Newswatch COVID-19 Digest: Friday September 11, 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 Friday, September 11, 2020:

  • There have been 43,855 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 170 (or 0.4 per cent) from the previous day. There are 39,474 people recovered from the virus while 2,814 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 3,213,336 of which 25,850 have pending results.
  • Canada’s coronavirus case total is 134,924. The country has 9,163 deaths from the virus – 213 in British Columbia, 253 in Alberta, 24 in Saskatchewan, 16 in Manitoba, 2,814 in Ontario, 5,773 in Quebec, two in New Brunswick, three in Newfoundland & Labrador and 65 in Nova Scotia.
  • Another case in North Glengarry was added Thursday to bring the total to 206 confirmed positive cases in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit area. Of those, 20 are active and 174 are resolved. There are no people in hospital and there are 12 deaths to date. Testing increased by 707 to 44,883. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 133 cases (13 active), SD&G 45 cases (six active) and Cornwall 28 cases (one active).
  • The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit region saw no changes in COVID-19 stats on Thursday. There are 366 lab-confirmed cases, of which 313 have recovered. There have been 52 deaths to date.
  • Premier Doug Ford says he’s nervous about the idea of children going door-to-door for Halloween this year. He would prefer parents not take their kids out trick-or-treating but will talk about it with health experts because a lot can change between now and Oct. 31.
  • Parliament is supposed to resume in less than two weeks but how it will operate with the COVID-19 pandemic remains to be seen. A throne speech is planned and the Liberals are hoping they can come to some sort of consensus on limiting the number of MP’s in the Commons.
  • People who don’t wear a mask while in indoor public spaces in Quebec will face a fine starting Saturday. Premier Francois Legault says most people are following the public health rules but others are putting people in danger.
  • A bar owners’ association spokesman in Quebec says the province banning karaoke indefinitely will cost establishments jobs and cause economic hardship. A night of getting up to the mic in Quebec City late last month led to dozens of cases of coronavirus.
  • The Bank of Canada governor says a slower rebound for women, youth and low-wage earners could be a threat to the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Tiff Macklem noted that it takes twice as long for people who have been permanently laid off to find a new job.

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.