Good morning, Greater Sudbury.
Here are some stories to start your day.
Public Health Sudbury and Districts moves to Grey-Lockdown today:
Public Health Sudbury and Districts has moved into the Grey-Lockdown level, effective March 12 at 12:01 a.m. The decision was made due to the concerning trends in public health indicators and in consultation with the local medical officer of health, said a press release issued Thursday by the province. From March 3 to 9, the region's case rate increased by 54.1 per cent to 75.9 cases per 100,000 people. "Implementing an emergency brake to immediately interrupt transmission of COVID-19 is a key component of our government's plan to safely and gradually return public health regions to the framework," said Christine Elliott, deputy premier and minister of health. "We have seen a rapid rise in the case rate in the Sudbury area, and swift action is needed to protect individuals, families and businesses and save lives." "As a result of the rapid deterioration of trends in key indicators, the emergency brake is being applied to move Public Health Sudbury and Districts to Grey-Lockdown to help reduce further spread of the virus in the region," said Dr. David Williams, Chief Medical Officer of Health. "We must remain vigilant in adhering to all public health and workplace safety measures to combat the threat posed by variants of concern." The Chief Medical Officer of Health will continue to consult with public health and other experts, review data, and provide advice to the government on the appropriate and effective measures that are needed to protect the health of Ontarians. Find out what the lockdown means in terms of what is open and what's closed here.
Councillors give the green light to transitional housing:
The city strengthened their arsenal in their fight against homelessness Thursday night as the finance and administration committee approved adding a business case to implement transitional housing to the 2021 budget. Brought forward by a trio of councillors, Ward 9's Deb McIntosh, Ward 10's Fern Cormier and Joscelyne Landry-Altmann of Ward 12, the $2.2 million initiative will come with no impact to the net levy in 2021. "The business case responds to a request to review gaps in the community and provide a targeted transitional housing business case that responds to chronic homelessness in the community and also addresses the high level of opioid addiction," said Tyler Campbell, director of social services. "This introduces the concept of using an intensive clinical assertive community treatment team in a residential setting to work with clients." Much of the business case was informed through a pair of community consultations on homelessness that was held earlier this year. Funds to implement the transitional housing project will be drawn from a number of sources in order to create a net zero impact on the tax levy. Find the full story here.
Public health reports 55 new COVID-19 cases for March 11:
Public Health Sudbury and Districts is reporting 55 new cases of COVID-19 for March 11, bringing the total case to 896. All 55 cases are in Greater Sudbury. There are now 263 active cases, up from 211 reported the day before, with three cases resolved. There has been a decrease in the number of cases reported to have tested positive for variants of concern. Currently, there are 98 cases that have screen positive, down from 107 the day before. There are still only three cases with confirmed variants of concern. With respect to possible causes of the new cases, PHSD reported 53 cases as "under investigation. Two cases were reported as related to outbreaks. PHSD also reports general demographics each day to provide basic information on the people who are becoming infected. This shows that the majority of cases are persons in the 20 to 39 age category with 308 total cases (15 new cases). On the provincial COVID-19 roster Thursday, the Ontario government daily website reported there were 1,092 new confirmed COVID-19 cases across the province.
Medical Officer of Health says Sudbury is now into the third wave:
The Sudbury district and Manitoulin Island will be back into the provincial Grey-Lockdown zone for an indefinite period as this area is now into its third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Penny Sutcliffe, the Medical Officer of Health for Public Health Sudbury and Districts, made the comment Thursday afternoon during an online news conference. She presented several slides showing the history of the virus case count in the past year. "So this is rapid growth and you'll see from the graph on the side that we experienced our first wave. We then experienced our second wave and I would say certainly we are into our third wave right now," said Suitcliffe. She recalled that it was as recently as September 16 that PHSD reported its 100th case but now the health district is now well over 800 cases. This is the second time in the span of one week that the area of the Public Health Sudbury and Districts has been pushed into a more restrictive colour zone. Last week, the first week of March, Sudbury was in the Orange-Restrict zone. This week kicked off with Sudbury being placed in the Red-Control zone. The new restrictions began at 12:01 a.m. Friday morning. Sutcliffe said no date has yet been set for when this local lockdown will end. You can watch Sutcliffe's press conference here.
In-person learning cancelled at all 4 Sudbury school boards as of Monday:
All four local school boards have now announced schools in the region will be closed for in-person learning as of Monday, March 15. “As of Monday, March 15, 2021, all students in Rainbow schools will learn remotely until further notice,” said a memo posted to the Rainbow District School Board’s Facebook page Thursday afternoon. “School-based child-care will continue. All before and after school programs, however, will be suspended. Schools will be open for in-person learning on Friday, March 12.” The memo asked that students bring home any personal belongings at the end of the school day Friday, as schools will be closed to students. More info on school closures can be found here.
Mayor ‘implores’ all residents to be part of solution to end lockdown:
Greater Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger is “imploring” residents to be part of the solution in the fight against the spread of COVID-19 following news Public Health Sudbury and Districts will be placed in the grey-lockdown zone on March 12. While going back into lockdown isn’t easy, it’s a harsh reminder that everyone needs to step it up and be even more vigilant in following public health advice, he said. “While today’s news is difficult to hear, I respect the province’s decision to do what is necessary to keep our community safe,” Bigger said. Find the full text of Bigger’s statement here.
Friday Weather:
Hope you enjoyed the brief preview of spring, as winter weather is rolling back in. Friday will be mainly cloudy with a few flurries this afternoon. Daytime high will be -1, feeling like -18 with the wind chill. A few clouds overhead into the evening with the temperature plummeting to -15. Overnight low will feel like -23 with the wind. For current weather conditions, short-term and long-term forecasts visit Sudbury.com's weather page at www.sudbury.com/weather.
