
Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Thursday, August 27, 2020:
- There have been 41,695 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 88 (or 0.2 per cent) from the previous day. There are 37,863 people recovered from the virus while 2,802 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 2,823,721 of which 20,716 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 126,417. The country has 9,094 deaths from the virus – 203 in British Columbia, 235 in Alberta, 24 in Saskatchewan, 13 in Manitoba, 2,802 in Ontario, 5,747 in Quebec, two in New Brunswick, three in Newfoundland & Labrador and 65 in Nova Scotia.
- The Eastern Ontario Health Unit region added two more cases on Wednesday – the same number in as many days – to bring the total confirmed cases to 191. The number of resolved cases remains at 168. There are no people in hospital and there are 11 deaths to date. Testing numbers did not change – still at 37,707. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 125 cases (107 resolved + 11 deaths), SD&G 39 cases (36 resolved) and Cornwall 27 cases (25 resolved).
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit area remained at 361 confirmed cases on Wednesday, as did deaths and recoveries at 52 and 304.
- The breakdown of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s $2 billion back-to-school funding will see Ontario get $381 million for its first of two installments. It will put $200 million to its reopening plan and $70 million for school transportation. The federal government is making the funding from the Safe Return to Class Fund “flexible” to allow each province and territory to use it where it’s needed most. First Nations are also getting $112 million for safe return to classrooms on reserves.
- The Mohawk Council of Akwesasne has eased one of its travelling restrictions. On Tuesday, it expanded the travelling radius for community members to 160 kilometers (100 miles) from the reserve, excluding the City of Montreal. Previously it was 80 kilometers (50 miles) under the Akwesasne Emergency Curfew Law. Anyone who travels outside the radius or to Montreal for non-essential reasons has to quarantine for 14 days when they return.
- The parliamentary budget office says the COVID-19 one-time payment for people with disabilities to cover additional costs related to the pandemic will cost the federal government $792 million. The payments up to $600 will go to roughly 1.7 million Canadians.
- The mayor of Moscow is inviting 40,000 residents to be participants in trials of the potential COVID-19 vaccine that Russia approved for use this month.
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.