Thomas H.B. Symons in front of the Bata Library at Trent University in Peterborough. The founding president of the university, Professor Symons has passed away at the age of 91. (Photo courtesy of Trent University)
Trent University announced on Saturday (January 2) that Thomas Henry Bull Symons, its founding president, has passed away. He was 91 years old.
“It was a privilege to know President Symons,” says Dr. Leo Groarke, president and vice-chancellor of Trent University. “He was gracious, interested, and always obliging when I came to Trent. With great enthusiasm, he told me about Trent’s origins, the politics of Peterborough, and the lessons he learned from so many years in academic leadership,”
“Tom was an elder statesman in the best sense — an intelligent, witty and compassionate leader who was generous with his time, his knowledge and his hospitality. He was unwavering in his interest in Trent University, Peterborough, and post-secondary education.”
“His values remain at the heart of the university he started: in its commitment to the liberal arts and sciences, a university made up of colleges, and the School for the Study of Canada and Indigenous Studies. The impact of his work will reverberate across the nation and around the world for many years to come.”
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Professor Symons was born in Toronto in 1929 to First World War flying ace Harry Lutz Symons and Dorothy Bull, daughter of the financier and historian William Perkins Bull.
In 1961, while teaching history at the University of Toronto, Professor Symons was approached by a committee of Peterborough citizens who asked him to create a university for the city.
He accepted the challenge and, at 33 years old, became the youngest university president in Canada.
Thomas H.B. Symons as president-designate of Trent University in Peterborough in 1961. At just 33 years old, he was Canada’s youngest university president at the time. (Photo courtesy of Trent University)
He served as Trent University’s president and vice-chancellor for 11 years until 1972. Upon Professor Symons’ retirement in 1994, he was made Vanier Professor Emeritus and the Nassau Mills campus of the university was officially renamed in his honour for his years of dedication and tireless work.
He also played an instrumental role in the founding of Fleming College and over a dozen other colleges and universities around the world. His leadership in education and his contributions to society and the nation were widely recognized including his investment as a member of the Order of Canada in 1976 and the Order of Ontario in 2002.
After retirement, Professor Symons remained an active member of the university community as well within Peterborough and beyond.
Thomas H.B. Symons in Trent University’s 50th anniversary parade procession in 2014. After his retirement in 1994,Professor Symons remained an active member of the university community as well within Peterborough and beyond. (Photo courtesy of Trent University)
In recognition of Professor Symons’ exceptional contributions to Trent University and as an expression of deep sympathies to family, friends and colleagues, the flag atop Bata Library will be lowered.
Trent University has created a special tribute website at www.trentu.ca/professorsymons/ with more information about Professor Symons’ life and legacy at Trent University and around the world.
Corbin Alexander Zilney was born on 12:44 a.m. on January 1, 2021 at Peterborough Regional Health Centre. (Photo courtesy of PRHC)
The first baby of 2021 in the Kawarthas was born at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) on New Year’s Day, according to a media release from the hospital.
On Friday, January 1, 2021 at 12:44 a.m., parents Ashley Merlin and Alex Zilney welcomed their son Corbin Alexander Zilney into the world.
The baby boy was safely delivered at PRHC, weighing seven pounds. Mother and baby are doing well and the parents are overjoyed with the new addition to their family.
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“The care at PRHC has been wonderful, both on the antenatal side and here on [inpatient unit] A6,” Ashley said.
“There are of course some differences delivering now than with my other three children because of COVID-19 protocols, but the team has done a great job of making us feel very comfortable.”
Keene resident, historian, and retired Trent University professor John Jennings has been appointed to the Order of Ontario. (Photo courtesy of John Jennings)
Keene resident and historian John Jennings is one of 47 people who have been appointed to the Order of Ontario for 2019 and 2020.
Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell announced the appointments to the province’s highest honour on Friday (January 1). The Order of Ontario honours individuals whose exceptional achievements have left a lasting legacy in the province.
“One of Canada’s foremost historians of canoe history, Dr. John Jennings was a central figure in the creation and development of the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough — now a nationally recognized Canadian institution, which educates Canadians about the contribution of the canoe — a national iconic symbol,” reads a media release announcing the appointments. “Dr. Jennings book, The Canoe: A Living Tradition is regarded as a seminal contribution to the field.”
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Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Jennings moved to Peterborough and began teaching history at Trent University in Peterborough in 1976, where he was introduced to canoeing.
“I started becoming fascinated with the canoe and took my first canoe trips when I came to Trent and got involved with a small group of faculty who were passionate canoeists,” he said in a 1999 interview with Jim Barber published in Trent magazine.
That group of Trent professors eventually turned into a committee (and then a board of trustees) that worked to fulfill the dream of University of Toronto professor Kirk Wipper to create a national canoe museum (Wipper had collected more than 600 canoes). The committee’s original idea in 1982 was to establish the museum on Trent’s main campus, but that plan was shelved.
John Jennings presenting “The Historic Wind and Peel Rivers of the Northern Yukon” at the Wilderness & Canoe Symposium in 2014. (YouTube screenshot)
“We officially acquired the collection from Professor Wipper in 1995, but up until that time we stored canoes in barns around the Peterborough area,” Jennings said in his Trent magazine interview. “We realized that a permanent site was needed.”
In 1990, the city of Peterborough and the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority offered the board four acres of land on the Trent Severn Waterway, near Beavermead Park, as a site for the museum. (Ironically, this is now going to be the location of the museum’s new facility after the museum abandoned the site beside the Peterborough Life Lock due to chemical contamination of the soil).
Despite fundraising for buildings on the site, the board was no closer to constructing the new museum. Then, Outboard Marine Corporation, which has closed its factory in Peterborough in 1990, offered the board all of its property and buildings on Monaghan Road.
“The canoe is really the closest thing Canada has to a national symbol,” Jennings said in that story.
Here’s the full list of appointees to the Order of Ontario:
2020 Appointees to the Order of Ontario
Daniel Allen
Joseph Raymond Buncic
Michael DeGasperis
Raymond Desjardins
Ernest Eves
Hershell Ezrin
Carlo Fidani
Karen Goldenberg
Michael D. Harris
Ellis Jacob
Jing Jiang
Shana Kelley
André Lapierre
Dale Lastman
André M. Levesque
Peter Liu
Hazel McCallion
Arden McGregor
Janet McKelvy
George McLean
Hon. Rosemary Moodie
Hon. Robert. W. Runciman
Marilyn Sonley
Ahmad Reza Tabrizi
Hon. Karen Weiler
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2019 Appointees to the Order of Ontario
Melanie Adrian
Roland “Roly” Armitage
Allan Carswell
Helen Ching-Kircher
John Colangeli
Nancy Coldham
Sean Conway
Clare Copeland
Barbara Croall
Lisa Farano
Geoff Fernie
Allan Fox
John Freund
Susan Hay
John Jennings
Marlys Koschinsky
James W. Leech
Audrey Loeb
Dani Reiss
Janis Rotman
Linda Silver Dranoff
Joan Sutton Straus
The Lieutenant Governor will bestow the honour upon the newest appointees during an investiture ceremony at Queen’s Park, at a point in time in the future, when Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health deems gatherings possible once again in the province.
Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement for southern Peterborough County, southern Kawartha Lakes, and Northumberland County for the possibility of patchy freezing rain on Friday night (January 1).
A low pressure system moving north from Texas will track near the south shore of Lake Erie on Friday evening.
Precipitation will begin as snow early in the evening over areas north of Lake Ontario. This snow will then become mixed with patchy freezing rain or ice pellets later in the evening.
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Some minor ice accretion is possible.
Precipitation will transition to snow by early Saturday morning.
Environment Canada does not anticipate issuing freezing rain warnings at this time but will continue to monitor the situation.
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
As provincial data and individual public health unit data will not be available on New Year’s Day as it is a statutory holiday. kawarthaNOW will not be posting a COVID-19 update on January 1. Data for January 1 will be included in the January 2 update.
For the first time ever, Ontario has exceeded 3,000 daily COVID-19 cases, reporting 3,328 new cases on the last day of 2020, along with 56 new deaths and 337 COVID-19 patients in ICUs.
This is the third straight day of a record-breaking case count, with the seven-day average of daily cases across the province increasing by 126 to 2,436. Cases are now in the triple digits in 10 Ontario communities.
Back on November 12, Ontario’s top public health officials projected Ontario would have between 3,000 and 4,000 daily cases by the end of December. On December 21, they projected more than 300 ICU beds would be occupied by COVID-19 patients by the end of December.
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 27 new cases to report and 14 additional cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region increasing by 13 to 128.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (888), Peel (431), York (418), Windsor-Essex (257), Ottawa (194), Hamilton (156), Waterloo (127), Durham (114), Middlesex-London (112), and Niagara (110).
There are double-digit increases in Simcoe Muskoka (83), Southwestern Public Health (79), Halton (79), Eastern Ontario Health Unit (58), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (58), Brant (26), Lambton (25), Huron Perth (19), Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington (13), Chatham-Kent (12), and Haldimand-Norfolk (12), Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (10), with smaller increases in Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (9), Sudbury (8), Peterborough (8), Hastings Prince Edward (6), and Renfrew (6).
The remaining 7 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 3 health units (all in northern Ontairo) reporting no new cases at all.
New infections continue to predominate in people 40 years of age and older, with 52% of today’s cases in that age group. The highest number of cases (1,123) remains among people ages 20-39, followed by 1,037 cases among people ages 40-59 and 502 cases among people ages 60-79. With 2,213 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.4% to 85.6%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has decreased by 2.7% to 5.7%, meaning that 57 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on December 30.
Ontario is reporting 56 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 12 deaths in long-term care facilities. Hospitalizations have increased by 313 to 1,177. With 14 more patients with COVID-19 in ICUs reported today, there are now 337 COVID-19 ICU patients in Ontario. With 6 more COVID-19 patients on ventilators reported today, there are now 210 COVID-19 patients on ventilators.
A total of 63,858 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation increasing by 17,328 to 72,283. A total of 23,502 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, with 5,463 administered yseterday.
Due to the winter break and the remote learning period during the provincial shutdown, there will be no data to report for Ontario schools between December 22 and January 8. There are 57 new cases in licensed child care settings, an increase of 17 from ysterday, with 24 cases among children and 33 cases among staff.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 27 new cases to report, including 13 in Peterborough, 6 in Kawartha Lakes, 4 in Hastings Prince Edward, 3 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton. None of the new cases in licensed child care settings are in the greater Kawarthas region.
There are 2 new hospitalizations in Peterborough (as reported by Peterborough Regional Health Centre) and 1 new hospitalization in Kawartha Lakes.
An additional 14 cases have been resolved, including 7 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Peterborough, 2 in Northumberland, 1 in Haliburton, and 1 in Hastings Prince Edward,
There are currently 128 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 13 from yesterday, including 70 in Peterborough, 22 in Hastings Prince Edward (10 in Quinte West, 10 in Belleville, 1 in Tyendinaga & Deseronto, and 1 in North Hastings), 19 in Kawartha Lakes, 15 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 348 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (273 resolved with 5 deaths), 252 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (214 resolved with 32 deaths), 235 in Northumberland County (218 resolved with 2 deaths), 30 in Haliburton County (28 resolved with no deaths), and 281 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (254 resolved with 5 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Northumberland on December 27.
Province-wide, there have been 182,159 confirmed cases, an increase of 3,328 from yesterday, with 156,012 cases resolved (85.6% of all cases), an increase of 2,213 from yesterday. There have been 4,530 deaths, an increase of 56 from yesterday, with 2,777 deaths in long-term care homes, an increase of 39 from yesterday. The number of hospitalizations has increased by 58 to 1,235. With 14 more patients with COVID-19 in ICUs reported today, there are now 337 COVID-19 ICU patients in Ontario. With 6 more COVID-19 patients on ventilators reported today, there are now 210 COVID-19 patients on ventilators. A total of 7,922,058 tests have been completed, an increase of 63,858 from yesterday, with 72,283 tests under investigation, an increase of 17,328 from yesterday.
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: 348 (increase of 13) Active cases: 70 (increase of 10) Close contacts: 233 (increase of 30) Deaths: 5 (no change) Resolved: 273 (increase of 3) Hospitalizations (total to date): 14 (increase of 1)* Total tests completed: Over 39,200 (increase of 100) Institutional outbreaks: Riverview Manor in Peterborough, Unidentified congregate living setting (no change)
*As of December 31, Peterborough Regional Health Centre reports a total of 4 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, including 3 patients on an inpatient unit and 1 patient in ICU (transferred from another hospital). This represents an increase of 2 COVID-19 patients.
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: 517, including 252 in Kawartha Lakes, 235 in Northumberland, 30 in Haliburton (increase of 10, including 6 in Kawartha Lakes, 3 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton)* Active cases: 36, including 19 in Kawartha Lakes, 15 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton (no net change) Probable cases: 0 (no change) High-risk contacts: 266, including 46 in Kawartha Lakes, 185 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (net increase of 30)** Hospitalizations (total to date): 22, including 13 in Kawartha Lakes, 7 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Kawartha Lakes) Deaths: 34 (no change) Resolved: 460, including 214 in Kawartha Lakes, 218 in Northumberland, 28 in Haliburton (increase of 10, including 7 in Kawartha Lakes, 2 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton) Institutional outbreaks: Golden Plough Lodge in Cobourg (no change)
*The health unit states that total counts and counts for individual counties may fluctuate from previously reported counts as cases are transferred to or from the health unit based on case investigation details and routine data cleaning.
**This total includes 28 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.
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: 281 (increase of 4) Active cases: 22 (increase of 3) Deaths: 5 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 3 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 0 (no change) Resolved: 254 (increase of 1) Swabs completed: 26,760 (increase of 15) Institutional outbreaks: None (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 182,159 (increase of 3,328) Resolved: 156,012 (increase of 2,213, 85.6% of all cases) Positivity rate: 5.7% (decrease of 2.7%) Hospitalized: 1,235 (increase of 58) Hospitalized and in ICU: 337 (increase of 14) Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 210 (increase of 6) Deaths: 4,530 (increase of 56) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 2,777 (increase of 39) Total tests completed: 7,922,058 (increase of 63,858) Tests under investigation: 72,283 (increase of 17,328) Daily vaccine doses administered: 5,463 Total vaccine doses administered: 23,502
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from November 20 – December 30, 2020. 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 November 20 – December 30, 2020. 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 November 20 – December 30, 2020. 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 November 20 – December 30, 2020. 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)
After searching a Park Street home in Peterborough on Wednesday afternoon (December 30), police have arrested and charged a 30-year-old Peterborough man with firearms and animal cruelty offences.
Ar around 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, the Peterborough police’s emergency response team executed a search warrant at 216 Park Street North, closing the street for about an hour.
Police arrested 30-year-old Kevin Fenn of Peterborough, who was wanted in connection with the shooting of a dog at the end of November and pointing a firearm at the dog’s female owner.
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Fenn is bound by an undertaking with Ontario Provincial Police to not communicate with the female victim and by a prohibition order not to possess any firearm, any crossbow, restricted weapon, ammunition, and explosive substance for a period of 10 years or any prohibited firearm, restricted firearm, prohibited weapon, prohibited device, and prohibited ammunition for life.
As a result of the investigation and search warrant, Fenn has been charged with killing or injuring animals, unauthorized possession of a firearm, using a firearm while committing an offence, three counts of possession of a firearm or ammunition contrary to prohibition order, possession of a weapon for dangerous purpose, and cruelty to animals (unnecessary pain, suffering or injury).
During the search of the residence, police also recovered a Polaris ATV that had been reported stolen to Peterborough County OPP.
Fenn is being held in custody and will appear in court on Thursday (December 31).
A detail of an illustration created by local artist Jason Wilkins in real-time to capture ideas and key concepts shared at a 2019 community forum on the United Nations' 2030 Agenda. The forum brought together 120 community leaders, politicians, students, and educators to learn more about the agenda and to identify priorities for the Peterborough region using collaborative activities and discussion. (Photo: Kawartha World Issues Centre)
Each week, GreenUP provides a story related to the environment. This week’s story is by Hayley Goodchild, Sustainability and Landscaping Project Coordinator at GreenUP.
This is the first article in a three-part series about the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (also called the 2030 Agenda).
In Part 1, we explain what the 2030 Agenda is and how the Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC) and GreenUP are working together to advance the agenda locally.
On the cusp of 2021, I’m reflecting on the importance of the next decade for improving the health and well-being of all life on Earth. Time is of the essence. COVID-19 has contributed to the first increase in global poverty in decades, and scientists warn that we must massively reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 to prevent catastrophic climate change.
The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development offers a way to navigate these interconnected crises. It is an ambitious global plan to “free the human race from the tyranny of poverty and want, and to heal and secure our planet.”
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The 2030 Agenda: 17 goals for sustainable development
Haven’t heard of this 2030 Agenda? You’re not alone. A survey conducted by the World Economic Forum in 2019 found that just 51 per cent of Canadians are aware of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), well below the estimated global rate of awareness of 74 per cent.
The 2030 Agenda was adopted by the United Nations general assembly in 2015. It is a framework of 17 interconnected goals ranging from ending poverty to combating climate change. The Millennium Development Goals focused on the development of the Global South and served as the predecessor to the SDGs. Unlike the Millennium Development Goals, the SDGs apply to every nation around the world.
The 2030 Agenda, adopted by the United Nations general assembly in 2015, is a framework of 17 interconnected sustainable development goals addressing the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. (Graphics: United Nations)
I like to think of the 2030 Agenda as a forest, where each SDG is a unique tree that is integral to the whole. In a forest, trees are only as healthy as the soil that feeds them.
Equity is the soil that nourishes each of the SDGs and makes their achievement possible. The United Nations calls this underlying principle “Leave No One Behind.” In Canada, leaving no one behind means reckoning with the injustices facing Indigenous peoples, people of colour, people with disabilities, women and gender-diverse people, and others.
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Connecting the global to the local
In 2019, local efforts to increase awareness about the SDGs kicked off with a community event hosted by the Kawartha World Issues Centre (KWIC), GreenUP, Fleming College’s Office of Sustainability, the Ontario Council for International Cooperation, Trent University, and the Regional Centre for Expertise.
This forum brought together 120 community leaders, politicians, students, and educators to learn more about the 2030 Agenda. Participants identified priorities for our region using collaborative activities and discussion.
“I enjoyed how we were able to get so many different groups of people, of different ages and backgrounds, to collaborate and prioritize these goals in Peterborough,” explains Faith Mwesigye, who helped organize the forum. “It was a good example of what can happen when different voices come together to listen and learn from each other.”
In Peterborough, the Kawartha World Issues Centre and GreenUP are working together to advance the 2030 Agenda locally, focusing on five of the 17 goals: ending poverty, providing quality education, clean water and sanitation, climate action, and partnerships with Indigenous peoples. (Graphics: United Nations)
In 2020, KWIC was awarded federal funding to build upon the foundations established at that event, in partnership with GreenUP. We’ve formed five diverse and inclusive action teams to promote further action toward the 2030 Agenda while leaving no one behind.
Four of the teams are organized around specific goals: No Poverty (SDG 1), Quality Education (SDG 4), Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), and Climate Action (SDG 13). The fifth group, called the Indigenous Leadership Action Team (ILAT), supports the work of the other four groups by bringing diverse Indigenous perspectives to each issue.
All five teams are connected to priorities identified at the 2019 Community Forum.
One of the five local priorities for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is eliminating poverty. (Graphic courtesy of GreenUP)One of the five local priorities for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is providing high-quality education. (Graphic courtesy of GreenUP)One of the five local priorities for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is providing clean water and sanitation. (Graphic courtesy of GreenUP)One of the five local priorities for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is taking action on climate change. (Graphic courtesy of GreenUP)One of the five local priorities for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is creating partnerships on the goals, specifically with Indigenous peoples. (Graphic courtesy of GreenUP)
“Too often in Canada and within the SDGs, Indigenous peoples are the furthest left behind,” explains Shaelyn Wabegijig, one of the coordinators of the project and an Algonquin youth. “This work is about learning how to maintain good relationships between people and the natural world we are part of.”
“Michi Saagiig community members carry the knowledge of their ancestors to maintain good relationships in this place since time immemorial,” Wabegijig adds. “This is why it is so important for Michi Saagig community members to guide our work through the Indigenous leadership action team.”
In addition to the Indigenous leadership action team, two Indigenous consultants and an Elder advisor are supporting the SDG project as a whole.
On February 24 and 25, 2021, Advancing the 2030 Agenda in Peterborough Nogojiwanong will culminate in a second Community Forum. At this forum, Indigenous leadership and the action teams will share their work and discuss next steps in the spirit of leaving no one behind.
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Coming up in February
Look for Part 2 of this series of articles in February. In that article, we speak with the project’s Indigenous consultants and Elder advisor to learn more about how Indigenous knowledge and leadership are guiding this work and promoting action toward the 2030 Agenda in a good way.
Advancing the 2030 Agenda is funded through the Government of Canada’s Sustainable Development Goals Program. For more information about the project and our 2021 Community Forum, please visit greenup.on.ca/sdg/.
Canada's public safety and emergency preparedness minister Bill Blair speaking virtually at a media conference on December 30, 2020, when the federal government announced all air travellers entering Canada must prove they have had a negative PCR COVID-19 test within 72 hours before arriving in the country. (CPAC screenshot)
Here’s an update on COVID-19 cases in Ontario as well as in the greater Kawarthas region.
After reporting a record increase of 2,553 new cases yesterday, today Ontario is reporting a new record of 2,923 cases, with the seven-day average of daily cases across the province increasing by 74 to 2,310.
As provincial data and individual public health unit data will not be available on New Year’s Day as it is a statutory holiday. kawarthaNOW will not be posting a COVID-19 update on January 1. Data for January 1 will be included in the January 2 update.
On the heels of intense criticism of Ontario finance minister Rod Phillips contravening provincial public health directives by taking a personal vacation to the Caribbean in December, the federal government announced today that all air travellers entering Canada must prove they have had a negative PCR COVID-19 test within 72 hours before arriving in the country.
“We have implemented some of the strongest border measures in the world,” said Bill Blair, federal public safety and emergency preparedness minister, during a media conference. “Today, we want to reinforce a very simple but important message: we strongly advise against travel unless it is absolutely necessary. No government in Canada can prevent Canadians from travelling, but we want to be very clear — we strongly advise against all discretionary travel.”
The new requirement takes effect on January 7, 2021. Blair emphasized it does not replace the mandatory 14-day quarantine period when travellers enter the country.
“If you must travel, understand that upon your return to Canada, you must follow guidelines and quarantine for 14 days,” Blair said. “It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s the law.”
In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 24 new cases to report and 19 additional cases resolved, with the number of active cases across the region increasing by 4 to 115.
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Most of today’s new cases are in Toronto (with another record increase of 998), Peel (441), York (408), Durham (158), Windsor-Essex (144), and Halton (114).
There are double-digit increases in Niagara (82), Hamilton (69), Waterloo (69), Ottawa (68), Middlesex-London (67), Simcoe Muskoka (65), Southwestern Public Health (46), Lambton (40), Brant (25), Chatham-Kent (21), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (20), Huron Perth (17), Eastern Ontario Health Unit (16), and Leeds, Grenville & Lanark (12), with smaller increases in Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit (8) and North Bay Parry Sound (6).
The remaining 12 health units are reporting 5 or fewer new cases, with 3 health units (all in northern Ontairo) reporting no new cases at all.
New infections continue to predominate in people 40 years of age and older, with 52% of today’s cases in that age group. The highest number of cases (1,039) remains among people ages 20-39, followed by 885 cases among people ages 40-59 and 458 cases among people ages 60-79. With 2,237 more cases resolved since yesterday, the percentage of resolved cases has decreased by 0.2% to 86.0%. The average positivity rate across Ontario has decreased by 1.3% to 8.4%, meaning that 84 out of every 1,000 tests performed were positive for COVID-19 on December 29.
Ontario is reporting 19 new COVID-19 deaths today, including 12 deaths in long-term care facilities. Hospitalizations have increased by 313 to 1,177, although this increase is from the 864 hospitalizations reported on December 28, which omitted data from more than 10% of Ontario hospitals and was likely higher than reported. With 19 more patients with COVID-19 in ICUs reported today, there are now 323 COVID-19 ICU patients in Ontario.
A total of 39,210 tests were completed yesterday, with the backlog of tests under investigation increasing by 22,105 to 54,955.
Due to the winter break and the remote learning period during the provincial shutdown, there will be no data to report for Ontario schools between December 22 and January 8. There are 40 new cases in licensed child care settings, an increase of 11 since yesterday, with 10 cases among children and 30 cases among staff.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are 24 new cases to report, including 17 in Peterborough, 4 in Hastings Prince Edward (including 1 in North Hastings), 2 in Kawartha Lakes, 1 in Northumberland. There are no new cases in Haliburton. None of the new cases in licensed child care settings are in the greater Kawarthas region.
There is 1 new hospitalization in Kawartha Lakes and 1 new hospitalization in Northumberland.
An additional 19 cases have been resolved, including 7 in Hastings Prince Edward, 6 in Northumberland, 4 in Peterborough, and 2 in Kawartha Lakes.
There are currently 115 active cases in the greater Kawarthas region, an increase of 4 from yesterday, including 60 in Peterborough, 19 in Hastings Prince Edward (8 in Quinte West, 9 in Belleville, 1 in Prince Edward County, and 1 in North Hastings), 20 in Kawartha Lakes, 14 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 335 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (270 resolved with 5 deaths), 246 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (207 resolved with 32 deaths), 232 in Northumberland County (216 resolved with 2 deaths), 29 in Haliburton County (27 resolved with no deaths), and 277 in Hastings and Prince Edward counties (253 resolved with 5 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Northumberland on December 27.
Province-wide, there have been 178,831 confirmed cases, an increase of 2,923 from yesterday, with 153,799 cases resolved (86.0% of all cases), an increase of 2,237 from yesterday. There have been 4,474 deaths, an increase of 19 from yesterday, with 2,738 deaths in long-term care homes, an increase of 12 from yesterday. The number of hospitalizations has increased by 313 to 1,177, although this increase is from the 864 hospitalizations reported on December 28, which omitted data from more than 10% of Ontario hospitals and was likely higher than reported. With 19 more patients with COVID-19 in ICUs reported today, there are now 323 COVID-19 ICU patients in Ontario. With 3 fewer COVID-19 patients on ventilators reported today, there are now 204 COVID-19 patients on ventilators. A total of 7,858,200 tests have been completed, an increase of 39,210 from yesterday, with 54,955 tests under investigation, an increase of 22,105 from yesterday.
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.
17 new cases
4 resolved
60 active cases
Confirmed positive: 335 (increase of 17) Active cases: 60 (increase of 13) Close contacts: 203 (decrease of 10) Deaths: 5 (no change) Resolved: 270 (increase of 4) Hospitalizations (total to date): 14 (increase of 1)* Total tests completed: Over 39,100 (increase of 100) Institutional outbreaks: Riverview Manor in Peterborough, Unidentified congregate living setting (no change)
*As of December 29, Peterborough Regional Health Centre reports 1 patient with COVID-19 on an inpatient unit and 1 patient with COVID-19 in the ICU (transferred from another hospital).
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: 507, including 246 in Kawartha Lakes, 232 in Northumberland, 29 in Haliburton (increase of 3, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Northumberland)* Active cases: 36, including 20 in Kawartha Lakes, 14 in Northumberland, and 2 in Haliburton (decrease of 6, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes and 5 in Northumberland) Probable cases: 0 (no change) High-risk contacts: 236, including 42 in Kawartha Lakes, 163 in Northumberland, and 3 in Haliburton (net increase of 10)** Hospitalizations (total to date): 21, including 13 in Kawartha Lakes, 7 in Northumberland, and 1 in Haliburton (increase of 2, including 1 in Kawartha Lakes and 1 in Northumberland) Deaths: 34 (no change) Resolved: 450, including 207 in Kawartha Lakes, 216 in Northumberland, 27 in Haliburton (increase of 8, including 2 in Kawartha Lakes and 6 in Northumberland) Institutional outbreaks: Golden Plough Lodge in Cobourg (no change)
*The health unit states that total counts and counts for individual counties may fluctuate from previously reported counts as cases are transferred to or from the health unit based on case investigation details and routine data cleaning.
**This total includes 28 high-risk contacts directly followed up through the Public Health Ontario contact tracing process that are missing the contacts’ county.
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: 277 (increase of 4) Active cases: 19 (decrease of 3) Deaths: 5 (no change) Currently hospitalized: 3 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change) Currently hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator (total to date): 0 (no change) Resolved: 253 (increase of 7) Swabs completed: 26,745 (increase of 26) Institutional outbreaks: None (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 178,831 (increase of 2,923) Resolved: 153,799 (increase of 2,237, 86.0% of all cases) Hospitalized: 1,177 (increase of 313)* Hospitalized and in ICU: 323 (increase of 19) Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 204 (decrease of 3) Deaths: 4,474 (increase of 19) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 2,738 (increase of 12) Total tests completed: 7,858,200 (increase of 39,210) Tests under investigation: 54,955 (increase of 22,105)
*This increase is from the 864 hospitalizations reported on December 28, which omitted data from more than 10% of Ontario hospitals. It is likely the actual number of hospitalizations on December 28 was higher than reported.
COVID-19 cases in Ontario from November 29 – December 29, 2020. 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 November 29 – December 29, 2020. 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 November 29 – December 29, 2020. 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 November 29 – December 29, 2020. 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)
Members of the Kawartha Lakes Police Service and Kawartha Lakes Fire and Rescue rescue a woman who had fallen through thin ice on Scugog River in Lindsay on December 29, 2020. (Photo courtesy of Kawartha Lakes Police Service)
On Tuesday (December 29), Kawartha Lakes police rescued a woman who had fallen through the ice on Scugog River in Lindsay.
At around 1:50 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, police responded to a report of a woman who was stranded on the ice on Scugog River in the north end of Lindsay.
The woman had been out walking with friends when she became stranded on the thin ice. When officers arrived on the scene, the woman had fallen through the ice but had managed to keep herself above the surface.
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With the assistance of Kawartha Lakes Fire and Rescue, officers quickly managed to get a rope to the woman and were able to pull her out of the water and to shore.
She was transported to hospital by Kawartha Lakes EMS where she was treated and released.
Police are reminding the public that conditions remain unsafe and they should stay off of the ice due to fluctuating temperatures and strong currents.
Environment Canada has issued a winter weather travel advisory for Peterborough County, the City of Kawartha Lakes, and Haliburton County for Wednesday morning and afternoon (December 30).
An area of snow will move into the region between 5 and 7 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Around 2 centimetres of snow will fall within the span of an hour or so.
Road conditions may quickly deteriorate once the snow arrives.
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After a lull in precipitation, a wintry mix of freezing rain and ice pellets will move in by late Wednesday morning in southern Peterborough County and southern Kawartha Lakes. The threat of freezing rain should end in the afternoon.
In northern Peterborough County and northern Kawartha Lakes, several additional centimetres of snow is likely, particularly over areas of higher terrain. Over lower terrain areas, precipitation may become mixed with rain by Wednesday afternoon.
In Haliburton County, snow will become heavy at times through early Wednesday afternoon, with accumulation of around 10 centimetres.
Travel is expected to be difficult due to accumulating snow and possible freezing rain. Motorists and pedestrians are urged to exercise caution.
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