April 6, 2020

April 6th is the 97th day of the year. There are 269 days remaining until the end of the year.

On Friday, the Ford government further reduced the number of workplaces it deems essential. Workplaces not deemed essential were ordered to close by the end of the day on Saturday.

Construction projects that are not considered of critical importance are among the noted workplaces that will be required to close. The province no longer considers cannabis stores and cannabis producers an essential service. However, alcohol sellers such as the LCBO and The Beer Store will continue to operate.

The new closure order will remain in effect for 14 days but could be extended if the province deems it necessary.

Anyone with questions about their essential business status to call the Stop the Spread hotline at 1-888-444-3659 from Monday to Friday between 8:30am-9pm, and between 8:30am—5pm on the weekends.

The newly updated list of essential workplaces in Ontario can be found by clicking here.

Chatham-Kent Councillors will meet again tonight electronically.

Anyone who wants to speak to the issues before council must email the municipal clerk’s office at ckclerk@chatham-kent.ca by 3pm on the day of the council meeting.

The meeting will be shown on Facebook here at  and YouTube.

It will also be located on the municipality’s Facebook page,  where it can be viewed at any time.

The 2020 OHL Priority Selection was held on Saturday.

Blenheim’s Brady Stonehouse was selected in the 2nd round by the Ottawa 67’s, Ridegtown’s Zander Veccia was taken in the 3rd round by the Mississauga Steelheads and Ryan Gagner was drafted by the Peterborough Petes in the 6th.

For full results click here.

The NBA and ESPN are teaming up to do a professional “H-O-R-S-E” competition.

It’s supposedly in the works. Sources say there are ongoing “discussions” about a televised tournament involving several players, who would do it while they’re social-distancing.

It’s unclear how it would work, but apparently the players would use their private, home gyms and would compete, shot for shot, in a classic “H-O-R-S-E” battle, challenging each other to hit (trick) shots.

There aren’t any other details at this point.

Donald Trump held a coronavirus conference call with the commissioners of every major sports league on Saturday. He thinks the NFL will be able to start their regular season on time in September.

The NBA and ESPN are working on televising a H-O-R-S-E competition involving several high-profile players, sources tell @wojespn.

Players would shoot in isolation — presumably in home gyms — and match shots against competitors. pic.twitter.com/V1qZEYWgxR

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 4, 2020

On Sunday, Queen Elizabeth made only her 5th official address to the nation in her 68-year reign.

The address — broadcast on TV, radio and social media — was made as the coronavirus pandemic continues to grip the country, where more than 4,900 coronavirus-related deaths have been recorded as of Saturday. The 93-year-old thanked those working on the National Health Service’s front line and others providing vital support during the crisis.

Aside from her annual Christmas messages, the queen has made a special televised address only four times before, the second occasion following the death of Princess Diana in 1997.

You can watch the whole thing here.

Categorised in: 5 Things You Need To Know

This post was written by Chris McLeod