Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Friday, August 6, 2021:
- There have been 551,338 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 213 cases from the previous day. There have been 540,258 people recovered from the virus while 9,374 have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 16,648,462 of which 8,669 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 1,436,182. The country has 26,637 deaths from the virus – eight in the Yukon, four in Nunavut, 1,772 in British Columbia, 2,329 in Alberta, 581 in Saskatchewan, 1,183 in Manitoba, 9,374 in Ontario, 11,240 in Quebec, 46 in New Brunswick, seven in Newfoundland & Labrador and 93 in Nova Scotia.
- The Eastern Ontario Health Unit added one case Thursday in Prescott-Russell to bring the regional total to 4,750 cases, of which five are active (one more than Wednesday) and 4,634 are resolved (no change from Wednesday). The have been 111 deaths to date. There is no one in hospital. There are no active institutional outbreaks. Testing increased 148 to 147,584. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 1,990 cases (five active), SD&G 1,124 cases (zero active), Cornwall 1,277 cases (zero active) and Akwesasne (ON/QC) 359 cases (zero active).
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit was unchanged Thursday with a regional total of 1,769 cases, of which two are active (no change) and 1,707 are recovered (no change). There are 60 deaths to date. There is no one in hospital. There are no active institutional outbreaks. The community case breakdown is: Lanark County East 388 cases (two active), Lanark County West 400 cases (zero active), Leeds-Grenville Central 208 cases (zero active), Leeds-Grenville East 349 cases (zero active) and Leeds-Grenville West 202 cases (zero active).
- Vaccines: Ontario 19,710,224 (+58,213, last update Aug. 5); EOHU 273,727 (last update Aug. 5, +2,246 from previous update Aug. 4); LGL 136,501 individuals living in LGL with first doses, 118,886 with second doses (last update Aug. 3, +2,452 first doses, +15,866 second doses since previous update July 20).
- Chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam says Canada is monitoring breakthrough infections with fully vaccinated people. That information will be used to decide whether booster shots may be needed in the future. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau won’t say whether booster shots will be delayed until other areas of the world get access to vaccines.
- Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath has changed her tune on a mandatory vaccine policy. She initially told CBC that charter rights should come before a policy. Now, she says she made a mistake and fully supports mandatory vaccination of health care and education workers. Premier Doug Ford won’t mandate vaccines saying he thinks it’s a constitutional right to refuse a shot.
- Alberta’s chief medical health officer is defending the decision to lift all COVID-19 restrictions. Dr. Deena Hinshaw understands people are concerned but says the timing is right. In less than two weeks, people infected won’t be required to quarantine.
- The top doctor for B.C. says a surge in COVID-19 cases in her province is fueled by people in their 20s and 30s who are unvaccinated or have only one dose of vaccine.
- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is confident people can safely vote in a federal election. Trudeau is widely expected to take steps this month to call an election as a possible fourth wave is starting to gather steam.
- With a surge in the Delta variant, Amazon has pushed back its date for employees to return to the office to January 2022. The move affects roughly 60,000 workers in Washington state and tens of thousands of corporate employees around the world.
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