Good morning, Greater Sudbury! Here are a few stories to get you started on this Tuesday morning.
Death of person found at Kathleen Street residence being treated as a homicide
The identity of a person whose deceased remains were found on Boxing Day in a Kathleen Street residence has been identified as Robert Keskinen, 75. Police say the man’s death is being treated as a homicide. At 2:19 p.m. on Dec. 26, officers responded to a report of a deceased person. “When officers arrived on scene they discovered visible trauma to the body of the deceased and determined it to be a suspicious death,” Greater Sudbury Police reported today. Detectives from our Criminal Investigation Division alongside members of the Forensic Unit and Major Crimes Section are investigating, police said in a news release.
Region's active COVID-19 case count drops by two with recoveries
Public Health Sudbury & Districts has no new active cases to report today, but did report two more recoveries in the pandemic status update for Dec. 28. There are now nine active cases in the region. Health Sciences North also reported one person has been hospitalized with a confirmed case of COVID-19. The total case count climbed by four to 266, as stated in the Dec. 27 update. Of the four new cases announced Dec. 27, three occurred in Greater Sudbury, with one occurring within the Sudbury District. In terms of source of exposure, three of the cases resulted from close contact with a confirmed case, while the fourth was travel-related. No other demographic data about the new cases was released. Public Health Ontario did not provide an update for Dec. 28, but on Dec. 27 the agency reported 2,005 new cases of COVID-19.
Lockdown brings more stringent measures at Pioneer Manor and other LTC homes
The City of Greater Sudbury laid out the new restrictions at Pioneer Manor in a letter to residents and families on Dec. 23 in response to the 14-day lockdown that begins Dec. 26. As part of the lockdown, all long-term care homes will need to meet the requirements and restrictions currently required of homes in grey-lockdown zones. Essential caregivers will need to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result in the past seven days and verbally attest not to testing positive subsequently. This also applied to all staff and volunteers. There is no change for essential visitors visiting palliative residents.
GOVA fares won't be going up in the new year
Fares for GOVA and GOVA Plus will remain unchanged on Jan. 1. Transit fares traditionally increase each year, as approved by council in the Miscellaneous User Fee By-law. As part of budget discussions, a number of alternatives are being prepared for council’s review in reaching the budget direction of no more than a 3.9-per-cent tax increase. One of these measures includes reviewing all user fees already in place as well as providing analysis on the services not currently charging a user fee. “I’m happy to temporarily freeze user fees for all transit riders as we head into 2021,” said Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger. “While city council works to establish the municipal budget for 2021, residents can take comfort knowing that GOVA and GOVA Plus fares will remain status quo for those who use transit services to get around our community.”
After the holidays, all Sudbury JK-12 students in for a week of remote learning
Greater Sudbury students from junior kindergarten to Grade 12 will resume their studies Jan. 4 after the holiday break, but it won’t be in-person. As per the provincial government’s shutdown announcement Dec. 21, due to surging COVID-19 cases, elementary and secondary students will participate in remote learning from Jan. 4-8, after the Christmas holidays. Schools in northern public health regions (such as Greater Sudbury) will be permitted to resume in-person instruction Jan. 11 for both elementary and secondary students. In other parts of the province, the situation is a bit different, as elementary students will return to in-person learning Jan. 11, while secondary students will continue to learn remotely until Jan. 25, when they will be able to return to in-person learning.
