Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Friday, June 26, 2020:
- There have been 34,205 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 189 (or 0.6 per cent) from the previous day. There are 29,528 people recovered from the virus while 2,641 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 1,263,534 of which 24,607 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 102,622. The country has 8,504 deaths from the virus – 173 in British Columbia, 154 in Alberta, 13 in Saskatchewan, seven in Manitoba, 2,641 in Ontario, 5,448 in Quebec, two in New Brunswick, three in Newfoundland & Labrador and 63 in Nova Scotia.
- Testing in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit area went up by 317 on Thursday to 14,664 tests. The regional total of confirmed positives remains at 163 with 135 resolved. Two people in hospital, one in ICU and there have been 11 deaths to date. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 112 cases (95 resolved), SD&G 29 cases (24 resolved) and Cornwall 22 cases (16 resolved).
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit area stands at 352 confirmed cases and 52 deaths with 299 cases (99 per cent) resolved. There have been 53 community cases in Leeds-Grenville with no active cases.
- The City of Kingston has a second wave of COVID-19 on its hands, according to that region’s medical officer of health. Ten cases have been traced by the local health unit back to Binh’s Nail and Spa Salon that opened two weeks ago. Global News reports the salon didn’t keep records of clients, which made it hard for health unit contact tracing. The salon isn’t being fined because the medical officer of health says closing and the black mark on its reputation is penalty enough. But hundreds of people who’ve been to the salon have had to go for testing.
- Quebec is moving to open every sector of its economy, with the exception of large events and festivals. The province, which has been having steady declines in cases, has also stopped providing daily COVID-19 case numbers, opting for a weekly report.
- Premier Doug Ford doesn’t want the Canada-U.S. border opened after July 21 because there are still spikes in American cases in various states. The non-essential travel ban between the two countries was extended an extra month and is set to expire on July 21.
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the launch of the Canada Student Service Grant to help students facing challenges this summer. It will help with their fall tuition but giving a top-up to $5,000 based on their volunteer hours. The grant program is part of a $9 billion investment package to help the economy ride through the pandemic.
- The City of Cornwall will open three outdoor pools (Mattice, St. Francis, Reg Campbell) on Monday. Public swimming will be limited to 45 minutes of every hour (15 minutes for disinfection time) 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. weekends, weather-dependent.
- Cornwall Tourism and SD&G Tourism have been given a total of $258,506 from the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario to help cover revenue shortfalls and help with tourism marketing. The tourism sector has been hit hard by the pandemic. Cornwall receives $180,142; SD&G $78,364.
- A Canadian Institute for Health Information study shows 81 per cent of Canadian deaths happened in long term care – roughly double the average of 16 other developed countries.
- U.S. officials estimate 20 million Americans have contracted coronavirus since the virus arrived – roughly 10 times the confirmed 2.3 million cases.
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.