Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Saturday, October 17, 2020:
- There have been 62,908 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 712 (or 1.1 per cent) from the previous day. There are 54,004 people recovered from the virus while 3,031 people have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 4,572,841 of which 37,155 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 194,106. The country has 9,722 deaths from the virus – 251 in British Columbia, 288 in Alberta, 25 in Saskatchewan, 38 in Manitoba, 3,031 in Ontario, 6,018 in Quebec, two in New Brunswick, four in Newfoundland & Labrador and 65 in Nova Scotia.
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit remained at 412 confirmed cases on Friday, nine of which are active and 351 recovered. The breakdown is: Leeds-Grenville East (two active), Leeds-Grenville Central (two active), Leeds-Grenville West (two active), Lanark County West (two active) and Lanark County East (one active). There have been 52 deaths to date.
- Another eight cases were reported in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit region Friday, bringing the total to 409 confirmed cases. Of those, 134 are active cases and 262 are resolved. There are five people in hospital, three more than the previous day. There have been 12 deaths to date and five institutional outbreaks, two more than Thursday. Testing increased by 975 to 69,560. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 286 cases (107 active), SD&G 83 cases (20 active) and Cornwall 40 cases (seven active).
- Premier Doug Ford announced that York Region will join Toronto, Peel and Ottawa with the modified Stage 2 restrictions in place, starting Monday.
- A student at the Brockville campus of St. Lawrence College has tested positive for COVID-19. The college is working with the health unit and people who have been in close contact with the affected person will be contacted by the health unit directly.
- The national COVID-19 count has climbed roughly 2,300 new cases per day over the past week and an average of 20 people are dying daily. That’s according Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, who says national restrictions may be needed if the case trend continues to rise.
- New gathering restrictions and closures in Winnipeg have some business groups worried the move on Monday may put some establishments out of business. The province’s chief public health officer says the changes, which are expected to last two weeks, are needed to get case counts under control in the capital.
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.