A new forest fire season has arrived.
Today’s the start of the season which runs until October 31.
Jonathan Scott is with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry and says unlike last year there won’t be a Restricted Fire Zone to start.
The order was put in place as the pandemic suddenly hit resulting in new health requirements for crews and the fear of human caused fires.
Scott says, “With the health and safety protocols around COVID-19 now well established, an RFZ is not necessary at this time. The province will continue to assess forest fire hazard conditions as we move into the 2021 fire season.”
Dryden, ON, Canada / CKDR
Mar 16, 2021 11:38 PM
The Keewatin Patricia District School Board confirms two more students at Sioux Lookout Schools have tested positive for COVID-19.
One of the students attends Sioux Mountain Public School and the Northwestern Health Unit has directed the board to close the impacted classroom in the school effective today (Tuesday, March 16).
Another student at Sioux North High School has also tested positive for the virus.
In this case, two classes in the school are closed effective today (Tuesday, March 16)
This positive student case is in addition to the two student cases announced on March 13, where one was deemed to have no school exposure therefore no class closures were required for that case.
Theresa Tam (CPAC)
Canada’s hotspot for COVID-19 is not lost on the country’s Chief public health doctor.
Dr. Theresa Tam says support for isolation centres and the homeless is on the way to Thunder Bay, which has the highest rate per capita, but there’s also help from the province.
“I think Ontario is taking a more regional approach to how they are managing their outbreaks, so obviously treating Thunder Bay differently maybe to other areas where there is less activity,” says Tam.
The health officer adds Thunder Bay shows how quickly a situation can change. “The other key message about what is happening in Thunder Bay is that areas that were less affected in the past can easier become the next hotspot.”
Health Unit/CKDR Archives
It’s been one year since the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the Northwestern Health Unit’s catchment area.
Today, there are six more cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of positive cases to 591.
There are two each in the Dryden, Sioux Lookout and Kenora areas.
Overall, there are 61 active cases in the region.
39 of those are in the Kenora area, 17 in the Sioux Lookout region, three in the Dryden area and one each in Atikokan and Fort Frances areas.
Meanwhile, the Thunder Bay District Health Unit is reporting an increase in the number of new coronavirus cases.
Thunder Bay Police Cruiser-Staff photo
A 22-year-old Thunder Bay man is facing numerous charges for claiming to intentionally spread COVID-19.
Thunder Bay police say local fire fighters and paramedics were attempting to help someone in apparent medical trouble Monday evening on Villa Street.
He became aggressive, claiming to be COVID-19 positive, and coughed and spit at emergency personnel.
Police add as they showed up, he declared his intentions to infect them with COVID-19 by coughing at them, and they arrested him on Court Street.
Police also say the accused was involved in a similar incident Friday, March 12th on Dawson Road.