Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to start you on your day.
Social distancing: We sent our photographer out to capture the (mostly) empty streets of Sudbury
Greater Sudbury is normally a busy place. The Kingsway, Barrydowne Road, Durham Street, Paris Street, Notre Dame Avenue — these main thoroughfares bristle with traffic for much of the day and into the evening. The impact of social distancing, closed businesses and working from home can be seen in the above photos by Sudbury.com's Arron Pickard. We sent him out today to visit some of the normally busier parts of the city, places where there are usually cars and people, and capture the now quiet and mostly empty streets. Yes, there are pockets of people congregating in their usual places, but even at the transit centre downtown the number of people who are out has shrunk considerably.
Personal protective equipment donations needed: Local care homes look to augment 'dwindling' supply
The foundation supporting a number of local care homes is reaching out to the community to augment what it calls its “dwindling” supply of personal protective equipment in face of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We need your support more than ever to continue the work we do,” said St. Joseph’s Foundation of Sudbury. St. Joseph's Foundation of Sudbury supports St. Joseph’s Health Centre, St. Joseph’s Continuing Care Centre, St. Joseph’s Villa and Villa St. Gabriel Villa. “We need your support more than ever to continue the work we do,” said the press release.
Send us your questions, we're going live with Mayor Brian Bigger today
Sudbury.com knows you have questions you would like to ask our elected officials during this COVID-19 pandemic. So we asked Mayor Brian Bigger if he would sit down with us (while observing social distancing) so we could put your questions to him. Editor Mark Gentili will be chatting with him live — he from his home, Gentili from our offices on Elgin Street downtown — this afternoon. Post your questions in the comments below or email them to [email protected]. We'll pick the 10 best ones to ask the mayor.
Testing backlog linked to shortage of chemicals needed for COVID-19 test
Regions across Canada are ramping up efforts to identify people with COVID-19 but some labs are facing a backlog due to diminishing supplies of essential chemicals needed for tests. "We all would want more tests," Canada's chief public officer Dr. Theresa Tam said Tuesday. The World Health Organization has said expansive testing is the way to curb the pandemic, but global demand has outpaced the supply of reagents — the specific chemicals needed by laboratories to complete the tests. The Center for Disease Control in the United States has also said that important reagents are "now are in short supply," a worry echoed by medical associations around the world. They are all looking for the chemical solutions at the same time and, as a result, some Canadian health authorities and labs are seeking alternative supply chains. Nearly 120,000 Canadians have been tested for the novel coronavirus — an average of 10,000 a day.
Video: Why wash our hands so much? This YouTuber shows how easily germs spread
Are you still having to remind your kids (and maybe even a few grown ups) to wash their hands? This experiment from Mark Rober may help. You might recognize Rober from the his porch pirate glitter bomb video that went viral in late 2019 and has racked up nearly 80 million views on YouTube. Relive the fun of that video here. Well, Rober's back and this time he's got an object lesson for kids (and adults) on how easily germs spread.
Confirmed Ontario COVID-19 cases jump by 170; total now at 858
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases jumped by 170 in Ontario over the past day, from 688 to 858. That's the largest spike in confirmed cases we've seen so far in this province. Ontario reports 13 people with COVID-19 who have died. That's up from nine deaths on Wednesday. Eight cases are classified as being resolved. There are 10,965 people under investigation for suspected COVID-19, and 26,727 have been confirmed as being negative for the virus. The province reports 38,550 people have been approved for testing. In this region, Public Health Sudbury and Districts say there have been have been six confirmed positive cases so far. That includes the fifth and sixth cases in the region, which were reported Wednesday night. There are 133 people currently under investigation for COVID-19, and 310 people have tested negative. In Northern Ontario, there are now 14 positive COVID-19 cases, up five from yesterday. That includes the two new cases in the Sudbury region, one in the North Bay-Parry Sound district and two more in the Timmins district. In Canada as a whole, there are now 3,555 confirmed cases — a jump of 1,596 cases over yesterday — 24 probable cases and 35 deaths.
Sudburians are sharing kindness during the pandemic and it's catching on
Sudbury.com knows that by sharing acts of kindness, it can inspire others to do the same. In light of COVID-19, our news feeds have become overloaded with breaking news and daunting headlines. While we are committed on keeping the community informed with the latest news, Sudbury.com wants to highlight the helpers and focus on the positive things that are happening in our city. Earlier this week, we asked our readers to share their stories of kindness and this is what we've received so far.
Wrap yourself in kindness by reading the story here.
Woman charged with arson endangering life after early morning fire
Greater Sudbury Police arrested and charged a 35-year-old woman with arson endangering life Thursday morning in connection to a fire at a residential building. Greater Sudbury Fire Services were called to a fire at a residential building on Whittaker Street at around 6:15 a.m. this Thursday morning. Fire Services was able to quickly extinguish the fire that was contained to one unit in the building. There were no injuries, however the residents of the building had to be temporarily evacuated and have since been able to return to their homes.
Video: Tommy and his mommy, Day 9 — play Pictionary with us!
Just like many of you, for lack of available child care new media reporter Heather Green-Oliver is working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every day at 10 a.m., check out Heather and her five-year-old son Thomas as they livestream to Facebook with tips and ideas for keeping your kids busy during the pandemic, while encouraging them to wash their hands and be aware of germs. It's fun and interactive, and it's only on Sudbury.com.
