The Ontario government is requiring school boards to prepare for three scenarios for the reopening elementary and secondary schools in September: a normal school day routine with enhanced public health protocols, a modified school day routine that allows for physical distancing, and at-home learning.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced the province’s “school safety plan” on Friday (June 19) at a media conference at Queen’s Park, along with health minister Christine Elliott and education minister Stephen Lecce (who participated remotely).

“Nothing is more important than protecting our kids in this province,” Ford said. “This plan takes the best medical advice available from our public heath experts to ensure every school board and every school is ready to ensure students continue learning in the safest way possible.”

While the scenario that a school board chooses will depend on the public health situation come September, the government is asking each school board to prepare their own safety plans that include the following three scenarios:

1. A normal school day routine with enhanced public health protocols. In this scenario, students will attend classrooms every school day with standard class sizes in place.
2. A modified school day routine that allows for physical distancing and limits the number of students and teachers in contact at any one time. In this scenario, there will be a limit of 15 students in a classroom, and timetables would be implemented so students remain in contact only with their classmates and a single teacher for as much of the school day as possible. This scenario would also require alternate day or alternate week delivery to a segment of the class at one time.
3. At-home learning. In this scenario, where school closures are extended due to COVID-19 or where some parents choose not to send their child back to school because of health and safety, school boards would offer remote education, delivered online as much as possible, as well as minimum expectations for students to have regular direct contact with their teacher at the same time.

The government is also instructing school boards to plan for an adapted delivery model that could include alternate day or alternate week attendance (as in the second scenario above), staggered bell times and recess, and different transportation arrangements.

Ford says the safety plan for schools was created following extensive consultation with Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, health experts on the government’s COVID-19 command table, medical experts at The Hospital for Sick Children, education sector partners, front-line workers, and parents and students.

Education minister Lecce said parents who do not feel comfortable having their children physically return to school will always have the choice to pursue online remote learning.

School boards have until August 4th to submit their safety plans to the Ministry of Education, which will provide all boards with an opportunity to share their draft plans and seek feedback from a formalized table of medical experts that the ministry will be convening.

School boards will be required to outline their safety plans with parents and students prior to the start of the 2020-21 school year, provide guidance on health and safety measures and protocols, and share any other changes that will be implemented when schools open in September.

The government announced it is investing an additional $736 million in public education for the 2020-21 school year. The funding, which the province says is the largest investment in public education in Ontario’s history, will increase the average amount of funding per pupil to $12,525, an increase of $250 over the previous year.

The government also announced $4 million in net new funding for cleaning, cleaning protocols, and financial support to hire additional custodial staff in September to ensure schools are safe.

Like many in-person groups, 100 Women Peterborough has gone virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic — but still managed to raise more than $5,000 for Community Care Peterborough.

The collective philanthropy group met virtually for the first time on Tuesday (June 16) to raise funds for an organization in need.

The group usually meets in person four times a year, to hear presentations from three organizations randomly drawn from a larger list of organizations nominated by members of 100 Women Peterborough. Each member of the group commits to donate $100 at each of the four events hosted throughout the year.

However, 100 Women Peterborough’s first in-person meeting of 2020, scheduled for late March, was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. After deciding to hold a virtual meeting instead, the group held a special call for nominations for charities and not-for-profit organizations that have suffered because of the pandemic.

“The 100 Women Peterborough organizers decided to call out for new nominations from members to specifically support organizations that were in need during this difficult time,” says Rose Terry, one of the founding members of the group. “We knew that a special meeting was needed to support not-for-profits that had been severely impacted by the pandemic.”

While each member of 100 Women Peterborough usually commits to donate $100 at each meeting, resulting in a collective donation of at least $10,000, this meeting was optional for members since COVID-19 has impacted everyone in different ways.

Even so, more than 40 members joined Tuesday’s Zoom meeting to hear from the three selected organizations: Community Care Peterborough, Alternatives Community Support Services, and Kawartha Food Share.

After hearing the presentations, members voted to donate the funds to Community Care Peterborough, an organization that provides a variety of essential services to seniors and adults with physical challenges empowering them to live at home.

“Community Care was deemed an essential service and remained open throughout the pandemic as we serve seniors and adults with disabilities in the city and county of Peterborough,” says Alicia Vandine, donor relations and communications lead for Community Care Peterborough. “We saw a surge in the need for our supports during the COVID crisis, particularly in our Meals on Wheels program. We also grew this program to include grocery and pharmacy delivery for our clients so that we could keep them home and out of harm’s way.”

“One of the largest misconceptions about Community Care is that we are 100 per cent funded by the Ontario government,” Vandine points out. “This is simply not the case. With many of our fundraising events cancelled in the spring and summer, we are grateful to 100 Women Peterborough for choosing us for their June 2020 funds.”

Community Care Peterborough will use the donated funds to support its Meals on Wheels program throughout the Peterborough area.

“I look forward to reconnecting with the 100 Women in September to give them an update on how we used their donation and to give them more information about the Meals on Wheels program,” Vandine adds. “On behalf of our clients, thank you for your support.”

100 Women Peterborough was founded in February 2018 by Terry, Catia Skinner, Wendy Hill, and Alyssa Stewart, who were inspired by similar groups in other communities.

The concept of collective philanthropy began in the United States in November 2006, when Karen Dunigan of Michigan formed the “100 Women Who Care” group. After their first meeting, the women raised over $10,000 for the purchase of 300 new baby cribs for a local organization.

The movement has grown over the past 14 years to include almost 100 chapters in North America, including at least 15 in Canada.

By the end of 2019, 100 Women Peterborough had collectively donated around $100,000 to eight local organizations: Hospice Peterborough, Peterborough Youth Unlimited, One Roof Warming Room, New Canadians Centre, Cameron House, Five Counties Children’s Centre, Casa De Angelae, and Lakefield Animal Welfare Society.

Women who interested in joining 100 Women Peterborough should visit www.100womenptbo.ca for more information.

The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge (HKPR) District Health Unit, via its governing board of health, has joined a growing call for the transformation of the COVID-19 related Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) into a guaranteed basic monthly income payment for all those who qualify.

At their meeting Thursday (June 18), board members unanimously endorsed a recommendation from their colleagues overseeing the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit calling for the implementation of a guaranteed basic monthly program moving forward.

With the COVID-19 pandemic recovery ongoing, the federal government announced on Tuesday (June 16) that it would be extending the CERB program for eight more weeks, providing $2,000 monthly for those who apply and qualify.

In a May 20th letter — addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, and Finance Minster Bill Morneau, and circulated to other Ontario boards of health — Simcoe Muskoka board of health chair Anita Dubeau wrote now “is an opportune time for the federal government to take action to evolve CERB into a basic income,” adding, “CERB has helped demonstrate the logical feasibility of delivering a basic income.”

“We strongly recommend your government take swift and immediate action on the evolution of the CERB benefit into legislation for a basic income as an effective long-term response to the problems of income insecurity, persistent poverty and household food insecurity,” concluded Dubeau.

The HKPR District Health Unit board of health endorsement is significant in light of the fact that Lindsay was one of just four Ontario communities involved in the Ontario Basic Income Pilot Project undertaken in 2018 under Ontario’s former Liberal government.

The planned three-year project, undertaken as a result of recommendations made by former senator Hugh Segal following public consultation, saw a basic income provided to 4,000 people, a portion of whom resided in Lindsay. Single participants received up to $16,989 annually while couples received up to $24,027. If participants were being paid a salary or wages, or drawing other benefits, that amounted was adjusted downwards based on a dollar-for-dollar formula.

However, 10 months after the first distribution of payments, the newly elected Ontario Conservative government cancelled the project, citing its high cost as one factor. The final payments under the program were made in March 2019.

“The project saw participants able to have more stability in their lives and able to have some certainty with regard to their income so they could make plans for their future,” said HKPR Medical Officer of Health Dr. Lynn Noseworthy.

“We had people go back to school, some set up businesses, and some people were able to buy the basic necessities of life and eat better and have more stability in their lives. When it was cancelled by the current government, that caused a lot of consternation among many people.”

“We know, with CERB, that the federal government is seeing its way clear to look forward to whether it can continue CERB in some other format, to ensure that people who are marginalized and who would benefit from such a program have the opportunity to enroll in that.”

Dr. Noseworthy added this is “a very opportune time to rally around this.”

“COVID-19 is pointing to the disparities that people face. We find that when we’re doing case and contact follow-up. Some don’t have anyone to assist them when in self-isolation at home, to get them groceries or their medication. Just like the 1918 pandemic affected people who were more marginalized, this (COVD-19) is affecting people who are more marginalized now.”

HKPR District Health Unit board chair Doug Elmslie concurred, noting what the provincial gave and then took away, Ottawa can give back.

“There seems to be far more acceptance of the idea of a basic income guarantee now and I think there are more receptive people in the federal government than there has been before,” Elmslie said.

“Anything we can do to influence them to at least look at it as an option is a step in the right direction. We’ve been fighting poverty for 4,000 years, watching people beg on the streets and throwing pennies at them. In terms of social housing and Ontario Works, people really can’t get ahead. Trying something different can’t hurt us. What we’re doing isn’t working, so let’s try something else.”

In her report on the issue to the board, Dr. Noseworthy noted “the premature termination” of the pilot project had “devastating effects” on basic income recipients — many of whom were improving their physical and mental health, had secured jobs, and were overcoming both food and housing instability. In the summer of 2018, the HKPR District Health Unit board implored Premier Doug Ford to reinstate the program.

To those concerned what the cost of providing a guaranteed basic income in some form would be, Dr. Noseworthy has an answer.

“When you look at the supports currently in place for people who have income issues, they (government) pays for a variety of supports. If you look at the cost of doing all those things versus providing basic income to individuals and families, the benefit is greater in the long term. They have better health, they end up getting jobs and they have more security in their lives. They also have fewer mental illnesses; they’re not worrying about the next paycheque.”

“The cost of providing the program will, over time, indicate it’s a worthwhile investment in people’s lives.”

Elmslie adds the Lindsay pilot project, abbreviated as it was, provided proof that providing a guaranteed income benefit makes good economic sense.

“What we found based on the short time we had the trial (in Lindsay) was about an eight per cent decrease in hospital visits by people who are on a basic income,” he says.

“Their nutrition was better, their health was better, and that translated into large savings on the health care side. You can’t look at it from just a social services side and say ‘Well, this is what we’re paying now and if we went to a basic income guarantee we would be paying this much more.’ You have to look at savings in other areas such as the health care system.”

Although she is set to retire this summer after serving 16 years as the District Health Unit’s medical officer of health, Dr. Noseworthy pledges to “continue to advocate as best I can” for the establishment of a guaranteed basic income for Canadians in need.

“One of the reasons I went into public health was to address these kinds of issues,” she says. “I was a general practitioner for five years before I went back to school to study public health.”

“When I was in general practice, I saw people who had a variety of health issues. Many of those issues were related to their life circumstances. They were unemployed, they lived in poverty or sometimes it was their life choices…things they ate, whether they were physically active or not. I chose a career to try and address those things.”

As part of the Ontario government’s plan to enhance COVID-19 case and contact management, the province is launching a new contact-tracing app called COVID Alert.

Premier Doug Ford made the announcement on Thursday (June 18) during a media conference at Queen’s Park with health minister Christine Elliott and Ontario’s chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also announced the app, which was developed in partnership between the two governments.

Users who voluntarily download the app will be notified anonymously if they have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 14 days.

The app was made in Ontario by the Canadian Digital Service and the Ontario Digital Service, departments of the federal and provincial governments, with assistance from volunteers from Canadian tech firm Shopify.

The COVID Alert app is expected to be available for download on iOS and Android devices beginning on Thursday, July 2nd. It will be available in Ontario first, and then rolled out across Canada.

In Ontario, the app will also provide users with quick access to Ontario’s public health advice and resources, and recommend any necessary actions, such as monitoring for symptoms, self-isolation, or appropriate next steps on getting tested.

Some public health experts debate the effectiveness of a voluntary contract-tracing app at substantially reducing the spread of COVID-19. Researchers at Oxford University estimate that 60 per cent of the population would have to use an app to stop an epidemic, but that lower usage could still reduce the number of cases and deaths.

In other countries where voluntary contract-tracing apps have already been rolled out, user adoption has been limited. In Italy, only five per cent of people have downloaded that country’s contract-tracing app. In Singapore, one of the first countries to implement a contact-tracing app, adoption has reached 20 per cent. In Iceland, 38 per cent of the population had downloaded its contact-tracing app — the highest level of voluntary adoption to date.

That may be why, in Ontario, the app will only be used as a supplement for manual contact tracing.

“Our federal counterparts are looking at other jurisdictions that have tried other apps to see what is a core metric that is necessary to show its effectiveness,” said Ontario’s chief medical officer of health Dr. David Williams. “The actual number isn’t there yet, it’s an adjunct to our case and contact management. This is just another tool and we really want to understand how effective this is going to be.”

Ford also announced that the federal government would be providing up to 1,700 additional staff from Statistics Canada to assist with contact tracing, supplementing the existing 2,000 case managers and contact tracers in Ontario.

“These are absolute pros at data collection,” Ford said. “They speak 35 different languages and they can make up to 20,000 calls a day.”

In addition, the Ontario government will continue to build a supplementary pool of contact tracers over the summer and into the fall, drawing from workers in the Ontario Public Service and the broader public sector, in case there’s a second wave of COVID-19 infections. These will allow public health units to reduce the number of staff committed to contact tracing, so staff can return to their other critical functions, including vaccinations and inspections of food premises and water in recreational facilities.

Ford also announced the government would be modernizing the integrated Public Health Information System (iPHIS) by implementing a new custom-built COVID-19 case and contact management system.

How the COVID Alert app works

The COVID Alert app incorporates exposure notification software developed in a first-of-its-kind partnership between Apple and Google, and relies on Bluetooth wireless technology to communicate information while protecting a user’s security and privacy.

Once enabled, the software sends out a beacon via Bluetooth that includes a random Bluetooth identifier — basically a string of random numbers that isn’t tied to a user’s identity and that changes every 10 to 20 minutes for additional protection.

Other phones will be listening for these beacons and broadcasting their own as well. When each phone receives a beacon from another phone, it will record and securely store that beacon on the device.

At least once per day, the system will download a list of keys for beacons that have been verified as belonging to people confirmed as having tested positive for COVID-19. Each device will check the downloaded list against the beacons it has already recorded.

If the device finds a match, the user will be notified and advised on what steps to take next.

The software does not collect location data from your device, and does not share the identities of other users to each other, Google, or Apple. The user controls all data they want to share, and the decision to share it.

Local health care representatives are urging all Peterborough-area residents over the age of two to wear a mask for in-person medical appointments.

The recommendation for patients to wear non-medical masks is being made by the Peterborough Family Health Team, Peterborough Public Health, and Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC).

The Ontario Ministry of Health recommends a face covering — a non-medical mask — to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission when maintaining physical distancing of two metres from others is difficult.

While a non-medical mask does not protect you from illness, it will help prevent the spread of illness from yourself to others, including other patients and health care professionals.

Wearing a non-medical mask also helps preserve certified personal protective equipment for health care workers and support staff.

It is important to wear a non-medical mask properly to ensure it’s as effective as possible, and to wash a fabric mask after you use it. This video from PRHC explains how to wear, handle, and care for a non-medical mask:

Family doctors and nurse practitioners who are part of the Peterborough Family Health Team are available to help patients who need medical attention. The team is offering virtual/phone assessments as well as safe in-person appointments when needed.

The Peterborough Family Health Team reminds residents that seeking timely medical attention can help prevent unnecessary complications that could result in a visit to the hospital’s emergency department.

For its part, PRHC continues to provide all hospital patients and visitors with a handmade mask when they go through entrance screening. Thanks to community support, PRHC has distributed more than 20,000 donated handmade masks to patients and visitors since the beginning of April.

If you want to make your own fabric mask, you can find instructions on the PRHC website.

If you don’t want to make your own mask, several local organizations in Peterborough are also currently making and selling fabric masks (see below). You may also be able to find non-medical masks at pharmacies and office supply stores.

As additional regions of Ontario — Durham, Halidmand-Norfolk, Halton, Hamilton, Sarnia-Lambton, Niagara, and York — enter stage two of the province’s reopening on Friday (June 19), even more bars, restaurants, and cafes will be opening their patios.

The timing is perfect with a mini heat wave forecast for this weekend. However, if you’re hoping to be entertained by live music and maybe do some dancing, you’re going to be disappointed.

That’s because of a single line in the Ontario government’s emergency order for stage two reopenings for outdoor dining areas, which reads “No dancing or singing may be permitted in the outdoor dining areas.”

Serendipitous Old Stuff Lounge in Warkworth discovered this after owner Justine Vikse planned to create a “wagon stage” to go with their outdoor dining experience beginning on Friday (June 19). Local musicians Cheryl Casselman and Al Kirby were set to perform.

Vikse has now had to cancel the live music portion of the experience, which she announced on the restaurant’s Facebook page on Thursday (June 18).

“Over the last few days I talked with our local Mayor Bob Crate, I spoke to David Piccini’s office, and I even had a conversation with multiple people on Doug Ford’s team,” she wrote. “Try as I might, much to my chagrin, and even though our wagon stage is extraordinarily well distanced from our patrons (30 ft), we are still blanketed under the most recent Ontario ruling temporarily banning song and dance from patios.”

Vikse is still going ahead with the outdoor dining experience, but with recorded music instead.

The ban on singing on patios is more bad news for musicians who have been unable to perform live in front of audiences since Ontario’s state of emergency went into effect in March.

However, it’s not necessarily all bad news — the emergency order only bans singing in outdoor dining areas, not instrumental music. Technically, that means both individual musicians and bands could perform as long as they don’t sing — and as long as the audience doesn’t dance.

The rule against singing is based on evidence that it can spread virus-containing droplets further, similar to sneezing and coughing. Outbreaks of COVID-19 have been identified in several choirs around the world, even though in some cases choir members were following physical distancing guidelines.

The rule against dancing is more obvious, since it’s a challenge to maintain physical distancing when you’re caught up in the beat.

But that didn’t stop people on social media from comparing the rule against dancing to the 1984 cult film Footloose, in which Kevin Bacon plays a teenager who moves to a small U.S. town that has banned dancing.

Toronto film critic Richard Crouse recently asked Bacon via Zoom what he thought about Ontario’s ban on dancing.

“Even though I think dancing is great, if that’s what’s going to keep people safe and healthy, I’m afraid they’re going to hold off on the dancing for a little while,” Bacon replied.

ASK THE EXPERT! Interviewed @kevinbacon yesterday about #YouShouldHaveLeftMovie. As he was the star of #Footloose I thought he might have advice about Ontario's "no singing or dancing" patio rule. Here's what he said… pic.twitter.com/B856lYd5Eg

— Richard Crouse (@RichardCrouse) June 18, 2020

As Peterborough region residents and businesses adapt to the gradual reopening of the local economy as part of the province’s stage two roll-out, Peterborough medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra is encouraged by what she sees but warns the outcome is yet to be seen.

“There are process indicators and there are outcome indicators,” Dr. Salvaterra explained during her weekly briefing held on Wednesday (June 17).

“As far as the process indicators go, I feel encouraged. However, we’ll start to see the real outcome indicators in a week or two. I’m optimistic about what I’m seeing, but if we start seeing more new cases emerging over the next couple of weeks, particularly symptomatic cases, that will not be good news for us. We need to keep vigilant.”

As of 5 p.m. on Tuesday (June 16), the total number of positive cases in the region was 93. Of the positive cases, 87 have been resolved while four cases remain active — an increase of three over the past week — with two COVID-19 related deaths reported. There are no institutional outbreaks.

Meanwhile, an estimated 13,550 people have been tested — 2,400 over the past week. One of every 11 residents in Peterborough Public Health’s catchment area has now been tested.

Locally there have been 63 positive cases detected per 100,000 people, compared to Ontario’s rate of 219 positive cases per 100,000 people. Meanwhile, the local incidence rate over the past week is 1.4 positive cases per 100,000 people, again much lower than the provincial incidence rate of 9.8 cases per 100,000 people.

Dr. Salvaterra’s principal message focused on the use of masks.

“The wearing of non-medical masks is recommended for people will find themselves in situations, like going to the barber, where physical distancing is difficult to maintain,” she said. “It’s also the case for people using public transit or taking a taxi, and it should be standard practice for anyone going into a store.”

“Anyone going for a medical appointment is also requested to wear a mask, but masks must be disposed of or washed properly,” Dr. Salvaterra noted. “Currently the wearing of a mask is a courtesy for most, but a requirement for some. This may change as we learn more about the added protection that masking offers. We all need to accept that wearing a mask is part of the new normal in this COVID-19 reality.”

Dr. Salvaterra also added some much-needed clarification around the now-permitted gatherings of up to 10 people in social circles.

“It is a mutually exclusive social circle,” she clarified. “You can only be in one.”

“Everyone who commits to being part of that social circle commits that this is their only social circle. You’re only as strong and protected as the others who are part of the circle. Only the social circle members can break the two-metre distance rule. Anyone one else has to stay outside of those two metres.”

Thinking back to the early stages of the pandemic and subsequent measures, Dr. Salvaterra said she purposely “tried not to imagine what the future holds,” adding “I’ve tried very much to stay in the moment.”

“That’s how I prepare myself to cope with potential setbacks. We had weeks earlier on in March and April where we fewer cases, and then we would have a week with double the number of cases. The way I help myself is take it as it comes and be prepared for either scenario.”

“We can’t lose sight of the fact that we are in a pandemic that’s going to last 18 to 24 months, if we’re lucky, or until we get a vaccine — if we get a vaccine. We have to be prepared for this being a long haul.”

Meanwhile, Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien notes the city is continuing to review what can be done to create more space for now-permitted-to-open restaurant, café, and pub patios. The city shut down a portion of George Street last Friday (June 15), only to re-open it to traffic in short order following pushback from some downtown merchants.

“It (street closings) is certainly not something that’s off the table going forward, but the key part is communication so everyone knows what we’re doing, everyone knows how they can be a part of it,” Therrien said. “It happened on four days’ notice. Communication needs to be a stronger piece of that puzzle so all merchants can feel they’re part of that process.”

Also participating in the briefing was Julie Brown, the interim executive director of the Peterborough Family Health Team.

She noted physicians and nurse practitioners are “urging” patients to wear a mask when attending appointments. As for those who are without a family doctor, Brown notes a virtual care clinic option is available. For more information on that service and how it works, visit www.peterboroughfht.com or phone 705-536-0882.