Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Saturday, July 25, 2020:
- There have been 38,405 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 195 (or 0.5 per cent) from the previous day. There are 34,100 people recovered from the virus while 2,758 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 1,988,909 of which 25,550 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 113,206. The country has 8,881 deaths from the virus – 191 in British Columbia, 178 in Alberta, 16 in Saskatchewan, seven in Manitoba, 2,758 in Ontario, 5,663 in Quebec, two in New Brunswick, three in Newfoundland & Labrador and 63 in Nova Scotia.
- The Eastern Ontario Health Unit region added another case in SD&G to bring the regional total to 174 confirmed cases. The number of resolved cases increased by one to 152. There are two people in hospital. There have been 11 deaths to date. Testing increased by 659 to 26,409. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 115 cases (100 resolved + 11 deaths), SD&G 34 cases (28 resolved) and Cornwall 25 cases (24 resolved).
- A new active case has been reported in the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit region. The case is in Lanark East. The number of cases is now 356 with 52 deaths and 303 recoveries.
- Facing eight active cases in the community – the most recent cases connected to a boat ride this month – Akwesasne’s Emergency Operations Center renewed some restrictions Friday. The community curfew has been reduced by one hour to 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. except for essential workers. Social gatherings are also limited to 25 people, all practicing social distancing. There are also restrictions on business hours and off-premise alcohol sales have to stop at 8 p.m. The St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne jointly announced Thursday there were 12 cases in the territory, eight of which are active.
- St. Lawrence County (which includes Massena, Potsdam and Canton) added another case Friday to bring the county total to 251 cases. Of those, 12 are active cases and 235 have recovered. Four people are in hospital and four people have died. Of the 250 cases to date, 38 have been in Massena, 25 in Potsdam and 23 in Canton. The latest cluster of cases this week have been popping up in the Town of Fowler – a 45 minute drive south of Ogdensburg, N.Y.
- Premier Doug Ford was in Markham to announce operational funding for the York University Markham Center Campus. The municipalities and partners are raising the $275 million capital and equipment costs. Ford says building the campus will create over 2,000 construction jobs and pump $350 million into the economy. It should be built by the fall of 2023. Markham, York Region and six other regions entered Stage 3 on Friday.
- During his announcement, Ford says he will have news to share on Wednesday about the final areas of Ontario entering Stage 3. Peel, Toronto and Windsor-Essex are still at Stage 2.
- The Ford government is consulting lawyers to see if farm workers could be forced to take COVID-19 tests. At first resistant to the idea, Ford says he now supports it given the problems in Windsor-Essex with a migrant farm worker population.
- Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam doubled down on a warning to young Canadians ahead of the weekend to stop the spread of COVID-19. The deputy chief public health officer delivered a similar warning last week. In the past two weeks, the 20 to 39 year old demographic has accounted for the biggest new caseload in the country.
- The Toronto Blue Jays will play their home games at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, N.Y. The federal government had denied the Major League Baseball team’s plan to play at Rogers Center for fear of coronavirus spread as players crossed the border.
- The Montreal Grand Prix has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. It had been postponed from June 14 but now the F1 race is scrubbed altogether.
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.