Students at five schools self-isolating after possible COVID exposure on bus
Greater Sudbury students on several Rainbow District School Board buses are now in self-isolation following possible exposure to COVID-19.
Nicole Charette, the board’s communication officer says one student from Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School, and students from Lockerby Composite School and Sudbury Secondary School are required to self-isolate until February 5th.
She says there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at any of the schools currently.
Charette adds several students at Adamsdale Public School and Lasalle Secondary School are also self-isolating for the same reason.
Public Health Sudbury & Districts has announced an outbreak at Marymount Academy and St. Charles College where several classes have been cancelled.
A look at the local numbers of COVID-19
The Greater Sudbury area has 13 new COVID-19 cases according to Public Health Sudbury & Districts.
The agency states while two are due to close contact, 11 of the cases are outbreak-related.
There are now 86 active cases within the agency’s jurisdiction, which also considers the most recent resolved cases.
There are 16 admitted patients at Health Sciences North of which eight are confirmed as COVID-19, the other eight still awaiting test results for the virus.
None are in intensive care.
Cancel your travel plans
If you have any plans for non-essential travel, cancel them.
That’s the advice from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as the federal government plans more controls over people arriving in, or travelling across Canada.
Trudeau says importing even one case of COVID-19 into our country is too much, especially with new and more contagious strains of the coronavirus on the loose.
But the Prime Minister adds they must make sure they don’t disrupt the supply of essential goods that arrive by air and include vaccines.
Ford says too many positives with too much travel
Premier Doug Ford says it’s long past time that the federal government imposes new restrictions on travellers arriving in Canada by air.
Ford says there should be a ban on flights from countries where new strains of the coronavirus have emerged and all travellers should be tested as soon as they arrive at the airport.
He notes that a pilot project at Toronto’s Pearson Airport, that’s doing voluntary testing of arrivals, has found more than two percent of them are carrying the coronavirus.
That’s even though travellers must have proof of a negative COVID-19 test in the 72 hours before their departure.
End private ownership of LTC
More than 300 doctors and patient advocates have signed a letter, calling on the Ford government to end the private ownership of long-term care homes in Ontario.
The supporters of the group, “Doctors for Justice in Long-Term Care,” say they have grave concerns about the welfare of residents in such facilities during this second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The other measures the group wants to see include the hiring of more staff as well as pay raises for them accelerating vaccination programs in the homes and establishing partnerships between hospitals and every long-term care home in the province.
Loans available for businesses
The federal government has launched another program to help businesses hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The “Highly-Affected Sectors Credit Availability Program” will offer low-interest loans of up to one-million dollars guaranteed by the government.
Businesses with more than one location can receive up to six million dollars.
To qualify, businesses will have to show a revenue drop of at least 50 percent in three months, during the eight months before their application.
They’ll also have to provide proof that they’ve previously applied for the emergency wage or rent subsidies.
Applications are to be made through the banks.