Fairhaven is a municipal long-term care home facility located at 881 Dutton Road in Peterborough. (Photo: Fairhaven)
Shortly after Fairhaven issued a media release on Monday morning (September 28) stating that Peterborough Public Health had declared the COVID-19 outbreak over, the health unit has confirmed another positive case at the Peterborough long-term care facility.
“This morning, minutes after being given word that Fairhaven would be coming out of outbreak today, a preliminary positive lab test result was received by Peterborough Public Health,” states an email on Monday afternoon from Lionel Towns, executive director of the municipal long-term care home at 881 Dutton Road in Peterborough.
“They have just confirmed that the staff case which they were examining is a true positive case so we are back in outbreak.”
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Original story
Peterborough Public Health has declared the COVID-19 outbreak at Fairhaven in Peterborough to be over.
Lionel Towns, executive director of the municipal long-term care home at 881 Dutton Road in Peterborough, made the announcement in a media release on Monday (September 28).
“Two weeks ago, COVID-19 was detected in a swab test for an employee of Fairhaven,” Towns states. “Since that time, there have been no positive tests for residents and no additional cases with staff.”
Towns says residents, families, and staff are being informed the outbreak is over. He says enhanced house cleaning and extra disinfection for high-touch surfaces will continue.
“Staff in our home must be commended for their swift action, strict adherence to personal protective equipment protocol, unwavering commitment to caring for our residents, and their collaborative approach to protecting our home,” Towns states.
Today, Ontario is reporting 491 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily increase since May 2 when 511 cases were reported.
The number of hospitalizations has jumped again today by 12, after yesterday’s increase of 13, for a total of 112. However, the number of patients in ICUs and on ventilators is stable. There have been 2 new deaths.
Over half of the new cases are in Toronto (137) and Peel (131), with a significant number of cases in Ottawa (58) and York (58) and smaller increases in Niagara (20), Durham (19), Middlesex-London (13), Halton (10), Waterloo (10), Simcoe Muskoka (8), and Hamilton (8). The remaining 23 health units are reporting 5 or fewer cases, with 10 reporting no new cases at all. Of today’s cases, 63% are among people under the age of 40.
Ontario has now completed more than 3.8 million tests. The backlog of tests under investigation has decreased by 2,979, but is still high at 65,061.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, there are no new cases to report today in Peterborough, after 3 new cases were reported yesterday. Two additional cases in Peterborough have been resolved, leaving 10 active cases. Reports are unavailable on weekends for Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, Haliburton, and Prince Edward and Hastings counties. As of September 25, there were 6 active cases in Northumberland, 1 active case in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 active case in Prince Edward and Hastings counties.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 119 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (107 resolved with 2 deaths), 179 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (159 resolved with 32 deaths), 43 in Northumberland County (36 resolved with 1 death), 15 in Haliburton County (15 resolved with no deaths), and 53 in Hastings County and Prince Edward County (47 resolved with 5 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Northumberland on September 8.
Province-wide, there have been 49,831 confirmed cases, an increase of 491 from yesterday, with 42,796 (85.9% of all cases) resolved, an increase of 289. There have been 2,839 deaths, an increase of 2 from yesterday), with 1,832 deaths reported in long-term care homes, an increase of 1. A total of 3,808,226 tests have been completed, an increase of 42,509 from yesterday, with 65,061 tests under investigation, a decrease of 2,979 from yesterday.
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 health units. This information is at least 24 hours old, so it is not real-time data. 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: 119 (no change) Active cases: 10 (decrease of 2) Deaths: 2 (no change) Resolved: 107 (increase of 2) Total tests completed: Over 28,350 (increase of 250) Institutional outbreaks: Fairhaven (no change)
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s service area is the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.
The health unit provides reports on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, excluding statutory holidays. These numbers are from September 25.
Confirmed positive: 237, including 179 in Kawartha Lakes, 43 in Northumberland, 15 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Kawartha Lakes) Probable cases: 0 (no change) Hospitalizations (total to date): 15 (no change) Deaths: 33 (no change) Resolved: 210, including 159 in Kawartha Lakes, 36 in Northumberland, 15 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Northumberland) Active cases: 7, including 6 in Northumberland, 1 in Kawartha Lakes (decrease of 1 in Northumberland, increase of 1 in Kawartha Lakes) Institutional outbreaks: None (no change)
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health’s service area is Hastings County (including Bancroft) and Prince Edward County.
The health unit provides reports on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, excluding statutory holidays. These numbers are from September 25.
Confirmed positive: 53 (no change) Active cases: 1 (no change) Deaths: 5 (no change) Hospitalized: 0 (no change) Hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change) Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 0 (no change) Recovered: 47 (no change) Total tests completed: 35,545 (increase of 3,132) Institutional outbreaks: None (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 49,831 (increase of 491) Resolved: 42,796 (increase of 289, 85.9% of all cases) Hospitalized: 112 (increase of 12)* Hospitalized and in ICU: 28 (no change) Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 16 (increase of 1) Deaths: 2,839 (increase of 2) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 1,832 (increase of 1) Total tests completed: 3,808,226 (increase of 42,509) Tests under investigation: 65,061 (decrease of 2,979)
*A number of hospitals (approximately 35) did not submit data to the daily bed census for September 25. The number of hospitalized patients may increase when reporting compliance increases.
New COVID-19 cases in Ontario from August 27 – September 26, 2020. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 tests completed in Ontario from August 27 – September 26, 2020. The red line is the number of tests completed daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
Ontario is reporting 435 new COVID-19 cases today, including 3 in Peterborough.
Most of the new cases are in Toronto (131), Peel (110), and Ottawa (45), with smaller increases in Hamilton (14), Halton (12), Eastern Ontario (10), Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (9), Niagara (9), Waterloo (8), Middlesex-London (7), and Simcoe Muskoka (6). The remaining 23 public health units are reporting 5 or fewer cases, with only 8 reporting no new cases at all. 64% of today’s cases are in people under the age of 40.
There has been an increase of 13 hospitalizations, for a total of 100, with a small increase of patients admitted to ICUs and on ventilators. There are no new deaths. The backlog of tests under investigation has increased by 2,813 to 68,040 — the highest number of tests under investigation since the pandemic began.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, 3 new cases are being reported in Peterborough, for a total of 12 active cases. Reports are unavailable on weekends for Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland, Haliburton, and Prince Edward and Hastings counties.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 119 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (105 resolved with 2 deaths), 179 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (159 resolved with 32 deaths), 43 in Northumberland County (36 resolved with 1 death), 15 in Haliburton County (15 resolved with no deaths), and 53 in Hastings County and Prince Edward County (47 resolved with 5 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Northumberland on September 8.
Province-wide, there have been 49,340 confirmed cases, an increase of 435 from yesterday, with 42,507 (86.2% of all cases) resolved, an increase of 338. There have been 2,837 deaths (no change from yesterday), with 1,831 deaths reported in long-term care homes (no change from yesterday). A total of 3,765,717 tests have been completed, an increase of 43,238 from yesterday, with 68,040 tests under investigation, an increase of 2,813 from yesterday.
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 health units. This information is at least 24 hours old, so it is not real-time data. 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: 119 (increase of 3) Active cases: 12 (increase of 3) Deaths: 2 (no change) Resolved: 105 (no change) Total tests completed: Over 28,350 (increase of 150) Institutional outbreaks: Fairhaven (no change)
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s service area is the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.
The health unit provides reports on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, excluding statutory holidays. These numbers are from September 25.
Confirmed positive: 237, including 179 in Kawartha Lakes, 43 in Northumberland, 15 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Kawartha Lakes) Probable cases: 0 (no change) Hospitalizations (total to date): 15 (no change) Deaths: 33 (no change) Resolved: 210, including 159 in Kawartha Lakes, 36 in Northumberland, 15 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Northumberland) Active cases: 7, including 6 in Northumberland, 1 in Kawartha Lakes (decrease of 1 in Northumberland, increase of 1 in Kawartha Lakes) Institutional outbreaks: None (no change)
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health’s service area is Hastings County (including Bancroft) and Prince Edward County.
The health unit provides reports on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, excluding statutory holidays. These numbers are from September 25.
Confirmed positive: 53 (no change) Active cases: 1 (no change) Deaths: 5 (no change) Hospitalized: 0 (no change) Hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change) Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 0 (no change) Recovered: 47 (no change) Total tests completed: 35,545 (increase of 3,132) Institutional outbreaks: None (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 49,340 (increase of 435) Resolved: 42,507 (increase of 338, 86.2% of all cases) Hospitalized: 100 (increase of 13) Hospitalized and in ICU: 28 (increase of 3) Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 15 (increase of 2) Deaths: 2,837 (no change) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 1,831 (no change) Total tests completed: 3,765,717 (increase of 43,238) Tests under investigation: 68,040 (increase of 2,813)
New COVID-19 cases in Ontario from August 26 – September 25, 2020. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 tests completed in Ontario from August 26 – September 25, 2020. The red line is the number of tests completed daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
The three students of Adam Scott Collegiate Vocational Institute in Peterborough who have tested positive for COVID-19 know each other and all three cases have been connected to travel outside of Peterborough.
During a joint media briefing held Friday (September 25) with representatives from the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, Peterborough Medical Officer of Health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra described each student’s illness as “mild” but added contact tracing has resulted in a total of 40 people — a combination of mostly students but also some staff — directed to self-isolate.
In addition, the household contacts of each student case have been directed to self-isolate.
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“Our preliminary investigation revealed all three (students) had spent some time in the school during the period when they could have been shedding the virus,” says Dr. Salvaterra.
Dr. Salvaterra would not confirm or deny if the three students are in whole, or in part, members of the same family but she did make it clear “they are known to each other.”
Peterborough Public Health advised the high school at 175 Langton Street of the three positive cases on Thursday afternoon (September 24). The school immediately sent an email to all Adam Scott families and posted a notice on the school’s website, advising that the health unit would be contacting close contacts of the three cases.
“By 7:30 p.m. last night (Thursday) we had identified the staff and student cohorts that would need to excluded as possible high-risk contacts,” Dr. Salvaterra said. “Public health staff were able to call all but three of the contacts last night to advise them to stay at home. By early this morning (Friday), everyone had been contacted.”
“At this time we don’t believe transmission occurred within the school. These cases are known to each other and had contact outside of a school setting. For this reason, we have not declared an outbreak (at Adam Scott). The school was advised that it could safely open today and continue to operate until further notice.”
According to Peterborough Public Health, the provincial government defines a school outbreak as transmission between two or more cases in a school setting. A school setting, notes Dr. Salvaterra, isn’t restricted to the school — a school bus or a before- and after-school program also fall under the school setting designation.
However, it does not include social settings outside of the education system where students get together.
“A party at someone’s home on a Friday night is not a school setting,” says Dr. Salvaterra.
“In Ontario we are seeing transmission amongst younger adults and youths and that is not necessarily occurring in schools. It’s occurring at unorganized social gatherings.”
According to Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board chair Diane Lloyd, any student exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms or “is any way sick” is immediately moved to a designated location within the school and kept isolated until he or she is taken home as soon as possible.
Lloyd added doctor’s clearance has to be obtained before the student would be allowed to return to school.
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Under current provincial public health protocols, all students in grades 4 to 12 are required to wear a mask while on school property. Jennifer Leclerc, director of the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board, says students who don’t adhere to that directive “will be dealt with very seriously.”
To parents anxious about the safety of their children at school, be it at Adam Scott or any local school, Dr. Salvaterra advises, “Take a deep breath … we’ve got your back.”
“We’re working closely with the schools. I’m very confident that we’ve been able to identify those people that should be self-isolating. To members of the public, if you need to take any special precautions, you will hear from us.”
Meanwhile, Peterborough’s Fairhaven Long-Term Care Home remains in outbreak after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 last week. Dr. Salvaterra says the situation at Fairhaven is “stable” and, barring no new cases “hopefully that outbreak can be declared over next week.”
With Ontario reporting 409 new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row, the government has announced all strip clubs across the province will be closed and bars, nightclubs, and restaurants will no longer be allowed to sell alcohol after 11 p.m.
In addition, except for takeout and delivery, all establishments must close by midnight and remain closed until 5 a.m., and alcohol cannot be consumed on the premises (including by employees) from midnight until 9 a.m. All the new measures come into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday (September 26).
The government says it’s implementing the new restrictions because of outbreak clusters in restaurants, bars, and other food and drink establishments, including strip clubs, with most cases in the 20 to 39 age group.
Half of today’s 409 cases are in Toronto (204) with smaller increases in Peel (66), Ottawa (40), York (33), Halton (12), Durham (12), Simcoe-Muskoka (9), and Middlesex-London (8). The remaining 25 public health units are reporting 5 or fewer cases, with 13 reporting no new cases.
Of today’s new cases, 65% are among people under the age of 40. There is 1 new death, with hospitalizations stable. The backlog of tests under investigation has increased by 11,387 to 65,227 — the highest number of tests under investigation since the pandemic began.
There are 29 new cases to report in Ontario’s publicly funded schools, including 10 student cases, 10 staff cases, and 9 cases among people who are unidentified. There are 2 new child cases in licensed child care settings.
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In the greater Kawarthas region, 1 new case is being reported in Kawartha Lakes and 1 new case is being reported in Prince Edward and Hastings counties. There are no new cases in Peterborough, Northumberland, or Haliburton County. There are currently 9 active cases in Peterborough, 6 in Northumberland, 1 in Kawartha Lakes, and 1 in Prince Edward and Hastings counties,
Although the Ontario report of cases in schools and child care settings does not identify any in the greater Kawarthas region, Peterborough Public Health reported 3 student cases at Adam Scott Collegiate Vocational Institute on September 24.
Since the pandemic began in the greater Kawarthas region, there have been 116 confirmed positive cases in the Peterborough area (105 resolved with 2 deaths), 179 in the City of Kawartha Lakes (159 resolved with 32 deaths), 43 in Northumberland County (36 resolved with 1 death), 15 in Haliburton County (15 resolved with no deaths), and 53 in Hastings County and Prince Edward County (47 resolved with 5 deaths). The most recent death was reported in Northumberland on September 8.
Province-wide, there have been 48,905 confirmed cases, an increase of 409 from yesterday, with 42,169 (86.2% of all cases) resolved, an increase of 283. There have been 2,837 deaths, an increase of 1 from yesterday, with 1,831 deaths reported in long-term care homes, an increase of 2 from yesterday. A total of 3,722,479 tests have been completed, an increase of 41,865 from yesterday, with 65,227 tests under investigation, an increase of 11,387 from yesterday.
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 health units. This information is at least 24 hours old, so it is not real-time data. 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: 116 (no change) Active cases: 9 (no change) Deaths: 2 (no change) Resolved: 105 (no change) Total tests completed: Over 28,200 (increase of 200) Institutional outbreaks: Fairhaven (no change)
Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit
The Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit’s service area is the City of Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland County, and Haliburton County.
The health unit provides reports on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, excluding statutory holidays. These numbers are from September 23 and will be updated when a report is issued by the health unit later this afternoon.
Confirmed positive: 236, including 178 in Kawartha Lakes, 43 in Northumberland, 15 in Haliburton (increase of 2 in Northumberland) Probable cases: 0 (no change) Hospitalizations (total to date): 15 (no change) Deaths: 33 (no change) Resolved: 209, including 159 in Kawartha Lakes, 35 in Northumberland, 15 in Haliburton (increase of 1 in Northumberland) Active cases: 7 in Northumberland (increase of 1) Institutional outbreaks: None (no change)
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health’s service area is Hastings County (including Bancroft) and Prince Edward County.
The health unit provides reports on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, excluding statutory holidays.
Confirmed positive: 53 (increase of 1) Active cases: 1 (increase of 1) Deaths: 5 (no change) Hospitalized: 0 (no change) Hospitalized and in ICU: 0 (no change) Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 0 (no change) Recovered: 47 (no change) Total tests completed: 35,545 (increase of 3,132) Institutional outbreaks: None (no change)
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Province of Ontario
Confirmed positive: 48,905 (increase of 409) Resolved: 42,169 (increase of 283, 86.2% of all cases) Hospitalized: 87 (decrease of 1) Hospitalized and in ICU: 25 (increase of 2) Hospitalized and in ICU on ventilator: 13 (increase of 2) Deaths: 2,837 (increase of 1) Deaths of residents in long-term care homes: 1,831 (increase of 2) Total tests completed: 3,722,479 (increase of 41,865)* Tests under investigation: 65,227 (increase of 11,387)
*This number includes test volumes that were not reported on September 24 due to a technical issue.
New COVID-19 cases in Ontario from August 25 – September 24, 2020. The red line is the number of new cases reported daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of new cases. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)COVID-19 tests completed in Ontario from August 25 – September 24, 2020. The red line is the number of tests completed daily, and the dotted green line is a five-day moving average of tests completed. (Graphic: kawarthaNOW.com)
Police are asking for the public’s help in finding the person or persons responsible for the theft of items — which include the remains of a family member — from a Kawartha Lakes home on Thursday (September 25).
City of Kawartha Lakes OPP say that, sometime between 2:30 and 3:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, somebody broke into a home on Waite Road in Pontypool.
A number of items were stolen, including the remains of a family member that were contained in a thick cardboard box wrapped in a dark red velvet bag with gold drawstrings.
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Police are asking the public to keep an eye out for the stolen remains, and are looking for information on any suspicious vehicles or people observed in the area of Ballyduff Road and Waite Road between 2:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.
Anyone having information on this crime 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 going to www.kh.crimestoppersweb.com and submitting an anonymous tip online.
Police seized two weapons and 1,600 rounds of ammunition, along with a quantity of cocaine, from a Peterborough home on September 24, 2020. Two Peterborough residents face gun and drug charges. (Police-supplied photo)
Two Peterborough residents are facing gun and drug charges after a police investigation on Thursday afternoon (September 24).
After police executed a search warrant at a residence on Paterson Street, investigators located and seized a quantity of suspected cocaine, along with drug paraphernalia, cellular devices, a loaded M14 rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, and over 1,600 rounds of ammunition.
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As a result of the investigation, Richard Cobourn, 33, of Paterson Street, and Hilary Fleetwood, 34, of Armour Road, have been charged with possession of a Schedule I substance for the purpose of trafficking (cocaine), knowledge of unauthorized possession of a firearm, unauthorized possession of a firearm, and careless storage of a firearm, weapon, prohibited device or ammunition.
Both Cobourn and Fleetwood were held in custody and will appear in court on Friday (September 25).
Peterborough police seized more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition from a Peterborough home on September 24, 2020. (Police-supplied photo)
Adam Scott Collegiate Vocational Institute in Peterborough. (Photo: Google Maps)
Three cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed at Adam Scott Collegiate Vocational Institute, the secondary school announced on Thursday night (September 24).
“We were notified late this afternoon by Peterborough Public Health that we have three confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Adam Scott CVI,” the school writes on its website. “An email with more information has been sent to all Adam Scott families.”
A copy of the email sent to families is included at the end of this story.
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Peterborough Public Health identified the three new cases in its daily report on Thursday afternoon. While the school has not indicated whether the confirmed cases are among students or staff, Peterborough Public Health advised kawarthaNOW on Friday (September 25) that the cases are among three students.
Adam Scott says that Peterborough Public Health is not declaring an outbreak at the school at this time, “because it is not believed that these cases were transmitted through the school.”
Peterborough Public Health confirmed to kawarthaNOW on Friday that, because the health unit believes there was no transmission within the school, an outbreak has not been declared. According to the health unit, the Ontario government defines a school outbreak as transmission between two or more cases in a school setting.
“We are working closely with the health unit to identify close contacts who may have been exposed to these individuals while they were infectious,” the school writes. “The health unit is calling close contacts directly tonight and advising them as to any next steps they must take, such as self-isolation and/or testing.”
The school says it will remain open, and those who have not been contacted by the health unit may continue to attend school, but are asked to continue to self-monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
Peterborough Public Health and the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board are holding a joint media briefing at 11 a.m. on Friday, which kawarthaNOW will be covering.
"I miss playing with others - no orchestra or musical theatre productions. On the bright side, I'm learning to sing with Melody Thomas on Zoom." - Joy Simmonds, Cellist / "My work with The Peterborough Singers and the McDonnel Street Gospel Quartet is silenced." - Colin MacAdam, Singer (Photo: Julie Gagne)
On August 31st, the Electric City Culture Council (EC3) in Peterborough launched “Essential”, a photography project that raises awareness of the precarious situation of local artists and arts organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Part of EC3’s Peterborough Arts Alive initiative, the Essential project is a series of 17 photos by local photographer Julie Gagne that depicts 20 local artists during the pandemic. Each of the photos feature an artist or artists in their home or workplace and is accompanied by an artist statement about their experience of the pandemic.
Twice each week until the end of October, kawarthaNOW is publishing photos from the series. Today, we feature cellist Joy Simmonds and singer Colin MacAdam.
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Cellist Joy Simmonds and singer Colin MacAdam
Cellist Joy Simmonds and singer Colin MacAdam – The Essential Project. (Photo by Julie Gagne, design by Rob Wilkes)
A message from EC3 about The Essential Project
The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on both individual artists and arts organizations in Peterborough. Performance venues and galleries have been closed, concerts cancelled, exhibitions postponed, entire seasons abandoned. Organizations and facilities are trying to grapple with the loss of revenue and an uncertain future. “Reopening” is not straightforward, to say the least.
Individual artists have lost their creative income and the opportunity to work together to create — something that is absolutely vital to them and to their audiences. Many have pivoted, and developed and presented some great virtual and digital projects. But nothing replaces live performance in front of a live audience and the catalytic energy that comes from being together to rehearse, discuss, and plan projects, to gather at an opening or artist talk.
Isolated at home, cut off from their communities and the lifeblood that is their artistic practice, local artists still found ways to keep our cultural life alive. Silenced and almost invisible, they kept working. But it hasn’t been easy.
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Local photographer Julie Gagne began photographing a number of Peterborough residents in their homes during the earlier stage of the pandemic and posted the photos on Facebook. The eloquent, haunting images of her “Within” portrait project included some artists, and those incredibly moving images caught the eye of EC3 executive director Su Ditta.
Julie’s photos made us think. We have all benefited from the work of artists during the pandemic: we’ve listened to music, read books, watched films, toured virtual exhibitions, tuned in to living room concerts. What has it been like for the artists? Will people remember how essential the arts were to getting through the pandemic when it comes to recovery funding and budget planning? Will arts organizations be supported in a robust recovery plan?
EC3 asked theatre artist Sarah McNeilly to curate and coordinate, and approached Julie Gagne to do a distinct series of photos that spoke to the experience of local artists and what art means to our lives, in good times and in bad. It’s essential.
This arts awareness project is both a witness to the struggles of, and a testament to the courage and contributions of this community during the COVID-19 lockdown. Our heartfelt thanks go out to Julie and everyone in the arts community who have kept us going.
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