Worst week yet for local cases, new outbreak at Trent

This week is now Peterborough’s worst week of the pandemic for COVID-19 patients after 12 new cases were reported Friday afternoon by Peterborough Public Health while new outbreaks were declared at Trent University and at an unnamed workplace.

Eight cases were also resolved resulting in 143 active cases, up from 139 on Thursday.

Peterborough city and county, Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation have now had 1,085 cumulative cases with 930 resolved and 12 earlier deaths. There have now been 324 cases identified as variants, up from 310 on Thursday.

13 cases at Trent University

A new COVID-19 outbreak was declared late Friday at Champlain College’s student residence E/F tower at Trent University after several new positive cases.

Trent University reported having 13 active student in residence cases as of Friday, up from seven on Thursday.

The E/F tower is closed and no students currently remain in the residence tower. Students who have tested positive, as well as identified close contacts, have been moved to the separate residence specially designated for isolation, according to the university.

No one who has tested positive for COVID-19 or has been identified as high-risk close contacts will leave isolation until advised by Peterborough Public Health that it is safe to do

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(416) 340-1981 or info@mediacouncil.ca so. Anyone not already contacted by the health unit is considered to be at low risk, the university advises.

Other residence towers and spaces within Champlain College are not under the outbreak at this time. An outbreak that had been in effect since April 3 at Champlain College’s student residence annex on Water Street had just been lifted earlier on Friday.

Four new COVID-19 patients at PRHC

Peterborough Regional Health Centre reported having 21 patients with COVID-19 as of Friday, up from 17, after admitting four more critical care patients from eastern Greater Toronto Area hospitals that have reached their capacity.

Another new outbreak was declared at an unnamed workplace on Friday.

The outbreak at Thomas A. Stewart Secondary School on Armour Road (in place since April 4 after a student and two staff members tested positive) was lifted on Friday, while outbreaks remained in effect at Empress Gardens retirement home on Charlotte Street, where an asymptomatic resident and a staff member tested positive earlier this week, along with at an unnamed congregate living facility and two unnamed workplaces.

Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation each reported having between one and four active cases as of Friday.

New case at Armour Heights

Armour Heights Public School in Peterborough has a new COVID-19 case, the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board reported.

The school board is not specifying whether the case involves a student or a staff member.

The person was not at school when they were infectious, according to principal Jennifer McIlmoyle-Parsons, and Peterborough Public Health has determined there is no additional risk to students or staff.

The elementary school on McFarlane Street in East City was closed this week for spring break and all Ontario schools are shifting to online learning on Monday when the school year resumes.

The school was disinfected over the spring break week using the Clorox Total 360 electrostatic sprayer system, McIlmoyle-Parsons stated, on top of the daily cleaning protocols for the school during the pandemic, such as disinfecting of hightouch surfaces. McIlmoyle-Parsons urged families to continue to follow all the public health COVID-19 safety guidelines during the ongoing stay-at-home order.

Earlier this week, two new cases were reported at St. Alphonsus School on St. Marys Street in the south end of Peterborough.

Holy Cross Secondary School on Lansdowne Street West, St. Catherine School on Glenforest Boulevard, Kenner Collegiate on Monaghan Road and North Shore Public School in Keene each had single active cases as of Friday.

COVID-19 death in City of Kawartha Lakes

A City of Kawartha Lakes resident who tested positive for COVID-19 has died, the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge

District Health Unit reported on Friday afternoon.

It’s the 56th COVID-19 related death of the pandemic for the City of Kawartha Lakes and the 69th for the jurisdiction. Another 22 new COVID-19 cases in Northumberland County, six in the City of Kawartha Lakes and two in Haliburton County were also reported.

There have now been 1,454 cumulative cases in the jurisdiction since the pandemic began 13 months ago with 171 active cases as of Friday, down from 177 on Thursday.

Cumulative cases in Northumberland County have now topped the 700 mark. There have been 712 cases in Northumberland County with 117 active, 657 cases in the City of Kawartha Lakes with 45 active and 85 in Haliburton County with nine active.

There have been 215 cases so far identified as variants: 134 in Northumberland County, 75 in the City of Kawartha Lakes and six in Haliburton County.

No new hospitalizations were reported Friday but the health unit reported six people are currently in intensive care.