Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Tuesday, August 25, 2020:
- There have been 41,507 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 105 (or 0.3 per cent) from the previous day. There are 37,673 people recovered from the virus while 2,798 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 2,781,748 of which 9,229 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 125,647. The country has 9,083 deaths from the virus – 203 in British Columbia, 234 in Alberta, 22 in Saskatchewan, 12 in Manitoba, 2,798 in Ontario, 5,744 in Quebec, two in New Brunswick, three in Newfoundland & Labrador and 65 in Nova Scotia.
- The Eastern Ontario Health Unit region added three cases on Monday – one each in Cornwall, SD&G and Prescott-Russell – to bring the total to 187 confirmed cases. The Prescott-Russell case is an asymptomatic employee at a retirement home in Alfred which also triggered an outbreak declaration. Asked by Cornwall Newswatch, Dr. Paul Roumeliotis says the Cornwall case is travel-related while the SD&G cases was contact with another previous positive case.
- Two more cases were resolved to bring the total to 168. There are no people in hospital and there are 11 deaths to date. Testing increased by 430 to 37,208. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 122 cases (107 resolved + 11 deaths), SD&G 39 cases (36 resolved) and Cornwall 26 cases (25 resolved).
- Roumeliotis told SD&G county council on Monday they will be changing the reporting of cases in the region to a break down by municipality. Read that story here.
- More details were shared Monday the last person from the region to leave hospital. Read that story here.
- There were four additional cases in the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit area reported Monday to bring the regional total to 361. The latest cases – all in eastern Leeds-Grenville – are all close contacts with a previous case reported on Aug. 20. The number of deaths and recoveries remained the same at 52 and 304.
- The City of Cornwall is expanding hours of service at city facilities. City hall is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the municipal offices on the second floor of the Cornwall Civic Complex are also open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- The Upper Canada District School Board says 80 per cent of families asked (18,054 elementary and high school students) will be going to school for learning this fall under COVID-19 precautions, as opposed to at-home learning. The enrollment confirmation is closer to 22,500. That’s according to a survey sent the families. The school board says 85 per cent of them completed the survey. Those who didn’t are assumed to be attending in person next month.
- Latin dance events in Montreal are the latest subject of contact tracing in that province. At least three people who were in several events have tested positive. People who have been there since July 31 are being asked to get tested. Indoor dancing is still forbidden due the high probability of COVID-19 transmission.
- A mandatory masking order is now in effect in Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Canadian emergency room visits dropped by 25 per cent in March during the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Canadian Institutes for Health Information. Those visits then dropped as much as 49 per cent by the end of March when most travel restrictions were in place and schools and daycares were shut down.
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.