Kawartha Lakes OPP are seeking this suspect in the robbery of a Janetville convenience store on March 12, 2020. Two Peterborough men and one Oshawa teenager have already been arrested and charged. (OPP supplied photos)
Kawartha Lakes Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) are seeking a fourth suspect after arresting three man for a recent break, enter, and theft in Janetville east of Lake Scugog in Kawartha Lakes.
Fourth suspect now arrested and charged
The OPP has arrested and charged the fourth suspect in this case. Dylan Post, 19, of Peterborough has been charged with break and enter. He is scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Lindsay on June 25, 2020.
On Thursday, March 12th, the owner of a convenience store on Pigeon Creek Road in Janetville discovered the store had been broken into sometime overnight and contacted police.
Initial investigation shows three suspects entered the store and removed alcoholic beverages, vaping products, knives, and cigarettes.
With assistance from the public, officers were able arrest a teenager and three man.
Police have already arrested and charged the two men and teenager shown in these photos. (OPP supplied photos)
A 15-year-old Oshawa resident has been charged with break and enter, disguise with intent, and three counts of failure to comply with a sentence contrary to the Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The teenager, who cannot be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, is scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Lindsay on June 16, 2020.
James Heather, 58, of Peterborough has been charged with break and enter and disguise with intent.
Riley Richards, 19, of Peterborough has been charged with break and enter, disguise with intent, and three counts of failure to comply with a probation order.
Both men are scheduled to appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Lindsay on June 25, 2020.
Investigators are now working to identify a fourth suspect in the crime (see the feature photo in this story).
Anyone having information on this crime or any others is asked to contact the City of Kawartha Lakes OPP at 1-888-310-1122. Information can also be reported anonymously by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or by visiting www.kh.crimestoppersweb.com and submitting an anonymous tip online.
On April 3, 2020, a sombre Premier Doug Ford, accompanied by Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams and Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Christine Elliott, announnced new emergency meaures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario, following the release of projections that Ontario will have 80,000 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,600 deaths by the end of April. (Photo: Office of the Premier / YouTube)
On Friday (April 3), the Ontario government announced even more businesses that have to close, following alarming projections of 80,000 COVID-19 cases and 1,600 deaths in April.
The list of essential businesses originally established on on March 24th has been revised to exclude businesses previously on the list. The new list includes 44 categories of businesses instead of 73 on the previous list. The updated list of essential businesses is provided below.
All businesses not included in the updated list must close by midnight on Saturday (April 4). The closure will be in effect for 14 days, with the possibility of an extension as the situation evolves.
While it is difficult to make a direct comparison between the old and new list because the format has changed, businesses that are no longer explicitly mentioned on the new list include cannabis stores, bicycle repair, and car and truck dealerships (vehicle repair is still essential).
Specified businesses on the list will be required to provide services by alternate methods such as curbside pick up and delivery, except in exceptional circumstances. These businesses include stores that sell hardware products, vehicle parts and supplies, pet and animal supplies, office supplies, computer products and repairs, and safety supplies.
“We are facing a critical moment in the fight against COVID-19 and we must do everything in our power to keep everyone safe and healthy and prevent our health care system from being overwhelmed,” said Premier Ford in making the announcement.
“Everyone must do their part to stop the spread and flatten the curve. If you are not an essential business, you need to close your doors, work from home if possible and play a role to help contain this outbreak. This is a matter of life and death.”
Ford says all supply chains necessary for the production of vital food and healthcare supplies are being protected and remain intact.
The province is also encouraging all businesses to adopt teleworking, online commerce, and other innovative ways of working remotely, which are still permitted.
The updated list of essential workplaces follows alarming predictions released on Friday by Public Health Ontario about the COVID-19 pandemic. Ontario will have 80,000 positive COVID-19 cases and 1,600 deaths by the end of April, but that could be reduced to 12,500 cases and 200 deaths with stricter public health protection measures in place.
Even more alarming are the projections had Ontario not put into place the current public health protection measures: 300,000 COVID-19 cases by the end of April with 6,000 deaths.
With current public health measures in place, Ontario is projecting between 3,000 and 15,000 deaths over the course of the pandemic, which is expected to last for 18 to 24 months. Had no measures been put into place, the number of deaths would be 100,000 over the the course of the pandemic
“We have now reached a critical time in our fight against COVID-19.” said Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health “Every step taken by the province and every effort made by each of us to avoid close contact with others are the key to our success as a province to stop the spread of this virus.”
Construction is one of the key sectors affected by the change to essential businesses. Only critical construction projects will continue, including industrial projects such as refineries and petrochemical plants and infrastructure projects such as new hospitals, roads, and bridges. New starts in residential projects will stop, while only residential construction that is near completion will continue.
“We recognize the toll this outbreak is taking on business owners and workers,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “Ontario businesses are top of mind during this unprecedented time. We know that the only way to ensure the health of our businesses and our economy is to ensure the health of all Ontarians.”
Business owners with questions concerning their essential business status are encouraged to call the Stop the Spread hotline at 1-888-444-3659. The hotline is available from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday to Friday and 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
List of essential workplaces
For the purposes of this order, businesses include any-for-profit, non-profit or other entity providing the goods and services described herein.
This does not preclude the provision of work and services by entities not on this list either online, by telephone or by mail/delivery. This also does not preclude the operation or delivery of services of any publicly funded agency or organization that delivers or supports government operations and services, including operations and services of the health care sector.
Teleworking and online commerce are permitted at all times for all businesses.
Businesses that supply other essential businesses or essential services within Ontario, or that supply businesses or services that have been declared essential in a jurisdiction outside of Ontario, with the support, products, supplies, systems, or services, including processing, packaging, warehousing, distribution, delivery, and maintenance necessary to operate.
Food
Businesses that primarily sell food, beverages and consumer products necessary to maintain households and businesses including:
Supermarkets and grocery stores.
Convenience stores.
Discount and big box retailers selling groceries.
Restaurants (take-out, drive-through and delivery service only).
Beer and wine and liquor stores.
Services
Pharmacies.
Gas stations and other fuel suppliers.
Laundromats and drycleaners.
Security services for residences, businesses and other properties.
Vehicle and equipment repair and essential maintenance and vehicle and equipment rental services.
Courier, postal, shipping, moving and delivery services.
Funeral and related services.
Staffing services including providing temporary help.
Veterinary services (urgent care only) and other businesses that provide for the health and welfare of animals, including farms, boarding kennels, stables, animal shelters, zoos, aquariums and research facilities.
Home child care services of up to six children as permitted under the Child Care and Early Years Act, 2014, and child care centres for essential workers authorized to operate in accordance with Ontario Regulation 51/20 (Order Under Subsection 7.0.2 (4) of the Act – Closure of Establishments) made under the Act.
Hotels, motels, other shared rental accommodation including student residences, except for seasonal campgrounds and any pools, fitness centres, meeting rooms and other recreational facilities that may be part of the operations of these businesses.
Cheque cashing services.
Services to the public that are restricted to alternative methods of sale
Stores that sell any of the following items and provide them to the customer only through an alternative method of sale such as curb side pick-up or delivery, except in exceptional circumstances:
Hardware products.
Vehicle parts and supplies.
Pet and animal supplies.
Office supplies and computer products including computer repair.
Safety supplies.
Financial services
Businesses that provide the following financial services:
Capital markets and related securities trading and advisory services.
Banking/credit union activities including credit intermediation.
Insurance.
Land registration services.
Real estate agent services.
Pension and benefits payment services.
Financial services including payroll and payment processing and accounting and tax services.
Telecommunications and IT infrastructure/service providers
Information Technology (IT) services, including online services, software products and the facilities necessary for their operation and delivery.
Telecommunications providers and services (phone, internet, radio, cell phones etc.) and facilities necessary for their operation and delivery.
Newspapers, radio and television broadcasting.
Maintenance
Maintenance, repair and property management services strictly necessary to manage and maintain the safety, security, sanitation and essential operation of institutional, commercial, industrial and residential properties and buildings.
Transportation services
Businesses and facilities that provide transportation services, including,
transportation services provided by air, water, road, and rail, including taxis and other private transportation providers, and
support services for transportation services, including,
logistical support, distribution services, warehousing and storage, truck stops and tow operators,
services that support the operations and safety of transportation systems including maintenance and repairs, and
marinas, but only to the extent that the marina is necessary to enable individuals to access their primary place of residence.
Businesses that provide and support online retail, including by providing warehousing, storage and distribution of goods that are ordered online.
Manufacturing
Businesses that extract, manufacture, process and distribute goods, products, equipment and materials, including businesses that manufacture inputs to other manufacturers, (e.g. primary metal/ steel, blow molding, component manufacturers, chemicals, etc. that feed the end-product manufacturer), regardless of whether those other manufacturers are inside or outside of Ontario, together with businesses that support and facilitate the movement of goods within integrated North American and global supply chains.
Agriculture and food production
Businesses that produce food and beverages, and agricultural products including plants, including by farming, harvesting, aquaculture, hunting and fishing.
Businesses that process, manufacture or distribute food, beverages, crops, agricultural products, animal products and by-products.
Businesses that support the food or agricultural products supply chains and the health and safety of food, animals and plants.
Construction
Construction projects and services associated with the healthcare sector, including new facilities, expansions, renovations and conversion of spaces that could be repurposed for health care space.
Construction projects and services required to ensure safe and reliable operations of, or to provide new capacity in, critical provincial infrastructure, including transit, transportation, energy and justice sectors beyond the day-to-day maintenance.
Critical industrial construction activities required for,
the maintenance and operations of petrochemical plants and refineries,
significant industrial petrochemical projects where preliminary work has already commenced,
industrial construction and modifications to existing industrial structures limited solely to work necessary for the production, maintenance, and/or enhancement of Personal Protective Equipment, medical devices (such as ventilators), and other identified products directly related to combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.
Residential construction projects where,
a footing permit has been granted for single family, semi-detached and townhomes
an above grade structural permit has been granted for condominiums, mixed use and other buildings, or
the project involves renovations to residential properties and construction work was started before April 4, 2020.
Construction and maintenance activities necessary to temporarily close construction sites that have paused or are not active and to ensure ongoing public safety.
Resources and energy
Businesses that provide and ensure the domestic and global continuity of supply of resources, including mining, forestry, aggregates, petroleum, petroleum by-products and chemicals.
Electricity generation, transmission, distribution and storage and natural gas distribution, transmission and storage.
Community services
Businesses that deliver or support the delivery of services including:
Sewage treatment and disposal.
Collecting, transporting, storing, processing, disposing or recycling of any type of waste.
Potable drinking water.
Critical infrastructure repair and maintenance including roads, dams, bridges etc.
Environmental rehabilitation, management and monitoring, and spill clean up and response.
Administrative authorities that regulate and inspect businesses.
Professional and social services that support the legal and justice system.
Government services including but not limited to policing and law enforcement, fire and emergency services, paramedics, coroner and pathology services, corrections and court services, licences and permits.
Research
Businesses and organizations that maintain research facilities and engage in research, including medical research and other research and development activities.
Health care and social services
Organizations and providers that deliver home care services or personal support services to seniors and persons with disabilities.
Businesses that sell, rent or repair assistive/mobility/medical devices, aids and/or supplies.
Regulated health professionals (urgent care only) including dentists, optometrists, chiropractic services, ophthalmologists, physical and occupational therapists and podiatrists.
Organizations that provide health care including retirement homes, hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, independent health facilities and mental health and addictions counselling supports.
Laboratories and specimen collection centres.
Manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers of pharmaceutical products and medical supplies, including medications, medical isotopes, vaccines and antivirals, medical devices and medical supplies.
Manufacturers, distributors and businesses that provide logistical support of or for products and/or services that support the delivery of health care in all locations.
Not-for-profit organizations that provide critical personal support services in home or residential services for individuals with physical disabilities.
Not-for profit organizations that support the provision of food, shelter, safety or protection, and/or social services and other necessities of life to economically disadvantaged and other vulnerable individuals.
Public health nurse Simone Jackson wearing personal protective equipment as she prepares to open a swab to test a patient for COVID-19 in Peterborough Public Health's clinic. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough Public Health)
Peterborough Public Health is reporting three new cases of COVID 19 in its catchment area, including a resident of the Riverview Manor long-term care residence who is now in self-isolation at the Water Street facility.
During a media briefing on Friday (April 3), Peterborough Medical Officer of Health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra noted there have now been 41 positive cases in Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake and Hiawatha. Six of those cases have since been resolved, including that of a member of the Peterborough Police Service who tested positive on March 27 after returning home from a trip abroad.
The COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) is now available by calling directly. Based on the results of your self-assessment, contact the centre directly by phone at 705-876-5086 to determine whether an appointment is required. This phone line is staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
If symptoms are severe, please call 911 and alert the dispatcher to your travel history and symptoms.
According to the Peterborough Police Service, the member completed the self-assessment questionnaire on returning home and immediately self-isolated before contacting Peterborough Public Health for testing followed by continued self-isolation. The member, who has had no interaction with work colleagues or the public, is now awaiting clearance to return to work.
To date, 842 COVID-19 tests have been conducted locally with results awaited on 267 of those tested. Another 534 cases have been confirmed negative.
Regarding the Riverview Manor situation, Dr. Salvaterra said COVID-19 tests on three other residents have come back negative with test results on five more residents pending. In addition, five employees have been tested with a negative result reported for one.
“There’s a great deal of activity and interaction (involving long-term care and seniors’ residences),” said Dr. Salvaterra when asked if lessons are being learned from tragedies occurring at other Ontario homes, most notably Pinecrest in Bobcaygeon where 15 residents have now died from COVID-19 related illness.
“We established a community of practice with all of our long-term care facilities and retirement homes weeks ago. We have been engaging with them. We’ve been meeting with them virtually. We’ve been sharing the guidance. We actually had an inspector out doing a checklist with all of our long-term care homes to make sure they are in full compliance with infection prevention and control measures. It is very much an active area of our work and we have dedicated some our best staff to work with these partners.”
Dr. Salvaterra also spoke to the blunt message delivered from Queen’s Park Friday afternoon (April 3) that was as clear as it is alarming: if Ontarians continue to follow physical distancing and other measures in place to lessen the effects of COVID-19, 3,000 to 15,000 will die from the virus.
However, warned Dr. Adalsteinn Brown of the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health, if Ontarians let their guard down and stop following public health measures, that figure could rise to 100,000 before the pandemic has run its course which, according to Dr. Peter Donnelly, head of Public Health Ontario, could take as long as 18 months to two years.
“This data paints a picture of the value of what we’re doing, the importance of what we’re doing, and the impact of what we’re doing … we are saving lives,” she says.
“We’re also trying to protect our health care system so we do have enough capacity to take care of those who will get sick.”
Dr. Brown, Dr. Donnelly, and Dr. Matthew Anderson, head of Ontario Health addressed the media, based their forecasts on modelling and projection data compiled to date, and extensively analyzed as per Premier Doug Ford’s direction that the Province be as transparent as possible as to the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic and its anticipated toll.
As for the area served by the other health unit in the Kawarthas (Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, which includes Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton), the latest numbers from Friday (April 3) indicate there have been 65 positive cases reported and 17 deaths (with 15 deaths associated with the outbreak at Pinecrest Nursing Home). Of the total positive cases, 50 are in the City of Kawartha Lakes, 14 are in Northumberland County, and one is in Haliburton County.
Ontario is projecting between 3,000 and 15,000 deaths over the next two years, based on modelling projections for the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario.
Dr. Peter Donnelly, president and CEO of Public Health Ontario, led a technical briefing for the media on Friday (April 3) to explain the models. Matthew Anderson, president and CEO of Ontario Health, and Steini Brown, dean of the University of Toronto’s public health department, also participated.
Donnelly says the modelling projections are based on Ontario doing everything it can to contain COVID-19 over the projected length of the pandemic, which is between 18 months and two years.
“We can change the outcome for the province by staying home and physically distancing from one another,” Donnelly said. “We need everyone to stay focused in the weeks ahead.”
He said that, if Ontario had done nothing, the number of deaths would have been as high as 100,000.
The range of 3,000 and 15,000 deaths depends on whether stricter public health measures can be implemented.
Projected Ontario Deaths over Course of COVID-19 Pandemic (18-24 months)
As of Thursday (April 2), the official count of COVID-19 deaths in Ontario is 67. Donnelly said the mortality rate from COVID-19 in Ontario is 16 per cent in those over the age of 80, compared to 20 per cent globally.
Around 1,350 Ontarians die every year from seasonal influenza, Donnelly pointed out. However, the mortality rate from COVID-19 is 10 times higher than the seasonal flu since there is no vaccine and no treatment so far.
Based on modelling, Ontario will have 1,600 deaths from COVID-19 by the end of April, but that could be as low as 200 if all residents follow public health guidelines. Without any intervention, the death count would have been 6,000 by the end of April.
Dr. Peter Donnelly, president and CEO of Public Health Ontario, speaking during a media briefing about Ontario’s COVID-19 projection modelling on April 3, 2020. (Screenshot)
Ontario is also projected to have 80,000 positive COVID-19 cases by the end of April based on current intervention measures, but it could be reduced to 12,500 cases if stricter measures are implemented. Without any intervention at all, the number of positive cases would have been as high as 300,000 in April.
A slide deck was presented during the media conference with details of the projections. You can download a PDF version.
“We need you to help us change the outcomes for Ontarians by staying at home and physically distancing,” the deck reads. “Our public health measures so far have made a difference and we need everyone to stay focused on these: stay home, stop the spread, stay safe.”
Future additional public health measures could reduce both the number of COVID-19 cases and related deaths. These include:
Reduce the number and types of essential workplaces.
Enhance focus on enforcement and fines for non-compliance.
Expand direction/guidance on physical distancing, including retail settings.
Enhanced support for elderly, homeless and other vulnerable populations and communities.
Consider entry restrictions in some communities including First Nations.
Human resource management (movement of health care workers between settings).
Use of technology to reinforce self-isolation (alerts).
Additional public education and communication (shelter in place with limited exceptions).
The slide deck also provided a best and worst case scenario for Ontario’s capacity of intensive care unit (ICU) beds. Currently, 410 additional ICU beds are available for COVID-19 patients, in addition to those beds already filled by COVID-19 patients. An expansion of another 900 ICU beds is already planned for additional COVID-19 patients.
Ontario ICU Capacity for COVID-19
In the best case scenario, where the curve is flattened, these 900 additional beds would be enough to treat COVID-19 patients requiring an ICU bed during the month of April and beyond. However, in the worst case scenario, where the curve is not flattened, the ICU beds would be filled by April 15th and, by April 30th, there would be a shortage of 2,200 ICU beds.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Canadian Canoe Museum has announced it will remain closed until approximately June 30, 2020. Most of the museum's staff will be temporarily laid off as a result. (Photo courtesy of The Canadian Canoe Museum)
The local impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to extend into late spring and summer.
The Canadian Canoe Museum — Canada’s national canoe museum — has announced it will now remain closed until the end of June.
The museum, located at 910 Monaghan Road in Peterborough, made the announcement on Friday (April 3).
“At this time, we will be extending the closure until approximately June 30,” reads a statement from museum executive director Carolyn Hyslop and museum board chair John Ronson. “Between now and then, we will be following daily developments, along with the direction of public health officials. We look forward to reopening as soon as it is safe to do so.”
The museum says the decision to remain closed has an “incredible impact”, including the loss of most of the museum’s revenue and temporary staff layoffs.
“Similar to some of the challenges being faced by cultural organizations across the country and beyond, the closure of our museum means no admission fees, events or fundraising, school group visits, space rentals, store sales, or workshops,” Hyslop and Ronson write. “This equates to an 85 per cent reduction in revenue and in turn, the requirement to issue temporary layoff notices to the majority of our staff members.”
The museum and its galleries have been closed to the public since Saturday, March 14th, and all initiatives and programming was postponed. The museum had tentatively planned to reopen on Monday, April 6th, but this was before more recent COVID-19 developments.
“While this step will ensure the financial sustainability of the organization on the other side of the closure, it was one of the most difficult we have ever had to take,” Hyslop and Ronson write.
“To say that our staff members are completely committed and dedicated to our organization is an absolute understatement. These caring, creative individuals go above and beyond as they take every opportunity to share the stories the collection carries, and they are a critical component of our organization.”
The museum has also relied on 180 volunteers, who contribute to every area of the museum’s operation. Hyslop and Ronson say the museum will keep in touch with volunteers during the closure.
Ronson and Hyslop also write that, while the museum is closed, a small team will maintain communication with stakeholders and supporters and ensure the museum’s collection of watercraft is cared for.
The team will also continue planning for the new museum to be built beside the Peterborough Lift Lock, although it is not yet clear how the COVID-19 pandemic will affect those plans.
The Ontario government's new online portal at covid-19.ontario.ca allows citizens to take an enhanced COVID-19 self-assessment and, if they have been tested for COIVD-19, to check their lab test results.
The Ontario government has launched a new online portal where citizens can take an enhanced COVID-19 self-assessment and, if they have been tested for COIVD-19, check their lab test results.
By offering citizens faster and secure access to their test results, the government says the website at covid-19.ontario.ca will ease some of the pressure on public health units and front-line workers to provide this information.
The new website includes an enhanced self-assessment tool with more specific instructions for people who have returned to Canada in the past month or have higher risks associated with getting COVID-19.
Patients checking their lab test results will be asked to verify their identity with the information on their photo health card. The portal will then provide patients with their test results and offer guidance on next steps.
“With this new portal, patients will be able to access their test results faster from the safety of their home,” says Christine Elliott, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “It will help reduce the burden on our public health units and front-line health workers, allowing them to focus their efforts where they are needed most during this challenging time.”
Ontario is also issuing a new emergency order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act that, effective immediately, gives health units the authority and flexibility they need to make staffing decisions, regardless of any collective agreements that may have previously restricted these decisions.
The government says this will give public health units the ability to significantly expand their capacity to implement critical public health functions (such as case and contact management) through the use of volunteers, including medical students and retired nurses.
The government also says the new emergency order will support the recommendation made by Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health, for all public health units to implement more aggressive contact tracing and management in response to the increase of community transmission. The government is also encouraging the province’s medical officers of health to use their authority under Section 22 of the Health Protection and Promotion Act to ensure isolation of cases and contacts of COVID-19.
“We are at a critical juncture in our fight against COVID-19,” said Elliott. “Our success as a province depends on our ability to quickly and effectively stop the spread of this new virus. These actions offer considerable support to our local health units and give them the authority they need to act and contain COVID-19 in our communities.”
Ontario's entire legislated fire region is designated as a restricted fire zone effective April 3, 2020. Ontario's legislated fire region is a series of 36 zones stretching from northern Ontario to central and eastern Ontario. In the Kawarthas, the fire region includes Haliburton County and northern portions of Hastings County, the City of Kawartha Lakes, and Peterborough County. Residents who live in the restricted fire zone cannot have an outdoor fire of any kind. This includes burning of grass, debris, and campfires — even when using an outdoor fire grate, fire place, or fire pit.
If you’re looking forward to heading up north to have a campfire at the cottage, you are going to be disappointed.
UPDATE
The Ontario government lifted the restricted fire zone designation on May 16, 2020.
On Thursday (April 2), the Ontario government announced that Ontario’s entire legislated fire region will be designated as a restricted fire zone effective April 3rd.
Residents who live in the restricted fire zone cannot have an outdoor fire of any kind. This includes burning of grass, debris, and campfires — even when using an outdoor fire grate, fire place, or fire pit.
Ontario’s legislated fire region is a series of 36 zones stretching from all of northern Ontario to portions of central Ontario.
In the Kawarthas, the fire region includes Haliburton County and northern portions of Hastings County, the City of Kawartha Lakes, and Peterborough County (see map below).
The restricted fire zone does not extend outside of the fire region. For example, southern Peterborough County including the City of Peterborough is not in the fire region. However, municipalities outside of the fire region may have their own by-laws.
For example, the City of Peterborough has always had a by-law prohibiting outdoor open-air burning. Only Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) approved appliances such as fire bowls, fire-pit tables, and barbecues that burn propane or natural gas are permitted. Chimineas and other wood-burning devices are not approved appliances for open-air fires in Peterborough.
The entirety of Ontario’s legislated fire region has been designated as a restricted fire zone effective April 3, 2020 until further notice. The Ontario government made the decision to support emergency responders during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Graphic: Government of Ontario)
The Ontario government made the decision to support emergency responders during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During this very challenging time when we are fighting the spread of the virus, our number one priority is the health and safety of the people of Ontario,” said John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry. “We are putting these important preventative measures in place now to ensure that our emergency responders are able to focus their efforts where they are needed most.”
If you need heat for cooking and warmth and you’re in a restricted fire zone, you can only use certain equipment — such as a portable gas stove or propane stove — if you follow certain rules.
Failure to comply with the law in a a restricted fire zone could result in a fine up to $25,000, three months in jail, and financial responsibility for any costs incurred in fighting a forest fire.
This restriction will remain in place until Ontario’s ability to respond to emergencies is no longer impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak.
Here is the southern border of the restricted fire zone in the Kawarthas region. Everything in the cross-hatched area is within the restricted fire zone, which went into effect April 3, 2020 until further notice. The Ontario government made the decision to support emergency responders during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Graphic: Government of Ontario)
Local municipalities are working to update their websites with information for residents.
The town of Bobcaygeon in the City of Kawartha Lakes has been devastated by the deaths of 14 residents so far at Pinecrest Nursing Home due to COVID-19. Local tribute band The Tragically Hits has organized a porch sing-along of The Tragically Hip's song "Bobcaygeon" on April 5, 2020 in a show of solidarity. (Photo: Kawarthas Northumberland / RT08)
Last Thursday afternoon (March 26), Canadians from across the country were asked to join together to sing The Tragically Hip’s song “Courage” from their balconies, porches, and bedrooms. The day before, Montreal comedian Joey Elias has put the call out on his Twitter account, which was retweeted by former Tragically Hip members Paul Langlois and Gord Sinclair.
Now, members of local cover band The Tragically Hits have put out a call for Canadians to come together to sing The Tragically Hip’s song “Bobcaygeon” at 6 p.m. this Sunday (April 5th).
The Tragically Hits’ rhythm guitarist Richard Kyle, a Bobcaygeon resident, tells kawarthaNOW that “Sing Bobcaygeon From Your Front Porch” is intended to be a show of solidarity with the town.
“We hope you will help spread word of this event and then join us from your porch, balcony, or deck as we spread a positive message to a community that could really use the show of support at this time,” Kyle writes in an email.
A hearse departs Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon on March 31, 2020. As of April 4, 22 residents of the home have died from COVID-19. (Photo: Fred Thornhill / The Canadian Press)
Bobcaygeon has been devastated by the many deaths of residents at Pinecrest Nursing Home, located just south of the downtown area, as well as the death of Bobcaygeon resident Jean Pollock, who was the wife of one of the home’s residents, from COVID-19. The large number of deaths (22 as of Saturday, April 4th) has received national attention.
A group of concerned Bobcaygeon citizens has created the Bobcaygeon and Area COVID-19 Relief Fund to help patients, families, and health care workers affected by COVID-19 in Bobcaygeon and the surrounding area. The Kawartha Art Gallery has made a $2,500 donation to the fund in honour Pollock, who was a long-time volunteer of the gallery and a member of the gallery’s board.
Kyle says Tragically Hip guitarist Paul Langlois will be participating in Sunday’s event, singing from his own porch. For more information about the sing-along, visit the Facebook event page.
Bobcaygeon will be sung this Sunday at 6pm Keri. There's a group of people from there who are organising and promoting it on facebook. I'll be back on my porch again then to sing along with them. The fb link to it that I have doesn't work it seems, but I'm sure you can find it!! https://t.co/7gwKEn0ewv
Syd Birrell, artistic director of the Peterborough Singers, says the choir has an arrangement of “Bobcaygeon” by choir member David Geene, and that each member of the choir will be joining the sing-along from their own porches using that arrangement.
To encourage everyone to participate, including those who might not be familiar with “Bobcaygeon”, we’ve put together some resources below, including the official video, lyrics, and the story behind the song. We’ve also included more information about the Bobcaygeon and Area COVID-19 Relief Fund, if you wish to donate to help those in need in Bobcaygeon.
I left your house this morning
About a quarter after nine
Coulda been the Willie Nelson
Coulda been the wine
When I left your house this morning
It was a little after nine
It was in Bobcaygeon, I saw the constellations
Reveal themselves one star at time
Drove back to town this morning
With working on my mind
I thought of maybe quittin’
Thought of leaving it behind
Went back to bed this morning
And as I’m pulling down the blind
Yeah, the sky was dull and hypothetical
And fallin’ one cloud at a time
That night in Toronto
With its checkerboard floors
Riding on horseback
And keepin’ order restored
Til The Men They Couldn’t Hang
Stepped to the mic and sang
And their voices rang with that Aryan twang
I got to your house this mornin’
Just a little after nine
In the middle of that riot
Couldn’t get you off my mind
So I’m at your house this mornin’
Just a little after nine
Cause it was in Bobcaygeon where I saw the constellations
Reveal themselves one star at time
The story behind the song
The Tragically Hip released Bobcaygeon in February 1999 as a single from their sixth album Phantom Power. The song went on to win the Juno Award for Single of the Year in 2000 and has since become one of the band’s most enduring and beloved signature songs.
The song is named after Bobcaygeon, Ontario, a town in the City of Kawartha Lakes about 160 kilometres northeast of Toronto. According to The Tragically Hip’s frontman Gord Downie (who died from brain cancer in October 2017 at the age of 53), the song was not specifically written about the town itself, but rather any small town. He chose Bobcaygeon mainly because it was the only place name he could find that came close to rhyming with the word “constellation”.
The song’s narrator works as a police officer in Toronto (although the police uniform in the video is generic). He’s thinking about quitting his stressful job as he drives back to Toronto from Bobcaygeon, where he sees “the constellations reveal themselves one star at a time” — in contrast to Toronto’s “dull and hypothetical” skies that are “falling one cloud at a time”.
In live performances, Downie referred to “Bobcaygeon” as a “cop love song”, although the gender and identity of the narrator’s love interest changed from performance to performance. In the original video, the police officer’s partner is female, but Downie sometimes introduced the song in concert as being “about a couple of gay cops that fall in love”.
A secondary theme of the song is about racism and anti-Semitism. Downie sometimes introduced the song with “This one asks the question: evil in the open or evil just below the surface?”. In the song’s official video, Rob Baker’s guitar has “This machine kills fascists” written on it.
The song’s bridge refers to the British rock band The Men They Couldn’t Hang performing at a concert at Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern (which has checkerboard floors). When they begin to sing their song “Ghosts of Cable Street” (which is about the Battle of Cable Street riot in London in 1936) in an “Aryan twang” (a reference to Neo-Nazis), a similar brawl or riot appears to erupt between fascist and anti-fascist activists in the audience. The narrator, who is mounted on horseback, keeps thinking of his lover in Bobcaygeon while he’s dealing with the rioters.
Another common interpretation of the lyrics in the bridge is that they refer to the Christie Pits riot of Toronto in 1933, when a group of fascists from a Toronto gang called the Swastika Club brawled with a group of young Jewish men after a baseball game. A similar public brawl in Toronto between the Neo-Nazi group Heritage Front and Anti-Racist Action happened in 1993, just a few years before Downie wrote the song.
VIDEO: “Bobcaygeon” Trailer
The Tragically Hip performed in Bobcaygeon for the first time on June 24, 2011, during The Big Music Fest that was attended by 25,000 people. Director Andy Keen documented the band’s appearance is his 2012 film Bobcaygeon.
On the final night of The Tragically Hip’s the Man Machine Poem Tour, which saw the band’s concert in Kingston broadcast nationally by CBC Television, the town of Bobcaygeon held a public viewing on its main street.
In addition to local residents, the event was also attended by a significant number of people who had made a pilgrimage to view the concert there because of the song. The “Concert Under the Constellations” event was the largest public event in the town’s history, garnered more widespread media coverage than any other public viewing party anywhere in Canada outside of Kingston, and a fundraising initiative during the event resulted in the largest single tour-related donation to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Trivia: the song’s reference to “Willie Nelson”, the legendary folk-country singer-songwriter, is also a slang reference to cannabis (Nelson is a frequent user).
Sources: Wikipedia, Stephen Dame of The Hip Museum
Bobcaygeon and Area COVID-19 Relief Fund
A health care worker at Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, Ontario responds to passing cars honking support on Tuesday, March 31, 2020. (Photo: Fred Thornhill / The Canadian Press)
A group of concerned Bobcaygeon citizens has created a fund to help patients, families, and health care workers affected by COVID-19 in Bobcaygeon and the surrounding area.
The fund, which is administered by the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes and advised by members of the Bobcaygeon community under the leadership of City of Kawartha Lakes councillor Kathleen Seymour-Fagan, is intended to provide eligible recipients with immediate assistance, including food supplies, transportation, technology, hiring and overtime costs, and mental wellness counselling.
The eligibility of each recipient will be determined collaboratively by the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes and the Bobcaygeon advisors. The approach to determine the eligibility of the recipients of the fund will be accountable as well as generous and inclusive.
As of April 4, 2020, 22 residents of Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon have died from COVID-19. Jean Pollock, the 82-year-old wife of one of the residents who frequently visited her husband before the COVID-19 outbreak was confirmed, also died on March 28. 2020 at Ross Memorial Hospital in Lindsay. (Photo submitted by Pam Smith)
The Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes will supply the funds to local businesses, charities, and municipal bodies to deliver the funded goods and services to those identified in need. All activities undertaken will align with the objectives of the Community Foundation of Kawartha Lakes and charitable purposes as defined by the Canadian Revenue Agency.
To make a donation to the Bobcaygeon and Area COVID-19 Relief Fund, contact foundation coordinator Margaret Cunningham at 705-731-9775 or nfo@kawarthafoundation.ca.
Bobcaygeon and area patients, families, and health care workers in need should contact Seymour-Fagan at kseymourfagan@kawarthalakes.ca.
This story was updated to include information about the Bobcaygeon and Area COVID-19 Relief Fund.
Public health nurse Julie Brandsma dons a mask as she prepares to test a patient for COVID-19. (Photo courtesy of Peterborough Public Health)
After two consecutive days with no increase in cases, 10 new positive cases of COVID-19 are being reported by Peterborough Public Health, bringing to 38 the total number of positive cases in Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake and Hiawatha.
During her daily media briefing on Thursday (April 2), Peterborough Medical Officer of Health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra noted while the outbreak at St. Joseph’s at Fleming remains “under control,” there are now three positive cases connected with the home off Brealey Drive — two residents and one employee.
“We have not been able to establish a link for the cases (at St. Joseph’s at Fleming), so community transmission is possible,” notes Dr. Salvaterra, adding none of 10 new positive cases “appear to be” to be the result of community transition, although information on each case is still be compiled.
The COVID-19 Assessment Centre at Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) is now available by calling directly. Based on the results of your self-assessment, contact the centre directly by phone at 705-876-5086 to determine whether an appointment is required. This phone line is staffed from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
If symptoms are severe, please call 911 and alert the dispatcher to your travel history and symptoms.
To date, 820 COVID-19 tests have been conducted locally with results awaited on 291 of those tested. Another 491 cases have been confirmed negative with five positive cases now resolved.
As for the area served by the other health unit in the Kawarthas (Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, which includes Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, and Haliburton), the latest numbers from Wednesday (April 1) indicate there have been 64 positive cases reported and 13 deaths (with 11 associated with the outbreak at Pinecrest Nursing Home). Of the total positive cases, 48 are in the City of Kawartha Lakes, 15 are in Northumberland County, and one is in Haliburton County.
Do not flush sanitary wipes, even if they claim to be flushable, down your toilet. Flushing anything other than human waste and toilet paper can create blockages in the pipes leaving your home or the sewage system, resulting in backups and floods. Instead, bag the used items into a sealed bag and properly disposed of the bag in your garbage.
If you’ve been forced to use paper products other than toilet paper for personal hygiene, don’t flush these down your toilet.
That’s because anything other than toilet paper is not designed to be flushed down the toilet. Tissues, paper towels, napkins, and sanitary wipes — even those that claim to be flushable — all have plastic binders to increase their strength.
This means that these paper products do not break down or disintegrate when you flush them, and they can result in blockages both in the pipes leaving your home and in sewage treatment plants and pumping stations.
In a media release, the City of Peterborough reports that its wastewater treatment plant experienced a plug in the screening system on Tuesday (March 31) that caused a backup of raw sewage within the system.
While there was no spillage, the system had to be cleared for treatment to continue. Other local blockages have occurred in multiple areas of Peterborough.
“These wipes are being incorrectly marketed as flushable,” warns Daryl Stevenson, supervisor of wastewater treatment in Peterborough. “They can cause serious blockages and result in property damage and flooding.”
Stevenson reminds everyone to only flush the “three Ps”: pee, poop, and toilet paper. Never flush baby wipes, feminine hygiene products, tissues, napkins, diapers, condoms, cigarette butts, or other items down the toilet.
And never pour fat, oil, or grease into drains or toilets. They build up over time and are a main cause of sewer backups; the same is the case for food scraps.
And remember, if you clog up the sewer pipes leaving your home, you will be responsible for paying to have the clog removed.
If you are using something other than toilet paper for wiping, put the used products into a sealed (and preferably compostable) bag and dispose of the bag in a garbage bin or pail or, better yet, compost the bag if you can.
Make sure these items are properly disposed of in your garbage to help protect the health and safety of staff who are handling the material. Refrain from placing loose hygiene items in any untied bag or loosely in a garbage pail. Curbside waste that has not been properly bagged may not be collected.
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