Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Wednesday, October 14, 2020:
- There have been 60,692 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 746 (or 1.2 per cent) from the previous day (807 new cases on Thanksgiving Monday). There are 51,729 people recovered from the virus while 3,017 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 4,462,167 of which 24,420 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 186,881. The country has 9,654 deaths from the virus – 250 in British Columbia, 286 in Alberta, 25 in Saskatchewan, 35 in Manitoba, 3,017 in Ontario, 5,970 in Quebec, two in New Brunswick, four in Newfoundland & Labrador and 65 in Nova Scotia.
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit added five cases on Tuesday to bring the regional total to 407 confirmed cases, of which six are active and 349 recovered. The breakdown is: Leeds-Grenville East (one active), Leeds-Grenville Central (two active), Leeds-Grenville West (two active), Lanark County West (one active) and Lanark County East (zero active). There have been 52 deaths to date.
- The Eastern Ontario Health Unit added 20 new COVID-19 cases between Monday and Tuesday to bring the regional total to 360 confirmed positive cases. Of those, 105 are active cases and 243 are resolved. Most of the new cases are connected to outbreaks at nursing homes. There are two people in hospital, down from four on Monday. There have been 12 deaths to date and three active institutional outbreaks (Embrun, Hawkesbury and Alexandria). Testing increased by 552 to 67,974.
- The Ontario government is working on which nursing homes will receive support from the Red Cross. This comes as the second wave of COVID-19 takes hold. The federal government approved the organization to help at seven Ottawa long term care homes.
- Porter Airlines has pushed back its restart date to Dec. 15 from November because of flare ups of COVID-19 in some of the markets it serves.
- New public gathering restrictions have come into place in Saskatchewan. The maximum number of people allowed to gather in a private home will drop to 15 from 30, starting Friday.
- Alberta Health Services is moving to appointment only coronavirus testing, starting today. The province’s chief medical officer says it will make testing quicker and reduce lineups.
- Canada’s chief public health officer says hockey sticks and pool noodles may come into play during Halloween. Dr. Theresa Tam suggested that a hockey stick could be used to hand out treats while the pool noodle can be used to remind people to stay two meters (six feet) apart. Tam says everyone can have a safe Halloween if public health guidelines are followed.
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.