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Month: October 2021

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Clear off the snow: warns Barrie police

Oct 21, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Barrie police are reminding motorists to make sure they clean the snow off their vehicles before hitting the road. Barrie police took to Twitter to send out the reminder. 

“#BarriePolice remind you that not properly cleaning the snow from your vehicle is dangerous. Driving without a clear view to the front, rear or sides may cost you $110 or it may cause someone else their life. Plan ahead & give yourself enough time to properly clear all the snow!”

The OPP launches its Festive RIDE campaign tomorrow, so expect to see more officers on the roadways. 


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Calvin Little died alone this fall at 63, his past a mystery. His passing has raised questions about early deaths among those who have lived on Toronto’s streets

Oct 21, 2021 , , , , by shlf

When Calvin Little died, no one noticed for a while.

For the last two years of his life, the 63-year-old Torontonian lived in a nondescript east-end apartment — alone, save for a rotating cast of animals he would watch for periods of time.

Little had lived inside the building since August 2018: a place for him to land after a decade of episodic homelessness.

He was funny, friendly and charming, those who knew him said. But he kept his past close to his chest. Sometimes, he’d disappear for a day or two, or venture out to panhandle in the Beaches. When he died, he died in his apartment, quietly and alone.

Neighbours were only alerted that something was wrong when a strange odour floated through the halls, police said. From there, they faced a challenge — no one knew how to find his next of kin.

On Nov. 5, nearly a month after his death was first discovered, police turned their fruitless search over to the public — issuing a rare appeal for information leading to Little’s family.

The investigator tasked to his case was puzzled. “Usually, it’s people in the building that give us good leads to the next of kin,” said Det. Const. Dennis Inniss.

But none he spoke to seemed to know anything substantial about Little’s life. They couldn’t find a phone book, and had no luck via doctors, social services or the public trustee’s office.

It took weeks of searching. Eventually, a spokesperson for the police force confirmed that Little’s next of kin was found.

But his case, according to the head of the agency that housed him, is an illustration of a broader trend.

“Throughout the city, vulnerable, older, single adults pass away, and too often, it’s totally anonymous,” said Mainstay Housing’s Gautam Mukherjee, adding that many who were once homeless were dying prematurely. “You see that here … it’s not just the hidden death, or the unacknowledged or unknown death, but also everything leading up to it that’s part of the story.”

Before Calvin Little, there was John Cunningham. And before him, there was Harold Dawes.

Each of the three men — Little in his 60s, the other two in their 70s — lived along the same streetcar line, and died at home. And each time, Inniss was tasked with finding their families.

More than a year after Dawes died in 2018, Inniss said police decided to try something new by issuing a public appeal.

Within a day, Dawes’s family was located. Deeming the tactic a success, Inniss asked police brass to do the same after Cunningham died in January.

The plea did coax out some people who knew him. Neighbours, , painted a picture of a loner: a limo driver who told elaborate tales but, like Little, kept his personal life private.

But none of the information led to his family, Inniss said. So in March, his remains were claimed by social services to be put to rest.

While police appeals are rare, unclaimed remains are not. Coroner’s data shows that, in 2006, there were 145 unclaimed bodies across Ontario. Last year, there were 438, and so far in 2020, there have been more than 630, though there were some carry-overs from last year’s deaths.

Separately, the number of Canadians living alone has risen from nine per cent of the population aged 15 or older in 1981, to 14 per cent in 2016. The data stoked concern about isolation and loneliness, especially among seniors, even before COVID-19 cloistered households away.

Innis wishes apartments would keep records of their tenants’ family contacts for these situations. Little was asked repeatedly to give an emergency contact to staff, Mukherjee said, but he always declined.

“We were it,” he said.

Little was born March 5, 1957. Records tell part of his story, but there are gaps that those who spoke to the Star couldn’t fill.

When his housing worker, Ben Kershaw, asked on occasion about Little’s past, he said the older man would brush the questions aside. “We have to respect other people’s way of life. Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do,” Kershaw said.

Some of their tenants, he added, just wanted a fresh start.

By the time he arrived at Mainstay, Little had been well-known to Toronto’s Streets to Homes team for years.

To many, he was known as “Papa Smurf,” a kind man who would give his own clothes and belongings to others, and make dream catchers or carvings for those he cared about. He tried to make people laugh, staff recalled, and focus on what good fortune he had.

The Kingston Road unit was one of those strokes of good fortune. Kershaw remembers Little’s joy moving into unit 421, one of 136 bachelor apartments in the building. “He’d had enough of life on the streets. He wanted somewhere to call a home, somewhere to keep warm.”

The east-end site offers various supports in addition to shelter. It’s unique among Mainstay’s buildings in that it accepts new tenants, including Little, by referral from Streets to Homes, instead of just through a waiting list.

Little had been housed in at least two other locations before, between periods of homelessness — including in social housing. But it didn’t last.

At Mainstay, Little cared for multiple animals — at first a dog, and later a cat that scampered out when Little answered his door, prompting Little to hurry down the corridor after it.

He had challenges still. Inniss noted that Little battled cancer many years ago, and was in remission for five years before it returned again.

“He dealt with it better than I imagine I would, or most people,” said Kershaw. The diagnosis didn’t seem to dampen his mood.

To Mukherjee, Little’s death at just 63 years of age speaks to the toll that homelessness can take, even after someone is housed. In 2007, a Toronto street health report found that, compared to the overall population, homeless people were 20 times as likely to have epilepsy, five times as likely to have heart disease and four times as likely to have cancer, among ailments.

It’s unclear whether Little’s health challenges were connected to the periods of time he spent homeless, but Mukherjee has found himself wondering. The average man’s life expectancy in Canada was 79 as of 2017. Little’s death, he noted, was more than a decade premature.

Cancer and cardiovascular disease are the most common causes of death among older people who have been homeless, said Dr. Stephen Hwang, director of St. Michael’s MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, who described stark inequalities.

“The life expectancy of someone who is homeless is comparable to someone living back in the Great Depression, before we had antibiotics or pretty much any of the effective medical treatments that we have today,” he said.

Even if someone got into better housing and had more care, it may not be enough to undo the damage inflicted on their body — and their mind — during years of homelessness, said Dr. Sean Kidd, a senior psychologist with Toronto’s Centre for Addictions and Mental Health.

COVID-19 may change things. Kidd expects it will take a year or two to see the impacts of economic instability and job losses on homelessness. But he also believes the pandemic has prompted officials to focus more on creating permanent housing, rather than temporary fixes.

“These are the things that will turn the boat around,” Kidd said.

Joe Cressy, Toronto’s health board chair, noted that public health data shows homeless men in the city living 20 years less on average than the overall population.

“Entrenching homelessness, simply sheltering the homeless, does not reduce the lower life expectancy rates — ending homelessness does,” he said.

For now, in far too many cases, people were dying without anyone to remember them, said Mukherjee. Toronto’s homeless memorial lists dozens of John and Jane Does for 2020 alone.

But Little won’t be one of them. To those who knew him, he will be remembered for the animals he doted on, the artwork he made for those around him, and his perpetual sense of hope.

“He was a really nice guy,” Kershaw said. “We miss him.”

Victoria Gibson is a Toronto-based reporter for the Star covering affordable housing. Her reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. Reach her via email:

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Susan Delacourt: Donald Trump’s health is a national concern. So why is Justin Trudeau’s top secret?

Oct 8, 2021 , , , , by shlf

would never trade jobs with , but right now, the U.S. president might opt for Canadian-style privacy around the health of political leaders.

The U.S. is currently awash in contradictory reports on just how badly Trump has been hit by . The actual details may conflict, but they are at least details — the type that would likely not be disclosed in Canada about any political leader.

Trudeau, in fact, only revealed on Monday that he had been tested for COVID-19 a month ago and did a brief time in self-isolation because he had a “raspy” throat and his doctor recommended that the prime minister get checked out.

As well, it was only a couple of weeks ago when Canadians learned that members of Parliament had a separate COVID-19 testing system available to them — and only after Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole stood in a public lineup first.

Canada may be in a public-health crisis, but there is nothing really public about the health of our politicians, even in the age of COVID-19. So far, Canadians seem fine with this distinction, some even proud of it.

This contrast between Canadian and American standards surrounding political leaders’ health was hard to ignore this past weekend with all the Trump drama unfolding south of the border. Journalists and political commentators in the U.S. fumed that they were not being told enough; that Trump owed Americans every scrap of medical data available. To some extent, Trump’s doctors obliged that outrage, emerging from the hospital to clarify the sketchy information they initially provided.

Here in Canada, even that first, vague report from the Trump doctors went well past the standards of health disclosure. Then again, Canada is also a country that does not expect political leaders to make public their tax returns or even their detailed daily itineraries. The none-of-our-business policy stretches past medical issues.

On Saturday, for instance, while Americans were trying to find out blood oxygen levels from Trump’s doctors, Canadians knew only that their prime minister was in “private meetings.”

Trudeau, to be fair, is the first Canadian prime minister to issue any kind of daily itinerary tod reporters and the public, but it’s usually extremely light on details, especially in comparison to the itinerary that comes out of the White House. In the U.S., reporters know when, how and where Trump is spending his days off (usually on the golf course) but Canadian media is normally notified with one word — “personal” — that Trudeau is not on the job that day.

When I made the observation on Twitter this past weekend about the different standards for health disclosure in Canada and the United States, various theories were offered: it’s the difference between a republic and a parliamentary democracy, or the fact that the president, unlike the prime minister, can trigger a nuclear war.

Actually, the difference is rooted simply in two different political cultures. Americans, and particularly the U.S. media, basically expect a much greater degree of openness from political office-holders.

Stephen Harper was annoyed when the media learned about a visit to the emergency room shortly before he was sworn in as prime minister in 2006; Jean Chrétien disappeared for a while when he was opposition leader in 1992 to have an operation on his lung. Neither leader said more than the bare minimum about these medical dramas.

The closest that Canada came to debating the lack of transparency here was in 2011, when New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton, after battling cancer, went into an election campaign brandishing a cane to deal with a broken hip. Layton died several months after that election, prompting a large discussion about whether enough hard questions were asked and answered about his fitness to run for the prime minister’s job.

One of the most thorough analyses of how Canadians deal with politicians and their health was done by Radio-Canada journalist Catherine Lanthier, in an investigation that also was .

Seven years later, it’s still an enlightening exploration of the questions around whether Canada want to be more American in what citizens are allowed to know about the health of our politicians. Lanthier talked to many experts about how we could be more transparent here without going wide-open American style — requirements that office-holders privately file their medical-health data with someone like an ethics commissioner, for instance.

Trump is no poster boy for political transparency, but his COVID-19 diagnosis has shown that even the most powerful leaders owe the public some assurances about their fitness for office — healthwise, anyway.

Canada’s none-of-our-business approach seems almost quaint in the age of COVID-19, when politicians are not just human beings but potential superspreaders, too.

Susan Delacourt is an Ottawa-based columnist covering national politics for the Star. Reach her via email: or follow her on Twitter: @susandelacourt

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Here are 8 implications of Donald Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis

Oct 8, 2021 , , , , by shlf

As the president of the United States boarded the Marine One helicopter for hospital on Friday, he was leaving behind a dizzying array of questions.

was bound for Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he will be treated for , the disease that has consumed the attention, and the health, of the country he leads for the past six months.

Trump’s diagnosis, announced on Twitter the previous night, has speculation swirling about his condition, an already-fraught and what would happen should he become incapacitated by the virus that has shaken America and the world.

The Star talked to political observers about some of the most pressing implications of the president’s health problems.

All eyes may be on Mike Pence

In a scenario with so many moving parts — how sick Trump is, whether others close to him will test positive — one certainty is that the campaign must go on.

For the minimum of 14 days that the president is in isolation, surrogates such as U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence, who has tested negative for the virus, and White House Chief of staff Mark Meadows, may play a greater role in campaigning.

“Given some of Trump’s issues of late with messaging that, in some ways, could be a boon,” said Renan Levine, a political science professor at the University of Toronto. “I would expect that as others in the campaign handle Trump’s messaging, that the messaging is going to be more on-theme. More on what needs to be done in the campaign to sway voters.”

Levine points out that polling throughout the 2020 presidential election campaign has been incredibly stable — with Trump behind by about 10 points in the polls, and few undecided voters.

But among those voters Levine calls “wavering,” who may be Republicans who don’t appreciate Trump’s persona, yielding centre stage to a more conventional conservative leader such as Pence may be just the motivation they need to go vote, with about a month left of campaigning.

Stewart Prest, a political science professor at Simon Fraser University, said Trump’s disappearance from rally stages will be a major disruption to what has been a “leader-centred” campaign.

“The approach to campaigning that Donald Trump favours is not going to be possible in the same way, bringing together large rallies. He’s a galvanizing figure for the campaign, so there’s no one who can replicate that. It really is Donald Trump’s party.”

An unpopular president could reap public sympathy

“We should expect there will be an outpouring of at least some sympathy for Trump even if some of the response is, ‘Well, this was a risk that all the doctors told you was going to happen,’” Levine said.

The question is whether that sympathy will translate into votes. On that front, Levine is doubtful.

“America is already so polarized,” he said. “People are going to respond to the news of Trump’s illness as Republicans and Democrats.”

Markets will react to an even greater level of uncertainty

Walid Hejazi, professor of international business at the University of Toronto, said the news that Trump has coronavirus leaves financial markets in an even more volatile position than they already were.

“Markets just hate uncertainty,” Hejazi said. “In this case here — there’s so much uncertainty.”

Start with the election itself. The stock market thrives when the future regulatory and political environment in the U.S. is predictable, and likely to remain stable. With Donald Trump behind Democratic presidential contender in the polls, the likelihood of future policy changes is already high.

The uncertainty surrounding the president’s health just raises the stakes.

Trump could change his tune on COVID-19 … or not

The president, as a 74-year-old man, is in a higher risk category for having a severe form of COVID-19, but the most likely outcome is that he will recover fully.

Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said on Bloomberg TV on Friday that a person with Trump’s risk factors still had about a 90 per cent chance of recovering without having to be hospitalized.

The White House said Trump was showing “cold-like” symptoms. In the evening, he was taken to the military hospital, reportedly as a precaution.

But, given the president’s statements downplaying the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a chance that the president contracting the illness could change his tone — and that of those who have followed him.

“Somebody who has been at the forefront of COVID-19 skepticism nationally, him contracting the virus may lend some credence to taking this more seriously,” Prest said.

But Prest and Levine are both watching closely for how Trump’s disease progresses — and whether that has a bearing on his supporters’ impressions of the pandemic.

“I will unequivocally state as an American that I pray and wish for the president to make a speedy and quick recovery,” Levine said. “As a political scientist, I worry that an implication of a speedy recovery may be that Americans who look to him will continue to not take the pandemic seriously.”

The second debate is in doubt

A diagnosis of COVID-19 throws all of Trump’s pre-scheduled campaign events out the window.

The next debate between the candidates is scheduled for Oct. 15 — exactly 14 days after Trump’s positive COVID-19 test. Since Trump is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, and will likely have to isolate for 14 days after symptoms dissipate, it’s unlikely he will be able to make that date.

“The debate was already under scrutiny given how chaotic the first was,” Prest said. “The debate cannot go ahead with one candidate seriously ill so that portion of the campaign might be suspended.”

Changes already proposed to the debate structure, intended to promote a more productive dialogue between the two men, will likely have to be re-examined.

More government figures will be tested, and isolate

With the president isolating for at least 14 days, and at least one senior Trump adviser, Hope Hicks, having also tested positive, other government officials will have to be tested.

“One of the things we need to ascertain is how many people are affected,” Prest said. “If a significant portion of the executive branch are isolating, that raises questions about the functioning of government.”

This is one of the major reverberations associated with Trump’s diagnosis.

Biden must decide what to do while Trump is sick

Biden has maintained a relatively low profile throughout the 2020 election campaign, seemingly preferring to allow Trump to speak for himself while enjoying a 10-point lead in the polls.

Trump’s COVID-19 diagnosis means he will be in public a lot less — leaving Biden with a choice between trying to use that time to gain more Trump-free airtime, or taking a step back to respect his opponent’s inability to campaign.

Much will depend on how quickly Trump recovers.

A New York Times journalist Friday tweeted Biden would be pulling all negative ads about Trump.

Notably, Trump continued campaigning in 2016 when Hillary Clinton experienced pneumonia. He even mocked her falling over during her illness in front of a rally crowd.

There will be conspiracy theories

Already online Friday, unfounded rumours started circulating on both the left and the right about Donald Trump’s illness.

Prest viewed the online chatter as a both a symptom of how polarized the United States is, and how we can expect the rest of the campaign period to proceed.

“It’s going to make it harder to have a sustained and factually based conversation in the United States where everyone agrees on what happens,” Prest said.

Alex McKeen is a Vancouver-based reporter covering transportation and labour for the Star. Follow her on Twitter:

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Four rescued from Lake Simcoe after boat catches fire

Oct 8, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Four people were rescued from Lake Simcoe after the boat they were on was destroyed by fire.

Firefighters and police worked together to extinguish a blaze that destroyed a boat in the water off Oro Beach.

Firefighters from Oro-Medonte, Rama, and Orillia, along with the OPP, Barrie Police, and York Regional Police, were called out to the scene just before 3 p.m., Oct. 11.

The four on board were rescued by a passing boater, according to a Tweet by the OPP.

According to a Tweet from York Regional Police, the operators were cruising across Lake Simcoe when an electrical issue turned into an uncontrollable fire.

There were no injuries.


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Cutting-edge foot care: New business aims to keep nails and feet healthy in Collingwood

Oct 8, 2021 , , , , by shlf

A new business in Collingwood is hoping to fill the need for advanced nail and foot care services in the area.

is now open at ., Suite 203 in the Rexall building, as part of the McNabb Health Care Centre.

Owners Cindy Boyd and Marjanna Palmer are looking to offer cutting-edge foot care.

In addition to pampering pedicures, basic toenail trims and files and sports pedicures, they also have knowledge in lower limb diseases and disorders, and provide services for diabetic and immune-compromised clients. 

They also offer mobile in-home foot-care service.

The company sells a variety of related products, such as compression garments, footwear, diabetic socks and shoes.

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Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario reports 977 new cases, 9 deaths; Italy eyes more restrictions; Fauci warns of ‘a whole lot of hurt’ ahead

Oct 8, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Read The Star’s . This story is no longer updating. .

10:15 p.m.: Vancouver police say they are disappointed after social media posts showed downtown streets crowded with party-goers on Halloween night, apparently flouting COVID-19 safety protocols.

Spokesman Const. Jason Doucette says it wasn’t possible to try to disperse the alcohol-fuelled crowd or issue tickets due to a number of factors.

He says the number of people in downtown grew larger than expected and additional resources were brought in from around the city.

Doucette says police made a number of arrests for minor offences, such as causing a disturbance, but there were no reported injuries.

He says police likely won’t have a clear picture of calls for service on Halloween until later today.

On Thursday, B.C.’s chief medical officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, said the province was in a “danger zone” with more than 2,300 active cases of COVID-19 being reported.

7 p.m.: Manitoba is reporting six new deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday, four of which are associated with an outbreak at a long-term care home in Winnipeg.

The province says the deaths of two women and a man in their 80s, as well as a woman in her 90s, were connected with the outbreak at the Maples Long Term Care Home.

The release says a man in his 70s also died in connection with an outbreak at Winnipeg’s St. Boniface Hospital, and that a man in his 50s died in the Steinbach district.

A woman in her 90s who was among the four people the government said died a day earlier was also linked to the outbreak at Maples.

The chief medical officer for Revera, the company which operates the facility, said in a news release late last week that 96 residents had tested positive for COVID-19 but that almost all were asymptomatic, and that it was working closely with Winnipeg Regional Health Authority officials.

Manitoba reported more than 300 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday.

6:34 p.m.: Diminutive figures of skeletons in facemasks and medical caps are all too common on Mexico’s Day of the Dead altars this year.

More than 1,700 Mexican health workers are officially known to have died of COVID-19 and they’re being honoured with three days of national mourning.

One is Dr. Jose Luis Linares, who attended to patients at a private clinic in a poor neighbourhood in Mexico City, usually charging about 30 pesos (roughly $1.50) a consultation.

“I told him, ‘Luis, don’t go to work.’ But he told me, ‘then who is going to see those poor people,’” said his widow, Dr. María del Rosario Martínez. She said he had taken precautions against the disease because of lungs damaged by an earlier illness.

Her Day of the Dead altar this year includes — in addition to the usual marigolds and paper cutouts — little skeleton figures shown doing consultations or surgeries in honour of colleagues who have died.

Amnesty International said last month that Mexico had lost more medical professionals to the coronavirus than any other nation.

6:34 p.m.: Maine is reinstating restrictions meant to curb the spread of COVID-19 amid a resurgence of the virus, Gov. Janet Mills said Sunday.

Maine has been one of the most successful states at controlling the virus, but it’s dealing with a wave of new infections. The rolling average of daily cases more than doubled from below 30 per day to more than 67 by Friday. The state reported 103 infections that day, the largest single day increase in cases.

The state had been slated to reopen bars Monday, but that has been postponed to a yet-to-be-determined date, said Mills, a Democrat.

The state is removing New York, Connecticut and New Jersey from its list of states that are exempt from travel restrictions, Mills said. That means visitors from those states must quarantine for two weeks or produce a negative coronavirus test.

Maine is also reducing indoor capacity limits from 100 to 50, Mills said.

The new restrictions take effect Wednesday.

1:15 p.m.: Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has tested negative for the coronavirus.

She had been tested and isolating since the previous day after receiving a warning on the COVID Alert app.

6:33 p.m.: Facing a relentless surge in cases of coronavirus infections, Lebanese authorities are lengthening a nationwide nighttime curfew and placing a number of towns and villages under total lockdown.

The Interior Ministry’s decisions Sunday increase a nighttime curfew by four hours, asking people to stay off the streets and shops to close between 9pm local time and 5am. It did not set an end date.

The Interior Ministry also put 115 towns and villages in total lockdown for a week because of a high positive infection rate and “high level of danger.” Bars and nightclubs will continue to be closed; restaurants and cafes are to continue to operate at 50% while public gatherings and parties are barred.

Lebanon, a country of over 5 million, has been witnessing a surge of infection cases, deaths and intensive care unit occupancy over the past weeks that brought the recorded cases to over 80,000. According to health ministry statistics, the number of recorded cases nearly doubled between September and October in the country that is also home to over 1 million refugees. The percentage of positive tests has increased to over 12% for every 100 tests and the average age of those who die from the virus has gone down.

6:30 p.m.: The governor of the Italian region with the largest percentage of residents older than 65 has apologized for a tweet which contended the elderly aren’t indispensable to the country’s production, as Italy battles COVID-19.

The newspaper Corriere della Sera said Liguria Gov. Giovanni Toti, in a meeting Sunday with government ministers, had advocated limiting movement outside the home for those older than 70 in a bid to avoid a generalized, nationwide lockdown amid surging spread of coronavirus infections.

“For as much as every single COVID-19 victim pains us, we must keep in mind this data: Only yesterday among the 25 deaths in Liguria, 22 were very elderly patients,” Toti tweeted on Sunday.

They are “persons for the most part in retirement, not indispensable to the productive effort” of the economy, tweeted Toti, who is 52. Nearly 29 per cent of Liguria’s residents are older than 65, compared to a nationwide percentage of just under 23 per cent.

Maurizio Gasparri, a 64-year-old senator, slammed Toti’s assessment of the elderly’s value as “delirious.” Apologizing for what he termed “misunderstandings,” Toti later claimed his tweet was “badly extrapolated” and blamed it on an error by his social media manager.

1:10 p.m.: Quebec is reporting 965 new cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total number of cases since the pandemic started to 106,981.

Officials also reported 26 new deaths related to the disease, including six from the last 24 hours.

Officials say there were 15 from between Oct 25 and Oct. 30, two deaths from before Oct. 25 and 3 deaths from unknown dates.

The province’s death toll now stands at 6,272.

10:42 a.m.: Ontario is reporting 977 cases of COVID-19 today, and nine deaths.

There are 279 new cases in Toronto, 238 in Peel, 130 in Ottawa and 113 in York Region. Over 37,100 tests were completed (compared to 41,900 tests the previous day).

Ontario reported 350 people in hospital (up 30 from Saturday’s numbers), 72 in the ICU (down one) and 46 in ICU on ventilators (down eight).

On Saturday the province reported 1,015 cases (the second highest total) and nine deaths. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Ontario has recorded 76,707 cases according to provincial statistics.

A total of 864 more cases are considered resolved.

10:10 p.m.: The U.S. government’s top infectious diseases expert is cautioning that there will be “a whole lot of hurt” in the weeks ahead due to surging coronavirus cases. Dr. Anthony Fauci’s comments in a Washington Post interview take issue with President Donald Trump’s frequent assertion that the nation is “rounding the turn” on the virus.

Fauci says the U.S. “could not possibly be positioned more poorly” to stem rising cases as more people gather indoors during the colder fall and winter months. He says the U.S. will need to make an “abrupt change” in public health precautions.

Speaking of the risks, Fauci says he believes Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden “is taking it seriously from a public health perspective,” while Trump is “looking at it from a different perspective.” Fauci, who’s on the White House coronavirus task force, says that perspective is “the economy and reopening the country.”

In response, White House spokesperson Judd Deere says Trump always puts people’s well-being first and Deere charges that Fauci has decided “to play politics” right before Tuesday’s election.

9:39 p.m.: Iran hit another single-day record for coronavirus deaths as the country grapples with a sharp spike in cases.

The health ministry reported Sunday that 434 people had died in 24 hours from the virus, bringing Iran’s death toll in the pandemic to more than 35,000.

The ministry said it recorded 7,719 new confirmed infections since Saturday. Iran has reported more than 620,000 confirmed virus cases in all.

Most deaths have occurred in the capital, Tehran, which is also the most populated city in Iran. The head of the virology department at Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran, Alireza Naji, warned that Iran could reach 900 confirmed coronavirus deaths per day if more restrictions on movement and gatherings are not imposed.

7:14 a.m.: Italian Premier Giuseppe Conte is expected this week to order more restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Conte addresses lawmakers at noon Monday to lay out the next measures and press for widespread public support after a week of nightly protests by Italians angered by limits on the personal freedom and the economic damage suffered by closed businesses. Conte was conferring on Sunday with governors and representatives from cities and towns in a bid to ensure local support. He has said he is determined to keep schools open if possible.

For two days straight, Italy registered more than 30,000 new confirmed infections. Just a week ago, Conte shuttered gyms, pools, cinemas and theatres and ordered bars and cafes to stop serving customers at 6 p.m., except for takeaway and delivery service.

4:49 a.m.: A Turkish politician from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party has died from the coronavirus.

Burhan Kuzu, 65, had been receiving treatment for COVID-19 since Oct. 17, the country’s health minister tweeted. He passed away Sunday.

A constitutional lawyer and a founding member of the governing Justice and Development Party, Kuzu served in parliament four times.

Two senior officials close to Turkey’s leader — presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu — tweeted on Saturday that they had contracted COVID-19. Both said they were doing well. Soylu was in a hospital.

4:33 a.m.: There are 234,511 confirmed cases in Canada.

_ Quebec: 106,016 confirmed (including 6,246 deaths, 90,576 resolved)

_ Ontario: 75,730 confirmed (including 3,136 deaths, 64,717 resolved)

_ Alberta: 27,664 confirmed (including 323 deaths, 22,169 resolved)

_ British Columbia: 14,381 confirmed (including 263 deaths, 11,670 resolved)

_ Manitoba: 5,723 confirmed (including 69 deaths, 2,646 resolved)

_ Saskatchewan: 3,144 confirmed (including 25 deaths, 2,380 resolved)

_ Nova Scotia: 1,109 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,033 resolved)

_ New Brunswick: 343 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 299 resolved)

_ Newfoundland and Labrador: 291 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 284 resolved), 1 presumptive

_ Prince Edward Island: 64 confirmed (including 64 resolved)

_ Yukon: 23 confirmed (including 1 death, 17 resolved)

_ Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

_ Northwest Territories: 9 confirmed (including 8 resolved)

_ Nunavut: No confirmed cases

_ Total: 234,511 (1 presumptive, 234,510 confirmed including 10,138 deaths, 195,876 resolved)

4:22 a.m.: Facing financial difficulties aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic, the southern African nation of Zambia appears headed for a default on debt owed to private investors.

One of the world’s top copper producers, Zambia for years has been heavily indebted but now could get an undesired reputation for financial unreliability if a group of investors who hold $3 billion of the country’s eurobonds insist on payments that have come due. Zambia seeks a holiday of six months, but the bondholders’ final decision is pending.

12:10 a.m.: Australia has recorded no new locally transmitted coronavirus infection for the first time in five months.

In Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state, which had the highest number of cases in the country, residents were enjoying the first weekend of cafes, restaurants and pubs reopening to walk-in customers.

The city only has one mystery case without a known source. There are 61 active cases left across the state, down from 70 on Saturday.

7:25 p.m.: Boris Johnson announced a national lockdown across England starting next week as the coronavirus outbreak spreads faster than even his U.K. government’s worst-case scenario.

The prime minister announced the measures Saturday with Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance and England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty in London. It comes as the official number of coronavirus cases in the U.K. topped 1 million and more details began to trickle out.

Restaurants and nonessential retail will be closed across England until Dec. 2, ITV’s Robert Peston reported, following a meeting of Johnson’s Cabinet on Saturday. International travel will be banned except for work purposes. But schools and universities will remain open, marking a key difference with the first national lockdown imposed by Johnson in March.

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Simcoe Muskoka Catholic school board gets new director

Oct 8, 2021 , , , , by shlf

A new director is taking over the top spot at the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board.

The trustees have selected Frances Bagley as the new director of education.

Bagley is currently the associate director of education with the York Catholic District School Board.

“We have every confidence that her strong strategic leadership skills, experience and commitment to collaboration, will serve our system very well in the years ahead,” board chairperson Joe Zerdin said in a press release.

For the past three months, the Catholic board was led by Catherine McCullough, who was serving in an interim role after Brian Beal retired.

“One of my key areas of focus will be serving the students entrusted to our care through community-engagement opportunities that focus on student achievement, well-being and success,” Bagley said.

Navigating through the COVID-19 pandemic will present opportunities and challenges, she added.

“I know that the collaborative work of many minds, hands and hearts will continue to guide us in a proactive, innovative and supportive manner.”

Bagley begins her new role Nov. 1.

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How were so many infected? Everything you need to know about Hamilton’s SpinCo outbreak

Oct 8, 2021 , , , , by shlf

SpinCo Hamilton has emerged as the site of one of .

What started as three COVID-positive cases on Monday, Oct. 5, has grown to 74 in just over a week. The cases now include at least five people who live outside of Hamilton and patrons and staff ranging in age from teenagers to people in their late 50s.

By The Spectator’s count, as many as 2,500 people — including those who visited the gym and their friends and family — could have been exposed, based on information provided by Hamilton public health about general exposure numbers and SpinCo outbreak numbers specifically.

“There has been a lot of transmission associated with it,” said Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton’s medical officer of health, on Tuesday. “It is concerning.”

As the story develops, we’re compiling everything you need to know about the cases connected to the studio, how to stay safe working out and about how the outbreak is affecting the broader Hamilton community.

What is SpinCo?

SpinCo is a spin studio franchise with 18 locations across Canada, including one in Hamilton. According to its website, the studio offers “structured, full-body spin classes designed to strengthen the body, energize the mind and feed the soul.” Riders move to the beat of the music in unison, typically in a dark room with loud music. Co-owners Naz Zarezadegan and Ira Price opened the James Street North SpinCo location in January.

When was the outbreak declared?

Hamilton public health at the studio on Monday, Oct. 5, after two patrons and one staff member tested positive.

How many people are infected?

As of Friday, Oct. 16, a total of 74 people connected to the SpinCo outbreak have tested positive for COVID. That includes 46 patrons, two staff and 26 secondary “household-spread” cases, meaning the person didn’t visit the studio but caught the virus from someone who did.

What do we know about those who were infected?

On Tuesday, Hamilton public health said three-quarters of those who are sick are women. Ages of those infected range from late teens to late 50s. Most live in Hamilton but at least six live outside the city.

What is the condition of those who are sick?

No one that public health is aware of has been hospitalized, public health said Friday. In an Instagram post over the weekend, SpinCo said: “As of today, everyone who has tested positive, are well.” At least one rider told The Spectator on Thursday that she was with COVID. Her symptoms included loss of taste and smell, difficulty breathing, body aches and “unbelievable” sinus pain.

How many people were potentially exposed?

Hamilton public health said last week “” of the spin studio community may have been exposed to . That does not include “secondary” exposure to contacts outside the studio, such as family and friends. Richardson said public health does not know the exact number of secondary spread contacts. In general, people tend to have 20 to 25 contacts per case, she said. By The Spectator’s count, that brings the total number of people potentially exposed to 2,500.

When did spread occur?

According to the studio, people in “specific classes” were exposed to the virus from Sept. 28 until Oct. 5. Public health says it was looking at “several” classes over a few day period as times when people might have been exposed.

Was patient zero showing symptoms?

SpinCo says “patient zero displayed no symptoms.” Public health won’t comment on this, citing privacy.

Was the studio following public health’s guidelines?

Yes. Richardson says the studio did follow public health guidelines. Public health has had “tremendous co-operation” from SpinCo’s owners and operators as it investigated the outbreak, Richardson said, noting public health reviewed SpinCo’s policies and practices. The studio says it cut ridership in half to allow for physical distancing, allowing — 21 riders in the studio instead of the regular 43 — and maintaining a six-foot radius around each bike. The studio also had screening and sanitation measures in place.

If they were following guidelines, how did the outbreak happen?

This remains unclear. What we know is gym-goers aren’t required to wear masks while working out — that’s allowed under Hamilton’s mask bylaw — and the person who spread the virus was apparently asymptomatic. Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist at the University of Toronto, : “This can happen at any gym … This is not about how well the gym was run; this is about how COVID spreads. If you let people hangout together, without masks, sharing air, in the same space for a prolonged period of time … this was going to happen anyways.”

Is this Hamilton’s worst outbreak?

No. Hamilton’s worst outbreak was the Rosslyn Retirement residence where 64 residents and 22 staff tested positive for COVID. In that case, 16 residents died. The spin outbreak is, however, Hamilton’s first and worst gym-related outbreak. It is also one of Canada’s worst fitness studio outbreaks.

Has the SpinCo outbreak sparked another outbreak?

It seems so. Public health declared an outbreak at Radius restaurant on James Street South on Wednesday. Three staff tested positive. The restaurant said in a statement that their “first case” was linked to SpinCo. When reached by email, the owner said he didn’t have more details on how the case was connected to the spin studio. Public health said Thursday it was too early in their investigation to say if the two outbreaks were connected.

Have other communities seen outbreaks in gyms?

Yes. Waterloo Public Health declared a in September after three people contracted the virus. Other gyms in the Toronto area have seen COVID cases but haven’t experienced “outbreaks,” which is typically defined as spread within the location. This summer, Calgary spin studio Ride Cycle Club had an outbreak that infected 65 people, according to Alberta Health Services. The outbreak was declared on July 17 and ended Aug. 2.

How can you stay safe while working out?

Richardson stresses: if you are sick, do not go to a gym. Instead, take a walk outside or go for a run if you really want to exercise. If you are feeling well and want to go to a gym, you should still wear a mask — even while working out, which is more than what Hamilton’s mask bylaw requires. Be sure to wash your hands often and maintain six feet of physical distance between yourself and other gym-goers. Your gym also should not have loud music, since loud music increases the need to yell and yelling can increase the risk of COVID spread. If you want to lower your risk of contracting COVID while working out even further, exercise outside.

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email:

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29 dead in outbreak in Scarborough long-term-care home

Oct 8, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Twenty-nine residents of a long-term-care home in Scarborough have died in a outbreak that began last month, its operators confirmed Wednesday.

Kennedy Lodge Long Term Care Home, near Ellesmere Road, has had 92 confirmed resident cases since Oct. 2, said the statement from Revera Inc.

“The team at Kennedy Lodge offers its most sincere condolences to the families and friends of the residents who passed away during the pandemic,” Dr. Rhonda Collins, Revera chief medical officer, said in a statement.

Thirty residents at the 289-bed facility have active cases and 32 have recovered, the statement said.

Revera also said that 35 staff members have tested positive. Of those, 17 cases are resolved and the others are at home in self-isolation.

“(Toronto Public Health) and Scarborough Health Network (SHN) have been working closely with us to help manage the outbreak,” the statement said. “SHN has helped us with enhanced cleaning at Kennedy Lodge and is supporting our infection control and (personal protective equipment) education.”

The statement added that all residents are monitored for symptoms twice daily and tested if they present any symptoms for COVID-19. Additionally, staff are screened before and after shifts, and are required to wear appropriate personal protective equipment.

Earlier this year, Kennedy Lodge was doing well in the pandemic’s first wave. By the end of April, it hadn’t reported even a single case of COVID-19, .

The home implemented strict pandemic outbreak protocols in March, before provincial directives were issued.

It had implemented physical distancing, enhanced cleaning, more staff where needed, universal masking for all employees and the appropriate use of personal protective equipment.

In early April, Revera also implemented a policy barring personal support workers from working at multiple locations to prevent spread of the illness.

Kennedy Lodge is not the only Scarborough facility to be hit hard during the second wave.

at the 204-bed Rockcliffe Care Community nursing home, have COVID-19, and one has died of the disease.

By Wednesday, an outbreak identified nine days earlier infected 110 residents and 46 staff at the Lawrence Avenue East facility, Rockcliffe Care’s owner Sienna Senior Living confirmed.

In a statement, the for-profit company said its “deepest sympathies go out” to the deceased resident’s family, and that Sienna is working with Toronto Public Health and the Scarborough Health Network to protect its residents and staff, “who are working tirelessly.”

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases at the Main Street Terrace long-term-care home has dropped following efforts from Michael Garron Hospital and Toronto Public Health.

The first positive case in the second wave came on Oct. 13 at the home near Gerrard St. E. and Woodbine Ave. On Oct. 23, Revera Retirement Living and Long-Term Care Services informed family members that an outbreak had occurred in the 150-bed home; by Nov. 2, the case number had reached a peak of 65.

As of Monday, the number of active cases was down to 50, as

Revera is the owner of 225 and manager of 186 retirement and long-term-care homes in Canada, according to its website.

With files from toronto.com and Local Journalism Initiative reporter Ali Raza

Manuela Vega is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star’s radio room in Toronto. Reach her via email: