August 20, 2021

August 20th is the 232nd day of 2021. There are 133 days remaining until the end of the year.

Chatham-Kent-Leamington Member of Provincial Parliament Rick Nicholls has been removed from the Ontario Progressive Conservative caucus after he announced that he will not get the COVID-19 vaccine as required by the party.

Only one other PC MPP is unvaccinated. Scarborough Centre MPP Christina Mitas will remain in caucus due to a medical exemption signed by a physician.

Premier Doug Ford said he expects Progressive Conservative MPPs and provincial election candidates to support vaccines and to protect themselves and others.

Nicholls will hold on to his seat at Queens Park, sitting as an independent, he has been barred from running on behalf of the party in the 2022 Ontario election.

Chatham-Kent Public Health are holding a mobile clinic today at the Wallaceburg Library 1-4 and tomorrow at Wallaceburg District Secondary School from 10-3.

Anyone 12 and older is welcome at the clinic.

Walk-ins are welcome at all clinics, but if you’re looking to schedule an appointment for a confirmed time book online at GetYourShotCK.ca or by calling 519-351-1010.

Four new positive COVID-19 cases reported Thursday by Chatham-Kent Public Health.

There were four recoveries, the total active case count locally stays at 31.

There are 531 new cases of COVID-19 across the province. 456 cases are in unvaccinated individuals and 75 in partially vaccinated individuals. It’s the first day over the 500-case mark after three days below.

A rare blue moon is set to light up the night sky this weekend, your best chance to catch it will be in the early morning hours Sunday.

Despite the name, the moon won’t actually appear to be blue this weekend. Instead, it’ll look like most other full moons we’re accustomed to seeing, though it will still be rarer than most.

There are actually two types of blue moons—seasonal and monthly—and neither is something we get to see on a regular basis. This weekends particular moon beginning late on Saturday night is called a seasonal blue moon because it’s the third full moon in a season containing four full moons rather than three—a phenomenon that only happens once every two or three years.

The next time we’re expected to see a rare full moon such as this one is August 19, 2024.

Our last #BlueMoon came on the night of Halloween 2020. But that full moon – like most Blue Moons – was blue in name only. This week, we’ll have another sort of Blue Moon, coming up on August 21-22: https://t.co/jXRFupDeOf 🌚

📸 Priya Kumar in Oman, 2012. Thank you, Priya! pic.twitter.com/oAzB7dtRUs

— EarthSky (@earthskyscience) August 17, 2021

The Farmers’ Almanac Extended Winter Forecast is predicting an “icy” and “flaky” winter for Ontario.

The season will come in cold, with well-below-normal temperatures predicted in Central Canada and a “brutally cold” Christmas and Boxing day across Ontario. Throughout December, the forecast predicts winds, flurries, snow and cold, so you’ll have to bundle up to do your Christmas shopping. Snow is expected to fall at an average amount across the country.

The Almanac predicts parts of Ontario and Quebec will be hit with a “winter whopper” near the end of February.

Categorised in: 5 Things You Need To Know

This post was written by Chris McLeod