Use of DriveTest here to be restricted

Road test bookings made by those from grey zone regions will be cancelled

Residents of locked-down areas such as Toronto and Peel Region will no longer be able to take a road test at a DriveTest driver examination centre in a region with a lower COVID-19 level, such as Peterborough and Lindsay, starting next week.

The change goes into effect on Monday, the Ministry of Transportation announced Thursday afternoon. Road tests that had been booked by anyone from the grey zone in another region will be cancelled without penalty, the ministry also announced.

The move comes after the ministry announced that all invehicle road tests in Toronto and Peel Region, including at the Brampton, Downsview, Etobicoke, Metro East, Mississauga and Port Union Drive Test centres, have been cancelled to help prevent the spread of COVID -19. Those centres will remain open for indoor services such as knowledge tests.

Even before Toronto and Peel Region went into lockdown on Monday, people from the GTA have been flocking to the Peterborough DriveTest centre on Erskine Avenue to get road tests quicker after a backlog from the early months of the pandemic when all the centres were closed.

“We know that these measures will result in some people experiencing longer wait times for road tests,” Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney stated in a news release. “However, these are unprecedented times and our number 1 priority is the health and safety of individuals, families and workers.”

Busloads of GTA shoppers just a rumour

Rumours of planned bus shopping trips to Peterborough have been circulating on social media, the health unit reported Thursday, but that’s false.

“It is important to make sure a post is credible before sharing. Protect your mental health from unnecessary outrage. Rumours spread quickly,” the health unit stated.

Earlier this week Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien urged residents from outside the Peterborough region to stay out of Peterborough for now, particularly those in the designated grey and red zones.

Four new cases in Peterborough

Four new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation

were reported Thursday afternoon by Peterborough Public Health.

There have now been 2004 cumulative cases since the pandemic began in March, with 178 of them resolved and five earlier deaths, leaving 21 active cases now.

The active cases include a female under 20, a man in his 20s, two women in their 20s, two men in their 30s, two men in their 40s, a woman in her 40s, a man in his 50s, two women in their 60s, a man in his 80s, a man in his 90s, Public Health Ontario reported Thursday morning.

The jurisdiction now has a cumulative rate of 138 cases per 100,000 people, less than a fifth of the provincial average of 779.2 cases per 100,000 people as of Thursday. The health unit is also monitoring 67 people who are considered to be at high risk because of close contact with a confirmed case.

An outbreak declared Oct. 31 at the Fairhaven long-termcare home is the only outbreak in the jurisdiction. Three resident and one staff member cases remained active as of Wednesday night.

More than 36,400 residents, or 24.6 per cent, have now been tested for the virus at least once, the health unit also reported Thursday.

Three new cases in Northumberland County, one in City of Kawartha Lakes

Three new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Northumberland County and one new case in the City of Kawartha Lakes was reported Thursday by the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit.

The jurisdiction remains in the province’s green prevent zone, with the least pandemic restrictions, even though it has 45 new cases since the start of the month.

There have now been 298 cumulative confirmed cases since the pandemic began in March.

The City of Kawartha Lakes has had 195 cases with four active, Northumberland County has had 76 cases with 15 active and Haliburton County has had 27 cases with four active, for a total of 23 active cases.

The active cases include a man in his 20s, two women in their 20s, two men in their 30s, a woman in her 30s, a man in his 40s, a woman in her 40s, two women in their 50s, a man in his 60s, two women in their 60s, two men in their 70s, a man in his 80s and a woman in her 80s, according to Public Health Ontario.

The jurisdiction now has a cumulative rate of 157.7 cases per 100,000 people, nearly a fifth of the provincial average of 779.2 cases per 100,000 people.

The health unit is also monitoring 49 people in Northumberland County, 11 in the City of Kawartha Lakes and six in Haliburton County who are considered at high risk because of close contact with a confirmed case.