Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Greater Sudbury’s 11th case of COVID-19 confirmed:
Greater Sudbury has its 11th case of COVID-19, Public Health Sudbury & Districts confirmed this evening. The woman, in her 30s, is self-isolating at home. It is believed she became infected through close contact with another infected person. The woman was tested on March 28. In the area served by Public Health Sudbury & Districts, there are 11 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, including three announced yesterday. Nine of the positive cases are in Greater Sudbury and two are in Manitoulin district. There are 146 people currently under investigation, 429 have tested negative, for a total of 585 tests conducted. The region has three resolved cases that have been reported so far. In Northern Ontario as a whole, there have been 34 confirmed cases of COVID-19 to date.
Ontario's COVID-19 cases jump by 351 to 1,706, largest single-day increase yet:
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ontario jumped by 351 over between Sunday and Monday, that's the largest single-day increase to date. The Ontario government reports there are now 1,706 cases of COVID-19 in the province. That includes 431 resolved cases (up from the eight it was listing yesterday) and 23 deaths. The number of deaths is the same as Sunday, but presumably doesn't include the seven additional deaths at Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon. Nine residents at the care home have now died. A total of 48,561 people have been tested in Ontario. The province is now releasing some demographics on COVID-19. Of those who have tested positive, 2.5 per cent are 19 and younger, 77.3 per cent are aged 20-65 and 20.1 per cent are aged 65 and older. The Ontario breakdown in male vs. female is almost half-and-half — 50.2 per cent of COVID-19 patients are male, while 49.1 per cent are female. In the area served by Public Health Sudbury & Districts, we've had 10 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, including three announced yesterday. Eight of the positive cases are in Greater Sudbury and two are in Manitoulin district.
COVID-19 measures reduces number of admitted patients at HSN by nearly 200:
As a result of new measures taken, the number of admitted patients at HSN has decreased from 529 on March 5 to 350 on March 30. HSN currently has 41 critical care beds; these include 29 beds split between the Medical Surgical ICU and the Cardiovascular Thoracic ICU and 12 beds in the Cardiac Medical Unit. Over the last few weeks, HSN has been thoughtfully reviewing its pandemic plans to expand its critical care beds to 102. HSN currently has 62 ventilators across its units, with more on order and the ability to access more ventilators from the provincial Critical Care Command Table. The first three areas identified for critical care COVID-19 patients at HSN are the Intensive Care Unit for the first 15 patients, followed by the Cardio Vascular Thoracic unit for COVID patients number 16 to 29, and the Cardiac Medical Unit for COVID patients number 30 to 41. Non-COVID patients who would normally have gone to these units would be cared for in other parts of HSN. The hospital is also expanding its award-winning Virtual Critical Care program to support community hospitals across Northeastern Ontario, as endorsed by the COVID-19 Northern Ontario Steering Committee on Thursday.
'It's empty here': International students left in LU's rez after their Canadian peers depart:
Life is pretty quiet for third-year Laurentian University mining engineering student Shengle Luo right now. Normally Laurentian University's campus is home to about 1,600 students populating residence buildings run by both Laurentian and its federated universities. Most moved home after classes went entirely online earlier this month because of COVID-19. But Luo, an international student from the southeast Chinese province of Jiangi, is still living in his residence room. According to Laurentian, roughly 80 per cent of those left in rez are international students. Laurentian said it has about 150 students it expects will stay in the residences it runs for the long-term. There are also about 30 or 40 students left in the residences run by the three federated universities — Huntington University, Thorneloe University and the University of Sudbury. More on this story here.
Police arrest man who stole $700 worth of scratch tickets from convenience store:
Greater Sudbury Police Services received a call at around 5:45 a.m. on Thursday, March 26 regarding a robbery that had just taken place at a convenience store on Lasalle Boulevard. A man had entered the store with his face covered, displayed a knife and stole more than $700 of scratch tickets before fleeing the area on foot. The employee was not injured during the interaction. Patrol Officers arrived on scene minutes later and set up containment until the K9 Unit arrived. The K9 Unit conducted a track of the area locating numerous scratch tickets along the way; however, the man was not apprehended at the time of the track. The incident was assigned to the Break Enter and Robbery (BEAR) Unit and through the ongoing investigation detectives from the Integrated Crime Team were able to identify the man believed to be responsible. Just before 8 p.m. on March 28, a patrol officer located the man walking on Westmount Avenue. A 37-year-old man was arrested and charged. He was held in custody and attended Weekend and Statutory Holiday (W.A.S.H.) Court on March 29 to answer to the charges.
Sorry, Sudburians, if you want to donate blood you need to go to Barrie:
Canadian Blood Services' push for blood donations is an ongoing battle the oranization fights throughout the year. The need for donor blood is constant. On March 16, when the COVID-19 pandemic was in its early stages in Canada, Canadian Blood Services experienced a spike in appointment cancellations in several cities, possibility due to public uncertainty over the safety of donating blood in the midst of a pandemic. At the same time, government officials are urging people to stay home and keep a safe social distance from one another. It's likely many Sudburians would be willing to give blood at this time. Unfortunately, if you want to donate and you live in Greater Sudbury, you're out of luck. Despite the organization's push for blood donors at this time, Greater Sudbury remains without a place to donate as the city's blood donor clinic on Barrydowne Road was closed in January as it transitions to a plasma donor clinic, which will be located at 900 Lasalle Blvd. That clinic isn't slated to open until this summer. Sudbury.com is not suggesting anyone should actually travel to Barrie in the midst of a pandemic to donate blood, no matter how badly donations are needed. Find the full story here.
Teen charged with stunt driving after caught doing 150 km/h on MR 80:
An 18-year-old was caught driving 150 km/h in an 80 km/h zone on March 28, said the Ontario Provincial Police. Officers stopped the vehicle at 4:15 p.m. on Municipal Road 80. The teen was charged with stunt driving and given a seven-day driver's licence suspension and the vehicle was impounded for seven days. Two hours earlier, the OPP charged a 29-year-old Chelmsford resident with stunt driving after officers pulled them over for driving 110 km/h on Highway 144 through Dowling, where the posted speed limit is 60 km/h. The driver was given a seven-day driver's licence suspension and the vehicle was impounded for seven days. Both drivers were released and will appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Sudbury.
Tuesday Weather:
Cloudy Tuesday with a 40 per cent chance of flurries or rain showers in the morning. Cooler temperatures today with the high only going up to 3. Skies will clear this evening with the low dipping down to -4. Overnight low will feel like -7 with the wind chill. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
