Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Tuesday, February 9, 2021:
- There have been 279,472 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 1,265 (or 0.5 per cent) from the previous day. There are 258,603 people recovered from the virus while 6,538 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 10,054,325 of which 10,693 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 808,120. The country has 20,835 deaths from the virus – one in the Yukon, one in Nunavut, 1,259 in British Columbia, 1,710 in Alberta, 341 in Saskatchewan, 850 in Manitoba, 6,538 in Ontario, 10,046 in Quebec, 20 in New Brunswick, four in Newfoundland & Labrador and 65 in Nova Scotia.
- Three people died over the weekend from COVID-19 in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit area, bringing the total number of lives lost to 63 since the pandemic began. Two of the deaths were at Woodland Villa in Long Sault and the other at Lancaster Long Term Care – both facilities are in outbreak. The EOHU also added 13 cases to bring the regional total to 2,594 confirmed cases on Monday. There were six in Prescott-Russell, four in SD&G and three in Cornwall. Of all cases, 185 are active (34 fewer than Friday) and 2,346 are resolved (44 more than Friday). Twenty-three people are in hospital (no change). There are 12 active institutional outbreaks (no change). Testing was up 421 to 104,343. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 1,163 cases (44 active), SD&G 575 cases (59 active), Cornwall 689 cases (66 active) and Akwesasne (ON/QC) 167 cases (16 active).
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit added four cases on Monday to bring the regional total to 830 confirmed cases, of which 12 are active (12 fewer than Friday) and 764 are recovered (16 more than Friday). Fifty-four people have died to date. There is one person in hospital in ICU on a ventilator. There is one active institutional outbreak (Rosebridge Manor). The community case breakdown is: Lanark County East 147 cases (three active), Lanark County West 150 cases (three active), Leeds-Grenville Central 93 cases (five active), Leeds-Grenville East 120 cases (zero active) and Leeds-Grenville West 119 cases (one active).
- After a week without any Moderna vaccine, the LGL District Health Unit says it will continue rollout of vaccines for long-term care residents only this week, while doing prep work for stage two, which is high risk health care workers. Planning for four locations for mass community clinics is in the works. Roughly 1,717 people have received a shot, either through Kingston or Ottawa clinics or the health unit’s mobile clinics.
- Stay-at-home orders will continue until Tuesday, Feb. 16 for the Eastern Ontario and Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Units as well as 26 other public health units. The province announced Monday that three health units in the Belleville, Kingston and Renfrew areas will be moving to the colour-coded system in the green-prevent level on Wednesday (Feb. 10) and won’t be part of the stay-at-home order. The EOHU and the LGLDHU won’t move to the colour-coded system until Feb. 16.
- The Ontario government’s state of emergency is expiring at the end of today (Tuesday) as the province gradually heads back to the colour-coded system. Given the problem with fast-spreading virus variants, the province has introduced an “emergency brake” allowing Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. David Williams in consultation with local medical officers of health to move regions immediately into grey-lockdown if needed. The province has been in a shutdown since Boxing Day.
- The province has modified part of the colour-coded response framework when it comes to the grey-lockdown zone. The government is now allowing “limited in-person shopping…limiting capacity to 25 per cent in most retail settings.” The rules are being tightening in other levels of the framework to require people to wear a face mask when indoors in a business, with “limited exceptions.”
- The idea of a remote learning option for students in Quebec has been quashed by a Quebec Superior Court judge. The judge ruled against a group of mothers saying they have the option to home school.
- Hotels that want to be part of the mandatory three-day quarantine for Canadians returning by international flights will have to meet a set up rules from the Public Health Agency of Canada. Those include being near one of the four major airports, no contact meal delivery and free Wi-Fi.
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