Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Sunday, April 12, 2020:
- There have been 6,648 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 411 cases (or 6.6 per cent) from the previous day. There are 2,858 people recovered from the virus while 253 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 96,321 of which 1,517 have pending results.
- Canada’s confirmed and presumptive COVID-19 case total is 23,318. The country has 653 COVID-19 related deaths – 58 in British Columbia, 40 in Alberta, four in Saskatchewan, four in Manitoba, 253 in Ontario, 289 in Quebec, three in Newfoundland & Labrador and two in Nova Scotia.
- Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit reported another 37 confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, bringing the regional total to 187. There were another six deaths, bringing that total to 15.
- While the risk to the public is low, the health unit says an employee at the Tincap Restaurant on County Road 29 tested positive for coronavirus. People who ordered take-out from the end of March until April 4 would have met the person in question. “From our assessment…people who picked up their food would have spent a very short time interacting with employees at the take-out-counter,” the health unit said. Employees had been wearing masks for “much of this time period.”
- The province had extended its emergency order another two weeks until April 23. The order under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act closes non-essential workplaces, bars, restaurants (except for pick-up and take out) and places limits on social gatherings.
- The Ontario government says it has received more than 7,500 emergency supply submissions which have resulted in $90 million in purchases of equipment and supplies like gloves, masks, face shields and hand sanitizer.
- Parliament had a special meeting on Saturday where it passed the $73 billion wage subsidy package for businesses. The government will cover 75 per cent of an employee’s first $58,700 of their salary, up to $847 per week up to 12 weeks.
- Quebec Premier Francois Legault says a police investigation is underway after 31 elderly residents died at a private long term care home in Dorval since the middle of March. The home also had at least five victims who had COVID-19. Legault believes there was negligence on the part of management.
- Even the animals need help during the coronavirus outbreak. The Saunders Country Critters Zoo and Sanctuary has reportedly been hit hard by closures from the pandemic, a place popular for summer trips and educational camps. A GoFundMe page has been set up for the facility on County Road 44 in Oxford Station that is a safe haven for abused and neglected animals. As of Saturday night, just over $6,000 had been raised toward the $20,000 goal.
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.