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Stepping up for our loved ones as Orillia hospice hike goes virtual

Aug 23, 2021 , , , , by shlf

An annual collaboration between two organizations with a shared goal is taking on a new twist in the effort to raise funds vital to their respective operations.

Proceeds from a “virtual” hike, taking place over the month of October, will go to support Hospice Orillia and the newly emerging Mariposa House Hospice.

Rather than gathering as a group on a single day, as was customary pre-COVID-19, supporters can hike on the day of their choosing, make a donation online or post a sign in a window to help spread the word.

“By walking, we continue to raise awareness about hospice palliative care and promote the exceptional work of those involved in providing that care,” said Whitney Vowels, director of operations and communications for the North Simcoe Muskoka Hospice Palliative Care Network and Hospice Orillia.

Hospice Orillia offers practical, emotional and spiritual support to those in the community coping with advanced illness, death and bereavement.

The non-profit organization has served the local area for more than 30 years.

Once again partnering in the fundraising effort is Mariposa House Hospice, a five-bed residential facility located along Brodie Drive in Severn Township.

Scheduled to open in late 2020, it will offer end-of-life palliative care to the communities of Orillia, Severn, Oro-Medonte, Ramara, and Chippewas of Rama First Nation.

“We rely on community support to thrive, which is one reason why the Hike for Hospice is so important,” said Annalise Stenekes, executive director.

Participants in the fundraising event can walk, run bike, or hike on the day of their choice, or over multiple days.

Suggested locations include the Scout Valley loop trail, Grant’s Woods, Couchiching Beach Park and Tudhope Park.

“All funds raised stay in this community and will be used to support the visiting hospice programs and grief and bereavement supports led by Hospice Orillia, as well as the operation of the new five-bed residential hospice,” Vowels added.

For more information, or to register, visit , or email or .

Participants are encouraged to share photos and videos on social media using the hashtag #H4HOrillia.

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Governments must get on the same page on fighting COVID-19

Aug 23, 2021 , , , , by shlf

More than almost anything else, is public trust. Trust that we will (mostly) pull together to do the right thing. And trust in the public officials who are calling on us to make sacrifices.

In the first wave of the pandemic, Canadians mostly heard a clear and consistent message from the top. Public health officials were on the same page, and it helped mightily to rally support for collective action against the virus.

But now that we’re well into the second wave, the message is fragmented and confusing. Just as bad, the medical experts charged with guiding us through the crisis aren’t nearly so united. They are sounding different notes, with a discordant result.

Predictably, public trust is eroding — and at just the wrong time. The numbers speak for themselves: new cases of COVID-19 are at record levels in Ontario and Quebec and the experts warn we may be on the brink of exponential growth in the disease. The health care system, they say, once again risks being overwhelmed.

Yet governments are clearly not united on what to do about this. This past week, for example, on restaurants, banquet halls and gyms in so-called hotspots like Toronto and Peel Region, and urged people to limit their social contacts.

The new rules on socializing, though, are far from clear. At one point on Friday, Premier Doug Ford was asked a straightforward question: is it OK for someone to have Thanksgiving dinner with his mother?

The premier passed this on to his health minister, who passed it on to the chief coroner, who in turn passed it on to the province’s chief medical officer of health. Many words later the straightforward answer still didn’t have a straightforward answer. Dr. David Williams, the chief medical officer, only urged that people “hunker back down.”

Perhaps it’s too much to expect precise answers in a situation that is inherently ambiguous. But if the future course of the pandemic really does depend on our collective actions, it would be helpful to have more than broad advice on how to conduct ourselves.

More serious, though, is the open disagreement between the province and the City of Toronto as to next steps.

The city, through Dr. Eileen de Villa, its top public health official, It wants to ban indoor restaurant dining and sports activities for four weeks. And for the same period it wants people to leave their homes “only for essential purposes” — work, school, health care, buying food, and the like.

Whether such an appeal will work is a big question. People stayed home back in March and April for a simple reason: just about everything was closed and there was hardly any point in going out. Expecting them to stay home when offices, shops, restaurant patios, playgrounds and such are open is a very big ask.

But behind de Villa’s recommendation is the hope that by taking those steps now, the most draconian scenario of another general lockdown can be avoided. If only for that reason, it’s worth a try. Being responsible now and limiting your social contacts may be tough, but if it heads off a repeat of the dark days of March and April, it will be well worth it.

Still, even those measures may not be taken. The city insists it doesn’t have the legal power to do what it wants to do, and is calling on the province to either enforce those measures for Toronto and other hotspots, or give the city the power to do that itself. On the other side, the province says the city already has all the legal authority it needs.

We’ve seen this kind of legal buck-passing — you go first, no you go first — between the two levels of government before, and it’s tiresome. In fact, at this point it’s more than tiresome; it’s dangerous.

COVID-19 doesn’t care about these squabbles. It’s on the march, and governments need to get on the same page on how to battle its second wave. Their failure to do that is putting that vital public trust at risk.

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Why we can expect cases to keep soaring and who is most at risk: Experts explain 4 charts that sum up COVID-19 right now in Ontario

Aug 23, 2021 , , , , by shlf

With Monday’s of 700 new COVID-19 cases reported, experts say to expect more days with 500-plus new cases as more people get tested and many continue to ignore public health guidelines.

And with Premier Doug Ford himself confirming that Ontario is now in its second wave of the virus, the importance of physical distancing, mask-wearing and handwashing couldn’t be more clear. While the premier said the second wave will be “worse than the first wave,” he stressed that we don’t yet know just how bad it will be.

In Ontario at least, experts say it will get worse before it gets better, with more days with new-case totals at levels not seen since the beginning of the pandemic — or even higher.

Ahmed Al-Jaishi, an epidemiologist and PhD candidate in health research methodology at McMaster University, said he expects to see more than 500 new cases reported daily for the next few days, for two reasons.

“We are seeing more people being tested, which is good,” he said, as well as a “huge backlog in tests that is being processed.”

Here, the Star takes stock of some key indicators in the fight against COVID-19 and asks experts to weigh in.

New cases continue to grow in Ontario

While the actual number of new cases reported Monday was 700, the rolling seven-day average continued its upward trend to 465, up from 426 the day before.

Why are case numbers growing? Al-Jaishi says he thinks it’s likely related to a mixture of the provincial government relaxing control measures and people being more relaxed about following guidelines.

“Also, there are long wait times for people to get tested and delays in hearing back about test results. So infected people with no symptoms or mild symptoms may inadvertently spread the virus while waiting,” he said, noting he has no hard evidence for this.

Dr. Lawrence Loh, Peel Region’s medical officer of health, said there is a general cycle there of cases moving from workplaces to homes to social gatherings. These are not big gatherings of the sort that got , but even something as simple as coffee or dinner with a friend, he said; “then those people take it into the workplace.”

Where are the most cases?

Toronto continues to put up big numbers, adding 381 cases to the count on Monday.

Dr. Eileen de Villa, the city’s medical officer of health, said Monday that she will recommend restrictions at a city council meeting Wednesday including reducing the number of people allowed in a bar or restaurant to 75 from 100 and the number of patrons at a table from 10 to six.

Peel Region reported 104 cases on Sept. 27, according to . “There are a lot of workplaces that are doing the right thing, absolutely,” said Loh. “But we’ve found pretty much in every instance where we have a workplace cluster or a large workplace outbreak, two things are happening.”

The first, he says, is that the proprietor is not taking precautions. The second, true for a number of clusters he says, is that employees are removing their masks during breaks in close contact with other employees.

Loh says Peel is seeking funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada to open an isolation centre to stop the cycle. He says it’s been difficult to convey to people that self-isolation means not having contact with people within your own household; an isolation facility could interrupt the cycle of transmission.

He thinks the province’s new limits on informal social gatherings — 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors — were a good step but he says further restrictions may be needed when it comes to large formal gatherings such as at weddings or religious services. Data indicates “some fairly large exposures that are occurring in those settings in our region,” said Loh.

Ottawa reported the third highest number of new cases on Sunday at 89, according to the public health data. York Region was fourth with 56.

Who is getting the virus?

Of the 700 cases reported Monday, 60 per cent were in people under the age of 40, according to a tweet by Health Minister Christine Elliott. It’s a trend we have been seeing in recent weeks.

Since June 1, people between the ages of 20 and 39 have made up 45 per cent of all cases in Ontario.

“It probably reflects that this is a highly social group. It’s the most social age demographic other than under-20s,” said Todd Coleman, an epidemiologist at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Loh said not only is this demographic more mobile when it comes to social engagements, but it is also a group that has a large number of working individuals.

“We really need (young) people to stick to the precautions,” Loh said. “Because keeping transmission down in that group means we won’t see leakage into senior settings, leakage into other age groups that may be more vulnerable.”

So should we think about returning to earlier stages of reopening? Neither Al-Jaishi nor Coleman think so. But they do suggest a few measures that might help cut down on new cases.

“I think we certainly should be adding more restrictions to avoid people gathering at restaurants, bars, nightclubs, casinos, among other venues,” said Al-Jaishi. “With those restrictions, we also need to be mindful of supporting these businesses financially to ensure their survival.”

“The idea is we need to figure out a way to either prevent people from coming into contact with each other, or, if they do come into contact with each other, having those masks be really a priority,” said Coleman, adding that there is never a perfect solution.

Worldwide death toll

Deaths worldwide from COVID-19 exceeded one million people on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has suffered the highest numbers of casualties — 204,995, followed by Brazil with 141,741.

In Canada, more than 9,000 people have died, the majority — about 70 per cent — aged 80 years and older. Deaths of people in their 70s accounted for another 18 per cent.

Among the provinces, Quebec has had the most deaths at nearly 6,000 followed by Ontario with 2,839, which includes 1,833 residents of long-term care homes and eight health-care workers, according to on September 27.

Canada’s death toll ranks 20th among countries, according to the Johns Hopkins data, though we are only 26th in the world when it comes to the number of cases.

“I think, just broadly, (the number of deaths) are representative of the issues that exist in long term care,” said Coleman.

Patty Winsa is a Toronto-based data reporter for the Star. Reach her via email:

Kenyon Wallace is a Toronto-based investigative reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @KenyonWallace or reach him via email:

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Orillia OPP use GPS to track down stolen construction equipment

Aug 23, 2021 , , , , , by shlf

A 26-year-old London man is charged after Orillia OPP used a GPS tracker to find a stolen trailer and skid-steer loader.

Officers recovered the stolen goods, valued at more than $100,000, after they learned a tow truck was hauling the construction equipment north on Hwy. 400 Sept. 26.

The GPS tracker was installed in the equipment.

Officers pulled over the tow truck on Hwy. 11 south of Orillia in Oro-Medonte.

The suspect was charged with possession of stolen property over $5,000 and released on a promise to appear in Orillia court Nov. 24.

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‘Overwhelming’ community support for Orillia man stricken with cancer: sister

Aug 23, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The community is rallying around an Orillia man and father of five as he battles cancer.

Area residents have contributed more than $11,000 to a GoFundMe campaign in support of Dan Wadsworth, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer in January and is unable to work at this time.

“It is very heartwarming,” Janice Edwardson, the eldest of Wadsworth’s three sisters, said of the response to date. “It is actually quite overwhelming for Dan and his wife, for sure.”

Wadsworth, 41, started chemotherapy shortly after his diagnosis and initially managed to continue working at his IT job.

However, as the treatment progressed, the local man had to stop working and now relies on disability insurance, resulting in a significant drop in income.

“It is hard for my brother because Dan wants to provide for his family,” Edwardson said.

On top of the regular expense of raising a family, Wadsworth now faces additional costs associated with his treatment, diet, supplements, and appointments, fundraising organizers said.

His wife, Annie, does not work outside the home and is busy raising their children, who range in age from three to 10 years.

The couple decided to home-school their children due to the impact of treatments and surgeries on Dan’s immune system.

“As a father of young kids, he wants to be there to see his kids grow up,” Edwardson added. “We are doing all we can to allow that to happen by helping him out as much as possible.”

Wadsworth recently underwent a six-hour liver surgery and another surgery is scheduled to remove a tumour from his colon.

In addition to undergoing conventional cancer treatments, he is also exploring complementary treatments that are costly and not covered through OHIP.

Wadsworth has an appointment at the Marsden Centre for Excellence in Integrative Medicine, his family said.

“We want him to focus on his recovery — period,” Edwardson added. “I don’t want him worrying about money, I don’t want him stressing about those things.”

Anyone wishing to contribute to the fundraising campaign can do so by visiting

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Barrie Deputy Chief Weatherill retiring after nearly 35 years in policing

Aug 23, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Deputy Chief Ken Weatherill is retiring after nearly 35 years in policing.

Weatherill joined the Barrie Police Service in May 2017, following more than 30 years of service with Hamilton police.

Weatherill had several assignments during his career, including emergency response, explosive disposal, drugs and vice, homicide and patrol.

He became Hamilton’s deputy chief, responsible for field support, in 2014.

Three years later he transferred to Barrie, the city in which he was born, and was named deputy chief of operations.

He introduced the service’s Neighbourhood Policing Model and worked with local organizations such as Shak’s World, and the community-based Diversity and Inclusion Operational Committee.

“The highlight of my career was 35 years ago being handed my badge and sworn in as a police officer,” Weatherill said in a prepared statement. “During my career, I have worked with incredible women and men who I know have felt that same pride and responsibility. It has been an honour and privilege to serve our communities as a police officer.” 

Police services board chairperson Angela Lockridge said, “his commitment and dedication to policing was unmistakable.”

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Today’s coronavirus news: Ontario has 805 new cases of the coronavirus; Quebec has 1,279 new COVID-19 cases; Public Health survey shows satisfaction with response to the pandemic

Aug 23, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The latest news from Canada and around the world Saturday. This file will be updated throughout the day. Web links to longer stories if available.

10:43 p.m. Thompson NDP MLA Danielle Adams is calling on the Manitoba government to increase COVID-19 testing sites in Thompson and northern Manitoba.

There is currently one testing site in Thompson, which is open from Monday to Friday. There are three testing sites in total in northern Manitoba, two others being in The Pas and Flin Flon.

On Monday, four additional COVID-19 cases were detected in the city of Thompson. Currently, there are seven active cases in the Thompson/Mystery Lake district. Last Wednesday, Adams sent a letter via email to the provincial Health Minister requesting a second testing site in Thompson.

“We have seen how COVID-19 can grow exponentially. The site currently shares a space with the walk-in clinic, and it only has one nurse doing testing,” said Adams on Tuesday.

Read more here:

10:33 p.m. State officials say an outbreak of coronavirus has infected 33 inmates at a prison in Fairbanks, causing the facility to go into quarantine for 14 days.

The Alaska Department of Corrections says 32 of the cases at the Fairbanks Correctional Center are men and one is a woman. All of those infected were housed in the general population. Other inmates are being tested for coronavirus, with results expected by Monday. The inmates with coronavirus are being isolated in a separate unit of the prison.

The facility serves northern Alaska and has male and female inmates, some of whom are serving sentences and others of whom are awaiting trial.

9:00 p.m. France confirmed a record 32,427 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours on Saturday as the country reimposed a state of emergency because of the pandemic.

France has been struggling with rising virus numbers for weeks, with concern growing about intensive care capacity in large cities such as Paris.

The new record follows the imposition of a strict night-time curfew between the hours of 9 pm and 6 am in Paris and eight other cities. During this time, residents are only allowed to leave their homes if they have a valid reason.

Paris authorities published a form late on Friday to be filled in and carried by anyone who has to go out during the curfew.

Exceptions include commuting to work, medical emergencies, care of relatives or children, or travel to the airport or railway station for long-distance travel.

Walking a dog is also allowed, but only within a radius of 1 kilometer (half mile) from home, a regulation reminiscent of France’s strict lockdown earlier this year.

A health state of emergency also came back into force across the country on Saturday, allowing the government to enforce restrictions by decree.

8:47 p.m. Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole praised Alberta Premier Jason Kenney for his province’s handling of COVID-19 as the two sat side-by-side during a livestream on Saturday, while neither leader wore a mask.

“I’m the easiest guy to hang out with because I can’t give it or get it from anyone for four months,” O’Toole said, answering Kenney’s question about how O’Toole was doing after he and his wife got the novel coronavirus last month.

Kenney’s United Conservative Party is holding a virtual annual general meeting from Nobleford, Alta., this weekend, and O’Toole said he stopped by for a visit because he was in the province and was on his way to meet with cattle industry representatives.

He and Kenney elbow-bumped instead of shaking hands, but sat at a table only a couple of feet away from each other, faces uncovered, for approximately ten minutes as they discussed the pandemic and energy policy and pipelines.

According to Alberta Health spokesman Tom McMillan, the province still advises everyone to wear masks when physical distancing isn’t possible.

He said that includes those who have already had COVID-19.

Read more here:

8:00 p.m. Two Toronto hospitals have declared outbreaks this week, as the city grapples with an increasing number of cases.

An outbreak in a hospital unit means there have been at least two COVID-19 cases within a 14-day period that could reasonably have been acquired in the hospital.

There are currently four units at St. Joseph’s hospital in the city’s west end with an outbreak status, while a fifth unit is under “heightened awareness,” meaning there has been a chance of exposure to the unit, said Unity Health spokesperson Robyn Cox.

The hospital has been managing a “significant number of confirmed COVID-19 cases,” Cox said. There are 7 active COVID-19 positive patients linked to the outbreaks, as well as 13 positive staff cases.

Read more here:

6:02 p.m.: The Ontario government is imposing visitation and absence restrictions on 28 long-term-care homes in York Region as the area moves to modified Stage 2 protocols to control COVID-19.

The come into effect on Monday. Visits will be restricted to essential visitors and caregivers, and short-term and temporary absences will only be allowed for medical or compassionate reasons.

1:51 p.m.: Movie theatres in New York state can reopen beginning next Friday with restrictions on audience size and other precautions in place, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.

Theatres in New York City aren’t included, and counties must have a positivity rate below 2% on a 14-day average and have no “cluster zones.”

Audiences will be restricted to 25% of capacity with a maximum of 50 people per screen, Cuomo said at his briefing. Masks will be required and there will be assigned seating to ensure social distancing.

This week, the Global Cinema Federation sent an open letter to Cuomo urging him to let theatres reopen, saying Hollywood studios may continue delaying their remaining 2020 releases if theatres remain closed. The group asked Cuomo to adopt a county-by-county plan for theatre openings based on virus data, similar what it said California Gov. Gavin Newsom has done.

1:18 p.m.: The Manitoba High School Rodeo Association has held six rodeos to date this season, with strict guidelines in place the MHSRA has successfully remained free of any virus, meaning no cases of COVID-19 have shown up at their rodeos.

This result occurs in a time when events have been cancelled, such as the Twin Valley Rodeo. The Twin Valley Rodeo is usually held in the Esterhazy area most years, but not this year.

The MHSRA was able to continue having their events, partly due to the diligence that the MHSRA has performed to ensure the safety of the students.

Russell, MB hosted two of the six rodeos, as well as OakLake, Roblin and Souris also hosting; most of the 79 participants have been able to fully enjoyed their rodeo season.

12:29 p.m.: Americans may love Naples for its most famous export, pizza. But the governor of Italy’s southern region had choice words for the exported American holiday of Halloween as Naples buckles under surging coronavirus infections.

Campania Gov. Vincenzo De Luca blasted the holiday as a “stupid American extravagance” and a “monument to imbecility” in announcing a 10 p.m. curfew in Naples and the surrounding region over Halloween weekend.

De Luca has blamed “irresponsible” young people for Campania’s surge in infections, and this week closed schools for in-person learning for two weeks.

12:17 p.m.: A Saskatchewan police force says one of its officers has tested positive for COVID-19.

A news release from the Prince Albert Police Service says the officer’s positive diagnosis was confirmed on Friday.

But the force says the officer has been self-isolating at home since Monday and is following all public health protocols.

It did not release details about the officer’s identity or condition.

11:51 a.m.: Quebec is reporting 1,279 new COVID-19 cases today along with 15 more deaths linked to the novel coronavirus.

Health officials say the total number of infections in the province stands at 92,297, and 6,032 people have died from the virus.

Authorities say one death previously attributed to the virus was found to have been due to other causes.

The number of people in hospital increased by ten to 517 while the number of people in intensive care decreased by 2 for a total of 85.

Health Minister Christian Dube noted the rising indicators in a morning tweet.

He’s urging Quebecers to continue limiting their contacts in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.

“We have the power to break the wave, but we need the co-operation of all Quebecers,” he wrote.

11:32 a.m.: Ontario is reporting 805 new cases of COVID-19 today and 10 new deaths related to the virus.

The figures come as another Toronto-area public health unit imposes tighter restrictions on local long-term care homes.

The new ban on all but essential visitors and caregivers went into effect in York Region amid what Health Minister Christine Elliott calls an “alarming upward trend” in COVID-19 cases there.

The government issued a statement saying the only visitors now allowed at the facilities in the region north of Toronto are those deemed essential.

Effective Monday, and until further notice, long-term care home residents are also not allowed to have short-term and temporary absences for social or personal reasons.

10:53 a.m.: Ontario is reporting 805 cases of COVID-19 for Saturday, after more than 44,700 tests were completed.

In Toronto there are 374 new cases, 107 in Peel, 93 in York Region and 70 in Ottawa. There are 682 more resolved cases.

9:24 a.m.: Rural Jerauld County in South Dakota didn’t see a single case of the coronavirus for more than two months stretching from June to August. But over the last two weeks, its rate of new cases per person soared to one of the highest in the nation.

“All of a sudden it hit, and as it does, it just exploded,” said Dr. Tom Dean, one of just three doctors who work in the county.

As the brunt of the virus has blown into the Upper Midwest and northern Plains, the severity of outbreaks in rural communities has come into focus. Doctors and health officials in small towns worry that infections may overwhelm communities with limited medical resources.

And many say they are still running up against attitudes on wearing masks that have hardened along political lines and a false notion that rural areas are immune to widespread infections.

8:28 a.m.: The Vatican says someone who lives in the same Vatican hotel as Pope Francis has tested positive for coronavirus, adding to the 11 cases of COVID-19 among the Swiss Guards who protect him.

The Vatican said Saturday that the resident of the Domus Sanctae Marthae has moved out temporarily and is in isolation, as are all the people who came into direct contact with him.

8:23 a.m.: Public Health Sudbury & Districts released the results of a community survey on the health unit’s response to the first wave of COVID-19 in October.

The results of the evaluation were included in the agenda of the board of health’s monthly meeting held on Oct. 15 via Skype.

In total, 788 surveys were completed by community members in PHSD’s service area – about 92 per cent of respondents resided in Greater Sudbury, while 7.7 per cent of respondents lived in the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts.

In terms of overall satisfaction, almost three-quarters of respondents indicated that they were satisfied with Public Health’s response to the first wave, with 41.6 per cent indicating that they were very satisfied, and 31.2 per cent indicating that they were somewhat satisfied.

“The results indicate that the agency’s response and supporting processes and structures during the first wave of the pandemic were adequate, appropriate, and effective,” said the report published by Public Health.

8:21 a.m. (Updated 1:56 p.m.): There are 196,278 confirmed cases in Canada.

Quebec: 92,297 confirmed (including 6,032 deaths, 77,602 resolved)

Ontario: 63,713 confirmed (including 3,041 deaths, 54,686 resolved)

Alberta: 21,775 confirmed (including 288 deaths, 18,651 resolved)

British Columbia: 11,189 confirmed (including 251 deaths, 9,387 resolved)

Manitoba: 3,258 confirmed (including 38 deaths, 1,572 resolved)

Saskatchewan: 2,270 confirmed (including 25 deaths, 1,946 resolved)

Nova Scotia: 1,093 confirmed (including 65 deaths, 1,024 resolved)

New Brunswick: 297 confirmed (including 2 deaths, 203 resolved)

Newfoundland and Labrador: 287 confirmed (including 4 deaths, 271 resolved)

Prince Edward Island: 63 confirmed (including 60 resolved)

Yukon: 15 confirmed (including 15 resolved)

Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)

Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved), 3 presumptive

Nunavut: No confirmed cases

Total: 196,278 (3 presumptive, 196,275 confirmed including 9,746 deaths, 165,435 resolved)

8:20 a.m.: Iran has announced that its death toll from the coronavirus has passed the milestone of 30,000 killed.

The announcement Saturday by Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari saw Iran put its total death toll from the outbreak at 30,123 killed, with a total of 526,490 confirmed cases.

Iran has been struggling with the coronavirus since announcing its first cases in February.

8:19 a.m.: Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans to come together like they did in the spring to slow the spread of the coronavirus as the country posted another daily record of new cases Saturday.

“Difficult months are ahead of us,” she said in her weekly video podcast. “How winter will be, how our Christmas will be, that will all be decided in these coming days and weeks, and it will be decided by our behaviour.”

Meanwhile, new restrictions went into effect in several other European nations in an effort to staunch the resurgence of the pandemic.

In Paris and eight other French cities, restaurants, bars, movie theatres and other establishments were being forced to close no later than 9 p.m. to try to reduce contact among people. The country was deploying 12,000 extra police officers to enforce the new rules.

In Britain, a three-tier regional approach to battle the pandemic introduced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week went into effect, with each level bringing in progressively tighter restrictions.

On Saturday, tier-2 cities like London and York were subject to a ban on socializing with people from other households indoors, while the county of Lancashire joined Liverpool in tier 3 with the tightest restrictions.

Among other things, that means pubs have been forced to close and socialization with others is banned even in many outdoor settings.

In Northern Ireland a “circuit breaker” lockdown lasting four weeks came into force Friday in an attempt to quickly tamp down the spread of the virus. All pubs and restaurants must close except for takeaway services, and schools will close for two weeks for an extended half-term holiday.

Data from Friday showed that a further 136 people died in the U.K. within 28 days of testing positive for coronavirus, bringing the total official toll to 43,429.

On Friday, the World Health Organization warned that intensive care units in a number of European cities could reach maximum capacity in the coming weeks if the number of infections is not slowed.

In Germany, which was widely lauded for being able to rapidly slow the spread of the pandemic when it first broke out, the numbers have been climbing rapidly recently.

8:18 a.m.: Europe’s economy was just catching its breath from what had been the sharpest recession in modern history. A resurgence in coronavirus cases this month is a bitter blow that will likely turn what was meant to be a period of healing for the economy into a lean winter of job losses and bankruptcies.

Bars, restaurants, airlines and myriad other businesses are getting hit with new restrictions as politicians desperately try to contain an increase in infection cases that is rapidly filling up hospitals.

The height of the pandemic last spring had caused the economy of the 19 countries that use the euro to plunge by a massive 11.8 per cent in the April-June quarter from the previous three-month period. About 1.5 million more people registered as unemployed during the pandemic.

8:17 a.m.: Qingdao, a coastal city in eastern China, has completed coronavirus testing for its 11 million residents following an outbreak and found no new infections so far.

As of Friday, the 10.9 million samples came back negative.

Xue Qingguo, Qingdao’s deputy mayor, told state broadcaster CCTV that the risk of community transmission “is basically eliminated.”

The citywide testing was ordered after 13 people were infected in China’s first locally transmitted cases in over two months.

The source of the outbreak was traced to two dock workers who had tested positive for the virus in September but did not exhibit any symptoms at first.

8:16 a.m.: Gone are the days when President Donald Trump held forth daily at the White House podium flanked by members of his coronavirus task force. And the days when Vice-President Mike Pence and other task force officials would head to Trump’s office to brief him immediately after their meetings.

The White House won’t say when Trump last met with the task force.

In the week since he emerged from coronavirus isolation, Trump has demonstrated new determination to minimize the threat of the virus that has killed more than 215,000 Americans and complicated his chances of winning another four years in the White House.

“The light at the end of the tunnel is near. We are rounding the turn,” Trump told supporters Friday at an event in Fort Myers, Florida, one of many moments during a week of campaigning in which the president tried to play down the virus threat. “Don’t listen to the cynics and angry partisans and pessimists.”

8:15 a.m.: Australia’s Victoria state has reported just one new case of COVID-19 and no deaths as the city of Melbourne moves closer towards the easing of some lifestyle restrictions.

The state’s coronavirus death toll remains at 816 and the Australian total is 904.

Melbourne residents are expecting COVID-19 restrictions to be eased on Sunday but it is unclear how much freedom will be regained.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has indicated the changes would be more “in the social space,” prompting pleas from business operators for relief from restrictions that once included an overnight curfew.

Saturday 8:13 a.m.: The Oregon Health Authority reported 418 new confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 cases and six additional deaths.

At the current rate of transmission, Oregon Health Authority officials project that new infections will increase “substantially” to 570 new reported cases a day and 40 hospitalizations.

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Switching gears: Barrie staff asks council to invest in cycling infrastructure, not bike and e-scooter sharing programs

Aug 23, 2021 , , , , by shlf

The wheels may never fully turn on a bicycle and e-scooter ride-sharing program in Barrie.

On Nov. 9, city council is expected to task staff with looking at revenue-neutral programs set up in other similarly-sized Canadian municipalities. The intention is to see whether a multi-year ride-sharing program would be feasible in the city.

But staff estimate a bicycle program alone may require a fleet startup cost of between $600,000 and $800,000. That would buy about 300 bikes.

The bicycle share could then take $300,000 to $900,000 to operate annually, though some of that would be offset by rental fees. Conventional and electrical pedal assist bikes could be available to rent.

A scooter program, meanwhile, would likely feature kick-style electric models.

These programs have typically run in larger urban cities like Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Hamilton. A bike share can either be municipally-run or a business venture; e-scooter programs are usually privately operated.

However, staff say a program may be challenging to set up due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the city’s population size and density.

“In 2020, several large scooter share providers withdrew their services in many major cities worldwide, due to increasingly precarious financial positions,” development services director Michelle Banfield said in a report to city council members. “Kelowna (B.C.) and Kingston both had their private bike share operator cease operations, citing little demand for bike rentals and the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Kelowna officials say a $1 million annual subsidy would be needed to attract a new operator.

Hamilton’s bike-share program ceased functioning June 1, as the private operator chose to terminate its contract early. A local not-for-profit organization did step up to revive the share for the rest of the year, through donations and crowdfunding. But it’s unclear whether the program will continue in 2021, Banfield said.

“Based on the research by city staff, the investment in a bike (and) scooter share program is not anticipated to measurably advance active transportation objectives when compared to investing in infrastructure,” she said.

In a related report, the city says it has made significant strides in its effort to expand active transportation infrastructure such as trails, bike lanes and sidewalks, since the completion of the Multi-Modal Active Transportation Master Plan in 2014.

The city’s long-term vision would see $120 million invested in 335 kilometres of cycling network by 2041.

Over the past six years alone, the city has added nearly 37 kms — much of that by reallocating road space for bike lanes. This fall, another 5.6 kms of cycling infrastructure will be proposed to council, Banfield said.

“The city’s continued actions and investment to support the implementation of active transportation infrastructure is critical to support planned growth, as well as benefitting residents by providing an alternative mode of transportation that benefits health, is socially equitable, fosters economic activity and reduces greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change,” she said.

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BEHIND THE CRIMES: Dad launches Project Angel to remember loved ones including his own children

Aug 23, 2021 , , , , by shlf

Imagine for a moment, coming home late one evening and expecting your children to be waiting for you. You enter the darkened house and they are nowhere to be found. They were at a friend’s house earlier that day. Were they late? Or were they just playing games? As any parent would be, you’re annoyed and maybe even a little angry that your kids would do this.

Don’t they know how emotional, how terrifying it is for a parent to come home and their children not there?

For Marcel and Jeannine Babineau, in the fall of 1984, it turned out it wasn’t a game at all. They had returned home from an evening hockey game, they discovered their two middle children, 11-year-old Daniel and Monique, nine, weren’t home. In fact, they were nowhere to be found.

“We looked around the house for them, checked with the neighbours, and nobody had seen them,” said Marcel.

“They found them both that night, behind the two portables at the school, strangled.”

Ray Holden, chief of the Orangeville Police Service at the time, delivered the news to the family after Daniel and Monique had been identified.

Marcel said the first feeling the news left them with was being lost.

“It was a shock,” he said. “First to realize that this was real, that it really happened, then to the siblings left behind. Our oldest was 13, and the youngest had just turned eight.”

The murders of the Babineau children sent ripples of fear throughout the community.

“Everyone was afraid,” recalled Holden. “Everyone thought it was going to be someone from out of town – no one in town could do that. Mothers were walking their children to school, even from three to four houses away, afraid of them being abducted.”

In a short period of time, with its population of less than 20,000 people, the word Orangeville was in headlines across Canada.

Part of what led the case to receive so much attention was due to an expert witnesses, a psychiatrist named Thomas Radecki, who blamed the act on the game Dungeons and Dragons. During the 1980s and early ’90s, the popular role-playing game generated much controversy, and was claimed to be behind a number of deaths.

As Orangeville Police worked with OPP investigators to sort through more than 600 interviews, suspicion began to arise around a local ninth grader.

In the days that followed the murders, the teen would pass the police station on his way to and from school.

“He’d pass by, and was always looking in, really interested in what was taking place as far as the investigation was concerned,” said Holden.

A week later, they had a signed confession.

“If affected all of our staff because it was two children that were murdered, and as it turned out, it was a youngster who committed the murder,” said Holden.

The case and trial marked the first time the Young Offenders Act would be used since being passed in April 1984.

“The worst a perpetrator could receive under the act was three years and that really bothered everyone,” said Holden.

In March 1985, the teen was ruled not criminally responsible due to insanity during a private plea bargain. He was sent to a psychiatric care facility in Oakville, to remain there until the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario deemed him no longer a risk to himself or others.

Though he would not have to face the weight of his actions by remaining in Orangeville, the Babineaus and community were left to find their way through the horror he had left behind.

“It had a very big impact,” said Marcel. “The population was very small and everybody kind of knew each other. So it affected everyone.”

And so, the family moved forward with their lives, demonstrating strength and resilience.

Nearly four decades later, Marcel is still an active and recognized member of the community.

“The way I was brought up was to help others,” he said. “We were raised to care for each other. I can’t say it’s been easy; it took a long time.”

Eventually, he launched Project Angel, which was responsible for the placement of a wooden statue of an angel at Forest Lawn Cemetery, as well as the restoration of the Soldiers War Memorial.

“It wasn’t just to remember Monique and Daniel; it’s a memory of all the loved ones,” explained Marcel.

The carving has been temporarily removed for restoration, but will be returned to its space in Forest Lawn, where Marcel hopes it will continue to bring comfort to those who have lost loved ones.

“I never had a chance to say goodbye to them. I feel them every day, and it’s an inspiration,” he said. “After (nearly) 40 years, either you deal with it or you don’t. I have kind of a saying, just like a car battery, unless the negative and positive work together the car’s not going to start.”

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‘Our lives are ruined’: Canada invited them as permanent residents — then COVID-19 slammed the door shut

Aug 23, 2021 , , , , by shlf

With permanent residence visas in hand, they sold their houses, quit their jobs and even shipped some of their belongings to their new homes in Canada.

Then hit, closing international borders and leaving them high and dry — without a home, job or path to restoring their stalled immigration dreams.

While the federal government is striving to restart an immigration system halted by the coronavirus pandemic and to make up for its 2020 shortfall, tens of thousands of would-be newcomers who have the visas to settle here permanently are being kept outside Canada. Some of their visas have now expired.

It’s a situation that has left many hurt, frustrated and worried for their future.

The teacher and the massage therapist

Belarussian Fatima Camara and her husband quit their jobs, sold their home and pulled their five kids out of school after they got their confirmation of permanent residence and visas stamped on their passports in late March.

They found a realtor and rented a place where they could quarantine for a month in Dieppe, N.B. They sent their bikes, shoes and clothes in aniticipation of the life-changing move from Minsk.

Today, they have no idea where those shipments went, because they weren’t there to pick them up.

“We stay in Belarus without a home, jobs and are absolutely hopeless,” said the French and English teacher and part-time massage therapist, whose family’s permanent residence visa is expiring in December.

“Our immigration plan and our lives are ruined.”

Since mid-March, Ottawa has imposed strict travel restrictions against foreign nationals, including holders of permanent resident visas who have yet to be admitted into the country. It had planned to welcome 340,000 newcomers this year, a target that’s expected to fall short by 40 per cent.

Currently, Canada only allows entry to those who have a permanent resident visa issued before March 18 to settle here permanently. A border officer will still ask questions about their reasons for coming now and ensure self-isolation rules are being respected.

Those with their visas stamped after that date, such as Camara, need to apply for an authorization to travel before they can board a flight, unless they are living in and coming from the United States.

Would-be immigrants with expired visas are asked not to contact the immigration department until they are ready to travel. Only in July, did officials introduce a webform for expired visa-holders to apply for an authorization letter and be assessed by a list of criteria, including whether they have compelling reason to travel to Canada now.

According to an immigration department spokesperson, 15,786 applicants who received their visas before March 19 have had their documents expire as of the end of October. About 2,700 principal applicants filled out the webform and more than 120 received authorization.

The accountant

Prashant Gupta of India received his visa in January and had booked a flight for March 18 before postponing the trip. Since then, he twice tried unsuccessfully to board a flight in May to get here before his visa expired in June, despite Ottawa’s policy to exempt those who got their visa before that date. (Both Canada-bound flights were repatriation flights, restricted to Canadian citizens and already landed permanent residents.)

After months of waiting, the chartered accountant from Kolkata was thrilled to get an authorization letter from the Canadian government on Nov. 6. But he was again refused boarding, this time because Air India would not recognize the expired visa, despite the authorization document.

“I was offloaded at the last moment and not allowed to enter the aircraft. I have asked the Canadian embassy for help, but have yet to receive a response. There was another girl who suffered the same fate,” noted Gupta, who had a job offer in Toronto for a position in financial acquisition that’s no longer valid since he couldn’t make it to Canada.

“This has really broken me. The economy is bad. I can’t go back to my previous job. I have no income. My life has just stopped and stalled.”

The nurse

Registered nurse Katie Hilton, who had previously worked in British Columbia for two years, said she and her husband, Rich, a broadcast journalist, invested three years of their life and more than $10,000 in the immigration process.

They went through and paid for the required English language test, medicals, police clearance, education credential assessement and her licensing registration before she, as the principal applicant, was selected by the Alberta government in 2019 through a provincial immigration stream based on her skills.

Hilton already has a job lined up as part of a new COVID-19 service for the Indigenous community just north of Cochrane, but she needs to arrive and complete her quarantine before the end of November.

“While I completely understand the borders being closed to the vast majority of people at the moment, I can’t understand why those in essential roles aren’t being fast-tracked, especially over the autumn and winter period, when we know there will be a surge in COVID cases,” said Hilton, who received her visa in late October.

She became even more frustrated this week when she was issued the authorization letter, but told her 10-year-old son, Benjamin, does not meet the exemption requirement.

“I’m honestly speechless at how ridiculous these rules are. What kind of government separates a mother and child?” asked Hilton.

“I’m now having to choose between either using the exemption letter but leaving my child in the U.K, having to rely on my elderly parents to help with child care and potentially exposing them to the virus for which I’d never forgive myself … or stay in the U.K. to be with my child and lose my job.”

The cyber security worker

Fadi Ghaoui, who quit his job in cyber security in Saudi Arabia and moved back to Lebanon in April for the move to Canada, said many would-be newcomers have had their lives put on hold and it has taken a heavy financial toll on them. After they quit their jobs, they must now dip into the settlement fund they’d set aside.

“I have used 30 per cent of my savings intended for our new life in Canada just to survive in Lebanon,” said Ghaoui, who received his family’s permanent resident visas on Jan. 7 and had booked their flight for May, two weeks before the visas expired on June 6. They couldn’t leave because his country was in lockdown.

At the end of June, he got an email from the Canadian visa post in London that his permanent residence application was under review to see if anything would need to be updated, such as a new medical clearance before another visa would be issued.

His family was among the survivors of the Aug. 4 explosion that levelled the Beirut port, killing more than 200 people and injuring 6,500. They were three kilometres away, witnessing the flattening of the site when it happened.

Despite the Canadian government’s special program to speed up immigration applications for blast victims in the area, the family has yet to hear an update to their application.

“I do not have a house anymore. I do not have a job anymore. There is no security in my country. The economic situation is bad. We feel so insecure. I fear for our future,” said Ghaoui, who, along with his wife and daughter, is staying with his parents.

“We are barely surviving here. We are stuck. Should we rent a house? Should we unpack all our bags again? Leave for the Gulf? Or just wait for Canada immigration’s response? Being in limbo is the worst.”

Nicholas Keung is a Toronto-based reporter covering immigration for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: