Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
City's arenas and ski hills may not open at all this winter:
Greater Sudbury continues to wrestle with the impacts of COVID-19 and the virus has hit the Nickel City harder in 2021 than it did at any point in 2020. While provincial case numbers have been trending downward in the past few days, Sudbury had another 13 positive cases on Jan. 26, and sit at its highest-ever number of active cases throughout the course of the pandemic, with 86. At the service level, provincial orders have shut down a number of municipal services and some of them are coming up against a serious time crunch as January winds to a close. Ward 7 Coun. Mike Jakubo raised a question about the city's arenas that house Greater Sudbury's minor hockey leagues, along with figure skating and more. "Obviously all arenas across the province are shut down unless it's an NHL arena, do we have any kind of a drop dead date with our arenas here?" asked Jakubo. Discussions have been ongoing between the city and ice user groups to get a feel for what the demand would be, but the calendar is not working in favour of either side at this point. "Typically the regular seasons would end at the end of March, but we are still consulting with groups so no decision has been made at this point,"said Tyler Campbell, director of social services. Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc posed a similar question about the city's ski hills, with Campbell again indicating that no decision has been made, however the signs are becoming more and more clear that there may not be a ski season this winter. "We haven't made a final decision on ski hills as of yet, we have however stopped making more snow and I believe we've redeployed some of the staff from ski hills," said Campbell. Get the full story here.
Sudbury COVID-19 restrictions could be tightened if virus variant causes more infections:
The public health restrictions in the Sudbury district could be made even more restrictive than the current lockdown and stay-at-home order if a variant of the COVID-19 virus somehow increases the number of infections. The issue was discussed in an online interview hosted by Science North on Monday with Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, Medical Officer of Health for the Public Health Sudbury and Districts. Staff scientist Katrina Pisani joined Sutcliffe for a 40-minute discussion on why the COVID-19 guidelines in Ontario keep changing. Pisani told the online audience the purpose of the discussion was to get a better understanding of why guidelines change and what the public needs to know about the current emergency regulations and the stay-at-home order currently in place. On Monday afternoon, the province decided to expand the order for an additional two weeks. Sutcliffe said despite some initial confusion, the order was simple and direct. "So the stay-at home order is exactly that for all Ontarians, to stay home unless it is really essential that you're not at home." More on this story here.
Health unit warns of increase in suspected overdoses, some resulting in death:
Public Health Sudbury and Districts has issued a drug warning due to an increase in suspected overdoses. The Community Drug Strategy has received reports of a higher number of suspected opioid overdoses in Greater Sudbury, some of these resulting in deaths. "While we cannot confirm the substance that has caused the overdoses, this situation serves as an important reminder to the community that street drugs may be cut or mixed with substances such as fentanyl or carfentanil, and that even a very small amount of these substances can cause an overdose," said a news release from PHSD. Get the full story here.
Man arrested for violent sexual assault:
Police said in a press release they would not release further details of the incident due to the sensitive nature of the incident and to protect the identity of the woman involved. As a result of the investigation, a 27-year-old man has been charged with: Sexual Assault Causing Bodily Harm, Sexual Assault – Chokes, Suffocates, or Strangles. He was released on an undertaking with a court date of April 7. Police say that based on the investigation, there is a concern there may be other survivors of attacks by the man. If you have any information related to this incident or this individual, you are asked to contact our Greater Sudbury Police at 705-675-9171, ext. 2301.
Teachers concerned as COVID-19 cases rise in local schools:
The president of the Sudbury elementary unit of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association has said there is “absolute concern” among her members after a recent spike in COVID-19 cases in local schools. There have now been 24 COVID-19 cases in local schools since in-person learning resumed this month, most of them in Sudbury Catholic District School Board schools. Four local schools — St. David Catholic Elementary School (where there are 13 cases alone), Pius XII Catholic Elementary School, Marymount Academy and École St-Denis — have now been shut due to the virus. “The luck we had in Sudbury prior to the holidays has run out,” said OECTA’s Chantal Rancourt, who represents elementary teachers with the Sudbury Catholic board. “Once it gets into the schools, it’s a lot more difficult to control. The virus has a mind of its own.” Find the full story here.
Students at 3 more Rainbow schools self-isolating after COVID exposure on bus:
The Rainbow District School Board said students at several more of its schools are self-isolating after a possible exposure to COVID-19 on their school buses. The affected schools are: Sudbury Secondary School: students on four shared bus routes are required to self-isolate up to and including Feb. 5. The morning secondary run of routes N461 and N460 as well as the afternoon secondary run of routes N460 and NW464 are cancelled. Lockerby Composite School: students on two shared bus routes are required to self-isolate up to and including Feb. 5. The morning secondary run of routes N461 and N460 are cancelled. Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School: a student on one shared bus route is required to self-isolate up to and including Feb. 5. The morning secondary run of route N461 is cancelled. The school board stressed that there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at any of these schools at this time.
Place des Arts' on-again, off-again construction continues despite pandemic delays:
Construction on Place des Arts began in earnest, then a pandemic set back. Work resumes once again, then a second lockdown — then the announcement of a sort-of third lockdown. The construction was supposed to continue, but then everything was shut down once again last week, with the building work ceasing on Friday. But then Monday it started again. There was an amendment to the legislation. It’s just another part of the journey, says Léo Therrien, executive director of the new Francophone arts and culture centre in downtown Sudbury. “The construction is expected to be done at the end of the summer, give or take, and again COVID willing,” said Therrien. “And then our hope is to open later in the fall. Even once the work is finished, everyone has to move in, we have to test all the equipment, you have to do a few shows, too.” Full story here.
Wednesday Weather:
More chilly temperatures on tap for Wednesday. Mix of and cloud this morning, then mainly cloudy this afternoon. Daytime high will be sitting at -11, feeling like -16 with the wind chill. There's a 30 per cent chance of flurries throughout the day. Mostly cloudy this evening with the low dropping to -22. It's going to feel like -31 with the wind overnight. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
