Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Friday, October 9, 2020:
- There have been 56,742 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 797 (or 1.4 per cent) from the previous day. There are 48,308 people recovered from the virus while 2,992 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 4,261,111 of which 58,118 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 175,559. The country has 9,557 deaths from the virus – 245 in British Columbia, 283 in Alberta, 24 in Saskatchewan, 27 in Manitoba, 2,992 in Ontario, 5,915 in Quebec, two in New Brunswick, four in Newfoundland & Labrador and 65 in Nova Scotia.
- There were six more cases Thursday in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit region to bring the total to 316 confirmed positive cases. There are 86 active cases and 218 resolved. Two people are in hospital (EOHU has a website error that says three hospitalized). There have been 12 deaths to date and one active institutional outbreak in Embrun. Testing numbers increased by 661 to 66,804. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 211 cases (59 active), SD&G 68 cases (19 active) and Cornwall 36 cases (eight active).
- The Eastern Ontario Health Unit has added charts to its website showing case demographics, long term trends of confirmed COVID-19 cases as well as case summaries. It’s also removed its privacy filter and now shows the exact count for municipalities with fewer than five cases, such as North Stormont with three cases to date and East Hawkesbury with one.
- There was one new case added Thursday in the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit region to bring the regional total to 402 confirmed cases with seven active – two fewer than the previous day – and 343 recovered. The breakdown is: Leeds-Grenville East (three active), Leeds-Grenville Central (one active), Leeds-Grenville West (two active), Lanark County West (one active) and Lanark County East (zero active). Fifty-two people have died during the coronavirus crisis.
- Both Premier Doug Ford and Eastern Ontario medical officers of health say you should stick to the people you live with during Thanksgiving. Social circles have been paused and health experts say you should only be with people under your own roof for the holiday.
- Health Canada’s chief medical adviser says it will be months – not weeks – before any approval for a COVID-19 vaccine becomes a reality. Ottawa has signed deals with vaccine developers to have a supply of millions of doses once they are approved.
- Quebec had 1,078 new cases on Thursday and nine more deaths. The premier says the situation is critical and is advising Quebecers not to have Thanksgiving family gatherings this weekend. Several areas between Montreal and Quebec City, including Trois-Rivieres, are being moved into the so-called “red” pandemic alert level, meaning bars and restaurants will have to close their indoor dining areas.
- A second Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team is dealing with an outbreak as eight members of the Sherbrooke Phoenix have tested positive. This comes a day after the Blainville-Broisbriand Armada had 18 cases.
- Non-essential day trips to a couple of Quebec border communities with New Brunswick have been halted as New Brunswick deals with a rise in infections. New Brunswickers are now required to wear masks in all public spaces as of midnight this morning (Friday). The province is also dealing with an outbreak at a nursing home in Moncton.
- Calling its contact tracing insufficient, the Washington D.C. Department of Health is asking anyone who attended the White House event on Sept. 26 for the introduction of the Supreme Court nominee to get medical advice and a COVID-19 test. Many attendees, including U.S. President Donald Trump and several senior staff, have tested positive.
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.