Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Tuesday, March 16, 2021:
- There have been 319,374 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 1,268 (or 0.4 per cent) from the previous day. There are 299,684 people recovered from the virus while 7,162 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 11,789,084 of which 10,954 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 913,047. The country has 22,495 deaths from the virus – one in the Yukon, one in Nunavut, 1,407 in British Columbia, 1,949 in Alberta, 407 in Saskatchewan, 917 in Manitoba, 7,162 in Ontario, 10,550 in Quebec, 30 in New Brunswick, six in Newfoundland & Labrador and 65 in Nova Scotia.
- The Eastern Ontario Health Unit area added 35 cases over the weekend to bring the regional total of 2,988 cases, of which 167 are active (19 more than Friday) and 2,736 are resolved (16 more than Friday). The new cases were: six in Prescott-Russell, six in SD&G, 21 in Cornwall and two in Akwesasne. There are 69 deaths to date (no change). Fifteen people are in hospital (six more than Friday) and three in the ICU (three more than Friday). There are eight active institutional outbreaks. Testing increased by 500 to 115,700. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 1,245 cases (28 active), SD&G 676 cases (46 active), Cornwall 819 cases (87 active) and Akwesasne (ON/QC) 248 cases (six active).
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit added 36 cases over the weekend to bring the regional total to 996 confirmed cases, of which 74 are active (six more than Friday) and 868 are recovered (30 more than Friday). There are 54 deaths to date. One person is in hospital (one more than Friday). There is one active institutional outbreak (Perth Community Care). The community case breakdown is: Lanark County East 223 cases (31 active), Lanark County West 209 cases (32 active), Leeds-Grenville Central 101 cases (four active), Leeds-Grenville East 130 cases (two active) and Leeds-Grenville West 128 cases (five active).
- Vaccines: Ontario 1,191,553 (+33,198, updated daily); EOHU 15,324 (last update March 15, +915 from previous update March 12); LGL 10,251 individuals with at least 1 shot (last update March 15, +3,526 from previous update March 8).
- EOHU Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis shared statistics Monday showing the percentage of COVID-19 variants of concern have risen 15 per cent in the past three weeks. Read that story by clicking here.
- Nearly 100,000 Ontarians aged 80 and older have already booked their COVID-19 vaccine appointments in the first day. The internet and phone registration opened at 8 a.m. Monday and had some technical issues out of the gate.
- The Ontario Ministry of Labour is looking into that COVID-19 outbreak at a Brampton Amazon warehouse. All the employees are isolating for two weeks. Amazon is planning to appeal the order to close.
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe. That’s as more overseas countries have paused use of the vaccine over concerns about blood clots. Trudeau says Canada’s shipment was not the same as the batch causing problems.
- Trudeau suggests the Canada-U.S. border won’t be reopening any time soon. He says he knows Canadians are looking forward to cross-border travel again but that’s a discussion for another day.
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.