Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Wednesday, April 22, 2020:
- There have been 11,735 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 551 cases (or 4.9 per cent) from the previous day. There are 5,806 people recovered from the virus while 622 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 174,170 of which 5,546 have pending results.
- Canada’s COVID-19 case total is 37,382. The country has 1,728 COVID-19 related deaths – 86 in British Columbia, 59 in Alberta, four in Saskatchewan, six in Manitoba, 622 in Ontario, 939 in Quebec, three in Newfoundland & Labrador and nine in Nova Scotia.
- There are still 70 confirmed cases in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit region – the same as Monday. The breakdown is 11 in Cornwall, 16 in SD&G and 43 in Prescott-Russell. There are five people in hospitals, of which three are in ICU. The only statistic that changed Tuesday afternoon was the number of resolved cases – up one case to 31 total.
- The health unit is going to make an exemption for garden centers to allow curbside pickup, much like hardware stores are already doing. Read that story here.
- Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis says it will be two weeks before we can even think about looking at changing social distancing rules.
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit reported another six cases and one death in a long term care home, bringing the total Monday afternoon to 274 coronavirus cases and 38 deaths in the tri-counties. Nearly 60 per cent of all cases are in long term care (LTC) and retirement homes. There are currently five COVID-19 outbreaks at LTC facilities.
- The province is putting $11 million into support for low-income seniors and persons with disabilities during the coronavirus outbreak. It will double the Guaranteed Annual Income System (GAINS) and also help fund supports for meal delivery, medicines and other essentials. The GAINS payments will be $166 a month for singles and $332 for couples for six month for 194,000 eligible seniors.
- Air Canada is temporarily grounding all flights to the United States, starting Sunday (April 26). The suspension will stay in place until at least May 22.
- The federal government is providing $350 million to the charity sector, hit hard by a drop in donations during the pandemic. The money will flow through three organizations to the country’s 86,000 registered charities.
Have a story or news release related to COVID-19? Send it along for possible inclusion in a future digest on Cornwall Newswatch. Email editor@cornwallnewswatch.com. Please put “COVID-19 Digest” in the subject line.