Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Two northern ski hills banning southern Ont. residents during January lockdown:
Two Northern Ontario ski hills are telling southern Ontario residents they are not welcome at their facilities while the lockdown continues in the southern part of the province. All ski hills in Ontario have been shut down due to the COVID-19 provincial lockdown, which started on Dec. 26. Currently, the lockdown is due to be lifted in Northern Ontario on Jan. 9, meaning ski hills in this area of the province will be allowed to reopen. The lockdown will remain in place in the rest of the province for another two weeks, as will ski hill closures in southern Ontario. Boogie Mountain Ski Hill, a community downhill ski facility in Espanola, put out a notice about the issue on its Facebook page Monday. The notice says that during the provincial lockdown in southern Ontario, Boogie Mountain Ski Hill will only be accepting patrons from Greater Sudbury, Nairn Centre, Webbwood, McKerrow, Espanola, Massey and Manitoulin Island. Proof of residence will be required for all day-pass purchases for each person, the notice said. The ski hill said it will re-evaluate this measure when the provincewide shutdown is lifted. More on this story here.
COVID-19 outbreak declared at Amberwood Suites retirement home:
Public Health Sudbury & Districts has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at Amberwood Suites retirement home following the report of one case of COVID-19 in a resident. To date, no staff have tested positive in relation to this outbreak. Public Health is actively working with the retirement home to investigate the outbreak and to protect residents and staff. “The need for workers and everyone to monitor and screen for symptoms of COVID-19 and to stay home when ill, is critical for the health and well-being of everyone in our community. If you have COVID-19 symptoms, please take it seriously, even if they are mild,” said Stacey Laforest, Director, Health Protection Division, Public Health Sudbury & Districts. Public Health is reminding everyone to follow public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
GSPS have already responded to four calls related to snow machines going through ice this winter:
Greater Sudbury Police sent out a message Monday reminding Sudbury snowmobile enthusiasts to take care when travelling on ice. There have been a number of snowmobiles and side-by-side vehicles that have gone through the ice in the past week, including an incident on McCharles Lake on Dec. 31 where a man had to be taken to hospital after spending roughly 30 minutes in the frigid water. "There was a serious incident on McCharles Lake where a snowmobiler went through the ice," said Greater Sudbury Fire Services deputy chief Jesse Oshell. "Fortunatley there haven't been any other requests for this type of rescue this winter, but we have been made aware of other incidents." Greater Sudbury Police Services rural unit Cst. Al Burnette said that there have been four reported incidents of people's snow machines going through ice on local lakes, including one on Long Lake, one on a lake north of Capreol and a self-rescue on Panage Lake on Jan. 2. "It's always a use at your own risk situation, we won't rope anything off but we will put out safety messages and charge riders for careless driving," said Burnette. Having your snowmachine crash through the ice can land you a careless driving ticket with a fine of up to $325; the expenses tied to retrieving the machine from the water also fall on the owner. Get the full story here.
Queen's Park steps up vaccine program, but still no word on plans for the North:
Queen's Park announced Tuesday it plans to provide COVID-19 vaccines to health-care workers and essential caregivers throughout southern Ontario between now and Jan. 21, but as of yet, there are no firm details on vaccines for Northern Ontario health-care workers. Details of the vaccine programs were provided at an hour-long teleconference Tuesday, where provincial officials spoke at length about "the priority regions" of Toronto, Peel, York and Windsor-Essex. The briefing also outlined that additional doses of vaccine are currently being shipped to Ontario and that a ramping up will occur in the next few weeks. A Ministry of Health (MOH) official providing background information to reporters said during the week of Jan. 4, vaccines will be distributed by one public health unit and 18 hospitals. Next week, the week of Jan. 11, that will be stepped up to 22 hospitals and one public health unit. By Jan. 25, the vaccine effort will have 26 hospitals and two public health units. Find the full story here.
Six new confirmed cases of COVID-19 are reported by Sudbury Public Health:
Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) is reporting there are six new confirmed cases of COVID-19 within the jurisdiction of the local health unit. The PHSD website said four of the new cases were reported as being in the Greater Sudbury area, while the other two cases were described as being in the Manitoulin district. This latest information from PHSD reveals there are now 24 active cases being monitored by public health officials in the PHSD jurisdiction. It means the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases since the local case tracking began back in March 2020 is 294 cases. Of that number, PHSD reports that 270 cases have been resolved. Of the six new cases that were listed Tuesday, three were categorized as "close contract of the confirmed case." Two cases were listed as "information pending or missing" and the one case was listed as "No known epidemiological link". At the provincial level today (January 5, 2021) there were 3,128 new COVID-19 cases reported for all of Ontario.
Sudbury man travelling 150 km/h on Hwy. 17 charged with stunt driving:
A 29-year-old Sudbury man was charged with stunt driving on Jan. 2 after he was stopped on Highway 17 travelling at 150 kilometres/hour. Provincial police were conducting traffic enforcement around 10:52 p.m. when they stopped the vehicle. The driver was arrested and a search revealed a small amount of drugs suspected to be marijuana and a prohibited weapon. He is charged with operating a vehicle while prohibited, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, racing a motor vehicle and driving a vehicle with cannabis readily available. In addition to the charges, the driver was served a seven-day driver's licence suspension along with a 45-day vehicle impoundment for driving while prohibited. He was released on an appearance notice and will appear in court on Feb. 17 in Sudbury.
Sudburians invited to join new local climate action Facebook page:
Greater Sudbury residents are invited to join the new Facebook group “Climate Action Greater Sudbury - reaching net zero together.” The Facebook group is meant for everyone. Find green tips and tricks and be part of the community effort to achieve net zero by 2050. Community members are invited to join the group, share their knowledge, and engage in positive discussion while getting connected with valuable local groups and community resources. “We can all make a difference, especially when we work together,” said McKenna Elsasser, guiding member of Coalition for a Liveable Sudbury, and creator of the Facebook group. “I am excited to learn and share with fellow residents.” A call to action on the climate emergency within the community has been the basis of this newly formed Facebook group aiming to build community support and progress toward achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in Greater Sudbury. Learn more about the group here.
Wednesday Weather:
More cloudy skies with chances of some snow flurries today. There's a 40 per cent chance of flurries in the morning. Wednesday's high will be sitting at -3, feeling like -13 with the wind this morning. Mainly cloudy this evening with the low dipping to -10. It's going to feel like -15 with the wind chill overnight. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
