Kawartha Lakes Police Chief Mark Mitchell is asking that people comply with the Province’s stay-at-home order as much as possible due to the ongoing pandemic — but police will not randomly ask people for personal details.
It may not be the ideal time for a business to celebrate its first-year anniversary, mid-pandemic and in the middle of downtown reconstruction, but that’s where Lindsay’s Unwrapped store finds itself – and they’re making the most out of it.
The business bills itself as “Lindsay’s first zero waste and sustainable living store,” offering plastic free replacements for everyday items in homes and bulk refills of natural and Canadian-made personal care and household cleaning products.
As Ontario’s COVID-19 infection numbers risk spiralling out of control, the acting medical officer of health, Dr. Ian Gemmill, says the vaccine rollout can’t happen soon enough.
In a wide-ranging discussion with the Advocate, Gemmill says the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit is still waiting for its first doses to get started on phase one of the planned vaccination program.
Ross Memorial Hospital and partners are working together to prepare for the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine locally, according to provincial guidelines, as more doses become available.
The province has launched a webpage to share updates and information about the vaccine. Until COVID-19 vaccines are widely available, it’s important to follow public health guidelines, according to a press release from RMH, and abide by the provincial lockdown measures.
It doesn’t take a political genius to realize that what the public may remember from the Rod Phillips scandal is that Premier Doug Ford, by his own admission, knew much more about his minister’s Caribbean trip than he first let on.
While the rest of Ontario was facing COVID-19 inspired travel restrictions, the premier did nothing to right the public relations disaster before it damaged both he and his government irreparably.
During a time of national emergency Ontarians need role models for civic minded behaviour. Members of the ruling Progressive Conservative party led by Premier Doug Ford should be setting these examples of appropriate behaviour during this pandemic, but they are not.
From the premier on down the clear message is there are two sets of rules — one for politicians and another for the general public. This needs to stop.
Since the declaration of a pandemic last March, Ontarians have been told to follow government mandates regarding personal hygiene, travel and gatherings for the good of all. Ford, MPP Sam Oosterhoff, Finance Minister Rod Phillips and MPP Randy Hillier have ignored these rules making it doubly hard for public health agencies to convince Ontarians that their mandates need to be followed.
Many Kawartha Lakes parents were greeted today by their children arriving home from school for the Christmas holidays with all the school supplies and technology they will need to transition to distance learning effective Jan. 4.
Minister of Education Stephen Lecce informed directors of education via memo on Tuesday that while a final decision on school closures hasn’t been finalized, the province wants all students to have the tools on hand at home to make the transition to distance learning if necessary.
Councillor Patrick O’Reilly was re-elected deputy mayor for 2021, defeating fellow councillor Ron Ashmore in a recent vote of councillors and the mayor.
New funding to help local governments avoid operating deficits in 2021 was announced today by MPP Laurie Scott’s office, including about $1 million for Kawartha Lakes.
The money was announced as part of Phase 2 of the Safe Restart Agreement in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This new funding will help municipalities in HKLB develop a 2021 budget that reflects the challenges of COVID-19,” said Scott.
Michael Bryant’s success has always been about adaptability. It’s seen in his agri-tourism destination known as Dromoland Farms. It’s obvious with his purchase of the town trolley car to meet local tourism needs. Now, Bryant has turned his attention to developing an easy-to-use COVID-19 test — and yesterday he got authorization from Health Canada to sell it. The product is called Anosmic COVID-19 Smell Tester. It’s the first (and only, according to Bryant) authorized product that can screen people in their own homes to control the spread of the novel coronavirus.
