For the first time since 2004, Peterborough’s Multicultural Canada Day Festival will not be celebrated in Del Crary Park.

New Canadians Centre (NCC), which organizes the family-friendly event, announced on Wednesday (April 29) that the July 1st celebration won’t be going ahead as planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The organization will instead be providing alternative programming, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

The annual celebration usually draws more than 10,000 people to Del Crary Park for international food and craft vendors and multicultural sports and stage performers from around the world, supported by more than 130 volunteers.

“For everyone’s safety, we have made the difficult decision to proceed with alternatives to the regular in-person festival program,” says Bhisham Ramoutar, NCC outreach worker and lead festival organizer.

The theme of the 2020 festival is “Peterborough Is My Home”, recognizing newcomers and their families who have contributed to the cultural fabric of the community.

The festival will return to Del Crary Park in 2021, organizers say.

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

Here’s today summary: there are 86 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area, 137 in the City of Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Northumberland County, 7 in Haliburton County, and 39 in Hastings County and Prince Edward County.

That’s a net decrease of 1 case from yesterday’s report. One previously reported case in Kawartha Lakes has been removed as a duplicate.

There have been 37 deaths, an increase of 1 from yesterday’s report. The latest death was reported by Hastings Prince Edward Public Health.

Province-wide, there are 15,728 confirmed cases, an increase of 347 from yesterday’s report. This is the lowest number of new cases in the past three weeks. There have been 996 deaths, an increase of 40 from yesterday’s report. A total of 264,594 tests have been completed, an increase of 11,554 from yesterday’s report, with 9,612 cases 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: 86 (no change from April 28)
Confirmed negative: Not available, to be updated on April 30
Results pending: Not available, to be updated on April 30
Deaths: 2 (increase of 1 from April 28)
Resolved: 44 (increase of 2 from April 28)
Total tests completed: Not available, to be updated on April 30
Institutional Outbreaks: St. Joseph’s at Fleming, St. John’s Senior Centre, Empress Gardens Retirement Residence, Extendicare Lakefield, Peterborough Retirement Residence (no change from April 28)*

*Number of cases not reported.

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: 157, including 137 in Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Northumberland, 7 in Haliburton (decrease of 1 from April 28)*
Hospitalizations: 10 (no change from April 28)
Deaths: 32, including 28 in Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon (no change from April 28)
Resolved: 115 (no change from April 28)
Institutional Outbreaks: Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay, Case Manor in Bobcaygeon (no change from April 28)**

*One previously reported case has been removed through data cleaning as a duplicate entered into iPHIS by multiple public health units.
**Number of cases not reported.

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

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

Confirmed positive: 39 (no change from April 28)
Probable cases: 215 (increase of 3 from April 28)
Deaths: 3 (increase of 1 from April 28)
Hospitalized: 2 (no change from April 28)
Hospitalized and in ICU: 1 (increase of 1 from April 28)
Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 0 (no change from April 28)
Recovered: 19 (no change from April 28)
Total tests completed: 2,340 (increase of 227 from April 28)
Institutional Outbreaks: Hastings Manor in Belleville, Moira Place in Tweed (no change from April 28)*

*Number of cases not reported.

Province of Ontario

Confirmed positive: 15,728 (increase of 347 from April 28)
Hospitalized: 977 (increase of 20 from April 28)
Hospitalized and in ICU: 235 (decrease of 4 from April 28)
Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 186 (decrease of 1 from April 28)
Deaths: 996 (increase of 45 from April 28)
Total tests completed 264,594 (increase of 11,554 from April 28)
Tests under investigation: 9,530 (increase of 3,248 from April 28)
Resolved: 9,612 (increase of 648 from April 28)

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

The equation is simple: increased testing for COVID-19 equals more positive cases.

Referring to updated local COVID-19 data during her weekly media briefing held on Wednesday (April 29), Peterborough medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra notes there has been increase of 27 positive cases over the past week, bringing the total for Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake, and Hiawatha to 86.

That jump, she adds, is directly related to a huge increase in testing over the same period — an increase of close to 2,000 tests to bring the total to 3,713 tests conducted in total.

“Screening questions for COVID have now been changed,” says Dr. Salvaterra. “In addition to fever, cough, and shortness of breath, people are being asked if they have two or more of the following symptoms: sore throat, a runny nose, sneezing, nasal congestion, a hoarse voice, difficulty swallowing, loss of sense of smell, chills, headaches, unexplained fatigue, diarrhea, abdominal pain, or nausea and vomiting.”

“If someone is over the age of 65, they’re asked if they’re experiencing one of the following: a new delirium, falls, acute dysfunctional decline or worsening of their chronic condition. Many of our new cases were found because of the increase criteria.”

Dr. Salvaterra also spoke briefly to the region’s second reported COVID-19 related death, noting the resident of St. Joseph’s at Fleming had been in palliative care since January and died Saturday, April 18th with COVID-19 listed as “a contributing cause.” She couldn’t confirm the resident’s age or gender.

Looking ahead, Dr. Salvaterra expects testing to ramp up even more.

“Unless we aggressively look for the virus, we won’t find the very mild cases that might still be out there and capable of transmitting to people who are more vulnerable. The earlier we find them, the earlier we can ensure that they’re isolated and the sooner we can identify their contacts and try to contain the spread.”

As of Wednesday (April 29), besides the 86 positive cases found, 2,798 tests have come back negative with results awaited on 829 tests. A total of 42 cases have been resolved.

Gender wise, COVID-19 has afflicted more females (59 per cent) than males (41 per cent) — which is four per cent higher than the average in Canada of 55 per cent females and 45 per cent males.

As for the source of COVID-19 exposure, half of those who have tested positive had contact with a known case.

There are declared outbreaks at St. Joseph’s at Fleming, Empress Gardens, Extendicare Lakefield, Peterborough Retirement Resident, and St. John’s Senior Centre. All are “well controlled,” says Dr. Salvaterra.

A resident of Hospice Peterborough recently tested positive for COVID-19, but Peterborough Public Health has not declared an outbreak at that facility.

Meanwhile, in partnership with Peterborough County, Peterborough Public Health is launching a public service announcement video featuring County Warden J. Murray Jones and Dr. Salvaterra on its social media platform aimed specifically at cottagers, urging them to not visit their cottages.

Also participating in Wednesday’s media briefing were Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien, Peterborough County Warden J. Murray Jones, and Selwyn mayor and Peterborough Public Health chair Andy Mitchell. Each praised front-line health care staff and other essential workers for their efforts.

Peterborough Public Health COVID-19 Weekly Situational Report – April 29, 2020
COVID19-Weekly-Situational-Report-April-29-2020

The Ontario government is expanding the list of essential workers in the province who are eligible to receive free emergency child care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the announcement on Wednesday (April 29) along with Minister of Health Christine Elliott and Minister of Education Stephen Lecce.

The additional front-line workers who can now access emergency child care services include:

• Workers in grocery stores and pharmacies
• Truck drivers (driver’s licence Class A and Class D)
• Workers in the food supply chain, including food processing
• Workers in retirement homes
• Auxiliary workers in health care settings, including cooks and cleaning staff in hospitals and long-term care homes
• Interpreters and intervenors who support people who are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing and deaf-blind
• Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry emergency personnel
• Provincial officers and onsite staff in Ontario courts
• Canadian Armed Forces and Department of National Defence staff working in Ontario
• Additional workers supporting public safety and correctional services.

“While our front-line workers are looking after us, we need to make sure we’re looking after them and their families,” Premier Ford said.

“Providing emergency child care for our essential workers gives parents one less thing to worry about when they’re on the job saving lives, protecting us, or keeping shelves stocked with food and necessities.”

On Sunday, March 22nd, the Ontario government announced an emergency order directing certain child care centres to reopen, subject to physical distancing constraints, to provide access to child care for health care and other front-line workers, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, firefighters, police, and correctional officers.

On Friday, April 17th, the government expanded the list of essential workers eligible to access emergency child care to include those who assist vulnerable communities, emergency response and law enforcement sector staff, more health and safety workers, and certain federal employees.

Almost 100 child care centres have since reopened along with 40 licensed home child care agencies in communities across the province. To accommodate the children of more front-line workers, 37 additional centres have been approved to reopen in the coming days.

All child care sites are required to have a protocol in place in the event that a child, parent, or staff member at the site is exposed to COVID-19.

More information about eligibility and a list of emergency child care centres is available on the Ontario government website at ontario.ca/page/child-care-health-care-and-frontline-staff.

Principals and teachers from two Catholic secondary schools in Cobourg and Bowmanville have come together to create a manufacturing project capable of producing as many as 500 protective face shields for local health care workers.

The project is part of a collaboration between St. Mary Catholic Secondary School in Cobourg and St. Stephen Catholic Secondary School in Bowmanville.

Both schools have manufacturing classrooms and, after the government closed schools and issued a call for personal protective equipment (PPE), the principals and technology teachers at both schools began to collaborate on a project to put the schools’ laser-cutter technology to use and produce PPE.

The group, which hopes to support local hospitals and long-term care homes in Peterborough, Northumberland, and Clarington, recently completed its first successful batch and distributed face shields to the staff at Extendicare long-term care home in Cobourg.

“Our school communities are very proud of the efforts our technological studies staff have made to support our greater community,” says St. Mary principal James Brake. “They heard the call and worked on a plan to meet it. It is amazing to see the technology we put into the hands of students be used in such a way.”

The project is moving to Holy Cross Catholic Secondary School in Peterborough to reduce travel time for those working on the equipment.

To maintain physical distancing, school staff working on the project have been meeting via video conference.

Donations to the Bobcaygeon and Area COVID-19 Relief Fund have now topped $150,000, organizers announced on Monday (April 27).

The fund was established at the end of March in response to the tragic COVID-19 outbreak at Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, which eventually claimed the lives of 28 people living at the home and devastated the tight-knit community.

The fund is intended to provide immediate support to eligible individuals, families, and health care workers in the Bobcaygeon area who are in need of financial assistance.

“The level and creativity of giving shows great generosity and community support,” says Bobcaygeon councillor Kathleen Seymour-Fagan, who leads the fund with a team of local volunteer advisors. “It really demonstrates incredible spirit.”

So far, the fund has dispersed more than 30 per cent of donations, including support for staff at Pinecrest Nursing Home and seniors’ residences as well as local individuals and families. This includes supplying access to food supplies, support for a 24/7 crisis line for local residents (especially youth who may be isolated in difficult home situations), and mental wellness counselling.

“We are very pleased that the funds are getting in the hands of people who need them,” says Mike Perry, president of the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes, the charitable organization administering the fund. “We are honoured that the community foundation could be used to manage the funds professionally and that the foundation’s flexibility is helping in these very hard times.”

Decisions on distribution of the funds are made by a group of local volunteer advisors — Dianne Lister, Ann Adare, Elizabeth Byrnes, Jelle Visser, and Kathy Dufton — led by Seymour-Fagan working together with the foundation.

Donations have come from individuals, businesses, service clubs, and associations in Bobcaygeon, across Kawartha Lakes, and from as far away as Miami.

Businesses and organizations that have made substantial donations to date include Stewart Morrison Insurance, British Empire Fuels, Kawartha Dairy, Kawartha Art Gallery, Whitney Plastics, Transicor, Darling Insurance, Kinsmen Club of Lindsay, Bigley Shoes and Clothing, Buckeye Surf, Sentinel Risk Insurance Group, Excel Beyond Insurance, Crazy Monkey Tree Service, and the local Lions Club.

You can donate to the fund online at canadahelps.org/en/dn/47803, by e-transfer to info@kawarthafoundation.ca, or by cheque sent to Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes C/O Stewart Morrison Insurance 158 Lindsay St. S, Lindsay On, K9V 2N1. Tax receipts will be issued through the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes.

People who are in need of support under the Bobcaygeon and Area COVID-19 Relief Fund can contact Seymour-Fagan at kseymourfagan@kawarthalakes.ca or 705-731-9775.

On Sunday (April 26), a COVID-19 outbreak was declared at Case Manor, the other long-term care facility in Bobcaygeon, after four residents and four staff members tested positive for the virus.

A resident of Hospice Peterborough has tested positive for COVID-19, the palliative care organization announced in a media release on Tuesday afternoon (April 28).

The asymptomatic resident had been transferred to the organization’s London Street location from a long-term care facility that recently experienced a COVID-19 outbreak.

“Awareness of this diagnosis has allowed us to maximize this individual’s comfort, while protecting their family and staff through isolation and other protective equipment measures and procedures,” says Hospice Peterborough medical director Dr. John Beamish. “We remain committed to our mission of providing optimal care to the dying, while supporting family and community through difficult times.”

There are no additional suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 among Hospice Peterborough residents or staff members.

According to Hospice Peterborough, Peterborough Public Health has not declared a COVID-19 outbreak at the residence.

An Ontario Ministry of Health directive requires that a COVID-19 outbreak must be declared in a long-term care home when there is a single laboratory confirmed case of COViD-19 in a resident or staff member. However, the directive also states it may not be necessary to declare an outbreak for a new admission or re-admission to a long-term care home “if they have been in isolation under contact and droplet precautions since entering the home.”

Hospice Peterborough says that, since the beginning of March, the facility has followed an outbreak management plan by implementing and following strict pandemic protocols, precautions, and procedures. Only essential staff and visitors have been allowed to enter the London Street facility, all staff members and visitors have been provided with personal protective equipment, and deep cleaning and disinfecting has been taking place.

“As always the health and safety of clients, residents, family members, volunteers, staff, partners, and community members is paramount,” says Hospice Peterborough executive director Hajni Hos. “We have communicated each and every COVID-19 development and occurrence with our stakeholders and community since the beginning.”

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

Here’s today summary: there are 86 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area, 138 in the City of Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Northumberland County, 7 in Haliburton County, and 39 in Hastings County and Prince Edward County.

That’s an increase of 6 cases, with 3 additional cases in Peterborough, 2 additional cases in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 additional case in Hastings County and Prince Edward County.

There have been 36 deaths, an increase of 1 from yesterday’s report. The additional death reported by Peterborough Public Health is of a person who passed away earlier this month; the person’s death was just determined to be due to complications from COVID-19.

Province-wide, there are 15,381 confirmed cases, an increase of 525 from yesterday’s report, and 951 deaths, an increase of 59 from yesterday’s report. A total of 253,040 tests have been completed, an increase of 10,852 from yesterday’s report, with 6,282 cases 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: 86 (increase of 3 from April 27)
Confirmed negative: 2,798 (increase of 481 from April 27)
Results pending: 829 (increase of 116 from April 27)
Deaths: 2 (increase of 1 from April 27)
Resolved: 42 (increase of 2 from April 27)
Total tests completed: 3,713 (increase of 600 from April 27)
Institutional Outbreaks: St. Joseph’s at Fleming, St. John’s Senior Centre, Empress Gardens Retirement Residence, Extendicare Lakefield, Peterborough Retirement Residence (no change from April 27)*

*Number of cases not reported.

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: 158, including 138 in Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Northumberland, 7 in Haliburton (increase of 2 from April 27)
Hospitalizations: 10 (no change from April 27)
Deaths: 32, including 28 in Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon (no change from April 27)
Resolved: 115 (increase of 2 from April 27)
Institutional Outbreaks: Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay, Case Manor in Bobcaygeon (no change from April 27))*

*Number of cases not reported.

Hastings Prince Edward Public Health

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

Confirmed positive: 39 (increase of 1 from April 27)
Probable cases: 212 (increase of 4 from April 27)
Deaths: 2 (no change from April 27)
Hospitalized: 2 (decrease of 4 from April 27)
Hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (decrease of 1 from April 27)
Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 0 (no change from April 27)
Recovered: 19 (increase of 2 from April 27)
Total tests completed: 2,113 (increase of 260 from April 27)
Institutional Outbreaks: Hastings Manor in Belleville, Moira Place in Tweed (no change from April 27)*

*Number of cases not reported.

Province of Ontario

Confirmed positive: 15,381 (increase of 525 from April 27)
Hospitalized: 957 (increase of 12 from April 27)
Hospitalized and in ICU: 239 (decrease of 2 from April 27)
Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 187 (decrease of 4 from April 27)
Deaths: 951 (increase of 59 from April 27)
Total tests completed 253,040 (increase of 10,852 from April 27)
Tests under investigation: 6,282 (decrease of 1,281 from April 27)
Resolved: 8,964 (increase of 439 from April 27)

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