Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Sunday, October 18, 2020:
- There have been 63,713 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 805 (or 1.3 per cent) from the previous day. There are 54,686 people recovered from the virus while 3,041 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 4,617,563 of which 33,630 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 196,321. The country has 9,746 deaths from the virus – 251 in British Columbia, 288 in Alberta, 25 in Saskatchewan, 38 in Manitoba, 3,041 in Ontario, 6,032 in Quebec, two in New Brunswick, four in Newfoundland & Labrador and 65 in Nova Scotia.
- The Eastern Ontario Health Unit region stands at 409 confirmed cases, 134 active and 262 resolved. Five people are in hospital, one in ICU. There have been 12 deaths and five institutional outbreaks. Testing total is 69,560. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 286 cases (107 active), SD&G 83 cases (20 active) and Cornwall 40 cases (seven active).
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit stands at 412 confirmed cases, nine active and 351 recovered. The breakdown is: Leeds-Grenville East (two active), Leeds-Grenville Central (two active), Leeds-Grenville West (two active), Lanark County West (two active) and Lanark County East (one active). There have been 52 deaths to date.
- Players at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino may have been exposed to COVID-19 last weekend. The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe says a person at the casino tested positive for the virus. They had visited the casino on Saturday, Oct. 10 between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. The tribe says the risk is low but people who were there should self-monitor for symptoms. Franklin County now has four active cases.
- With York Region moving to a modified Stage 2 on Monday, the province has already added restrictions at nursing homes. Essential visitors, including caregivers, are the only visitors allowed at York Region long-term care homes, similar to Toronto, Peel and Ottawa.
- Government figures obtained by The Canadian Press show about 1.3 million people moved from the COVID-19 benefit over into Employment Insurance (EI) in the last three weeks after the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) wound down. The EI system normally sees about 246,000 claims in a month.
- Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says people need to keep their in-person contacts low and follow health measures. The country is closing in on 200,000 cases since the pandemic began in March.
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.