Newswatch COVID-19 Digest: Thursday April 30, 2020

The Eastern Ontario Health Unit office at 1000 Pitt Street in Cornwall, Ont. (Newswatch Group/Bill Kingston, File)

Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Thursday, April 30, 2020:

  • There have been 15,728 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 347 cases (or 2.3 per cent) from the previous day. There are 9,612 people recovered from the virus while 996 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 264,594 of which 9,530 have pending results.
  • Canada’s coronavirus case total is 51,597. The country has 2,996 deaths from the virus – 109 in British Columbia, 87 in Alberta, six in Saskatchewan, six in Manitoba, 996 in Ontario, 1,761 in Quebec, three in Newfoundland & Labrador and 28 in Nova Scotia.
  • The Eastern Ontario Health Unit total number of confirmed cases is still 91. The health unit added a new statistic Wednesday, adding that the 91 cases include 11 cases in long term care homes. The breakdown is still 14 in Cornwall, 17 in SD&G and 60 in Prescott-Russell. There are three people in hospitals and two of those are in ICU (in Ottawa). There have been no deaths. The number of resolved cases rose by four on Wednesday to 49. There have been 2,042 tests performed in the EOHU region, 112 more than Tuesday.
  • The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties added another four cases for a total of 304 positive cases. The number of deaths remain at 40. In Leeds-Grenville, community cases are 21 in the central region (14 recovered), 12 in the west (eight recovered) and six in the east (four recovered). Those community numbers don’t include long term care home cases.
  • The City of Cornwall has passed a fast-track emergency loan program for local small businesses. The turnaround time from application period to handing out up to $5,000 per business to a $500,000 max is expected to be done in four weeks. Read more here.
  • A Statistics Canada report found nearly two-thirds of businesses surveyed say they would reopen or be back to normal within one month after coronavirus restrictions are lifted. The bad news – one-third said their revenues dropped by 40 per cent since the pandemic started in mid-March.
  • The federal government has passed $9 billion in support measures for students. Students who have had their post-secondary education or potential jobs derailed, get $1,250 a month from May to August while dependents or a disability will get $2,000 monthly (bumped up from $1,750 to make it equal to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit). It also includes support for students who volunteer in a sector needing help during COVID-19, giving them up to $5,000 to their fall tuition through the Canada Student Services Grant.
  • Akwesasne residents heading through the American border crossing will have less interaction during the coronavirus pandemic. A new protocol is in place that will have residents hold up their identification card in front of a newly-installed cameras, which will capture their information. “This is to keep everyone safe,” Grand Chief Abram Benedict said on CKON Tuesday.
  • An experimental drug in the U.S. is showing promise in the fight against COVID-19. It’s called remdesivir and was tried in a government study. It’s not approved for use yet anywhere in the world. Meantime, a German drug company has tried a potential vaccine called BNT162 on a dozen volunteers and will follow up with a 200 participant trial.
  • With no large social gatherings allowed, that’s meant no high school proms. St. Joseph’s Catholic Secondary School and Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School have both cancelled their end of school year celebrations.

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.