A look at the local numbers
The numbers of positive COVID-19 cases are rising in the Sudbury, Manitoulin, and Algoma Districts.
Public Health Sudbury & Districts reported 115 new cases of COVID-19 over the holiday weekend.
As of Monday, there are 241 active cases in Greater Sudbury, 11 in the Sudbury District, and four in the Manitoulin District.
Considering resolved cases, there are currently 256 active cases within the agency’s jurisdiction.
The agency is also reporting nine COVID-19 deaths in the last nine days, all in the Greater Sudbury area.
A total of 23 deaths has now been reported in the catchment area since the pandemic began in March of last year.
Health Sciences North is reporting 26 patients admitted to the hospital, 21 verified as positive cases, the others waiting for testing.
Of the 21 verified cases, nine individuals are in intensive care.
Public Health has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at the hospital’s Ramsey Lake Health Centre affecting the sixth floor, north tower, which they say is self-contained.
The agency is also reporting another outbreak at St. Joseph’s Villa in Sudbury.
Algoma Health Unit is reporting 18 new cases over the holiday weekend in the Sault Ste. Marie area.
Considering resolved cases, there are 21 active cases with one person hospitalized.
Visitor restrictions put into place once more with lockdown
The Ontario government has moved the province into lockdown for 28 days and with that several facilities and long-term facilities are implementing visitor restrictions once again.
Various facilities are not allowing any visitors during the lockdown except for compassionate reasons. Visitors to emergency and acute care units will be allowed but must be booked in advance and only with clearance from the emergency departments.
Contact facilities by phone or on their web pages for information specific to their location.
Medical officers call for stay-at-home orders
The medical officers of health from Ontario’s three most populous regions are calling on the government to impose a province-wide stay-at-home order to stem the increase in covid-19 infections.
The doctors from Toronto, Ottawa, and Peel Region note such an order has worked in the past and it’s necessary again, in light of sharply-increasing infection rates.
They note that cases continue to rise in Toronto and Peel region, despite the fact they’ve been in the grey zone for weeks and the current “shutdown” restrictions aren’t much different.
The three are also calling for the imposition of travel restrictions between regions, and a better definition of what’s considered an essential business.
A look at the provincial numbers
Provincial health officials reported six thousand new cases of COVID-19 over Sunday and Monday about three thousand each day.
That’s helped push the seven-day rolling average of new daily cases to more than 27-hundred, a 72 percent increase over the past two weeks.
Positivity rates also continue to rise.
On Sunday, the percentage of tests that came back positive reached 6.5 percent climbing to 7.8 percent yesterday.
Currently, 494 people are being treated in intensive care, a record high.
Schools in Manitoulin and Sudbury districts remain closed
All schools in the Peel region are being closed for the next two weeks.
The region’s medical officer of health says the step is necessary to protect staff and students, amid surging coronavirus numbers.
A spokesperson for Education Minister Stephen Lecce (LEH-chay) says the government still firmly believes that schools should remain open, noting infection levels have been low, and in-person classes are critical to students’ mental health.
Closer to home, schools in the Sudbury and Manitoulin districts remain closed this week and for the April Break next week with a possible return to in-class learning for mid-April.
