Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Thursday, October 29 2020:
- There have been 72,885 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 834 (or 1.2 per cent) from the previous day. There are 62,303 people recovered from the virus while 3,108 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 4,991,378 of which 33,906 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 225,586. The country has 10,032 deaths from the virus – 261 in British Columbia, 313 in Alberta, 25 in Saskatchewan, 61 in Manitoba, 3,108 in Ontario, 6,189 in Quebec, six in New Brunswick, four in Newfoundland & Labrador and 65 in Nova Scotia.
- The Eastern Ontario Health Unit added 10 cases Wednesday – two in the City of Cornwall and eight in Prescott-Russell – to bring the regional total to 571 confirmed cases. Another person died, bringing that total to 18. One more person has been hospitalized bringing the total to seven, of which two are in intensive care (ICU). Of all cases, 180 are active and 373 are resolved. With one resolved, there are now four active institutional outbreaks. Testing increased by 495 to 73,503. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 408 cases (129 active), SD&G 104 cases (32 active) and Cornwall 59 cases (19 active).
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit added one new case on Wednesday, bringing the regional total to 444 confirmed cases, of which 19 are active and 372 are recovered. The breakdown is: Leeds-Grenville East (two active), Leeds-Grenville Central (three active), Leeds-Grenville West (one active), Lanark County West (two active) and Lanark County East (10 active). The total number of deaths is 53.
- A person at Bridgewood Public School in Cornwall has tested positive. Read that story here.
- The Ontario government has put $1 billion toward the federal-provincial COVID-19 Resilience infrastructure stream. It will allow for projects in long-term care, education and municipalities. The stream is part of Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program, commonly known as ICIP.
- Premier Doug Ford says the COVID-19 numbers in Ontario are moving in the right direction and he will show that in the newest projections, which are being released later today (Thursday).
- Canada’s chief public health officer says long-term care deaths accounting for roughly 80 per cent of COVID-19 cases in the first wave of the pandemic earlier this year. Dr. Theresa Tam released her office’s annual report to Parliament on Wednesday.
- Saskatchewan is tightening rules on nightclubs in Saskatoon after a spike in cases in the city. Last call will be at 10 p.m. and the doors will close at 11 p.m., starting Friday.
- The chief public health officer for Manitoba is warning people not to hold Halloween parties. The province had 170 new cases on Wednesday and three more deaths, which officials believe is a fallout from Thanksgiving.
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.