Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to get you started on this Saturday morning.
We sent our videographer out to see what Phase 2 looks like in Greater Sudbury
The Ontario government is easing restrictions for regions that are seeing a decline in confirmed COVID-19 cases. This includes cities like Greater Sudbury, which is now in Phase 2 of the reopening stage. As of midnight on June 12, many businesses were able to open their doors for the first time in nearly three months. We wanted to know what Stage 2 looked like in local parks, patios and malls. Watch the video above to see which local shops and services were able to open their doors today.
Read the full story and watch the video here.
What is a ‘social circle’? Here’s an explanation of the new guideline from a Health Ministry doctor
A Ministry of Health technical briefing from Queen's Park Friday morning revealed there are new and more-relaxed guidelines for up to 10 family members and friends getting together and forming a "social circle". The briefing, titled Safely Expanding Personal Networks, was presented by a ministry physician in a teleconference from across Ontario, which included Sudbury.Com among others. Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott also addressed the new guideline during today’s COVID-19 briefing. You can read the documents provided by the Ministry of Health explaining social circles here and here. The presentation was made on the proviso that the physician-spokesperson would only be referred to as a ministry official. He noted that since the pandemic was first defined in early March, the health ministry advocated that Ontario residents should physically distance themselves from anyone outside of their household, thereby creating a protective ring around the family.
‘We can’t wait’: New Sudbury Centre, Southridge Mall reopen, with some precautions
Both the New Sudbury Centre and the Southridge Mall are opening to patrons as of 11 a.m. today (Friday, June 12) as part of the Stage 2 loosening of COVID-19 restrictions in Ontario. Meanwhile, the Rainbow Centre Mall is taking more than a week longer to reopen — the downtown mall will open its doors to the public Monday, June 22. Brenda Folz, marketing director with the New Sudbury Centre, said the mall will be operating on reduced hours for now (11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends). She said the mall has also increased its cleaning schedule, and there will be more hand sanitizer stations. Patrons can also expect to see physical distancing decals and modifications to the washrooms. In some cases, people may have to wait before entering a store which is limiting the number of customers in their unit at one time, so Folz encourages patience.
Tattoo artists and hairstylists ready (in fact excited) to see their clients again
If you've been longing for a new ’do or some fresh ink throughout the ups and downs of the COVID-19 pandemic, you can rest easy knowing that the chance of seeing your hairstylist or tattoo artist is much improved now. The Ontario government this week announced it was allowing more personal service businesses to re-open and get back to work. The announcement included such services as tattoo parlours, barber shops, hair salons and beauty salons. It was a good news announcement for Sudbury tattoo artist Martin Bourgeois who owns and operates Studio 613 Electric Tattoo Co., a well-known tattoo shop at 1102 The Kingsway. Bourgeois said clients have been calling him to get unfinished work completed as well as to get something new. He said there is a backlog of work to be done, but despite that, the shop will not be open until June 15. He said his shop has a backlog of two to three weeks of work, but he heard other tattoo studios in the city have up to two months of work scheduled.
Public Health Sudbury says no to mandatory face masks
Public Health Sudbury & District said it is not planning on making the wearing of face masks mandatory for indoor commercial settings. Sudbury.com reached out to the health unit after reading a story from GuelphToday.com that Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) was making the wearing of face coverings mandatory for customers and staff in commercial settings. The WDGPH order includes all commercial establishments that provide goods and services, including grocery stores and large retail stores. Establishments not in compliance face a fine of up to $5,000. Commercial establishments must also provide alcohol-based hand rub at all entrances and exits. Public Health Sudbury acknowledged the step its Guelph area counterpart had taken, but said locally it will stick with its own guideline that masks are highly recommended.
North has 11 known COVID-19 cases, while Ontario logs fewer than 200 for first time since March
Ontario is reporting fewer than 200 new COVID-19 cases today, for the first time since March 28. Today’s report from Public Health Ontario states there are 182 new lab-confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the province. On Sunday, June 7, the province did report 192 new cases, but also included 223 cases that were delayed in being reported to public health, making the total for the day 415 newly reported cases. Testing is still up in the province with 28,335 tests processed since yesterday’s report. Recoveries also climbed with more reported resolved cases than new cases today. There were 302 additional recoveries noted. But the province still continues to report new deaths attributed to COVID-19, with 11 new fatalities included in today’s epidemiological report. The latest victims were all over the age of 60, and seven people over the age of 80. The Ministry of Long-Term Care has reported 1,776 deaths of long-term care residents, but Public Health Ontario has only reported 1,606 resident deaths to-date.
Parts of Northwestern Ontario receive 10 cm of June snow
PICKLE LAKE, Ont. - Snowplows travelling up and down the street and green trees covered in white isn’t something you want to wake up to on a June morning, but that’s just what greeted several communities in Northwestern Ontario. Parts of Northwestern Ontario received a rare dumping of June snow, with Pickle Lake seeing as much as 10 centimetres with snow still falling Thursday morning. “It’s not really a great feeling when everyone was wearing shorts a week ago and it was beautiful 20 degree weather and fishing and then looking outside and wondering if we should fire up the skidoo or take the car to work,” said Jamie Hussey, clerk treasurer with the municipality of Pickle Lake.
