Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start your day.
Report shows city’s opioid crisis worsening
The newly released study that favours the creation of a supervised drug consumption site in Sudbury relies on volumes of hard research that fully explores the pros and cons of the idea. The 78-page study which was released Monday is authored by Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, the Medical Officer of Health for Public Health Sudbury & Districts, and by Greater Sudbury Police Chief Paul Pedersen. The detailed document is the result of 11-months of community consultation and data analysis. The report is quick to point out there is a significant concern about the number of opioid addicts and substance abusers in Sudbury, with numbers showing this city ranked 12th in Ontario for opioid emergency room visits in 2018 and seventh in the province for opioid-related deaths. From 2010 to 2018, the study revealed there were 199 drug-related deaths in the Sudbury area. And it's getting worse. The report showed the frequency of EMS calls for suspected opioid overdoses have more than doubled in 2019 over 2018. That's 468 calls last year versus 200 calls in 2018.
Going the distance: Cancer foundation staffer runs 100 miles at Kivi Park, raises $6K
Mary-Elizabeth Schweyer has really gone the distance for the Northern Cancer Foundation — literally. Over the weekend, she ran 100 miles (that’s about 161 kilometres) in Kivi Park, raising nearly $6,000 for the foundation. Schweyer, who’s manager of events and marketing with the Northern Cancer Foundation, took 35 hours and 21 minutes to accomplish her goal. She started her run at 5:11 a.m. Saturday, and finished at 4:32 p.m. Sunday. The mother of two young girls explains that she loves running ultramarathons, but the two events she had planned to enter this summer were cancelled due to COVID-19.
Downward slide continues: 184 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Ontario today
Ontario's active COVID-19 cases continue a downward trend today with 184 new cases and 218 recoveries reported. According to the Public Health Ontario epidemiological report, there are 2,585 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. This is the third day in a row and the fourth day out of the last five that the number of new cases has been below 200 cases. The province has not reported daily case increases this low since late March. Public Health Ontario does, however, continue to report new deaths attributed to COVID-19 on a daily basis. In today's report, the public health agency reported 11 deaths, including one person between the ages of 40 and 59, three people between the ages of 60 and 79, and seven people over the age of 80. The province has reported 2,538 deaths related to COVID-19 since March, and that includes 1,632 long-term care home residents.
Awesome educators: Lo-Ellen teacher Vanessa Catto’s COVID art challenge kept students inspired in isolation
With the COVID-19 pandemic shuttering schools this spring, educators have been thrown into an unfamiliar role — trying to teach their students at a distance. We wanted to throw a spotlight on Greater Sudbury educators who have gone above and beyond the call of duty for their students in these unusual times, and perhaps shown a bit of creativity as they engage their students. Sudbury.com asked readers for their nominations for local educators who fit this bill, and we received a nomination for Vanessa Catto, the visual arts teacher at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School. She has been keeping her art students busy during the pandemic through her COVID Art Challenge.
Discover: The eerie smarts of dog vomit and other fascinating slime mold facts
It oozes across a miniature landscape, searching and sifting for sustenance. The life-form possesses no brain or central nervous system, but it displays an eerie facsimile of intelligence, even demonstrating an ability to remember and anticipate events. You may have seen it in the leaf litter or on a decaying log without recognizing it; it’s found around the world and here in Ontario. It is Physarum polycephalum, the many-headed slime mold, and it’s a prime example of the amazing kinds of life hiding in plain sight all around us. The term ‘slime mold’ itself is a slippery one; it describes a grab bag of organisms that have a similar way of life rather than a shared evolutionary heritage. What makes slime molds special is the double life they lead. They can live as microscopic, free-living individuals or can join together to form a large, collective organism.
Read the full Discover CLP story here.
WATCH: Workplaces should be developing safety plans to protect workers from COVID-19, Ontario says
In today’s daily COVID-19 briefing, Premier Doug Ford said the province is providing employers with a guide to developing safety plans to keep workers safe. The premier was joined by Health Minister Christine Elliott and Minister of Labour, Training and Skills Development Monte McNaughton to make the announcement. The toolkit provides tips on how to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 as more people get back on the job during Stage 2 of the reopening of the province. "As more regions enter Stage 2 of reopening, we want to give businesses the tools and resources they need to adapt and succeed in this new environment," said Ford today. "By providing this guide on COVID-19 workplace safety, employers, employees, and customers can have the confidence they need to resume business as usual with the right health and safety measures in place."
Read the full story and watch the video here.
See the person, not the mask: ClearMask aids in communication with deaf community
Many Canadians are choosing to wear a face mask as a common sense precaution against spreading the coronavirus as well as a courtesy toward other people they might come in contact with. Recent experience has shown that conventional face masks might make it hard for people to hear you speaking as well as making it difficult to hear what others are saying. Face masks make life especially difficult for anyone that is deaf or hard of hearing. Things are changing. Don't be surprised if you start seeing people wearing the ClearMask, a new transparent surgical mask co-created by Allysa Dittmar, a graduate of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She is a deaf woman who was working a few years ago in a public service role for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Maryland Governor's office.
