STUDENTS AT HOME
You shouldn't be seeing any school-buses out there this morning. The City of Greater Sudbury and wider Sudbury and Manitoulin districts are in the Grey-Lockdown zone imposed by the province on Friday and that means all the schools are shutdown as well. It means all the students are in "virtual learning" mode until further notice. In-person classroom learning is off the table for the time being. Despite that the health unit and the school boards have issued notices that there are several schools where students have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days. This means that students who might have shared classrooms or school buses are being asked to check the list, or check their school's website, and take appropriate isolation measures. In all cases letters will be sent to students and families if Public Health Sudbury determines they were in close contact with an infected person.
More of that story can be found here.
SUDBURY HITS 1,000 TOTAL CASE MILESTONE
Still on the COVID beat, Sudbury has hit a COVID milestone of sorts with more than 1,000 cases being reported since the pandemic was first declared a year ago. It was reported by Public Health Sudbury on Sunday that we've hit the 1,011 for total number of cases locally. Of course, the vast majority of those cases -- 720 to be exact -- have been resolved. But it means that 291 of the cases are still active and being closely monitored by the health unit. By the way we had 49 new cases on Saturday and 38 new cases on Sunday.
Here is a link to that story:
OUTBREAKS AT THE HOSPITAL
Sudbury's Health Sciences North, the largest hospital in Northern Ontario, has been especially busy in the past few days. That's because there are new visitor restrictions in place there, even if you are one of those Designated Care Partners. The hospital has had to tighten things up a bit owing to the fact that there is not one, but two, outbreaks going on there. HSN issued a statement early Friday evening revealing that a COVID-19 outbreak on the Sixth Floor-South Tower. If that wasn't enough, the hospital issued another statement on Saturday revealing that another outbreak had occurred on the Fourth Floor-South Tower. HSN said an outbreak is described as two or more laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases involving patients or staff within a specified area within a 14-day period where both cases could have reasonably acquired their infection in the hospital.
The important takeaway from this is that HSN said it is still a safe place for patients and out-patients. HSN said all services and clinics are continuing.
UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS
Well we know that the past year has been rough on a lot of our friends and neighbours here in Sudbury. Now there are some numbers out there to confirm it. Statistics Canada has revealed that the unemployment rate in February rose 8.7 per cent over the previous month. That number compares not too nicely with the national figure for Canada, which shows that the nation unemployment rate came down to 8.2 per cent. That is the lowest unemployment rate since March 2020. Stats-Can monthly labour survey also reported that Sudbury's total labour force sits at 87,500 out of a population of 145,500. There are 79,900 people employed locally.
TIMMINS TACKLES RACISM
Up in Timmins, the local Economic Development Corporation (TEDC) is currently hosting a survey in the hopes of better understanding racism and discrimination in the community with the recently launched Diversity Awareness Project. Timmins took a lot of heat a few years back when a senior executive with the Ontario Human Rights Commission said racism was "pervasive" in Timmins. It prompted city leaders to address the issue head on by setting up local committees and action groups.
With funding through the Anti-Racism Action Program and working with a project advisory group that includes residents, community partners and people with lived experience, the TEDC hopes that the survey will allow them to build on the anecdotal evidence that community members have described, in order to make actionable changes in that city.
RENTAL COSTS IN SUDBURY
If there is one topic that gets people talking in Sudbury, it is the cost of renting a place to stay. It is possible that some of the local rents for one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments are being driven up by investors from Southern Ontario looking to acquire local properties, fix them up and then put them back on the market at a higher price.
So does that means people are gouging the market, or does it mean people are investing because they see long-term value by bringing older properties back to life?
Sherry Jordan, a licensed property manager and vice-president of the Greater Sudbury Landlord Association has some answers. Investors, many from Toronto, are buying up property here in Greater Sudbury, fixing up the units and raising rental prices. Jordan said she manages more than 200 units. More than 80 per cent of her newest clientele don’t even live in Greater Sudbury.
More on that story can be found here:
