Premier Doug Ford announced on April 12, 2021 that Ontario schools will remain closed after spring break, with all elementary and secondary school students moving to remote learning as of April 19. No date has been set for the reopening of schools. (CPAC screenshot)
Echoing what happened when the COVID-19 pandemic hit Ontario last March, students won’t be returning to in-person learning at Ontario schools after ‘April break’.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the announcement at a media briefing at Queen’s Park on Monday (April 12), saying he is “extremely concerned” about the spread of COVID-19 variants of concern in the community.
“The problem is not in our schools, it is in our community,” Ford said. “Bringing our kids back to a congregate setting in school after a week off in the community is a risk I won’t take. We know that the more COVID spreads in our communities, the more likely it is to get into our schools, and that would create massive problems for all of us down the road.”
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Since the beginning of the third wave, the provincial government has insisted schools settings are safe, with demonstrated low rates of in-school transmission. When announcing the provincial shutdown that took effect April 3, the government did not close schools, stating that keeping them open was a priority, and was criticized by some for that decision.
Now, the province says increasing rates of community spread pose a threat to the health and safety of schools.
As a result, all publicly funded and private elementary and secondary schools in the province are to move to teacher-led remote learning when students return from the April break on Monday, April 19th.
Ontario chief medical of health Dr. David Williams, education minister Stephen Lecce, Premier Doug Ford, and health minister Christine Elliott at a media conference at Queen’s Park on April 12, 2021 announcing that Ontario schools will remain closed after spring break, with all elementary and secondary school students moving to remote learning as of April 19. (CPAC screenshot)
The government did not provide a timeline for when schools might reopen for in-person learning.
“We’ll keep a constant eye on the data — on case numbers, hospital capacity, and ICU admissions — to determine when we can get kids back in the classrooms,” Ford said.
Private schools operating in-person this week are to transition to remote learning by Thursday, April 15th.
Child care for non-school aged children will remain open, but before- and after-school programs will be closed and free emergency child care for the school-aged children of eligible health care and frontline workers will be provided.
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The government says school boards will make provisions for continued in-person support for students with special education needs who require additional support that cannot be accommodated through remote learning.
Ontario currently has 1,646 patients in hospitals due to COVID-19, including 619 patients in intensive care units and 408 patients on ventilators.
Peterborough Police Service headquarters on Water Street in Peterborough. (Photo: Pat Trudeau)
A 19-year-old Hamilton man is facing a long list of charges following several attempts by Peterborough police to stop a stolen vehicle on Sunday (April 11).
At 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, while investigating reports of several vehicles stolen from the west end of Peterborough, police located one of the vehicles in a parking lot in the Sherbrooke Street and Kinsmen Way area, resulting in charges against a Peterborough woman. Officers also recovered, in the same parking lot, a second vehicle that had been reported stolen.
During the investigation, officers saw a vehicle known to have be stolen from Halton Region taking off through the fields at Kinsmen Park. Police initiated a pursuit of the vehicle but called it off because of the high rate of speed.
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At around 8 a.m., officers on patrol in the downtown Peterborough area observed the same vehicle and attempted to stop it. The driver accelerated away at a high rate of speed, running through a red light. Police did not pursue the vehicle for public safety reasons.
Police later spotted the same vehicle again on Monaghan Road at McDonnel Street. Officers set up a road block several blocks away, but the driver drove onto the sidewalk to avoid an officer and a police vehicle and continued to speed away, running several more red lights in the process. Police called off a brief pursuit, again because of public safety concerns.
A short time later, police located the empty idling vehicle in the Simcoe Street parkade in downtown Peterborough. Officers spotted a man at Aylmer and Simcoe streets who matched the description of the driver and arrested him without further incident.
As a result of the investigation, Nathan Carney, 19, of Hamilton has been charged under the Criminal Code with flight from police officer, dangerous operation of a vehicle, two counts of possession of property obtained by crime under $5,000, and one count of possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000.
He has also been charged with fail to comply with a probation order, as he is bound by a probation order out of St. Catharines with conditions to keep the peace and be of good behaviour.
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Carney has also been charged under the Highway Traffic Act with 10 counts of failing to stop at a red light, driving while under suspension, and fail to signal for turn.
He is being held in custody and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday (April 12).
Also arrested and charged as a result of the investigation is 19-year-old Cheyenne DeMaeyer of Peterborough. DeMaeyer has been charged with possession of property obtained by crime over $5,000. She was released on an undertaking and is scheduled to appear in court on April 27.
On Saturday (April 10), Peterborough police issued 14 tickets for violations of COVID-19 rules under the Reopening Ontario Act.
Police issued five tickets at the anti-lockdown protest that began at noon in front of Peterborough City Hall.
Police also issued nine tickets in connection to a call for service at Armour Hill, where they found around 20 youth between 18 and 19 years old — all from outside the City of Peterborough — tailgating with open alcohol and music.
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At that gathering, police also issued two fines under the Highway Traffic Act and one for an infraction under the Liquor License Act.
Also on Saturday, police were called four times in a short period of time to the basketball courts at Simcoe Street and Bethune Street, where between 15 and 20 people had gathered in contravention of a maximum of five people under the Reopening Ontario Act.
Despite education and warnings issued by police, people continued to gather, leading police to request the City of Peterborough to close the basketball courts.
The city closed the basketball courts on Saturday, posting signs indicating they are not to be used.
During the weekend, police also continued with quarantine compliance checks, completing 22 checks. All those checked were compliant.
Canadian rockers Big Wreck perform in the Peterborough Memorial Centre parking lot on July 2, 2021, as one of the first six shows announced as part of the new PTBOLive Summer Concert Series. Kawartha Lakes band Heaps will open. (Photo: Warner Music Canada)
Live performance is returning to Peterborough in summer 2021 with the launch of the PTBOLive Summer Concert Series, presented by the Peterborough Memorial Centre, Showplace Performance Centre, and Market Hall Performing Arts Centre.
On Monday (April 12), organizers announced the first six shows of the new drive-in series, which takes place in the Peterborough Memorial Centre parking lot and includes some local talent.
The series kicks off at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 4th with a stand-up comedy show featuring headliner Shaun Majumder, a comedian and actor best known for his 17 years starring on CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes, along with Ali Hassan, a stand-up comic and host of CBC Radio’s Laugh Out Loud. Tickets are $150 per vehicle for the front row, $100 for general admission area #1 (next 11 rows), or $75 for general admission area #2 (last two rows).
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The first music show begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 5th when Canadian hard rockers The Trews take to the outdoor stage. Opening the show are special guests Adam and Cale Gontier, the two Peterborough cousins who make up half of the rock Canadian-American rock supergroup Saint Asonia (Adam is also the former frontman of Three Days Grace). Tickets are $200 per vehicle for the front row, $150 for general admission area #1 (next 11 rows), or $100 for general admission area #2 (last two rows).
An afternoon of family fun and music follows at 3 p.m on Sunday, June 6th with a performance by the wildly popular Canadian children’s entertainers Splash ‘N Boots, who won the 2019 Juno Award for Children’s Album of the Year. Tickets are $100 per vehicle for the front row, $75 for general admission area #1 (next 11 rows), or $50 for general admission area #2 (last two rows).
Classic rock comes to PTBOLive at 7 p.m. on Friday, June 18th, when Toronto’s Classic Albums Live performs Pink Floyd’s groundbreaking 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon note for note and cut for cut. Tickets are $200 per vehicle for the front row, $150 for general admission area #1 (next 11 rows), or $100 for general admission area #2 (last two rows).
The first six shows of the new PTBOLive Summer Concert Series, a joint presentation of Peterborough Memorial Centre, Showplace Performance Centre. and Market Hall Performing Arts Centre. (Graphic: PTBOLive)
The Jim Cuddy Band returns to the Peterborough Memorial Centre outside stage at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 26th, with local folk-roots band Express & Company opening. Tickets are $200 per vehicle for the front row, $150 for general admission area #1 (next 11 rows), or $100 for general admission area #2 (last two rows).
Celebrate the Canada Day long weekend when Canadian rockers Big Wreck perform at 7 p.m. on Friday, July 2nd, with Kawartha Lakes band Heaps (formerly known as The Kents) opening the show. Tickets are $225 per vehicle for the front row, $175 for general admission area #1 (next 11 rows), or $125 for general admission area #2 (last two rows).
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Tickets for all six shows go on pre-sale for PMCScoop members at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, April 14th (online only at tickets.memorialcentre.ca) and for the general public at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 16th (online at tickets.memorialcentre.ca or over the phone at 705-743-3561)
There is a limit of one ticket per order, with a maximum capacity of 234 vehicles per show. Parking spots are assigned upon arrival.
More shows in the PTBOLive Summer Concert Series will be announced soon.
Each PTBOLive show is limited to 234 vehicles, with different admission prices per show depending on where you want to park. (Graphic: Peterborough Memorial Centre)
This photo of a barred owl in flight in the Kawartha Lakes by Carolyn Camp Images was our top Instagram post in March 2021 with more than 15,700 impressions. (Photo: Carolyn Camp Images @ccamp.images.art / Instagram)
March 2021 certainly felt like a deja vu of March 2020. As we headed into year two of a global pandemic, it was a challenge to be optimistic.
The spring melt and warmer days certainly helped. As I browse our top images for March, what strikes me and gives me hope is the thought that nature endures. And in turn, optimism endures.
We hope you enjoy our top images. Stay safe.
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.
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#1. Kawartha Lakes barred owl in flight by Carolyn Camp Images @ccamp.images.art
Posted March 7, 2021. 15.7K impressions, 744 likes
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Today, Ontario is reporting 4,456 new cases today — the highest daily number of new cases since the pandemic began — with 10 public health units in Ontario reporting at least triple-digit cases for the second day in a row.
The seven-day average of daily cases has increased by 202 to 3,573. There are now 14,387 cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant in Ontario, an increase of 1,174 from yesterday, with 2 more cases of the B.1.351 South Africa variant.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 and in ICUs has reached a record high of 605.
Ontario is reporting 21 new deaths, the highest single-day increase since March 4, with none of the deaths in long-term care homes. Of the 21 deaths, 11 were among people 80 and over, 7 among people ages 60-79, 2 among people ages 40-59, and 1 is a person ages 20-39.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 24 new cases to report and an additional 20 cases resolved, with the number of active cases increasing by 2 to 385. Reports for Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton are not available on Sundays. See below for detailed numbers from each regional health unit.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (with a record increase of 1,353), Peel (860), York (444), Ottawa (377), Durham (329), Middlesex-London (159), Niagara (120), Halton (118), Hamilton (116), and Simcoe Muskoka (101).
There are double-digit increases today in Waterloo (63), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (61), Eastern Ontario (53), Brant (35), Windsor-Essex (34), Lambton (24), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (23), Sudbury (22), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (22), Haldimand-Norfolk (19), Southwestern (18), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (17), Peterborough (16), Northwestern (13), Grey Bruce (12), and Hastings Prince Edward (11), with smaller increases in Algoma (9), Huron Perth (9), Thunder Bay (7), and Chatham-Kent (6).
The remaining 4 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 2 health units (North Bay Parry Sound and Timiskaming) reporting no new cases.
Of today’s new cases, 56% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (1,711) among people ages 20-39 followed by 1,281 cases among people ages 40-59 and 782 cases among people 19 and under.
With 2,617 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.3% to 89.6%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 1.2% to 7.7%, meaning that 77 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on April 10.
Ontario is reporting 21 new COVID-19 deaths today, with no new deaths in long-term care homes. Of the 21 deaths, 11 were among people 80 and over, 7 among people ages 60-79, 2 among people ages 40-59, and 1 is a person ages 20-39. Ontario has averaged 16 new daily deaths over the past week, an increase of 1 from yesterday.
The number of hospitalizations decreased by 11 yesterday to 1,513, but this number does not include data from more than 10% of hospitals, so the actual number of hospitalized people may be higher. The number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs has increased by 20 to a record high 605, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators has decreased by 2 to 382.
A total of 56,378 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 11,127 to 31,836.
A total of 3,139,743 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 94,794 from yesterday, with 333,150 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 2,168.
The number of fully vaccinated people represents 2.26% of Ontario’s population, an increase of 0.01% from yesterday, with fully and partially vaccinated people representing 21.31% of the population, an increase of 0.64% from yesterday. An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 24 new cases to report, including 15 in Hastings Prince Edward and 9 in Peterborough. Updated numbers for Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton are not available as the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit does not issue a report on Sundays.
An outbreak at an unidentified congregate living facility in Peterborough was declared on April 11.
There are 27 new regional cases of variants of concern, including 21 in Hastings Prince Edward and 6 in Peterborough.
An additional 20 cases have been resolved, including 11 in Hastings Prince Edward and 9 in Peterborough.
There are currently 385 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 2 from yesterday, including 156 in Hastings Prince Edward (44 in Quinte West, 72 in Belleville, 6 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 3 in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, 13 in Prince Edward County, 17 in Central Hastings, and 1 in North Hastings), 104 in Peterborough, 93 in Northumberland, 25 in Kawartha Lakes, and 7 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 1,002 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (886 resolved with 12 deaths), 622 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (555 resolved with 55 deaths), 611 in Northumberland County (506 resolved with 12 deaths), 77 in Haliburton County (69 resolved with 1 death), and 711 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (548 resolved with 7 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Hastings Prince Edward on April 10.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 4 p.m. the previous day, as well as from systems in Toronto, Ottawa, and Middlesex-London at 2 p.m. the previous day. Data from local health units is more current and is usually reflected in the provincial data the following day. There may be discrepancies between the Ontario data reported today (which is from yesterday) and the local health unit data reported today (which is from today).
Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 1,002 (increase of 9) Total variants of concern cases: 287 (increase of 6) Active cases: 104 (no change) Close contacts: 341 (increase of 39) Deaths: 12 (no change) Resolved: 886 (increase of 9) Hospitalizations (total to date): 32 (no change)* Total tests completed: Over 47,600 (no change) Outbreaks: Empress Gardens retirement home in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #2 in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #3 in Peterborough, Champlain Annex at Trent University in Peterborough, Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #4 in Peterborough County, Unidentified congregate living facility #3 in Peterborough (increase of 1)** Vaccine doses administered: 34,612 (increase of 4,179 as of April 8)
*As of April 9, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting fewer than 10 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (decrease of 2) and 33 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive (no change).
**An outbreak at an unidentified congregate living facility in Peterborough was declared on April 11.
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 April 10.
Confirmed positive: 1,310, including 622 in Kawartha Lakes, 611 in Northumberland, and 77 in Haliburton (increase of 21, including 6 in Kawartha Lakes and 15 in Northumberland)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 121, including 42 in Kawartha Lakes, 77 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton (increase of 3, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 1 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton)** Active cases: 124, including 25 in Kawartha Lakes, 93 in Northumberland, and 7 in Haliburton (increase of 14, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes, 11 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Probable cases: 2 in Northumberland (no change) High-risk contacts: 410, including 53 in Kawartha Lakes, 254 in Northumberland, and 14 in Haliburton (net increase of 26)*** Hospitalizations (total to date): 53, including 32 in Kawartha Lakes, 18 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: 1,130, including 555 in Kawartha Lakes, 506 in Northumberland, 69 in Haliburton (increase of 10, including 5 in Kawartha Lakes and 5 in Northumberland) Tests completed: 167,405 (increase of 3) Vaccine doses administered: 30,408 (last updated April 6) Number of people fully vaccinated: 2,989 (last updated April 6) Outbreaks: St. Mary Catholic Secondary School in Cobourg, Timber House Resort in Brighton, Swiss Chalet in Cobourg, Christian Horizons in Port Hope, Cobourg Collegiate Institute in Cobourg (increase of 1)*****
*The health unit states that total counts and counts for individual counties may fluctuate from previously reported counts as cases are transferred to or from the health unit based on case investigation details and routine data cleaning.
**The N501Y mutation has been identified in variants of concern including the B.1.1.7 UK variant, the B.1.351 South Africa variant, and the P.1 Brazilian variant.
***This total includes an additional 89 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.
****As of April 9, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (increase of 2).
*****An outbreak at Cobourg Collegiate Institute in Cobourg was declared on April 9.
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: 711 (increase of 15) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 141 (increase of 21) Active cases: 156 (increase of 2) Deaths: 7 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 7 (decrease of 1) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 2 (decrease of 1) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 1 (decrease of 1) Resolved: 548 (increase of 11) Tests completed: 120,227 (increase of 4,931) Vaccine doses administered: 41,469 (increase of 722) Number of people fully vaccinated: 3,214 (increase of 3) Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Trenton, Unidentified setting in Belleville, Unidentified child care facility in Belleville, Unidentified workplace in Quinte West, Tri-board Bus #499 (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 386,608 (increase of 4,456) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) cases: 14,387 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 1,174); 78 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (increase of 2); 134 of P.1 Brazilian variant (no change)* VOC R(t): 1.23 (decrease of 0.01, last updated April 2)** 7-day average of daily new cases: 3,573 (increase of 202) Positivity rate: 7.7% (increase of 1.2%) Resolved: 346,239 (increase of 2,617), 89.6% of all cases (decrease of 0.3%) Hospitalizations: 1,513 (decrease of 11)*** Hospitalizations in ICU: 605 (increase of 20) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 382 (decrease of 2) Deaths: 7,552 (increase of 21) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 16 (increase of 1) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,907 (no change) Total tests completed: 13,148,359 (increase of 56,378) Tests under investigation: 31,836 (decrease of 11,127) Vaccination doses administered: 3,139,743 (increase of 94,794), 21.31% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.64%)**** People fully vaccinated (two doses): 333,150 (increase of 2,168), 2.26% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.01%)****
*On April 8, the government changed the way it reports cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant. Previously they were reported only when genetic sequencing confirmed they were of the B.1.1.7 lineage. Since genetic sequencing completed to date has determined 95% of specimens screening positive for the N501Y mutation have been found to be the B.1.1.7 UK variant, specimens with the N501Y mutation are now reported as cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant.
**R(t) is a virus’s effective reproduction number, which is the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time (t) in a partially immunized population. To successfully eliminate a disease from a population, R(t) needs to be less than 1.
***More than 10% of hospitals did not submit data for this report, so the actual number of hospitalizations may be higher than reported.
****An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from March 11 – April 10, 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 March 11 – April 10, 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 March 11 – April 10, 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 patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from March 11 – April 10, 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 March 11 – April 10, 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)
Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for the southern Kawarthas region for significant rainfall overnight on Sunday (April 11).
A band of rain has become established over the area.
On and off rain can be expected to continue Sunday evening into tonight before easing to scattered showers on Monday.
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Rainfall amounts in the 25 to 50 mm range are likely by Monday morning.
The special weather statement is in effect for southern Kawartha Lakes including Lindsay, southern Peterborough County including the City of Peterborough and Lakefield, and western Northumberland County including Cobourg and Colborne.
Peterborough Regional Health Centre radiologist Dr. Mario Voros calls CT scanners "the backbone" of diagnostic imaging. PRHC's current CT scanner technology (pictured with Dr. Voros) is nearing the end of its lifespan and, with help from donors, it will be replaced with new, state-of-the-art equipment to support world-class patient care. (Photo courtesy of PRHC Foundation)
With all the efforts by healthcare professionals at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) to care for COVID-19 patients over the past year, we can sometimes forget about the other people whose lives they save every day.
And whether the patient is an accident victim with a head injury, a person who has suffered a stroke, or someone with a serious respiratory infection, there’s one piece of equipment that doctors consider the backbone of patient care — the CT scanner.
At PRHC’s Emergency Department alone, doctors order an average of 35 CT scans every single day — almost half of the 28,000 scans performed at the hospital every year. For many seriously sick or injured patients, when there isn’t a moment to lose, a CT scan means doctors can quickly confirm a diagnosis and begin lifesaving treatment.
“CT stands for computed tomography,” says PRHC radiologist Dr. Mario Voros, explaining a CT scan involves a series of X-ray images taken from different angles around a patient’s body. Computer processing then combines these images into a cross-sectional view of the patient’s bones, blood vessels, and soft tissues.
“It’s a more powerful, dynamic, moving, three-dimensional type of X-ray,” Dr. Voros adds. “Some of the issues doctors can use CT scans to examine include brain bleeds, blockages in arteries, chest blood clots, appendicitis, kidney stones, and fractures, among many conditions. They are also used in cancer care and for stroke assessment.”
Skilled radiologists like Dr. Voros use CT scans to confirm a diagnosis. In a medical emergency, they can see the scanned images within minutes — minutes that can sometimes mean the difference between life and death for a patient.
In this photo taken prior to the pandemic and universal masking protocols, a medical radiation technologist and volunteer demonstrate the current CT scanner technology at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. CT scan technology has greatly improved in the past decade. New CT scanners are faster (meaning shorter scan times), provide higher quality images, and use less radiation — meaning less risk to the thousands of patients who will be scanned every year at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. (Photo: Michael Hurcomb)
But the existing CT scanners at PRHC are now more than 12 years old and must soon be replaced. The PRHC Foundation is reaching out to community donors to help the hospital purchase two new cutting-edge CT scanners.
Dr. Voros points out the technology behind CT scanners has vastly improved over the past decade, so replacing PRHC’s existing scanners is an “exciting opportunity” to support world-class patient care at Peterborough’s regional hospital.
“The new CT technology is faster, making it possible to scan a patient’s entire body in a matter of seconds,” he explains. “It also provides higher quality imaging, giving doctors clearer and more reliable pictures of what’s happening inside a patient’s body.”
Dr. Voros uses the example of elderly patients who have decreased bone density. He says it can be difficult for doctors to discern a subtle fracture using the existing CT scanners. However, the new CT scanners will provide PRHC’s radiologists with higher-resolution images that highlight potential areas of concern.
He points out another significant benefit of the new CT technology: it emits less radiation, which means less risk for a patient.
“This is particularly beneficial for patients with cancer or chronic illnesses who have repeat CT scans,” Dr. Voros says.
He explains a CT scan of a patient’s chest using the new technology requires the same amount of radiation as a routine chest X-ray — but delivers a much higher quality and more informative image for diagnosing the patient’s condition.
In this photo taken prior to the pandemic and universal masking protocols, a medical radiation technologist and volunteer demonstrate the current CT scanner technology at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. CT scans help doctors diagnose or rule out issues such as brain bleeds, blockages in arteries, bone fractures, appendicitis, kidney stones, and pneumonia, among many others. (Photo: Michael Hurcomb)
“Many people don’t realize the government doesn’t fund hospital equipment or technology,” says Lesley Heighway, President and CEO of the PRHC Foundation. “That’s why the most generous communities have the best hospitals.”
Your gift to the PRHC Foundation will make it possible for the hospital to invest in two state-of-the-art CT scanners, considered the best on the market.
There aren’t many hospitals outside of a handful of Canada’s largest city centres that have this technology right now. That means acquiring the new scanners will improve diagnostic imaging for the thousands of patients from across our region who will be scanned as part of their care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.
“These new CT scanners are critical to supporting world-class patient care in our growing and changing region, both now and well into the future,” Dr. Voros says.
You can help fund lifesaving equipment at PRHC by donating to the PRHC Foundation online at prhcfoundation.ca or by calling 705-876-5000.
Along with a donation, you can also include a message of thanks for PRHC’s frontline healthcare professionals like Dr. Voros, who are always here for us when it matters most. The Foundation will pass those messages along to the doctors, nurses and staff who’ve been honoured, letting them know we’re here for them too.
This story was created in partnership with the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation.
The Swiss Chalet restaurant at 70 Strathy Road in Cobourg. (Photo: Google Maps)
The local health unit is asking anyone who dined at the Swiss Chalet restaurant at 70 Strathy Road in Cobourg between Thursday, March 25th and Monday, April 5th to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms.
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit declared an outbreak at the restaurant last Wednesday (April 7), with six cases associated with the outbreak so far.
The health unit’s notice only applies to people who dined inside the restaurant, not to those who picked up takeout orders. Although the health unit’s notice extends to April 5th, the province-wide shutdown that went into effect on Saturday, April 3rd prohibited indoor dining as of that date.
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“While there are currently no cases among guests, we are erring on the side of caution and asking people who may have dined in the restaurant to monitor themselves for symptoms,” says medical officer of health Dr. Natalie Bocking in a media release issued Saturday (April 10).
The restaurant owner has been working closely with the health unit to identify potential high-risk contacts, including supplying the health unit with the required customer list for contact tracing. However, the health unit doesn’t have the resources to personally contact all the customers on the list, according to Dr. Bocking, so it is issuing a notice instead.
“This is just one outbreak the health unit is working on currently, and so our capacity to reach out to a high number of potential contacts is limited,” Dr. Bocking says. “We need people to continue to do what they can to prevent any further spread.”
Dr. Bocking adds that, since the risk of transmission is considered low, it’s not necessary for patrons who dined inside the restaurant between March 25 and April 2 to self-isolate, only to monitor their health over the next 14 days for COVID-19 symptoms.
Common symptoms include fever (temperature of 37.8°C or higher), new or worsening cough, headache, and shortness of breath. Other symptoms can include sore throat, difficulty swallowing, changes to sense of taste/smell, nausea/vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, runny nose, and nasal congestion.
The Swiss Chalet restaurant on Strathy Road in Cobourg has voluntarily closed until Tuesday, April 20th.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 3,813 new cases today, with 10 public health units in Ontario now reporting triple-digit cases. The seven-day average of daily cases has increased by 115 to 3,371. There are now 13,213 cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant in Ontario, an increase of 1,721 from yesterday, with 1 more case of the P.1 Brazilian variant.
The number of people hospitalized, in ICUs, and on ventilators because of COVID-19 continues to increase. More than 3 million doses of vaccine have been administered, with more than 20% of Ontario’s population having received at least one dose. A minimum of 70% of the population must be inoculated to achieve herd immunity.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 48 new cases to report and an additional 49 cases resolved, with the number of active cases increasing by 2 to 383. There has been 1 new COVID-related death in Hastings Prince Edward. See below for detailed numbers from each regional health unit.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (973), Peel (669), York (442), Ottawa (289), Durham (281), Hamilton (146), Middlesex-London (141), Niagara (120), Simcoe Muskoka (113), and Halton (112).
There are double-digit increases today in Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (98), Waterloo (76), Windsor-Essex (37), Sudbury (30), Haldimand-Norfolk (28), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (27), Brant (27), Eastern Ontario (23), Thunder Bay (20), Lambton (19), Hastings Prince Edward (18), Southwestern (18), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (17), Peterborough (17), Northwestern (12), Porcupine (12), and Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (12), with smaller increases in Renfrew (9), Grey Bruce (7), Chatham-Kent (6), and Huron Perth (6).
For the second day in a row, only 3 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with only 1 health unit (Timiskaming) reporting no new cases.
Of today’s new cases, 57% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (1,444) among people ages 20-39 followed by 1,080 cases among people ages 40-59 and 726 cases among people 19 and under.
With 2,422 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.3% to 89.9%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased by 0.2% to 6.5%, meaning that 65 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on April 9.
Ontario is reporting 19 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 2 new deaths in long-term care homes. Ontario has averaged 15 new daily deaths over the past week, an increase of 1 from yesterday.
The number of hospitalizations increased by 32 yesterday to 1,524, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs increasing by 33 to 585 and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators increasing by 25 to 384.
A total of 61,439 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation increasing by 391 to 42,963.
A total of 3,044,949 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 104,783 from yesterday, with 330,982 people fully vaccinated with both doses of vaccine, an increase of 2,384.
The number of fully vaccinated people represents 2.25% of Ontario’s population, an increase of 0.02% from yesterday, with fully and partially vaccinated people representing 20.67% of the population, an increase of 0.71% from yesterday. An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 48 new cases to report, including 17 in Peterborough, 15 in Northumberland, 10 in Hastings Prince Edward, and 6 in Kawartha Lakes. There are no new cases in Haliburton.
There has been 1 new COVID-related death in Hastings Prince Edward. An outbreak at Cobourg Collegiate Institute in Cobourg was declared on April 9.
There are 22 new regional cases of variants of concern, including 12 in Hastings Prince Edward, 7 in Peterborough, 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 1 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton.
An additional 49 cases have been resolved, including 24 in Hastings Prince Edward, 15 in Peterborough, 5 in Kawartha Lakes, and 5 in Northumberland.
There are currently 383 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 2 from yesterday, including 154 in Hastings Prince Edward (44 in Quinte West, 64 in Belleville, 8 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, 3 in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, 14 in Prince Edward County, 19 in Central Hastings, and 1 in North Hastings), 104 in Peterborough, 93 in Northumberland, 25 in Kawartha Lakes, and 7 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 993 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (877 resolved with 12 deaths), 622 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (555 resolved with 55 deaths), 611 in Northumberland County (506 resolved with 12 deaths), 77 in Haliburton County (69 resolved with 1 death), and 698 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (537 resolved with 7 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Hastings Prince Edward on April 10.
The provincial data in this report is pulled from Ontario’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) at 4 p.m. the previous day, as well as from systems in Toronto, Ottawa, and Middlesex-London at 2 p.m. the previous day. Data from local health units is more current and is usually reflected in the provincial data the following day. There may be discrepancies between the Ontario data reported today (which is from yesterday) and the local health unit data reported today (which is from today).
Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
The health unit provides daily reports, including on weekends, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 993 (increase of 18)* Total variants of concern cases: 281 (increase of 7) Active cases: 104 (increase of 3) Close contacts: 302 (increase of 30) Deaths: 12 (no change) Resolved: 877 (increase of 15) Hospitalizations (total to date): 32 (no change)** Total tests completed: Over 47,600 (increase of 100) Outbreaks: Empress Gardens retirement home in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #2 in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #3 in Peterborough, Champlain Annex at Trent University in Peterborough, Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School in Peterborough, Unidentified workplace #4 in Peterborough County (no change) Vaccine doses administered: 34,612 (increase of 4,179 as of April 8)
*The health unit is reporting 17 new cases in the last 24 hours, with 1 case from a previous day added to the total case count.
**As of April 9, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting fewer than 10 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (decrease of 2) and 33 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: 1,310, including 622 in Kawartha Lakes, 611 in Northumberland, and 77 in Haliburton (increase of 21, including 6 in Kawartha Lakes and 15 in Northumberland)* Cases with N501Y mutation: 121, including 42 in Kawartha Lakes, 77 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton (increase of 3, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 1 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton)** Active cases: 124, including 25 in Kawartha Lakes, 93 in Northumberland, and 7 in Haliburton (increase of 14, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes, 11 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Probable cases: 2 in Northumberland (no change) High-risk contacts: 410, including 53 in Kawartha Lakes, 254 in Northumberland, and 14 in Haliburton (net increase of 26)*** Hospitalizations (total to date): 53, including 32 in Kawartha Lakes, 18 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: 1,130, including 555 in Kawartha Lakes, 506 in Northumberland, 69 in Haliburton (increase of 10, including 5 in Kawartha Lakes and 5 in Northumberland) Tests completed: 167,405 (increase of 3) Vaccine doses administered: 30,408 (last updated April 6) Number of people fully vaccinated: 2,989 (last updated April 6) Outbreaks: St. Mary Catholic Secondary School in Cobourg, Timber House Resort in Brighton, Swiss Chalet in Cobourg, Christian Horizons in Port Hope, Cobourg Collegiate Institute in Cobourg (increase of 1)*****
*The health unit states that total counts and counts for individual counties may fluctuate from previously reported counts as cases are transferred to or from the health unit based on case investigation details and routine data cleaning.
**The N501Y mutation has been identified in variants of concern including the B.1.1.7 UK variant, the B.1.351 South Africa variant, and the P.1 Brazilian variant.
***This total includes an additional 89 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.
****As of April 9, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 5 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 (increase of 2).
*****An outbreak at Cobourg Collegiate Institute in Cobourg was declared on April 9.
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: 698 (increase of 10) Confirmed variants of concern cases: 120 (increase of 12) Active cases: 154 (decrease of 15) Deaths: 7 (increase of 1) Currently hospitalized: 8 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 3 (decrease of 1) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 2 (no change) Resolved: 537 (increase of 24) Tests completed: 115,296 Vaccine doses administered: 40,747 (increase of 1,431) Number of people fully vaccinated: 3,211 (increase of 7) Outbreaks: Unidentified workplace in Trenton, Unidentified setting in Belleville, Unidentified child care facility in Belleville, Unidentified workplace in Quinte West, Tri-board Bus #499 (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 382,152 (increase of 3,813) COVID-19 variants of concern (VOC) cases: 13,213 of B.1.1.7 UK variant (increase of 1,721); 76 of B.1.351 South Africa variant (no change); 134 of P.1 Brazilian variant (increase of 1)* VOC R(t): 1.23 (decrease of 0.01, last updated April 2)** 7-day average of daily new cases: 3,371 (increase of 115) Positivity rate: 6.5% (increase of 0.2%) Resolved: 343,622 (increase of 2,422), 89.9% of all cases (decrease of 0.3%) Hospitalizations: 1,524 (increase of 32) Hospitalizations in ICU: 585 (increase of 33) Hospitalizations in ICU on ventilator: 384 (increase of 25) Deaths: 7,531 (increase of 19) 7-day average of daily new deaths: 15 (increase of 1) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,907 (increase of 2) Total tests completed: 13,091,981 (increase of 61,439) Tests under investigation: 42,963 (increase of 391) Vaccination doses administered: 3,044,949 (increase of 104,783), 20.67% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.71%)*** People fully vaccinated (two doses): 330,982 (increase of 2,384), 2.25% of Ontario’s population (increase of 0.02%)***
*On April 8, the government changed the way it reports cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant. Previously they were reported only when genetic sequencing confirmed they were of the B.1.1.7 lineage. Since genetic sequencing completed to date has determined 95% of specimens screening positive for the N501Y mutation have been found to be the B.1.1.7 UK variant, specimens with the N501Y mutation are now reported as cases of the B.1.1.7 UK variant.
**R(t) is a virus’s effective reproduction number, which is the average number of new infections caused by a single infected individual at a specific time (t) in a partially immunized population. To successfully eliminate a disease from a population, R(t) needs to be less than 1.
***An estimated 70-90% of the population must be immunized to achieve herd immunity.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from March 10 – April 9, 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 March 10 – April 9, 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 March 10 – April 9, 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 patients with COVID-19 in ICUs. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 deaths in Ontario from March 10 – April 9, 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 March 10 – April 9, 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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