Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Saturday, April 11, 2020:
- There have been 6,237 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 478 cases (or 8.3 per cent) from the previous day. There are 2,574 people recovered from the virus while 222 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 92,673 of which 1,598 have pending results.
- Canada’s confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 case total is 21,243. The country has 531 COVID-19 related deaths – 50 in British Columbia, 32 in Alberta, three in Saskatchewan, three in Manitoba, 222 in Ontario, 216 in Quebec, three in Newfoundland & Labrador and two in Nova Scotia.
- The counties of Leeds, Grenville and Lanark added another 13 cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 150. There was also another death, bringing the total number of deaths to nine. The latest death was another case in long term care. A breakdown of local cases shows 40 per cent are in the community, 39 per cent are in long term care homes and 21 per cent are health care workers. There are a half dozen long term care homes with outbreaks in the region.
- It was the flu. The county says an outbreak at Maple View Lodge in Athens tested negative for COVID-19. Four residents had upper respiratory symptoms and were isolated as a precaution. The county received the final batch of tests on Thursday showing no COVID-19. The health unit says the tests did come back positive for Influenza A.
- Premier Doug Ford called for pro-acting testing of at-risk groups, front line health care and emergency workers, people in jail or prison, those in hospital, the homeless and other essential workers. Ontario expects to double the tests processed daily to 8,000 by April 15 and 14,000 by April 29.
- The province has blocked temporarily closed child care centers from collecting payments from parents. The government invoked the emergency order Friday that also ensures parents won’t lose their child care space. It doesn’t apply to child care centers providing care to front line and essential workers.
- The RCMP will be doing checks on people who are required to be under quarantine for 14 days after returning to Canada. Those not obeying the mandatory quarantine could face a fine up to $750,000 or jail for six months.
Have a story or news release related to COVID-19? Send it along for possible inclusion in a future digest on Brockville Newswatch. Email editor@brockvillenewswatch.com. Please put “COVID-19 Digest” in the subject line.