kawarthaNOW is providing a daily report of COVID-19 cases in the greater Kawarthas region.

Here’s today summary: there are now 69 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area, 142 in the City of Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Northumberland County, 7 in Haliburton County, and 43 in Hastings County and Prince Edward County.

That’s a net decrease of 11 cases from yesterday’s report, with 15 cases in Peterborough identified as false positives due to a lab error at Bio-Test Laboratories in Ottawa. There are 3 new cases in Kawartha Lakes and 1 new case in Hastings and Prince Edward.

Outbreaks at Empress Gardens Retirement Residence and St. John’s Senior Centre in Peterborough and Belmont in Belleville have been declared over.

There have been 38 deaths, a decrease of 1 from yesterday’s report (Peterborough Public Health has reduced the number of deaths; no information is yet available on why). The most recent death was reported on April 30 by Hastings Prince Edward Public Health.

Province-wide, there are 17,923 confirmed cases, an increase of 370 from yesterday’s report. There have been 1,300 deaths, an increase of 84 from yesterday’s report (this is the largest one-day increase in recent weeks). A total of 342,060 tests have been completed, an increase of 14,555 from yesterday’s report, with 6,265 tests under investigation.

This report is based on data supplied by the province’s integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS), as well as any additional information supplied by hospitals. This information is at least 24 hours old, so it is not real-time data.

We publish the daily report, usually by late afternoon, with the most current information released by health units. Note that each health unit reports the information in a different way.

Peterborough Public Health

Peterborough Public Health’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.

Confirmed positive: 69 (decrease of 15 from May 3)*
Confirmed negative: 2,798 (as of April 28)**
Results pending: 829 (as of April 28)**
Deaths: 2 (decrease of 1 from May 3)***
Resolved: 47 (no change from May 3)
Total tests completed: 3,713 (as of April 28)**
Institutional Outbreaks: St. Joseph’s at Fleming, Extendicare Lakefield, Peterborough Retirement Residence (decreasse of 2 from May 3)****

*The total number of positive cases may no longer be accurate. On May 3, the health unit advised that 22 positive cases reported between April 22 and 29 may be false positives due to a technical error at an Ottawa laboratory.

**Due to increased testing in long-term care facilities, there is a delay in reporting these numbers.

***The health unit has decreased the number of deaths by one. Information on the reason for the change is not yet available.

****Outbreaks at Empress Gardens Retirement Residence and St. John’s Senior Centre have been declared over.

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.

Confirmed positive: 162, including 142 in Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Northumberland, 7 in Haliburton (increase of 3 from May 3)*
Hospitalizations: 10 (no change from May 3)
Deaths: 32, including 28 in Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon (no change from May 3)
Resolved: 123 (no change from May 3)
Institutional Outbreaks: Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay, Case Manor in Bobcaygeon, Adelaide Place in Lindsay**

*The total number of positive cases may no longer be accurate. On May 3, the health unit advised that 13 positive cases at Case Manor in Bobcaygeon and Adelaide Place in Lindsay may be false positives due to a technical error at an Ottawa laboratory.

**An outbreak at Adelaide Place in Lindsay was declared on April 30th when a single resident tested positive for COVID-19. However, that test may be a false positive due to a technical error at an Ottawa laboratory.

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health’s service area is Hastings County (including Bancroft) and Prince Edward County.

Confirmed positive: 43 (increase of 1 from May 3)
Probable cases: 195 (decrease of 3 from May 3)
Deaths: 4 (no change from May 3)
Hospitalized: 1 (no change from May 3)
Hospitalized and in ICU: 1 (no change from May 3)
Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 0 (no change from May 3)
Recovered: 20 (no change from May 3)
Total tests completed: 3,202 (increase of 51 from May 3)
Institutional Outbreaks: Hastings Manor in Belleville, Moira Place in Tweed (decrease of 1 from May 3)*

*The COVID-19 outbreak at Belmont in Belleville was declared over on May 4th due to insufficient evidence of COVID-19.

Province of Ontario

Confirmed positive: 17,923 (increase of 370 from May 3)
Hospitalized: 984 (decrease of 26 from May 3)
Hospitalized and in ICU: 225 (decrease of 7 from May 3)
Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 175 (increase of 1 from May 3)
Deaths: 1,300 (increase of 84 from May 3)
Total tests completed 342,060 (increase of 14,555 from May 3)
Tests under investigation: 6,265 (decrease of 3,520 from May 3)
Resolved: 12,505 (increase of 500 from May 3)

For more information about COVID-19 in Ontario, visit covid-19.ontario.ca.

This story has been updated with the most recent information from health units released in late afternoon on May 4th.

A 25-year-old Quinte West woman faces impaired driving charges after crashing her car into a cemetery just west of Brighton on Saturday morning (May 2).

Just before 7 a.m., Northumberland OPP responded to a report of a single-vehicle collision on County Road 2 near Branscombe Road.

Officers arrived on scene and found a severely damaged grey Chevrolet four-door sedan on the north side of County Road 2, within the perimeter of a cemetery at that location.

The driver, who was the lone occupant of the vehicle, was found to be under the influence of alcohol and was transported to a local area hospital to be treated for injuries sustained as a result of the collision.

Taylor Elizabeth Haryett was arrested and charged with operation while impaired – alcohol and drugs, operation while impaired – blood alcohol concentration (80 plus), and driving while under suspension.

She was released and is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Cobourg on June 24, 2020.

The Peterborough Police Service is asking for the public’s assistance in locating missing person 14-year-old Kurtis Hawkes.

Hawkes was last seen leaving his residence at approximately 6 p.m. last Wednesday (April 29), heading for the skate park near Monaghan Road in Peterborough.

On Friday (May 1), he telephoned saying he was heading to Bobcaygeon with an unknown female.

Hawkes has not been heard from since.

Hawkes is white, 5’8″ and 155 lbs, and was last seen wearing a dark blue jacket.

Anyone with information is asked to call Peterborough police at 705-876-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or www.stopcrimehere.ca.

After Peterborough Public Health reported on Friday (May 1) that 22 positive COVID-19 test results were affected by a technical error at Bio-Test Laboratories in Ottawa, another local health unit is reporting that 13 of its positive test results have also been affected by the same error.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit sent 13 specimens from staff and residents of two long-term care homes in the City of Kawartha Lakes to Bio-Test Laboratories for testing. Bio-Test has advised that a technical error has resulted in a decision by the lab to reject all COVID-19 positive test results performed last weekend.

There is a concern that these results may have shown a positive test result when they were in fact negative.

The positive results received prompted the health unit to declare COVID-19 outbreaks in Case Manor in Bobcaygeon and Adelaide Place in Lindsay. The health unit has notified the 13 people of the questionable test results.

Additional testing is being conducted immediately. The swabs are being sent to a different lab and test results are expected this weekend.

“While we hope these cases actually do test negative, this error and misdiagnosis is very unfortunate for the individuals and their families,” says Dr. Lynn Noseworthy, medical officer of health for the HKPR District Health Unit.

“Many of these individuals live in Bobcaygeon and we know how devastating COVID-19 has been for that community already, so we are hopeful we will receive some good news with the new test results and can lift our outbreak declaration at these long-term care homes.”

This reporting error will also impact the close contacts of these cases. The health unit recommends that anyone identified as a close contact of these individuals should continue their isolation and self-monitoring until the results of the retesting have been received.

The health unit says all contacts can expect to hear from a public health nurse for further guidance.

The Ganaraska Region Conservation Authority (GRCA) in Port Hope announced on Friday (May 1) that it has temporarily laid off some of its full and part-time employees, as well as reducing hours of full-time employees still providing essential services.

The lay offs and reductions, which affect more than 50 per cent of GRCA’s workforce, have been in place since Monday, April 27th.

The GRCA operates on revenues raised through its watershed programs and services — including the Ganaraska Forest and the Ganaraska Forest Centre, which contribute to around 30 per cent of the GRCA’s annual revenues — as well as levy support from its eight partner municipalities.

Due to the pandemic, both the Ganaraska Forest and the Ganaraska Forest Centre have been closed to the public since March 17th.

The Ganaraska Forest Centre’s 42-year-old outdoor education program normally serves almost 10,000 students from across Ontario throughout the year. With the previous province-wide teacher strike followed by the pandemic, schools have had to reduce visits since early winter, greatly reducing the program’s revenues.

The closures have also affected weddings scheduled for 2020 at the Ganaraska Forest Centre, and may jeopardize the GRCA’s Nature Nuts Summer Camp program for young environmentalists.

“These cutbacks and closures were extremely difficult to make,” says the GRCA’s board chair Jeff Lees. “The GRCA, like many others, are being optimistic that this current situation will end soon, so that we can bring staff back to their important positions serving our local watershed and open our buildings and properties to the public.”

Formed in October 1946, the GRCA is one of the oldest conservation authorities in Ontario. The watersheds of the GRCA cover an area of 935 square kilometres from Wilmot Creek in Clarington to east of Cobourg, from the south shore of Rice Lake down to Lake Ontario.

Although operating with reduced staff, the GRCA says it “remains committed to the Ganaraska Region Watershed, and working with its partners to ensure that the special spaces and places that make the Ganaraska Region so unique remain intact for others to enjoy.”