April 27, 2020

April 27th is the 118th day of the year. There are 248 days remaining until the end of the year.

All publicly-funded schools in Ontario will now stay closed until at least May 31st due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ontario minister of education, Stephen Lecce, made the announcement yesterday afternoon.

If need be, the closure may be extended further to protect the health and safety of Ontario’s school communities. Should schools be permitted to reopen, school employees will have access on May 29.

Lecce says, “Right now we don’t see a need at this moment to extend the school year.”

The remainder of PA days and examination days will be replaced with instructional time.

Ontario Parks will remain closed until at least the end of next month due to the spread of COVID-19.

The province made the announcement on Saturday.

The closure includes car camping, backcountry camping, roofed accommodations, day use opportunities, access points and all public buildings, and that provincial parks and conservation reserves will continue to remain fully closed to all recreational activities.

For the latest updates, visit OntarioParks.com.

Community leaders are working together to plan the largest food drive ever held in the area.

The May 16th Miracle is now underway and organizers are asking every resident to put a non-perishable food item on their doorstep at noon on May 16th and all donations will be given to food banks and organizations across Chatham-Kent. Drop-off locations will be available for those living in rural areas.

More information on the May 16th Miracle can be found here.

A guy in the UK livestreamed himself clapping for healthcare workers for 24 hours straight, and raised about $10,000 for charity.

The man initially started out livestreaming his attempt on YouTube, but due to technical problems switched to streaming on Facebook.

Facebook is adding a 50-person video chat room called Messenger Room.

It is intended to be an alternative to Zoom. People can join the rooms even if they don’t have a Facebook account. The rooms come with virtual backgrounds and fun filters.

Mark Zuckerberg says, “The basic idea with Messenger Rooms is you should be able to create a room for any activity or any event you want to hold. You should be able to send them a link, and then they should be able to drop by and hangout with you via video presence.”

Categorised in: 5 Things You Need To Know

This post was written by Chris McLeod