Residents of Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, which in March 2020 suffered the largest COVID-19 outbreak in Ontario at the time, will be among the first to receive doses of the Moderna vaccine received by the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit on January 25, 2021. (Photo: Central East CCAC / YouTube)
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit announced on Monday (January 25) it has received its first allocation of COVID-19 vaccines — 700 doses of the Moderna vaccine.
The health unit says it will be delivering the vaccine to long-term care homes in Northumberland County, Haliburton County, and the City of Kawartha Lakes so that residents can be vaccinated as soon as practical. There are around 1,600 residents living in area long-term care homes.
The vaccine was delivered to Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay, which has agreed to receive and to store the health unit’s vaccine. From there, health unit staff will deliver the doses to area long-term care homes where residents will be vaccinated. It is expected that 100 to 150 vaccinations will take place each day.
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Residents of Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, Hope Street Terrace in Port Hope, and Maplewood Long-Term Care Home in Brighton are among the first group who will be vaccinated. The health unit says additional vaccination clinics will take place in the other long-term care homes in the area over the course of the next couple of weeks.
“Unfortunately, we know that what we have received will not ensure that all of our long-term care residents are vaccinated with this week’s supply,” said Dr. Ian Gemmill, the health unit’s acting medical officer of health.
“We have had to determine priorities about which long-term care homes get the vaccine first,” Dr. Gemmill added. “We are hopeful that we will soon receive more vaccine so we can complete the immunization of residents and staff of both our long-term care homes and retirement homes.”
The Ontario government announced on Monday that it has revised its target date to have all residents of long-term care and retirement homes vaccinated by February 5th instead of February 15th as originally announced.
Earlier on Monday, Peterborough Public Health announced it has received 500 doses of the Moderna vaccine.
Both health units were originally set to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine but, due to delivery delays announced by Pfizer, are now receiving the Moderna vaccine.
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Like the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the Moderna vaccine is a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine. Unlike traditional vaccines, mRNA vaccines do not contain a weakened or dead version of the virus.
Instead, they use mRNA to prompt cells in the body to produce a harmless piece of the same protein that is found on the surface of the virus causing COVID-19. The body develops antibodies to that harmless protein, so it can mount an effective immune response if a person is infected with the actual virus.
For maximum efficacy, the Moderna vaccine requires two shots administered 28 days apart. Based on evidence from clinical trials, the Moderna vaccine was 94.1 per cent effective at preventing laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 illness in people who received two doses, who had no evidence of being previously infected.
The vaccine is packaged in 10-dose units and once each package is opened, all vaccine doses must be used as it cannot be refrigerated or stored again.
Like the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the Moderna vaccine is a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine. Studies have shown both Pfizer and Moderna are over 90 per cent effective in protecting against COVID-19, starting 14 days after the first dose. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough Public Health)
Peterborough has received its first supply of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, Peterborough Public Health announced on Monday afternoon (January 25).
The 500-dose supply was delivered to Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) on Monday morning.
Residents of local long-term care homes will begin receiving vaccinations on Tuesday, states the health unit, which will be working with PRHC to support the administration of the vaccine.
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The Ontario government has made vaccinations of residents of long-term care homes and high-risk retirement homes the top priority for the first phase of the province’s vaccination distribution plan.
The health unit says that, since there are no retirement homes in Peterborough that have been deemed high risk, long-term care home will be the first to receive the vaccine.
Like the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the Moderna vaccine is a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine. Unlike traditional vaccines, mRNA vaccines do not contain a weakened or dead version of the virus.
Instead, they use mRNA to prompt cells in the body to produce a harmless piece of the same protein that is found on the surface of the virus causing COVID-19. The body develops antibodies to that harmless protein, so it can mount an effective immune response if a person is infected with the actual virus.
For maximum efficacy, the Moderna vaccine requires two shots administered 28 days apart. Based on evidence from clinical trials, the vaccine is 94.1 per cent effective at preventing COVID-19.
A 24-year-old Prince Edward County man is dead following a single-vehicle snowmobile crash Friday night (January 22) near Bancroft.
Shortly after 9:30 p.m., the Bancroft OPP and Hastings County paramedics responded to a snowmobile collision on a trail near Weslemkoon Lake Road, east of Silva Lake in Tudor-Cashel Township, around 42 kilometres southeast of Bancroft.
The snowmobile’s driver was transported by ambulance to hospital, where he died as a result of his injuries.
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Police have identified the victim as Jamie Ferguson, 24, of Prince Edward County. Police continue to investigate the collision.
There were two other snowmobile accidents in Ontario over the weekend, one of which was also fatal.
On Saturday, 44-year-old Yanick Tremblay of South Stormont Township died after his snowmobile entered a roadway and collided with a car.
On Sunday, a snowmobile entered a roadway and collided with a car in North Glengarry Township. The 20-year-old man driving the snowmobile was transported to hospital with critical injuries, while his 20-year-old female passenger was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 2,417 new cases today, with the seven-day average of daily cases across the province decreasing today by 144 to 2,459.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 4 new cases to report and 4 additional cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region remaining at 172. However, these numbers do not include Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, or Haliburton as the health unit does not issue updates on Sundays.
Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (785), Peel (404), York (215), and Niagara (121).
There are double-digit increases in Ottawa (99), Hamilton (98), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (91), Durham (79), Halton (78), Waterloo (78), Windsor-Essex (73), Simcoe Muskoka (51), Middlesex-London (45), Thunder Bay (26), Porcupine (24), Southwestern (22), Haldimand-Norfolk (18), Chatham-Kent (17), Eastern Ontario (15), Brant (13), Lambton (12), Sudbury (11), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (11), with smaller increases in Peterborough (9), Huron Perth (8), and Northwestern (6).
The remaining 8 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 5 health units reporting no new cases at all.
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Of today’s new cases, 50% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (892) among people ages 20-39, followed by 707 cases among people ages 40-59. With 2,759 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has increased by 0.3% to 88.3%.
The average positivity rate across Ontario has decreased since yesterday by 0.3% to 4.2%, meaning that 42 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on January 23.
Ontario is reporting 50 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 25 in long-term care homes. Hospitalizations have decreased by 65 from yesterday to 1,436, but this number excludes data from around 10% of hospitals so is likely under-reported. The number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs has decreased by 3 to 392, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators has increased by 2 to 301.
A total of 48,947 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 13,852 to 23,995. A total of 280,573 doses of vaccine have now been administered, an increase of 4,427 from yesterday, with 62,881 vaccinations completed (i.e., both doses administered), an increase of 4,974 from yesterday.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 4 new cases to report, including 3 in Peterborough and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward. Numbers for Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton are unavailable as the health unit does not issue updates on Sundays.
There is 1 new hospitalization in Peterborough.
An additional 4 cases have been resolved, including 2 in Peterborough and 2 in Hastings Prince Edward.
There are currently 172 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region (no change from yesterday), including 64 in Kawartha Lakes, 48 in Peterborough, 34 in Northumberland, 20 in Hastings Prince Edward (10 in Quinte West, 8 in Belleville, and 2 in Prince Edward County), and 6 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 514 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (459 resolved with 7 deaths), 392 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (305 resolved with 36 deaths), 355 in Northumberland County (315 resolved with 6 deaths), 46 in Haliburton County (40 resolved with no deaths), and 365 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (340 resolved with 5 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on January 21.
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: 514 (increase of 3) Active cases: 48 (increase of 1) Close contacts: 77 (decrease of 5) Deaths: 7 (no change) Resolved: 459 (increase of 2) Hospitalizations (total to date): 22 (increase of 1)* Total tests completed: Over 41,000 (no change) Outbreaks: The Regency retirement home in Lakefield, Centennial Place long-term care home in Millbrook, Peterborough Regional Health Centre (no change)
*As of January 22, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 13 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, with fewer than 5 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive.
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 statutory holidays. These numbers are from January 23.
Confirmed positive: 794, including 392 in Kawartha Lakes, 355 in Northumberland, and 46 in Haliburton (increase of 5, including 4 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Northumberland)* Active cases: 105, including 64 in Kawartha Lakes, 34 in Northumberland, and 6 in Haliburton (net decrease of 2) Probable cases: 3, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Northumberland (no net change) High-risk contacts: 150, including 70 in Kawartha Lakes, 55 in Northumberland, and 12 in Haliburton (net decrease of 7)** Hospitalizations (total to date): 30, including 21 in Kawartha Lakes, 8 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (increse of 1 in Kawartha Lakes)*** Deaths (including among probable cases): 42, including 36 in Kawartha Lakes and 6 in Northumberland (no change) Resolved: 660, including 305 in Kawartha Lakes, 315 in Northumberland, 40 in Haliburton (increase of 8, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 6 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Institutional outbreaks: Hope St. Terrace long-term care home in Port Hope, Fenelon Court in Fenelon Falls, Maplewood long-term care home in Brighton, Caressant Care McLaughlin Road long-term care home in Lindsay, Tower of Port Hope, Canadian Centre for Addictions in Port Hope, Warkworth Place long-term care home in Warkworth, Caressant Care retirement home in Lindsay, Caressant Care nursing home in Lindsay (increase of 2)****
*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.
**This total includes an additional 13 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.
***As of January 22, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 1 patient is hospitalized with COVID-19
***An outbreak at Caressant Care retirement home in Lindsay was reported on January 23, and an outbreak at Caressant Care nursing home in Lindsay was reported on January 22 (both homes are located at 240 Mary St.). These are in addition to the outbreak at Caressant Care McLaughlin Road long-term care home in Lindsay where, as of January 21, 19 residents and 15 staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
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, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 365 (increase of 1) Active cases: 20 (decrease of 1) Deaths: 5 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 1 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 0 (no change) Resolved: 340 (increase of 2) Tests completed: 42,389 Vaccines administered: 393 (no change) Institutional outbreaks: Hastings Manor Beech Villa in Belleville, Crown Ridge long-term care home in Quinte West (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 255,002 (increase of 2,417) Resolved: 225,046 (increase of 2,759, 88.3% of all cases) Positivity rate: 4.2% (decrease of 0.3%) Hospitalized: 1,436 (decrease of 65)* Hospitalized and in ICU: 392 (decrease of 3) Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 301 (increase of 2) Deaths: 5,803 (increase of 50) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,400 (increase of 25) Total tests completed: 9,308,991 (increase of 48,947) Tests under investigation: 23,995 (decrease of 13,852) Vaccination doses administered: 280,573 (increase of 4,427) Vaccination completed (both doses): 62,881 (increase of 4,974)
*This number excludes data from around 10% of hospitals so is likely under-reported.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from December 24, 2020 – January 23, 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 December 24, 2020 – January 23, 2021. The red line is the number of tests completed daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from December 24, 2020 – January 23, 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 December 24, 2020 – January 23, 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)
With in-person dining prohibited for the second time during the pandemic, Peterborough's locally owned restaurants need the community's support more than ever. Publican House Brew Pub in downtown Peterborough is open for food pickup orders, and you can also add beverages (including Publican House's own renowned brews) to your order. (Photo courtesy of Publican House)
If there were ever a time to be supporting the locally owned eateries that give Peterborough its flavour, that time would be now.
The restaurant industry is among the hardest hit by the pandemic and, with the latest provincial lockdown and stay-at-home order, restaurants have once more been forced to close their doors to dining.
The pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the economy, especially on Peterborough’s independent businesses. Because their owners live here, a significant portion of the money you spend at these businesses stays in the community — so you’re not only supporting them but Peterborough’s economy as a whole.
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Local restaurants have been doing everything they can to make it easy and safe for you to enjoy their food in the comfort of your own home, with many going out of their way to provide top-tier takeout services.
Here’s how three locally owned eateries are coping and how you can support them during the lockdown.
KitCoffee
One local business owner is taking matters into her own hands by personally delivering takeout orders herself.
Helen McCarthy, the owner of espresso bar and bakeshop KitCoffee, has recently launched a food delivery service. Instead of going with a third-party service like SkiptheDishes, she is making the deliveries herself.
Due to the current lockdown, McCarthy says people staying at home has resulted in a considerable loss of foot traffic. She wanted to start offering delivery; however, she notes it has been a “logistical challenge.”
KitCoffee owner Helen McCarthy is going above and beyond by personally delivering takeout orders from the espresso bar and bakeshop. (Photo courtesy of KitCoffee)
“Going through one of the apps is not feasible for us because of the fees that they take,” McCarthy explains. “The profit margins are already pretty slim in the food and beverage industry.”
Orders can be delivered to locations within a 10-kilometre radius of the cafe. You place your order through the cafe’s website and it is delivered within 15 to 45 minutes. There’s a $6 delivery fee on orders under $25, but anything above that is free.
McCarthy’s COVID protocols, such as offering her staff partially paid sick days to encourage staying home when feeling ill, keep both customers and staff safe during pickups and deliveries.
KitCoffee owner Helen McCarthy’s COVID protocols keep both her customers and staff safe during pickups and deliveries. (Photo courtesy of KitCoffee)
“Everyone is doing their self-screening, sanitizing high-touch surfaces, and we’re all wearing masks when on the floor,” she says. “There is hand sanitizer at the door and the cash for staff. There’s a limit of two customers in the cafe at a time (for order pickups) to maintain the six-foot physical distancing.”
McCarthy says business is not nearly what it was before the lockdown, even with the new delivery sales.
“It’s seasonal, as well,” she explains. “It’s already a slow month and, with a lockdown on top of that, it’s even worse.”
KitCoffee is now offering made-in-house gluten-free bagels as an alternative for any of their sandwiches and breakfast menu option. They’ve also launched a vegan, chickpea-based, scrambled egg breakfast sandwich. (Photo courtesy of KitCoffee)
As for McCarthy’s message to the community, “if you’re choosing to order food from somewhere, pick locally owned restaurants,” she pleads.
“Which I have been feeling like people have been doing,” she adds. “I do feel really grateful to the community.”
KitCoffee is located at 144 Hunter Street West in downtown Peterborough. You can place orders through their website at www.kitcoffee.ca. You can also follow KitCoffee on Instagram and Facebook.
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Publican House Brew Pub
The current provincial lockdown has been a difficult blow for Publican House Brew Pub owners Katie and Brad Watt, who just this winter made a significant investment in heating their outdoor patio.
“We just had that completed at the beginning of December, and were getting some really good traction with people using it as an alternative to eating inside,” notes Katie Watt. “We were just getting going with that, and then we got shut down. So that’s a little hard to bear right now.”
Without the ability to have people dine either inside or outside the restaurant, Katie says they’re facing challenges at an already difficult time of year for the restaurant industry. Even before this latest lockdown, business wasn’t anything compared to what it was at the same time last year, before the virus had any effect on the restaurant industry.
Publican House first opened as a retail craft brewery in downtown Peterborough and then expanded to include a brew pub. (Photo courtesy of Publican House)
The pub remains open for takeout from Wednesdays to Sundays. All orders are pickup and must be made through phone, although Katie says they’re on the cusp of having an online ordering system ready to go. You can look on their website to find their food menu and weekly specials.
Katie explains that things may look different when you come to pick up your order, given their COVID-19 protocols.
“There’s a table set up with plexiglass where customers come in one at a time to pay for and pick up their order. We sanitize our debit and credit handheld machine between customer visits. Customers have to be masked; we have to be masked.”
If customers want contactless pickup, they can also request that when placing their order.
Publican House Brew Pub employee Taylor Wells shows off the restaurant’s wood-fired pizzas as they are prepared for pickup. (Photo courtesy of Publican House)
Even if you’re not in a position to order takeout, Katie says the community can support their business by spreading the word.
“It’s really hard to get the word out to new customers,” she explains. “People sharing with their networks is super helpful to us.”
As a bonus to following their social media channels, Katie says that sometimes special surprise menu items are announced only there — usually something sweet, like the chocolate croissants offered a couple of weeks ago.
The Publican Brew Pub is located at 300 Charlotte Street in downtown Peterborough. You can check out their menu on their website (you can also order beverages including beer) at www.publicanhouse.com and place orders by calling 705-874-2619. You can also follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
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Hanoi House
While many restaurant owners are waiting for business to return to what it was before COVID-19, Susan Tung of Hanoi House doesn’t fully know what that looks like. She opened the first location of her Vietnamese-style restaurant, in downtown Peterborough, only four weeks before the first provincial lockdown.
Tung says business at Hanoi House has thrived despite the pandemic, and it is continuing to grow — she has just expanded by opening a second location on Lansdowne Street. When the old Copper Branch building went up for lease, Tung says she “couldn’t turn down an opportunity to be in such great location with a turn-key space.”
Before the lockdown, Hanoi House was open to customers for dine-in with COVID-19 precautions in place. For now, they’re able to continue offering takeout and delivery.
A temporary banner made by Signarama Peterborough hangs at the new second location of Hanoi House at Lansdowne Street West in Peterborough. (Photo courtesy of Hanoi House)
To order from Hanoi House, you can visit their website at www.hanoihouseptbo.com to choose a restaurant location and view their menu and specials. You can also place orders through the phone. If you select delivery, either a third-party service or Tung herself will make the contactless delivery.
Tung notes that Hanoi House has just joined SkipTheDishes for exposure purposes, but encourages customers to order delivery directly from the website instead.
“It’s cheaper for both the customer and the restaurant,” she explains.
Hanoi House owner Susan Tung (bottom front) poses with some of her staff. (Photo courtesy of Hanoi House)
If you choose to go to either location to make an order, only a limited number of people are allowed inside the restaurant at a time. Once you place your order, you will be asked to wait in your car and your food will be brought out to you.
Tung says she sees her story as a positive one — while the pandemic has forced many restaurants to close their doors for good, she has been able to grow. For this, she attributes the support of the Peterborough community.
“We’ve been really lucky to establish a pretty nice customer base already,” she explains. “I would love for people who have never tried Vietnamese food, or people that are just curious, to check out our website or follow our Instagram or Facebook.”
Some of the authentic Vietnamese menu items at the popular Hanoi House restaurant. You can find $25 and $30 value specials on their website. (Photo courtesy of Hanoi House)
Hanoi House has locations in Peterborough at 213 Hunter Street West and 1040 Lansdowne Street West.
To view their menu and specials and to place an order from either location, visit www.hanoihouseptbo.com. You can also follow Hanoi House on Instagram and Facebook.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 2,359 new cases today, the sixth day in a row of increases under 3,000. The seven-day average of daily cases across the province has fallen for 12 straight days, decreasing today by 100 to 2,603.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 14 new cases to report and 16 additional cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region decreasing by 2 to 172. There are two new outbreaks to report in long-term care settings in Lindsay.
Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (708), Peel (422), York (220), Hamilton (107), Ottawa (101), and Windsor-Essex (100).
There are double-digit increases in Niagara (94), Simcoe Muskoka (87), Waterloo (86), Halton (77), Durham (68), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (61), Middlesex-London (55), Eastern Ontario (29), Thunder Bay (21), Southwestern (21), Lambton (15), Huron Perth (14), Sudbury (12), and Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (11), with smaller increases in Brant (9), Haldimand-Norfolk (9), Chatham-Kent (8), and Peterborough (6).
The remaining 10 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 4 health units reporting no new cases at all.
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Of today’s new cases, 50% are among people 39 and younger, with the highest number of cases (870) among people ages 20-39, followed by 633 cases among people ages 40-59. With 3,025 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has increased by 0.4% to 88.0%.
The average positivity rate across Ontario has increased since yesterday by 1.2% to 4.5%, meaning that 45 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on January 22.
Ontario is reporting 52 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 25 in long-term care homes. Hospitalizations have decreased by 11 from yesterday to 1,501, but the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs has increased by 12 to 395, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators has increased by 8 to 299.
A total of 63,453 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 3,972 to 37,847. A total of 276,146 doses of vaccine have now been administered, with 11,161 daily doses administered and 57,907 total vaccinations completed (i.e., both doses administered).
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 14 new cases to report, including 9 in Peterborough, 4 in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 in Northumberland. For the second day in a row, there are no new cases in Hastings Prince Edward. There are no new cases to report in Haliburton.
An outbreak at Caressant Care retirement home in Lindsay was reported on January 23, and an outbreak at Caressant Care nursing home in Lindsay was reported on January 22 (both homes are located at 240 Mary St.). These are in addition to the outbreak at Caressant Care McLaughlin Road long-term care home in Lindsay where, as of January 21, 19 residents and 15 staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
There is 1 new hospitalization in Kawartha Lakes.
An additional 16 cases have been resolved, including 7 in Peterborough, 6 in Northumberland, 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 1 in Haliburton, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward.
There are currently 172 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, a decrease of 2 from yesterday, including 64 in Kawartha Lakes, 47 in Peterborough, 34 in Northumberland, 21 in Hastings Prince Edward (11 in Quinte West, 9 in Belleville, and 1 in Prince Edward County), and 6 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 511 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (457 resolved with 7 deaths), 392 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (305 resolved with 36 deaths), 355 in Northumberland County (315 resolved with 6 deaths), 46 in Haliburton County (40 resolved with no deaths), and 364 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (338 resolved with 5 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on January 21.
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: 511 (increase of 9) Active cases: 47 (increase of 2) Close contacts: 82 (decrease of 7) Deaths: 7 (no change) Resolved: 457 (increase of 7) Hospitalizations (total to date): 21 (no change)* Total tests completed: Over 41,000 (increase of 100) Outbreaks: The Regency retirement home in Lakefield, Centennial Place long-term care home in Millbrook, Peterborough Regional Health Centre (no change)
*As of January 22, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 13 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, with fewer than 5 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive.
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 statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 794, including 392 in Kawartha Lakes, 355 in Northumberland, and 46 in Haliburton (increase of 5, including 4 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Northumberland)* Active cases: 105, including 64 in Kawartha Lakes, 34 in Northumberland, and 6 in Haliburton (net decrease of 2) Probable cases: 3, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Northumberland (no net change) High-risk contacts: 150, including 70 in Kawartha Lakes, 55 in Northumberland, and 12 in Haliburton (net decrease of 7)** Hospitalizations (total to date): 30, including 21 in Kawartha Lakes, 8 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Kawartha Lakes)*** Deaths (including among probable cases): 42, including 36 in Kawartha Lakes and 6 in Northumberland (no change) Resolved: 660, including 305 in Kawartha Lakes, 315 in Northumberland, 40 in Haliburton (increase of 8, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes, 6 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Institutional outbreaks: Hope St. Terrace long-term care home in Port Hope, Fenelon Court in Fenelon Falls, Maplewood long-term care home in Brighton, Caressant Care McLaughlin Road long-term care home in Lindsay, Tower of Port Hope, Canadian Centre for Addictions in Port Hope, Warkworth Place long-term care home in Warkworth, Caressant Care retirement home in Lindsay, Caressant Care nursing home in Lindsay (increase of 2)****
*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.
**This total includes an additional 13 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.
***As of January 22, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 1 patient is hospitalized with COVID-19
***An outbreak at Caressant Care retirement home in Lindsay was reported on January 23, and an outbreak at Caressant Care nursing home in Lindsay was reported on January 22 (both homes are located at 240 Mary St.). These are in addition to the outbreak at Caressant Care McLaughlin Road long-term care home in Lindsay where, as of January 21, 19 residents and 15 staff have tested positive for COVID-19.
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, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 364 (no change) Active cases: 21 (decrease of 1) Deaths: 5 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 1 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 0 (no change) Resolved: 338 (increase of 1) Tests completed: 38,414 Vaccines administered: 393 Institutional outbreaks: Hastings Manor Beech Villa in Belleville, Crown Ridge long-term care home in Quinte West (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 252,585 (increase of 2,359) Resolved: 222,287 (increase of 3,025, 88.0% of all cases) Positivity rate: 4.5% (decrease of 1.2%) Hospitalized: 1,501 (decrease of 11) Hospitalized and in ICU: 395 (increase of 12) Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 299 (increase of 8) Deaths: 5,753 (increase of 52) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,375 (increase of 25) Total tests completed: 9,260,044 (increase of 63,453) Tests under investigation: 37,847 (decrease of 3,972) Vaccinations: 11,161 daily doses administered, 276,146 total doses administered, 57,907 total vaccinations completed (both doses)
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from December 23, 2020 – January 22, 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 December 23, 2020 – January 22, 2021. The red line is the number of tests completed daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from December 23, 2020 – January 22, 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 December 23, 2020 – January 22, 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)
An anti-lockdown protest at Queen's Park in Toronto on April 25, 2020. (Photo: Michael Swan)
Peterborough police fined three people under the Reopening Ontario Act during an anti-lockdown protest at Peterborough City Hall on Saturday afternoon (January 23).
At 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, police responded to the protest, which they say was organized by the same group that held a similar protest last Saturday.
Police estimate there were between 15 to 18 protestors in the group. “Police were able to convince 10 other protestors from joining the group,” reads a police media release.
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Police say the protestors were not wearing masks, did not consistently maintain the required two metres of distance from each other, and there were more than five people attending an organized public event.
Police issued three tickets under the Reopening Ontario Act for failing to adhere to the required restrictions. Each ticket carries an $880 dollar set fine.
“Where warranted, Peterborough Police Service will continue to issue tickets for infractions of the stay-at-home provincial order,” the media release states.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
Ontario is reporting 2,662 new cases today, with the seven-day average of daily cases across the province decreasing by 48 to 2,703.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 16 new cases to report and 11 additional cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region increasing by 4 to 174.
Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (779), Peel (542), York (228), Waterloo (128), Windsor-Essex (118), and Halton (102).
There are double-digit increases in Niagara (95), Durham (80), Hamilton (78), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (77), Ottawa (75), Simcoe Muskoka (71), Middlesex-London (65), Thunder Bay (58), Eastern Ontario (37), Huron Perth (26), Southwestern (19), Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (16), Sudbury (13), and Chatham-Kent (11), with smaller increases in Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (7), Haldimand-Norfolk (7), Grey Bruce (6), Lambton (6), and Brant (6).
The remaining 9 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 2 health units reporting no new cases at all.
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Of today’s new cases, 53% are among people 40 and older, with the highest number of cases (927) among people ages 20-39, followed by 805 cases among people ages 40-59 and 410 cases among people ages 60-79 With 3,375 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has increased by 0.4% to 87.6%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has decreased since yesterday by 1.0% to 3.3%, meaning that 33 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on January 21.
Ontario is reporting 87 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 43 in long-term care homes. Hospitalizations have decreased by 21 from yesterday to 1,512, with the number of patients with COVID-19 in ICUs decreasing by 5 to 383, and the number of patients with COVID-19 on ventilators decreasing by 2 to 291.
A total of 71,750 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation decreasing by 11,052 to 41,819. A total of 264,985 doses of vaccine have now been administered, with 11,168 daily doses administered and 49,292 total vaccinations completed (i.e., both doses administered).
Due to the remote learning period during the state of emergency, there will be no data to report for schools in the greater Kawarthas region until in-person learning resumes on January 25th. There are 27 new cases in licensed child care settings in Ontario, a decrease of 5 from yesterday, with 15 cases among children and 12 cases among staff.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 16 new cases to report, including 10 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Peterborough, 2 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton. There are no new cases in Hastings Prince Edward.
An additional 11 cases have been resolved, including 4 in Peterborough, 3 in Kawartha Lakes, 2 in Hastings Prince Edward, and 2 in Northumberland.
There are currently 174 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 4 from yesterday, including 60 in Kawartha Lakes, 45 in Peterborough, 40 in Northumberland, 22 in Hastings Prince Edward (12 in Quinte West, 9 in Belleville, and 1 in Prince Edward County), and 7 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 502 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (450 resolved with 7 deaths), 387 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (304 resolved with 36 deaths), 355 in Northumberland County (309 resolved with 6 deaths), 46 in Haliburton County (39 resolved with no deaths), and 364 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (337 resolved with 5 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Peterborough on January 21.
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: 502 (increase of 3) Active cases: 45 (decrease of 1) Close contacts: 89 (increase of 9) Deaths: 7 (increase of 1) Resolved: 450 (increase of 4) Hospitalizations (total to date): 21 (no change)* Total tests completed: Over 40,900 (increase of 100) Outbreaks: The Regency retirement home in Lakefield, Centennial Place long-term care home in Millbrook, Peterborough Regional Health Centre (no change)
*As of January 22, Peterborough Regional Health Centre is reporting 13 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, with fewer than 5 patients transferred from other areas as a result of a provincial directive.
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 statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 788, including 387 in Kawartha Lakes, 355 in Northumberland, and 46 in Haliburton (increase of 13, including 10 in Kawartha Lakes, 2 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton)* Active cases: 107, including 60 in Kawartha Lakes, 40 in Northumberland, and 7 in Haliburton (increase of 8, including 7 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Haliburton) Probable cases: 3 in Kawartha Lakes (decrease of 1 in Kawartha Lakes) High-risk contacts: 157, including 76 in Kawartha Lakes, 56 in Northumberland, and 12 in Haliburton (increase of 3, in Kawartha Lakes)** Hospitalizations (total to date): 29, including 20 in Kawartha Lakes, 8 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (no change)*** Deaths (including among probable cases): 42, including 36 in Kawartha Lakes and 6 in Northumberland (no change) Resolved: 652, including 304 in Kawartha Lakes, 309 in Northumberland, 39 in Haliburton (increase of 5, including 3 in Kawartha Lakes and 2 in Northumberland) Institutional outbreaks: Hope St. Terrace long-term care home in Port Hope, Fenelon Court in Fenelon Falls, Island Park Retirement Residence in Campbellford, Maplewood long-term care home in Brighton, Caressant Care McLaughlin Road long-term care home in Lindsay, Tower of Port Hope, Canadian Centre for Addictions in Port Hope, Golden Plough Lodge in Cobourg, Warkworth Place long-term care home in Warkworth (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.
**This total includes an additional 13 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.
***As of January 22, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay reports 1 patient is hospitalized with COVID-19, a decrease of 2 since yesterday.
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, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 364 (no change) Active cases: 22 (decrease of 3) Deaths: 5 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 1 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 0 (no change) Resolved: 337 (increase of 2) Tests completed: 38,414 Institutional outbreaks: Hastings Manor Beech Villa in Belleville, Crown Ridge long-term care home in Quinte West (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 250,226 (increase of 2,662) Resolved: 219,262 (increase of 3,375, 87.6% of all cases) Positivity rate: 3.3% (decrease of 1.0%) Hospitalized: 1,512 (decrease of 21) Hospitalized and in ICU: 383 (decrease of 5) Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 291 (decrease of 2) Deaths: 5,701 (increase of 87) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 3,350 (increase of 43) Total tests completed: 9,196,591 (increase of 71,750) Tests under investigation: 41,819 (decrease of 11,052) Vaccinations: 11,168 daily doses administered, 264,985 total doses administered, 49,292 total vaccinations completed (both doses)
COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Ontario from December 22, 2020 – January 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 tests completed in Ontario from December 22, 2020 – January 21, 2021. The red line is the number of tests completed daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 cases in Ontario from December 22, 2020 – January 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 deaths in Ontario from December 22, 2020 – January 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)
Those looking for an encouraging sign that the local rate of COVID-19 infection is showing improvement need look no further than the decision to reopen local schools on Monday, January 25th.
During a Peterborough Public Health media briefing held Friday (January 22), medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra said the decision to reopen local schools was made after consultation with Ontario Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams.
“Our weekly incidence rate continues to decline, our testing positivity rate has dropped to 1.1 per cent,” said Dr. Salvaterra, adding the data “supports a return to the classroom.”
“If the situation in our region changes, we will take appropriate action.”
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Dr. Salvaterra added additional measures will be undertaken to keeps student, teachers, and school staff safe. These include mandatory masking of students in grades 1 to 3, meaning all students from grades 1 to 12 are now required to wear a mask.
“Masks are highly recommended but not mandatory for kindergarten students,” added Dr. Salvaterra.
As encouraging as the reopening of schools is, Dr. Salvaterra strongly cautions against people letting down their guard, reminding that the province’s stay-at-home order remains in full effect until February 11th.
January, she reminded, has seen the highest number of positive COVID-19 cases locally in one month, at 152 and counting — a significant increase over December’s 137 positive cases.
On a sombre note, Dr. Salvaterra confirmed that a 90-year-old community resident “not connected to a congregate living setting or long-term care facility” died Thursday (January 21), bringing to seven the number of local COVID-related deaths since the pandemic’s outbreak.
“We don’t have certainty of where this person acquired their infection … it’s a bit of an unknown for us,” said Dr. Salvaterra, adding “We’re pursuing additional information to see if we can make a link. We haven’t been able to make a link with any certainty.”
That said, she pointed out what appears to be a slow but gradual flattening of the curve in the region.
As for outbreaks, a new one involving “a few” patient cases was declared Thursday (January 21) at the Peterborough Regional Health Centre in units A2 and B2, designated for stroke rehabilitation. This is the second outbreak at the hospital, the first being recorded back in early April 2020. At this point, how COVID was transmitted to the patients remains under investigation.
Two other outbreaks are ongoing: one at Regency Retirement in Lakefield, where two resident cases were detected, and the other at Centennial Place Long-Term Care in Millbrook, involving one resident case as well as a staff case. Meanwhile, an ongoing outbreak at Fairhaven long-term care in Peterborough cleared on Thursday (January 21).
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Overall local COVID-19 numbers show that as of Friday morning (January 22), there were 46 active COVID-19 cases in Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake and Hiawatha region with 80 close contacts of positive cases being monitored.
Since the pandemic’s outbreak, Peterborough Public Health has reported a total of 499 cases of which 446 have been resolved. To date, 40,800 residents have been tested.
As for the imminent arrival of vaccines and planned first dose immunization of residents, staff, and essential caregivers at eight long-term care homes in the region, Dr. Salvaterra said that is on track to be done by the self-imposed February 15th deadline.
Also present for Tuesday’s briefing were Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef, Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith, Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien, Peterborough County Warden J. Murray Jones, Peterborough Board of Health chair and Selwyn Mayor Andy Mitchell, and Peterborough Police Services Chief Scott Gilbert, who confirmed no new fines have been levied for the violation of COVID-19 protocols since three people ticketed this past weekend.
Police are seeking the owner or operator of this charcoal-grey four-door Toyota Matrix hatchback with black rims in the death of 40-year-old Corey Johnston on January 14, 2021 in Peterborough. (Police-supplied photo)
Peterborough police are asking for the public’s help in locating a second vehicle that was in the area when a pedestrian was struck and killed in Peterborough last week.
Corey Johnston, 40, of Peterborough was killed in the incident, which took place on George Street North near the Holiday Inn at around 8:30 p.m. last Thursday (January 14).
As part of the investigation, police are looking to identify a second vehicle that was in the area at the time of the incident.
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The charcoal-grey four-door hatchback with black rims was seen travelling northbound on George Street, then continuing northbound on Water Street before turning westbound onto King Street, then southbound on George Street before turning westbound onto Sherbrooke Street.
Police are asking the owner or operator of the vehicle to contact them.
Anyone from the public who is able to identify the owner or operator of the vehicle is asked to contact Constable Pilling at 705-876-1122 ext 254, or to submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or online at stopcrimehere.ca.
Police are seeking the owner or operator of this charcoal-grey four-door hatchback with black rims in the death of 40-year-old Corey Johnston on January 14, 2021 in Peterborough. (Police-supplied photo)
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