Newswatch COVID-19 Digest: Tuesday January 25, 2022

Here are the latest local, regional and national coronavirus headlines (COVID-19) for Tuesday, January 25, 2022:

  • Public Health Ontario reported 37 new deaths on Monday, bringing the total to 11,004. There are 3,861 people in hospital (~10 per cent of hospitals not reporting weekend bed census), 615 in ICU (up 11 from the previous day) and 372 on a ventilator (down three from the previous day). Although PHO reported 4,790 new cases Monday, the statistic is likely lower than the number of infections given the limited testing in Ontario. The total case count is 1,001455 cases.
  • Canada’s coronavirus case total (as of 9 a.m. Jan. 24) is 2,921,385. The country has 32,597 deaths from the virus – 16 in the Yukon, 14 in the Northwest Territories, five in Nunavut, 2,529 in British Columbia, 3,429 in Alberta, 972 in Saskatchewan, 1,492 in Manitoba, 10,968 in Ontario, 12,799 in Quebec, 209 in New Brunswick, 30 in Newfoundland & Labrador and 128 in Nova Scotia.
  • The Eastern Ontario Health Unit had 35 people in hospital (one fewer than Friday) with seven in the ICU (two fewer than Friday). The number of deaths to date is 149 (no change from Friday). There are 41 institutional outbreaks (one more than Friday). Positivity from limited testing in high-risk populations is 21.3 per cent (up 1 per cent). The total active case count is 3,175 (down 29 from Friday). The health unit notes that with testing limited to high-risk individuals the number of cases in the region are likely much higher than reported. Public Health Ontario says the cumulative case total for the region as of Monday is 12,016.
  • The Akwesasne health department reported five new cases Monday: 758 cases, nine active, 12 deaths to date.
  • The southern portion of Akwesasne reported 41 new cases Monday. But the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe says many of the new cases have already completed their five day isolation, leaving just 27 active cases in the territory. There is no one in hospital and there have been six deaths to date.
  • In its Monday report, the Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit has 22 people in hospital (no change from Friday), six in the ICU (one fewer than Friday) and one on a ventilator (one fewer than Friday). The number of deaths to date is 73 (no change from Friday). There were 146 cases added since Friday but due to limited testing, the number of cases locally is likely higher than what is being reported. Local case numbers are updated Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Public Health Ontario says the cumulative case count for the region as of Monday is 5,283. There are 18 lab-confirmed outbreaks in congregate care, communal living and other facilities (one fewer than Friday). A partial list of active institutional outbreaks.
  • Vaccines: Ontario 30,100,272 (+43,979, last update Jan. 24); EOHU 433,897 (last update Jan. 24, +5,692 from previous update Jan. 18); LGL 160,298 individuals living in LGL with first doses, 151,149 with second doses, 84,488 with third doses. (last update Jan. 16, +680 first doses, +631 second doses, +12,012 third doses since previous update Jan. 9).
  • Across the river in St. Lawrence County, there were 455 newly reported cases Monday, bringing the total to 23,478. There are 1,220 active cases in the county with most in Massena (178), Potsdam (129), Ogdensburg (127) and Canton (107). There are 27 people in hospital and 165 people have died since the pandemic began. Just over 59 per cent of the nearly 112,000 eligible county residents are vaccinated. The positivity rate is 16.6 per cent.
  • The Eastern Ontario Health Unit will hold school-based walk-in vaccination clinics at a half dozen schools across the region over the next three weekends. They will be open to local residents five years old and older. Two are in SD&G – Jan. 29 at Seaway District High School in Iroquois and Feb. 6 at Char-Lan District High School in Williamstown. In Cornwall – St. Lawrence Secondary School on Feb. 12.
  • A trucking convoy is travelling across Canada to protest vaccine mandates. The group of truckers, called the Freedom Convoy, is expected to arrive in Ottawa on the weekend after leaving Vancouver on Sunday.
  • The World Health Organization is warning that conditions are ideal for another variant of concern to start up. The WHO adds it’s dangerous to assume Omicron is the final one.
  • The pandemic has had a toll on life expectancy. The numbers from Statistics Canada show life expectancy was 81.7 years for those born in 2020 compared to 82.3 the year before – a drop of more than half a year. It’s the largest decline ever since records started in 1921.

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