Two staff members at Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay have tested positive for COVID-19.
The hospital began increased surveillance and testing of all patients and staff, after an inpatient on the hospital’s CCP1 (Continuing Care Program) unit tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday (April 17).
Following the positive result, the hospital declared a COVID-19 outbreak — defined as one or more positive cases — and is testing all staff and physicians who work on the unit, as well anyone who was in close contact with the patient.
So far, testing has revealed the two staff members who have COVID-19. The two individuals are self-isolating and will require negative testing before returning to work.
The hospital’s contact tracing also identified two patients recently discharged from the unit to long-term care. These patients were tested for COVID-19 prior to their discharge with negative results and, in alignment with current public health directives, were placed in 14-day isolation at the homes.
The hospital has closed the CCP1 unit to all visitors and admissions. All hospital staff and physicians, including the team on the unit, are being required to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and wear appropriate personal protective equipment in the course of their work.
Staff are also screened at the entrance each day, including having their temperature taken.
As well as the patient who tested positive for COVID-19 on April 17, another patient is being treated for COVID-19 at the hospital, but this case is unrelated to the outbreak.
The COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC).(Photo: PRHC)
Testing for COVID-19 at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) has increased considerably over the past week with more than 100 people now being tested daily — a considerable increase from the 20 to 40 people being tested just a week ago.
During a media briefing held Monday morning (April 20), Dr. Lynn Mikula, the hospital’s vice-president, chief medical executive and chief of staff, said the increase is “due to the fact we have opened testing up to more people” at the hospital’s COVID-19 assessment centre.
“With provincial guidance, last week we opened up the testing criteria considerably,” says Dr. Mikula, noting that more than 1,700 tests have been done at the hospital to date.
“We’re now testing people with even very mild symptoms and we’re not asking people to first go through the online screening tool. They can call the assessment centre directly and then come in for an appointment.”
An appointment with the PRHC assessment centre can be made by calling 705-876-5086. The centre is open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, PRHC continues to treat two COVID-19 patients in its intensive care unit. Dr. Mikula says she is unable to comment on their clinical condition.
Four hospital staff members who earlier tested positive continue to self-isolate at home.
Dr. Mikula also announced the formation of a new COVID-19 Mobile Assessment Plus Response Team that is working with local long-term care homes, providing clinical assessment and testing for mildly symptomatic residents where they reside as well as provide education on infection prevention and control practices.
As for those who need to visit the hospital’s emergency department for non COVID-related treatment, Dr. Mikula says “an unfortunate trend” is being seen.
“Some people seem to be avoiding calling their doctor’s office or coming to the emergency room for care. Waiting too long for care can have negative consequences. Both the hospital and your GP (General Practitioner) are open and have taken steps to make sure it is safe for you to obtain medical care. If you need to see a doctor, please do so.”
While Dr. Mikula was delivering the briefing, Ontario’s public health officials released new modelling projections showing that the community spread of COVID-19 in Ontario appears to have peaked — although the number of cases in long-term care homes continues to climb, with half of Ontario’s COVID-19 deaths to date occurring in the homes.
As of Monday morning (April 20), Peterborough Public Health reported a total of 56 positive COVID-19 cases in Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake and Hiawatha. However, 326 test results are still pending.
There has been one local COVID-19 related death: Peterborough photographer and retired psychologist Dr. George Dimitroff, 68, died on Sunday, April 12th at PRHC.
Across Ontario, again as of Monday morning (April 20), the total number of positive cases stood at 11,184 with 5,515 of those resolved and 584 deaths linked to COVID-19. A total of 164,840 people have been tested with results awaited on 3,799 tests.
Dr. Steini Brown, dean of the University of Toronto's public health department, releases new modelling projections for the province on April 20, 2020. (Photo: Premier of Ontario / YouTube)
Ontario’s public health officials have announced both good and bad news about the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic in the province, during a technical briefing on Monday (April 20).
The briefing was presented by Dr. Steini Brown, dean of the University of Toronto’s public health department, Ontario Health president and CEO Matthew Anderson, and associate chief medical officer of health Dr. Barbara Yaffe.
The good news is that the community spread of COVID-19 in Ontario appears to have peaked and is coming under control, as a result of public health interventions that were put in place.
“We’re hoping to see a reduction in cases as we go along,” Dr. Brown said, adding that the number of community deaths are expected to decrease.
Modelling projections released by the Ontario government on April 3rd had projected the peak happening in May, with 80,000 cases by the end of April.
With the peak now taking place in April, the total number of cases for the span of the outbreak is now expected to be less than 20,000 by the end of April.
The rate of growth in COVID-19 hospitalizations has also slowed, while the number of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units has remained relatively constant over the past week.
VIDEO: Dr. Steini Brown – COVID-19 technical briefing – April 20 2020
If current measures restricting spread of the disease remain in place, officials say Ontario appears to be tracking toward a “best case” scenario similar to the experience of South Korea.
The bad news is that the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care and other congregate settings such as homeless shelters seems to be growing.
Half of the deaths in Ontario have occurred in long-term care facilities, Dr. Brown said.
Dr. Yaffe said Ontario is urgently implementing its COVID-19 action plan for protecting long-term care homes, which includes: aggressive testing, screening and surveillance; managing outbreaks and spread of the disease; and growing the long-term care workforce by redeploying staff from hospitals and home care and community care as well as recruitment.
Cumulative cases of COVID-19 cases among residents and staff of long-term care facilities and resident deaths. Unlike the flattening of the curve for community spread of COVID-19, the curves continue to climb for the spread of the virus in congregate settings. (Graphic: Ontario Ministry of Health)
Dr. Yaffe added that implementation of enhanced public health measures will continue. She stressed that everyone needs to stay home as much as possible and maintain physical distancing to ensure the provincecontinues to stop the spread of COVID-19 and flatten the curve.
“These actions are making a big difference,” Dr. Yaffe said. “You need to stay the course and stay strong to save lives. Thank you all very much for your work in helping us keep this terrible infection from spreading more.”
In response to a media question on when we will be able to go back to normal life, Dr. Yaffe said there is no clear answer.
“When we do start to lift some of the measures, it will not be a light switch, on-off,” she said. “It will be very gradual, and we’ll have to measure the impact of each change as we make it, and make sure that we’re not seeing more infections as we lift it. Because once we lift it, it will be very hard to go back.”
She added that the current data reflects infections that happened two or three weeks ago, because of the virus’s incubation period of up to 14 days.
“We have to give it time,” she said. “People really have to stay the course for now.”
This story has been updated to include a video of Dr. Steini Brown speaking about the progress of COVID-19 in Ontario.
The Peterborough Police Service is encouraging local business owners to provide police with contact information.
Because only essential businesses are allowed to remain open during Ontario’s state of emergency, some local businesses are closed and vacant during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Police are asking businesses to complete an online form at peterboroughpolice.com/request/business-property/ to provide information about the business, its location, whether it is currently vacant, and key-holder contact information.
The police will use this information if they need to gain access to the business while it is vacant or closed. The information is only for police use and will be kept confidential.
Businesses can update the information as required by returning to the online form later.
Police are also offering the following crime prevention tips for local businesses that have shut down because of the pandemic:
Keep the lights on
Remove all cash and receipts
Do NOT leave any valuables visible or accessible
All safe and registers/tills should be emptied and moved offsite for safe storage
Keep all cash tills and drawers empty and open to show that there is nothing in them
Have all ATMs emptied and moved off-site
Remove all alcohol products from restaurant/bar areas and move them to a secure storage area (no alcohol should be left visible from the outside)
Consider posting “no cash or valuables on-premises” signage
Deactivate all scheduled FOB door openings for cleaners and delivery services
Make regular site visits to monitor your shop/business and to manage inventory and storage conditions (consider scattering the time that this is done to discourage establishing a pattern)
For more information or for any questions, contact the Peterborough Police Service Communications Centre at 705-876-1122 ext. 225.
kawarthaNOW is providing a daily report of COVID-19 cases in the greater Kawarthas region.
Here’s today summary: there are 58 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area, 111 in the City of Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Northumberland County, 7 in Haliburton County, and 31 in Hastings County and Prince Edward County.
That’s an increase of 4 cases from yesterday’s report, with 2 additional cases in Peterborough, 1 additional case in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 additional case in Hastings County and Prince Edward County.
There have been 35 deaths, with no increase in deaths from yesterday’s report. The last reported death was in Peterborough on Sunday, April 12th. Note: the total number of deaths now includes one originally reported on March 31st by Hastings Prince Edward Public Health; that death occurred prior to these daily updates and was inadvertently excluded as the health unit does not include deaths to date in its daily report.
Province-wide, there are 10,578 confirmed cases, an increase of 568 from yesterday’s report, and 553 deaths, an increase of 39 from yesterday’s report. The number of cases under investigation has declined by 1,087 from yesterday’s report.
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’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
Confirmed positive: 58 (increase of 2 from April 18) Confirmed negative: 1,447 (increase of 43 from April 18) Results pending: 326 (increase of 54 from April 18) Deaths: 1 (no change from April 18) Resolved: 31 (no change from April 18) Institutional Outbreaks: Peterborough Regional Health Centre, St. Joseph’s at Fleming, Riverview Manor* (no change from April 18)
*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: 131, including 111 in Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Northumberland, 7 in Haliburton (increase of 1 from April 18) Hospitalizations: 9 (no change from April 18) Deaths: 33, including 29 in Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon (no change from April 18) Institutional Outbreaks: Pinecrest Nursing Home, Ross Memorial Hospital*
**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: 31 (increase of 1 from April 18) Probable cases: 241 (decrease of 4 from April 18) Deaths: 1* Institutional Outbreaks: Hallowell House (Picton), Hastings Manor (Belleville)**
*This is not a new death; it was reported on March 31st before kawarthaNOW began its daily updates. As the health unit does not include the number of deaths in its daily reports, we have retroactively included the number here for accuracy. **Number of cases not reported.
Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 10,578 (increase of 568 from April 18) Under investigation: 5,736 (decrease of 1,087 from April 18) Hospitalized: 809 (decrease of 19 from April 18) Hospitalized and in ICU: 247 (decrease of 3 from April 18) Hospitalized and in ICU with ventilator: 196 (decrease of 1 from April 18) Deaths: 553 (increase of 39 from April 18) Resolved: 5,209 (increase of 334 from April 18)
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario by public health unit, January 15 – April 18, 2020. (Graphic: Public Health Ontario)
This black bear spotted in the area of Romaine and Monaghan in Peterborough on the morning of April 19, 2020. (Photo via Sarah Nyarota / Facebook)
If you live in the central west end of Peterborough, you will want to bring your pets and children inside.
A black bear was spotted roaming in Peterborough on Sunday morning (April 19) around 7 a.m. in the area of Romaine and Monaghan, north of the Evinrude Centre and The Canadian Canoe Museum.
Peterborough resident Sarah Nyarota posted photos of the bear on her Facebook page:
??WARNING?? BLACK BEAR ROAMING BY EVINRUDE.
Hubby saw this guy roaming around this morning. 911 has been called. Please keep your pets inside!
*UPDATE* last seen going West on Whitefield – 9:00 am
The bear was last seen heading west, on Whitefield Drive, at 9 a.m. heading towards the Kawartha Golf & Country Club. As of 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 19th, kawarthanow is not aware of any further sightings of the bear.
Sightings of wildlife in urban areas are becoming more common around the world, including in Canada, due to decreased human activity because of the COVID-19 lockdown.
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, black bears usually emerge from their winter dens from early to mid-April in southern Ontario. Adult males often wander considerably at this time as they are searching for food.
The City of Peterborough is aware of the bear sighting and provided advice to residents on its Twitter account.
We’ve seen media reports. If you have an emergency encounter with a bear call 911. Police will respond first to an emergency and might request assistance from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Non-emergency encounters call Bear Wise reporting 1-866-514-2327.
With people isolated at home by themselves or with their families, the perennial board game has seen another resurgence in popularity. One popular game is Pandemic, a cooperative board game where players are disease-fighting specialists righting virulent diseases that have broken out simultaneously all over the world. (Photo: CDC)
It’s no surprise the COVID-19 lockdown has forced Canadians to change the way they spend their spare time, with solitary hobbies and family activities seeing a dramatic increase in popularity at the expense of social activities.
Polish-based e-commerce platform Picodi recently compared the frequency of Google search queries in Canada in March 2020 with the same time last year.
At-home creative hobbies like needlecraft and calligraphy have increased in popularity, as have activities such as online and offline gaming, online learning, and home fitness.
Social activities such as going to the movies, concerts, and the theatre have fallen in popularity, as have hobbies like photography that often require mingling with people. Interest in foreign languages has also declined, likely because of travel restriction.
Searches related to home renovation have also declined significantly, possibly because of the financial uncertainty created by the pandemic.
How the hobbies of Canadians have changed due to isolation. (Inforgraphic: Picodi.com)
One at-home activity that has seen a huge increase in popularity is playing board games.
One of the most popular games right now is Pandemic, a cooperative board game where players are disease-fighting specialists righting virulent diseases that have broken out simultaneously all over the world.
According to a 2013 blog post on the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website, the game has been a favourite of epidemiologists.
In 2012, Wil Wheaton (Stand by Me, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Big Bang Theory) profiled the game on his TableTop YouTube.
kawarthaNOW is providing a daily report of COVID-19 cases in the greater Kawarthas region.
Here’s today summary: there are 56 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area, 110 in the City of Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Northumberland County, 7 in Haliburton County, and 30 in Hastings County and Prince Edward County.
That’s a total increase of 5 cases from yesterday’s report, with 2 additional cases in Peterborough, 1 additional case in Kawartha Lakes (reported by Ross Memorial Hospital), and 2 additional cases in Hastings County and Prince Edward County.
There have been 34 deaths, with no increase in deaths from yesterday’s report. The last reported death was in Peterborough on Sunday, April 12th.
Province-wide, there are 10,010 confirmed cases, an increase of 485 from yesterday’s report, and 514 deaths, an increase of 36 from yesterday’s report. An additional 840 tests were conducted since yesterday’s report.
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’s service area is the City and County of Peterborough and the Hiawatha and Curve Lake First Nations.
Confirmed positive: 56 (increase of 2 from April 17) Confirmed negative: 1,404 (increase of 31 from April 17) Results pending: 272 (increase of 10 from April 17) Deaths: 1 (no change from April 17) Resolved: 31 (no change from April 17) Institutional Outbreaks: Peterborough Regional Health Centre, St. Joseph’s at Fleming, Riverview Manor* (no change from April 17)
*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: 129, including 110 in Kawartha Lakes, 13 in Northumberland, 7 in Haliburton (increase of 1 from April 17, in Kawartha Lakes*) Hospitalizations: 9 (no change from April 17) Deaths: 33, including 29 in Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon (no change from April 17) Institutional Outbreaks: Pinecrest Nursing Home**, Ross Memorial Hospital***
*The health unit has not yet reported this additional case, but Ross Memorial Hospital announced on April 18 that one inpatient has tested positive. **Number of cases not reported. **The health unit has not yet reported this outbreak, but Ross Memorial Hospital declared an outbreak on April 18.
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health’s service area is Hastings County (including Bancroft) and Prince Edward County.
Confirmed positive: 30 (increase of 2 from April 17) Probable cases: 245 (no change from April 17) Deaths: 0 Institutional Outbreaks: Hallowell House (Picton), Hastings Manor (Belleville)*
*Number of cases not reported.
Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 10,010 (increase of 485 from April 17) Under investigation: 6,833 (increase of 840 from April 17) Hospitalized: 828 (decrease of 1 from April 17) Hospitalized and in ICU: 250 (decrease of 5 from April 17) Hospitalized and in ICU with ventilator: 197 (decrease of 3 from April 17) Deaths: 514 (increase of 36 from April 17) Resolved: 4,875 (increase of 681 from April 17)
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario by public health unit, January 15 – April 17, 2020. (Graphic: Public Health Ontario)
Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay. (Photo: Ross Memorial Hospital / Twitter)
A inpatient at Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay has tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in a declaration of an outbreak at the hospital. A COVID-19 outbreak is classified as one or more cases.
The patient, who has been hospitalized for an unrelated health issue on the CCP1 (Continuing Care Program) inpatient unit, was tested after experiencing a sudden onset of symptoms of respiratory illness, according to a media release from the hospital on Saturday (April 18).
A representative from Ross Memorial Hospital tells kawarthaNOW the patient has been in hospital since mid February and presented with symptoms earlier this week. No information is available about how the patient may have contracted the virus.
“Due to our increased surveillance measures, our team was able to swiftly identify this patient’s change in condition and complete testing,” says hospital president and CEO Kelly Isfan. “The hospital will continue to do everything we can to protect our patients and team.”
In a media release, the hospital states it has implemented outbreak control measures, including:
relocating the patient to an isolation room in the hospital’s dedicated COVID-19 unit;
identifying any potential exposures among other patients as well as hospital staff and physicians;
increased surveillance and testing of all patients and staff on the unit, and anyone who may have been in close contact with the patient; and
restricted access to the affected unit.
“The hospital is continuing to work closely with the Health Unit to ensure all precautions are put in place to protect the patients and staff of the hospital,” says Dr. Lynn Noseworthy, medical officer of health with the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit.
In addition to outbreak control measures, the hospital already has other measures in place, including following public health directives for personal protective equipment, restricting visitors and non-essential workers, active screening at entrances, and increased screening and surveillance of all patients.
This story has been updated with information about when the patient was admitted to the hospital and when the patient developed symptoms.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses Canadians on the COVID-19 pandemic from Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on April 17, 2020. (Photo: Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press)
On Friday (April 17), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced over $1 billion in support for small and medium-sized businesses, including start-ups, that are suffering financially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic but aren’t eligible for other federal support programs.
“There are many other firms in the country that don’t qualify for the wage subsidy but still need help,” Trudeau said.
“This funding will help ensure that more businesses especially smaller employees based in more rural parts of the country or those who don’t have a relationship with a traditional financial institution are getting the support that they need.”
The federal government will provide $675 million to Canada’s regional development agencies and $287 million to the Community Futures Network of Canada, which is funded through the regional development agencies.
The $675 million in funding will enable regional development agencies (which include FedDev Ontario) to provide equivalent bridge financing support to businesses that don’t qualify for other federal government COVID-19 relief programs, such as the Canada Emergency Business Account or the federal 75 per cent wage subsidy program.
The $287 million in funding for the Community Futures Network will support rural businesses and communities, including through access to capital, that don’t qualify for other programs.
In the Kawarthas, the funds will be administered through Community Futures Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes Community Futures Development Corporation, the Northumberland Community Futures Development Corporation, the Haliburton County Development Corporation, and Community Futures Development Corporation of North & Central Hastings and South Algonquin.
While details are not available, based on existing programs the support is likely to be the form of loans, possibly with an initial no-interest term followed by a low-interest term. Further information about the funding will be released by regional development agencies and Community Futures organizations.
Trudeau also announced $250 million in funding will be provided through the existing Industrial Research Assistance Program program, operated by the National Research Council of Canada, and $20.1 million will be provided to Futurpreneur Canada, a non-profit organization that supports young entrepreneurs.
In addition to the more than $1 billion in funding for businesses, Trudeau announced plans to provide Heritage Canada with $500 million to support Canada’s arts, sports, and cultural sectors to help address the financial needs of affected organizations within these sectors.
Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault said the funding will help organizations whose revenues have evaporated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the funding would be provided in “the coming weeks”, but details on how Heritage Canada will administer the funds are not yet available.
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