Spring is in the air and much of the ice on area lakes and rivers has melted away, tempting boaters to venture out. Warmer air temperatures, however, provide a false sense of security as the water is still extremely cold and even strong swimmers are unable to cope with the cold water shock and lose muscle control very quickly.

East Region OPP encourages the public to follow the Ontario Ministry of Health's recommendations to stay home and avoid non-essential travel in order to limit the spread of COVID-19, but if you must be on the waterways, below are a few reminders and safety tips:

Always wear a life jacket, it will significantly increase your chance of surviving the cold water, should you be exposed;

• Share your plans and a timeline with someone you trust;
• Check the weather before you go out and check the water temperature;
• If it is very cold, consider staying off the water until warmer temperatures are achieved;
• Ensure that you have the necessary safety equipment on board.

Emergency situations that arise either on the water or at water-access only locations can be very stressful and dangerous for emergency responders.

How you can help, crucial time, milk dumped, proactive approach.

In The News this week, how we are trying to flatten the curve and lift spirits.

More businesses will be forced to close as of 11:59 p.m. April 4 as the Ontario government has expanded its list of non-essential services in a bid to contain the COVID-19 virus.

All supply chains necessary for the production of vital food and healthcare supplies are being protected and remain intact.

The updated list will direct additional businesses to close and restricts specified businesses to providing services by alternate methods such as curb side pick up and delivery, except in exceptional circumstances. This includes stores that sell hardware products, vehicle parts and supplies, pet and animal supplies, office supplies and computer products and repairs and safety supplies.

Only critical construction projects will continue, including industrial projects such as refineries and petrochemical plants and infrastructure projects such as new hospitals, roads and bridges. New starts in residential projects will stop, while residential construction that is near completion will continue. Business owners with questions concerning their essential business status are encouraged to call the Stop the Spread hotline at 1-888-444-3659. The hotline is available from 8:30 a.m.― 9:00 p.m. Monday to Friday and 8:30 a.m.— 5:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Municipalities now have the authority to enforce COVID-19 restrictions.

Police and by-law officers will be monitoring people ensuring that they do not congregate, use park equipment or not respect social distancing rules.

Emergency child care centres for essential service workers have been set up at Pleasant Corners Public School in Vankleek Hill, Chesterville Public School in Chesterville, Commonwealth Public School in Brockville, and South Branch Elementary School in Kemptville.

Health care and other frontline workers, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, firefighters, police, and correctional officers, will be able to access these safe, local emergency child care centres. These centres will be required to follow heightened screening and health and safety requirements, and have a plan in place should any staff, children or parents be exposed to the virus.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Eastern Ontario has risen to 26.

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) urges businesses to verify who you're dealing with before conducting remote or online sales.

The OPP in eastern Ontario has responded to numerous calls from businesses, including automotive and recreational vehicle dealerships, who fell victim to Card-Not-Present (CNP) Frauds. 

The fraudsters contact a business to place an order for a product by way of phone, email or website, with plans to make the payment using a stolen payment card and counterfeit driver's licences.

The business, believing it to be a legitimate purchase, requests a driver's licence, then processes the payment on stolen payment card(s). The business provides the product(s) through a shipping company or to an individual picking up the product using a rented van or trailer (also rented with a stolen payment card).

Eventually the real cardholder identifies and disputes the unauthorized charge. As a result, the business receives a charge back and is responsible for paying back the amount charged on the stolen card.

Tips to protect your business:

• Watch for orders made using different names, addresses and card numbers but are from a single IP (Internet Protocol) address;

• Prior to shipping merchandise, take steps to verify the information provided by the customer (telephone number, email address, shipping address etc.);

• Be sensitive to priority shipments for fraud‐prone merchandise, which may indicate a fraudulent transaction;

• Be aware of orders that occur with a request for urgent shipment, especially if the shipping address does not match the billing address on the credit card provided;

• Be aware of orders from repeat customers that differ from regular spending patterns; and

• Contact your processor and ensure security measures are established to prevent victimization and reduce unwanted chargebacks.

Businesses who accept CNP orders can better avoid fraud by using the automated verification tools supported by their acquirer and the payment associations.

If your business has become a victim of the Card-Not-Present Fraud, contact your local police service and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 (toll free) or report online at www.antifraudcentre.ca. You can also call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS) or report the incident online at www.crimestoppers.ca.

COVID-19 testing centres have opened in Cornwall, Casselman and Winchester to check people with  moderate, worsening but non-severe symptoms.
The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU), in partnership with the Cornwall Community Hospital (CCH), is opening a centre April 2 at the Community Addiction and Mental Health Centre, located immediately north of CCH at 850 McConnell Avenue in Cornwall.
Please call the centre between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, to book your appointment at 613-935-7762.
Drive-Through in Casselman
The EOHU, in partnership with the Hawkesbury and District General Hospital, is opening a drive-through centre in Casselman April 2 at the EOHU’s Casselman office, at 872 Principale St.
It will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Winchester
A new assessment centre in Winchester opened April 1, at the Lions Club hall at 515 Albert St. and will be open Monday to Friday, from 12 to 6 p.m. The centre is being operated by Winchester District Memorial Hospital (WDMH) staff and physicians.
The aim of the drive-through testing centre is to increase access to COVID-19 testing for EOHU area residents, while reducing the strain on 911, EMS, primary care and hospital emergency rooms so that they can focus on urgent care. “We’re hoping that opening the testing centre will also reduce the risk of spreading the virus in hospitals and doctors’ offices, protecting healthcare workers and other patients from COVID-19 infection,” says Dr. Paul Roumeliotis, Medical Officer of Health.
The EOHU stresses that not everyone who is concerned that they may have COVID-19 should use the testing centres. Only people who have worsening, but not severe, COVID-19 symptoms (such as fever and worsening cough) should call for an appointment. Not everyone who calls will be eligible for an appointment to be tested; the decision to test will be based on the most current Ministry of Health case definition guidelines: http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/pro/programs/publichealth/coronavirus/do…
Those with mild symptoms that can be managed at home should not call the centre as they will not be tested. Individuals with mild symptoms should self-isolate at home for 14 days from the onset of symptoms and notify those that they may have been in contact with 2 days prior to having symptoms. People who have symptoms and are age 70 or over, or who have chronic medical conditions or compromised immune systems should call the EOHU at 613-933-1375 or 1-800-267-7120. Anyone experiencing severe symptoms such as difficulty breathing should call 911 or go to the hospital emergency room.
“Unique to the Cornwall COVID-19 testing centre, people arriving for testing will be greeted by a mental health and addiction counsellor. We recognize that many in our community are feeling anxiety and stress during this particularly difficult time; we are hopeful that this support will help,” explains Jeanette Despatie, President and CEO of Cornwall Community Hospital.
Additional testing centres may also open in the region. The EOHU will notify the public when these centres become available.
For more information on the Cornwall COVID-19 testing centre, or on COVID-19 in general, visit www.eohu.ca/coronavirus

SQ officers have set up road blocks on the Grenville side of the Long Sault Bridge between Hawkesbury and Grenville to control the spread of COVID-19.
Police are ensuring that visitors from Ontario are entering the province for an essential reason.

In order to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Government of Québec adopted Ministerial Order 2020-013 today aimed at limiting travel to and from four new regions of Québec, including the MRC d’Argenteuil. As of noon today, checkpoints have been set up around and within the MRC d’Argenteuil.
According to the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux and the Sûreté du Québec, travel should be limited to trips for medical reasons and work when teleworking is not possible. Roadside checkpoints will reduce travel into and out of certain regions and territories that are more vulnerable and help contain the spread of the virus.
In the case of the MRC d’Argenteuil, these control measures are aimed at preserving the low infection rates currently found in the region. To keep these rates as low as possible, the MRC d’Argenteuil reminds the population that it is more important than ever to follow self-isolation and social distancing measures and to apply government directives to the letter. This is not the time to relax our efforts!
The MRC d’Argenteuil Council applauds this decision by the Government of Québec to set up checkpoints along the roads leading to its territory. “We are aware that these are restrictive measures, but in the current context, we must redouble our efforts to protect the public. Everyone’s cooperation is essential,” said MRC warden Scott Pearce.

The Upper Canada District School Board is asking parents that may not have internet access at home or lack the number of devices needed for each child to engage in online learning activities, or to support their special education programming, to complete an online  survey or call 1-888-593-5556.

The online survey is at :

https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=a_XlPA53f0-fkfwoe4d…

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the region served by the Eastern Ontario Health Unit has increased to 13, with all of the new cases being Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry residents.

A woman in her 30s and two men in their 50s have tested positive.

How the woman, who is in isolation, contracted the disease is still under investigation.

The men, one of whom has recovered, both have returned from travelling to the UK and Pakistan.

The other male patient is in isolation.

People respond to the 'war effort,' cases are on the rise, people are stealing from the hospital.

Read all about it in the April 1 edition of The News.

Ontario public schools will remain closed at least until the first week of May, the Ontario government has announced.

Schools will be closed to teachers until May 1 and to students until May 4.

As these dates come closer, this decision will be re-evaluated based on public health advice. The closure may be extended if necessary to protect the health and safety of students, families and staff against the COVID-19 virus.

Private schools, licensed child care centres and EarlyON programs will also remain closed until April 13, according to the Declaration of Emergency, which only allows closures to be extended for one 14-day period at a time. Select centres designated to support frontline health care workers and first responders will remain open.  

To ensure continuity of learning, the government is launching the second phase of Learn at Home. Developed in conjunction with education partners, the government is establishing clarity for parents, enhancing education supports, and creating opportunities for teachers and educators to connect with students.

"The decision to extend school closures was not made lightly. We know from the medical experts that the next two weeks will be critical in the fight against COVID-19 and that's why we're taking further action to keep our kids safe and healthy by having them stay home," said Premier Doug Ford. "At the same time, we cannot put the school year in jeopardy. That's why we're providing additional tools for at-home learning and ensuring students from kindergarten to Grade 12 to postsecondary education can finish their academic year and get the credits they need to graduate."

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the region served by the Eastern Ontario Health Unit has increased to ten.

The increase was expected since about 300 tests were still pending last week when a state of emergency was declared.

No decision has been made yet on how COVID-19 will affect the 2020 edition of the Glengarry Highland Games.

President Eric Metcalfe says, "We know that many people are wondering what will happen to the Games this year. Will they be cancelled or will they be a go? Right now, we are watching the world situation very carefully. At this point, we  have made no decision to cancel the Games. You can be sure that we will let you know when and if the situation changes."

However, all advance ticket sales including legacy grandstand tickets are on hold and sales will not start at their usual time. As
well, reservations for RV Camping sites on are hold.

"Good luck and good health to everyone and with God’s blessing we will see you at the Games, July 31-August 1, 2020," he says.