Newswatch COVID-19 Digest: Thursday August 26, 2021

Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Thursday, August 26, 2021:

  • There have been 561,297 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 660 cases from the previous day (398 unvaccinated, 74 partially, 135 fully vaccinated, 53 unknown). There have been 546,685 people recovered from the virus while 9,472 have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 17,081,088 of which 13,055 have pending results.
  • Canada’s coronavirus case total is 1,479,309. The country has 26,855 deaths from the virus – eight in the Yukon, one in the Northwest Territories, four in Nunavut, 1,802 in British Columbia, 2,356 in Alberta, 592 in Saskatchewan, 1,189 in Manitoba, 9,472 in Ontario, 11,284 in Quebec, 46 in New Brunswick, seven in Newfoundland & Labrador and 94 in Nova Scotia.
  • The Eastern Ontario Health Unit area added six cases Wednesday – three in Prescott-Russell, one in SD&G and two in Cornwall – to bring the regional total to 4,805 confirmed cases, of which 20 are active (three more than Tuesday) and 4,673 are resolved (three more than Tuesday). The number of deaths is at 112. There is one person in hospital in the ICU. There are no institutional outbreaks. Testing increased 196 to 150,191. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 2,008 cases (10 active), SD&G 1,139 cases (three active), Cornwall 1,298 cases (four active) and Akwesasne (ON/QC) 360 cases (three active).
  • The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit area was unchanged Wednesday with a regional total of 1,803 confirmed cases, of which eight are active (one fewer than Tuesday) and 1,735 are recovered (one more than Tuesday). 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 (four 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 20,566,473 (+40,254, last update Aug. 25); EOHU 289,308 (last update Aug. 25, +932 from previous update Aug. 24); 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).
  • A Public Health Ontario report says a vaccination rate of at least 90 per cent is needed to reach so-called herd immunity due to the highly transmissible Delta variant.
  • Across the river in St. Lawrence County (which includes Massena, Potsdam and Canton), three more people were hospitalized as the region added 52 new cases. There are now 259 active cases with most in Ogdensburg (51) and Oswegatchie (southwest of Ogdensburg, 24), Potsdam (23) and Massena (21). The number of hospitalized is 17, up from 14 on Monday. The number of deaths remains at 97. The county has had just over 8,200 confirmed cases to date. A little more than half of the county’s 111,944 residents are vaccinated.
  • The Northwest Territories medical officer of health says masks will be mandatory in all indoor public spaces as of this morning (Thursday) as the Delta variant spreads rapidly. The territory has more than 200 active cases and recorded its first death this week since the pandemic started.
  • The new governor of New York State says the state has about 12,000 more deaths than former Governor Andrew Cuomo told the public. The office of Kathy Hochul says, based on death certificate data submitted to the CDC, there are 55,400 fatalities.
  • Yukon Premier Sandy Silver says the civil state of emergency over the coronavirus pandemic is to be lifted as of midnight this morning (Thursday). Preventative measures like masking are still considered helpful but will not be mandated. The Yukon will go to a more regional approach to deal with outbreaks.
  • While Manitoba and British Columbia have enacted mask mandates in all indoor public spaces, Alberta and Saskatchewan have no plans to do the same.
  • Sunwing will fly again out of Ottawa to the Caribbean and Mexico starting in November. It had halted flights to sunny destinations in January at the federal government’s request.

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.