Ontario In Modified Step Two The Ontario government has ordered the entire province - including the Town of Whitby - to return to the modified version of Step Two of the Roadmap to Reopen. The province will remain in this Step until at least January 26. To learn more about how to connect with the Town during this time, as well as what facilities are open or closed, visit whitby.ca/COVID Vaccine Receipt Printing Did you know you can print your vaccine receipt QR code at any Whitby Public Library location? Staff are available to help and there is no charge for copies. Hours and location information can be found at whitbylibrary.ca/Hours P: 905.430.4300 E: info@whitby.ca whitby.ca What To Expect After A Snowfall Wondering the order in which Whitby streets are plowed after a snowfall? Use the "Find My Street" tool to learn more and find out what kind of street you live on. whitby.ca/FindMyStreet You're Invited: Mayor's Telephone Town Hall Residents are invited to attend the Mayor's Telephone Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, January 25 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Call in to the meeting to listen, ask a question, voice your opinion or share your idea directly with the Mayor. When the Meeting begins, thousands of residential landlines in Whitby will be randomly called to participate in the meeting. If you receive a call, you can choose to join the Meeting by staying on the line. Learn more or register in advance at whitby.ca/TelephoneTownHall or by calling 905.430.4300 x2203. Changes To Special Collection Now In Effect Pre-schedule your pick-up online using the Whitby Waste Buddy app. Bulky and metal items are now subject to a $25 collection fee. Electronic and porcelain waste will continue to be collected free of charge. whitby.ca/Waste Christmas Tree Collection Christmas Trees will be collected in blue collection areas from January 10 to 14 and yellow collection areas from January 17 to 21. Please clean natural Christmas trees of any tinsel, decorations, wire, stands or bags, and cut trees longer than 4 metres (10 feet) in half. The Town can't collect trees that are frozen in snow banks. Visit whitby.ca/Waste to learn which colour you are in. What You Need To Know This Week: Schools are closed to in-person learning, moving to remote learning until at least Jan. 17. "I guess we were ahead of Omicron," said Mary Telford, owner and head trainer of Mary Telford Personal Training and Nutrition. The Clarington gym specializes in personal training, and with the shutdown "feeling that was in the air," Telford moved her business online just before Christmas. She didn't want to risk an outbreak at her fitness studio. The Omicron variant is less severe than previous variants but highly transmissible and has resulted in a larger number of hospital admissions, according to the province. Given the quick spread the virus could overwhelm Ontario's health care system if action isn't taken, Premier Doug Ford explained on Jan. 3. "We face a tsunami of new cases in the days and weeks ahead," he said. "Now we're bracing for impact." Premier Ford announced several increased public health measures -- temporarily moving the province back into Step Two of its Roadmap to Reopen. For the full list of the measures,full list of the measures,f visit covid-19.ontario.ca/ public-health-measures. The Durham District School Board posted a brief comment on its website on Monday, noting, "Families and staff: please check your email regularly for updates." Samantha Paterson, a spokeswoman for the Ajax-Pickering Board of Ajax-Pickering Board ofA Trade, spoke with some members after the announcement. "The main thing they're telling us is that they're overwhelmed. The staffing is becoming a huge issue," Paterson said. "On top of that, the forms and applications forforms and applications forf government funding is really tough. Some are having to hire people to figure out what to do. And, then just the pivot. What are they going to change their business focus to?" Paterson said. She said businesses need help "right away" to keep their doors open. The last day the Durham health department data tracker was updated was Dec. 31. There were 4,903 active cases in Durham, with four people in a hospital and one in an ICU. From Dec. 24 to 31, 3,888 new cases were confirmed in the region. Meanwhile, restaurant owners are on edge with the loss of indoor dining again in force. "We have spent a lot of time and money adhering to every single change over past two years to only keep ending up in the same position, stressed out, worried if we will survive this round of restrictions," Teena Dyer, an owner of Copperworks Brew Pub in Bowmanville, said via email. NEWS BUSINESSES NEED HELP 'RIGHT AWAY' TO KEEP THEIR DOORS OPEN: SAMANTHA PATERSON "We face a tsunami of new cases in the days and weeks ahead. Now we're bracing for impact." - Premier Doug Ford Continued from front SCAN THE CODE to keep track of COVID-19 cases in Durham. THANK YOU FOR MAKING US YOUR TRUSTED SOURCE OF INFORMATION FIND UP-TO-DATE LOCAL COVID-19 NEWS ONLINE DURHAMREGION.COM/CORONAVIRUS