emergency and support services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. (Photo: City of Peterborough)
Peterborough Fire Services rescued a dog on Sunday afternoon (March 21) during a house fire in Peterborough.
At around 4:15 p.m. on Sunday, fire crews responded to a reported fire at a multi-residential home at the corner of Dublin and Water streets.
Upon arrival, firefighters observed heavy smoke and fire coming from the home’s main entrance and extending to the second floor.
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Fire crews were unable to account for the home’s occupants, and conducted a search of the home while quickly bringing the fire under control. It was determined the three occupants were not at home during the fire.
However, firefighters located a dog inside the home, which they rescued and resuscitated.
Fire and heat damage was limited to the first floor entrance and the second floor. The remainder of the property sustained minor smoke and water damage.
The fire had also extended to an adjacent property, whose occupants were evacuated as a precaution. One occupant of a rear unit was removed by fire crews. The adjacent property sustained some heat damage to one side of the dwelling.
Total damage is estimated at $110,000. All three occupants of the home have been temporarily displaced. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
This was the second house fire in Peterborough on Sunday. At around 8:05 a.m., Peterborough Fire Services responded to a kitchen fire at a multi-unit residential building on Sherbrooke Street. One occupant was transported to hospital with minor thermal injuries and subsequently released.
Total damage from that fire is estimated at $7,500. The cause of the fire is believed to be accidental in nature.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 1,791 new cases today, with the seven-day average of daily cases increasing by 6 to 1,538. The province is also reporting 57 more confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant and 1 new case of the P.1 Brazilian variant.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 3 new cases to report and an additional 10 cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region decreasing by 7 to 93. These numbers do not include Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton as that health unit does not issue updates on Sundays.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (495), Peel (350), York (177), and Durham (106).
There are double-digit increases in Ottawa (90), Hamilton (89), Halton (52), Niagara (42), Simcoe Muskoka (40), Middlesex-London (37), Windsor-Essex (36), Sudbury (31), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (31), Lambton (30), Thunder Bay (27), Waterloo (25), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (21), Eastern Ontario (18), Chatham-Kent (14), Southwestern (14), Brant (14), and Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (12), with smaller increases in Peterborough (9), North Bay Parry Sound (8), and Northwestern (7).
The remaining 8 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 3 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 (617) among people ages 20-39 followed by 511 cases among people ages 40-59.
With 1,353 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.1% to 93.5%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 0.1% from yesterday to 3.7%, meaning that 37 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on March 20.
Ontario is reporting 18 new COVID-19 deaths today, with 2 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 decreased by 5 from yesterday to 760, but more than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for today’s report, so the actual number of hospitalization may be higher. The number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs increased by 3 to 305, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators has decreased by 3 to 186.
A total of 49,233 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 8,534 to 19,486.
A total of 1,521,705 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 40,823 from yesterday, with 298,549 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 1,415 from yesterday, representing 2.03% of Ontario’s population.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 3 new cases to report in Peterborough. There are no new cases in Hastings Prince Edward. Updated numbers for Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton are not available as that health unit does not issue reports on Sundays.
There are 12 new cases of presumed variants of concern and 1 new hospitalization in Peterborough.
An additional 10 cases have been resolved, including 8 in Peterborough and 2 in Hastings Prince Edward.
There are currently 93 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 7 from yesterday, including 56 in Peterborough, 12 in Kawartha Lakes, 10 in Northumberland, 9 in Haliburton, and 6 in Hastings Prince Edward (1 in Quinte West, 2 in Belleville, 1 in Prince Edward County, 1 in Central Hastings, and 1 in North Hastings).
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 813 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (747 resolved with 10 deaths), 567 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (513 resolved with 55 deaths), 475 in Northumberland County (453 resolved with 12 deaths), 62 in Haliburton County (52 resolved with 1 death), and 443 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (431 resolved with 6 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on March 16.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 12 p.m. the previous day. Data from local health units is more current and is usually reflected in the provincial data the following day. There may be discrepancies between the Ontario data reported today (which is from yesterday) and the local health unit data reported today (which is from today).
Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 813 (increase of 3) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 1 (no change) Presumed variants of concern cases: 156 (increase of 12) Active cases: 56 (decrease of 5) Close contacts: 211 (decrease of 7) Deaths: 10 (no change) Resolved: 747 (increase of 8) Hospitalizations (total to date): 28 (increase of 1)* Total tests completed: Over 45,600 (increase of 100) Outbreaks: Severn Court Student Residence, Trent Champlain College residence, unidentified congregate living facility in Peterborough, Gzowski College student residence at Trent University (no change) Vaccine doses administered: 13,911 (last updated on March 18)
*As of March 19, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting fewer than 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and 20 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (increase of 1).
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s service area is the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.
The health unit provides reports from Monday to Saturday, excluding Sundays and statutory holidays. These numbers are from March 20.
Confirmed positive: 1,104, including 567 in Kawartha Lakes, 475 in Northumberland, and 62 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Northumberland)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 38, including 7 in Kawartha Lakes, 30 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (increase of 4, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes, 1 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton)** Active cases: 31, including 12 in Kawartha Lakes, 10 in Northumberland, and 9 in Haliburton (decrease of 9, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 7 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Probable cases: 0 (no change) High-risk contacts: 283, including 67 in Kawartha Lakes, 144 in Northumberland, and 67 in Haliburton (net decrease of 72)*** Hospitalizations (total to date): 49, including 29 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)**** Deaths (including among probable cases): 68, including 55 in Kawartha Lakes, 12 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change) Resolved: 1,018, including 513 in Kawartha Lakes, 453 in Northumberland, 52 in Haliburton (increase of 11, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes, 8 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Tests completed: 157,017 (increase of 626) Vaccine doses administered: 10,989 (no change) Number of people fully vaccinated: 2,258 (no change) Outbreaks: Hyland Crest long-term care home in Minden, St. Michael Catholic Elementary School in Cobourg (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 33 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.
****As of March 19, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 1 patient 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: 443 (no change) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 8 (no change) Active cases: 6 (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: 431 (increase of 2) Tests completed: 78,866 (increase of 3,140) Vaccine doses administered: 19,958 (increase of 146) Number of people fully vaccinated: 1,893 (no change) Outbreaks: None (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 328,874 (increase of 1,791) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) confirmed cases: 1,287 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 57); 47 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (no change); 36 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 1) VOC R(t): 1.33 (last updated March 16)* 7-day average of daily new cases: 1,538 (increase of 6) Resolved: 307,403 (increase of 1,353), 93.5% of all cases (decrease of 0.1%) Positivity rate: 3.7% (increase of 0.1%) Hospitalizations: 760 (decrease of 5)** Hospitalizations in ICU: 305 (increase of 3) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 186 (decrease of 3) Deaths: 7,241 (increase of 18) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 13 (increase of 1) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,891 (increase of 2) Total tests completed: 12,082,748 (increase of 49,233) Tests under investigation: 19,486 (decrease of 8,534) Vaccination doses administered: 1,521,705 (increase of 40,823) People fully vaccinated (two doses): 298,549 (increase of 1,415), 2.03% of Ontario’s population (est. 70-90% required for herd immunity)
*R(t) is a virus’s effective reproduction number, which is the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time (t) in a partially immunized population. To successfully eliminate a disease from a population, R(t) needs to be less than 1.
**More than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for this report, so the actual number of hospitalization may be higher.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from February 18 – March 20, 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 18 – March 20, 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 18 – March 20, 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 18 – March 20, 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 18 – March 20, 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)
Highway 7 was closed on Sunday morning (March 21) between County Road 38 and County Road 45 west of Norwood as the result of a serious collision.
At around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, Peterborough County OPP and emergency crews responded to a single-vehicle collision on Highway 7 between the 5th and 6th lines of Asphodel.
Two occupants of the vehicle suffered minor injuries and one occupant suffered serious injuries. All were transported to a local hospital for treatment.
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As of 8 a.m. on Sunday morning, Highway 7 remains closed between County Road 38 (east of the Indian River Reptile and Dinosaur Park) and County Road 45 (west of Norwood) as Peterborough County OPP document the scene.
The cause of the collision remains under investigation.
The Highway 7 closure will remain in place for several hours while police investigate, with detours in place. For updates on road closures, visit @OPP_CR on Twitter.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 1,829 new cases today, with the seven-day average of daily cases increasing by 52 to 1,532. The province is also reporting 55 more confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 5 new cases to report and an additional 15 cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region decreasing by 10 to 100.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (593), Peel (287), York (157), Hamilton (124), and Ottawa (101).
There are double-digit increases in Durham (77), Simcoe Muskoka (50), Sudbury (43), Niagara (42), Lambton (41), Halton (40), Thunder Bay (32), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (32), Windsor-Essex (29), Eastern Ontario (27), Middlesex-London (24), Chatham-Kent (23), Waterloo (18), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (12), Northwestern (11), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (11), and Peterborough (10), with smaller increases in Southwestern (9), Brant (9), and Haldimand-Norfolk (8).
The remaining 9 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with only 1 health unit reporting no new cases at all.
Of today’s new cases, 59% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (695) among people ages 20-39 followed by 493 cases among people ages 40-59.
With 1,261 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.1% to 93.6%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 0.3% from yesterday to 3.6%, meaning that 36 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on March 19.
Ontario is reporting 11 new COVID-19 deaths today, with 1 new death in a long-term care home. Ontario has averaged 12 new daily deaths over the past week (no change from yesterday).
Hospitalizations have increased by 6 from yesterday to 765, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs decreasing by 7 to 302, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators increasing by 13 to 189.
With 56,134 tests completed yesterday, Ontario has now administered more than 12 million tests since the pandemic began. The backlog of tests under investigation has decreased by 1,525 to 28,020.
A total of 1,480,882 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 60,283 from yesterday, with 297,134 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 2,385 from yesterday, representing 2.02% of Ontario’s population.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 5 new cases to report, including 3 in Peterborough, 1 in Northumberland, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward. There are no new cases in Kawartha Lakes or Haliburton.
There are 4 new regional cases of presumed variants of concern, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes, 1 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton.
An additional 15 cases have been resolved, including 8 in Northumberland, 3 in Peterborough, 2 in Kawartha Lakes, 1 in Haliburton, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward.
There are currently 100 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 10 from yesterday, including 61 in Peterborough, 12 in Kawartha Lakes, 10 in Northumberland, 9 in Haliburton, and 8 in Hastings Prince Edward (3 in Quinte West, 2 in Belleville, 1 in Prince Edward County, 1 in Central Hastings, and 1 in North Hastings).
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 810 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (739 resolved with 10 deaths), 567 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (513 resolved with 55 deaths), 475 in Northumberland County (453 resolved with 12 deaths), 62 in Haliburton County (52 resolved with 1 death), and 443 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (429 resolved with 6 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on March 16.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 12 p.m. the previous day. Data from local health units is more current and is usually reflected in the provincial data the following day. There may be discrepancies between the Ontario data reported today (which is from yesterday) and the local health unit data reported today (which is from today).
Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 810 (increase of 1)* Confirmed variants of concern cases: 1 (no change) Presumed variants of concern cases: 144 (no change) Active cases: 61 (decrease of 2) Close contacts: 218 (increase of 80) Deaths: 10 (no change) Resolved: 739 (increase of 3) Hospitalizations (total to date): 27 (no change)** Total tests completed: Over 45,500 (increase of 50) Outbreaks: Severn Court Student Residence, Trent Champlain College residence, unidentified congregate living facility in Peterborough, Gzowski College student residence at Trent University (no change) Vaccine doses administered: 13,911 (increase of 3,591 as of March 18)
*The health unit is reporting 3 new cases in the last 24 hours. However, 2 cases have been removed from previous days, resulting in a net increase of 1 to the total case count.
**As of March 19, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting fewer than 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (no change) and 20 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (increase of 1).
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: 1,104, including 567 in Kawartha Lakes, 475 in Northumberland, and 62 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Northumberland)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 38, including 7 in Kawartha Lakes, 30 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (increase of 4, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes, 1 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton)** Active cases: 31, including 12 in Kawartha Lakes, 10 in Northumberland, and 9 in Haliburton (decrease of 9, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 7 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Probable cases: 0 (no change) High-risk contacts: 283, including 67 in Kawartha Lakes, 144 in Northumberland, and 67 in Haliburton (net decrease of 72)*** Hospitalizations (total to date): 49, including 29 in Kawartha Lakes, 17 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (no change)**** Deaths (including among probable cases): 68, including 55 in Kawartha Lakes, 12 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change) Resolved: 1,018, including 513 in Kawartha Lakes, 453 in Northumberland, 52 in Haliburton (increase of 11, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes, 8 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Tests completed: 157,017 (increase of 626) Vaccine doses administered: 10,989 (no change) Number of people fully vaccinated: 2,258 (no change) Outbreaks: Hyland Crest long-term care home in Minden, St. Michael Catholic Elementary School in Cobourg (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 33 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.
****As of March 19, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 1 patient 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: 443 (increase of 1) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 8 (no change) Active cases: 8 (increase of 1) Deaths: 6 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 0 (no change) Resolved: 429 (no change) Tests completed: 75,726 (no change) Vaccine doses administered: 19,812 (increase of 1,957) Number of people fully vaccinated: 1,893 (increase of 23) Outbreaks: None (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 327,083 (increase of 1,829) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) confirmed cases: 1,230 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 55); 47 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (decrease of 1); 35 of P.1 Brazilian variant (no change) VOC R(t): 1.33 (decrease of 0.01 as of March 16)* 7-day average of daily new cases: 1,532 (increase of 52) Resolved: 306,050 (increase of 1,261), 93.6% of all cases (decrease of 0.1%) Positivity rate: 3.6% (increase of 0.3%) Hospitalizations: 765 (increase of 6) Hospitalizations in ICU: 302 (decrease of 7) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 189 (increase of 13) Deaths: 7,223 (increase of 11) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 12 (no change) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,889 (increase of 1) Total tests completed: 12,033,515 (increase of 52,083) Tests under investigation: 28,020 (decrease of 1,525) Vaccination doses administered: 1,480,882 (increase of 60,283) People fully vaccinated (two doses): 297,134 (increase of 2,385), 2.02% of Ontario’s population (est. 70-90% required for herd immunity)
*R(t) is a virus’s effective reproduction number, which is the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time (t) in a partially immunized population. To successfully eliminate a disease from a population, R(t) needs to be less than 1.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from February 17 – March 19, 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 17 – March 19, 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 17 – March 19, 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 17 – March 19, 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 17 – March 19, 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)
With double-digit daytime temperatures forecast for the first week of spring, Otonabee Conservation has issued a flood watch for the Trent-Severn Waterway in Peterborough County and the City of Kawartha Lakes.
The flood watch applies to the municipalities of Selwyn, Douro-Dummer, Asphodel-Norwood, Otonabee-South Monaghan, Cavan Monaghan, City of Kawartha Lakes, City of Peterborough, and Trent Hills.
Otonabee Conservation is advising residents of these areas to prepare for possible flooding and stay clear of anywhere that water can be seen to be accumulating and ponding. Residents should also keep away from all waterbodies, watercourses, and water control or conveyance structures such as dams, culverts, and bridges.
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Seven to 10 days of higher than seasonal temperatures will result in several days of 24-hour continuous snowmelt. There is also rain in the forecast during this period, although the expected amounts are minimal.
The forecasted warmer air temperatures are expected to release a significant portion of the snowpack’s water content, which is currently an average of 100 millimetres, causing rising water levels and flows in the lakes, rivers, streams, creeks, and wetlands of the Haliburton Lakes/Reservoir Lakes region, which is hydrologically connected to the Kawartha Lakes, Otonabee River, Rice Lake, and the Trent River.
The forecasted warm air temperatures and snowmelt in the Haliburton Lakes/Reservoir Lakes region will cause water levels on the Kawartha Lakes to increase, possibly rapidly. Increasing water levels on the Kawartha Lakes will, in turn, increase the water level and flow on the Otonabee River, which will then raise water levels on Rice Lake, and beyond.
Rising water levels are often the impetus for the break-up of ice cover, leading to ice damage along shorelines and the loosening of shoreline debris. Ice and debris can accumulate around water control and water conveyance structures, possibly causing localized flooding behind the ice/debris jam.
Gzowski College is located on the East Bank of the Symons Campus at Trent University in Peterborough. (Photo: Trent University)
The COVID-19 outbreak in the Gzowski College residence at Trent University in Peterborough does not appear to be related to an earlier outbreak at the Champlain College residence, according to an email sent by the university to all students on Friday (March 19).
Peterborough Public Health (PPH) declared the outbreak on Friday, but neither the health unit nor the university have provided any details on how many students at the residence have tested positive for COVID-19. On Friday, the health unit reported 15 new cases in the Peterborough region on Friday, with an increase of seven active cases.
“The university supports the actions of public health and is working with students in Gzowski College and across campus to ensure they comply with the measures being put in place to protect health and safety,” the university’s email to students reads. “PPH has confirmed this outbreak does not appear to be linked to the outbreak at the Champlain College residence, which remains in effect but is considered to be under control.”
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Any students who have tested positive for COVID-19 or are symptomatic, and are currently residing on campus or have been identified as close contacts of someone with COVID-19, have been moved to the separate residence specially designated for isolation.
Trent University says students living in residence at Gzowski College who are asymptomatic and have not been identified as a direct contact of someone with a COVID-19 case will receive special support as they remain in residence and attend their classes remotely or online only. Students who are not contacted by the health unit or identified as a close contact are considered to be at low risk of infection.
The university also says the health unit will be issuing a Section 22 order prohibiting Gzowski College residents from leaving their rooms other than for the purpose of picking up food exclusively at the Otonabee College dining hall over the weekend. The dining hall will be closed to all other students and others on campus and, starting Monday, will be open seven days a week for exclusive use by Gzowski College residents.
Gzowski College students will also be prohibited from using other campus facilities such as the athletics centre, library, the student centre, and other spaces outside of their college. They will not be able to entertain guests or gather in residence or college common spaces.
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“No individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19 or identified as high risk close contacts will leave isolation until advised by public health that it is safe to do so,” the university’s email reads. “Proactive surveillance testing has been arranged and will be conducted with all Gzowski College residents on Sunday, March 21.”
The university also says additional cleaning and sanitizing protocols have been added, and that residence students in Gzowski College have been sent a specific email with directions and have been connected with supports.
This is the third COVID-19 outbreak at a student residence in Peterborough in the past three weeks. An outbreak at the privately owned Severn Court Student Residence near Fleming College was declared on February 27 following a party held at the residence the week before, and an outbreak at Champlain College residence at Trent University was declared on March 4.
Several Trent University students had attended the Severn Court party and the index case for the Champlain College outbreak was connected to the Severn Court outbreak, which later claimed the life of a 31-year-old student who was hospitalized after becoming seriously ill.
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