Newswatch COVID-19 Digest: Wednesday August 25, 2021

Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Wednesday, August 25, 2021:

  • There have been 560,637 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 486 cases from the previous day (279 unvaccinated, 41 partially, 114 fully vaccinated, 52 unknown). There have been 546,113 people recovered from the virus while 9,471 have died (16 of the 18 cases were old cases as part of data clean-up). The number of Ontario people tested is 17,054,682 of which 11,370 have pending results.
  • Canada’s coronavirus case total is 1,476,149. The country has 26,849 deaths from the virus – eight in the Yukon, one in the Northwest Territories, four in Nunavut, 1,801 in British Columbia, 2,355 in Alberta, 592 in Saskatchewan, 1,188 in Manitoba, 9,471 in Ontario, 11,283 in Quebec, 46 in New Brunswick, seven in Newfoundland & Labrador and 93 in Nova Scotia.
  • The Eastern Ontario Health Unit area added two cases Tuesday – one each in Prescott-Russell and Cornwall – to bring the regional total to 4,799 confirmed cases, of which 17 are active (one more than Monday) and 4,670 are resolved (four more than Monday). The number of deaths is at 112. There is one person in hospital in the ICU. There are no institutional outbreaks. Testing increased 139 to 149,995. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 2,005 cases (nine active), SD&G 1,138 cases (two active), Cornwall 1,296 cases (three active) and Akwesasne (ON/QC) 360 cases (three active).
  • The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit area added one case Tuesday to bring the regional total to 1,803 confirmed cases, of which nine are active (seven fewer than Monday) and 1,734 are recovered (eight more than Monday). 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 (zero active), Lanark County West 414 cases (five active), Leeds-Grenville Central 213 cases (two active), Leeds-Grenville East 356 cases (two active), Leeds-Grenville West 205 cases (zero active) and Unknown 19 cases (zero active).
  • Vaccines: Ontario 20,526,219 (+36,655, last update Aug. 24); EOHU 288,376 (last update Aug. 24, +517 from previous update Aug. 23); LGL 139,099 individuals living in LGL with first doses, 127,377 with second doses (last update Aug. 17, +1,325 first doses, +4,335 second doses since previous update Aug. 10).
  • Ontario has launched a pilot project to offer some students and staff at select high schools COVID-19 take-home test kits. The pilot is planned for Sept. 7 to Oct. 29 at some secondary schools in the 13 public health unit areas.
  • The smartphone app for Quebec’s vaccine passport system is expected to be available today (Wednesday) according to Quebec’s health minister. The actual system goes into effect next week. People visiting non-essential services, like bars and restaurants, will be required to show proof of vaccination.
  • A lab error lead to over 200 false positive cases of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan. The CEO of the Saskatchewan Health Authority says everyone is being retested. The issue was an instrument error at the lab that spit out 255 invalid test results – 206 were proven false positives.
  • Masking in all indoor public spaces is back in British Columbia. The order is also extended to students in Grade 4 and up as the school year is about to begin soon. The order will be reviewed in the middle of October once the province’s proof-of-vaccination card system is in place.
  • The Northwest Territories has recorded its first COVID-19 related death since the pandemic began. A resident died from the virus late Monday night. The NWT is dealing with the worst outbreak since the pandemic began with 219 active cases.

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.