Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Sunday, May 30, 2021:
- There have been 529,510 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 1,057 cases from the previous day. There have been 506,361 people recovered from the virus while 8,726 have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 15,177,862 of which 14,678 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case total is 1,376,734. The country has 25,478 deaths from the virus – two in the Yukon, four in Nunavut, 1,692 in British Columbia, 2,214 in Alberta, 537 in Saskatchewan, 1,045 in Manitoba, 8,726 in Ontario, 11,125 in Quebec, 43 in New Brunswick, six in Newfoundland & Labrador and 84 in Nova Scotia.
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit area stands at 1,745 confirmed cases, of which 28 are active and 1,657 are recovered. There are 60 deaths to date. One person is in hospital. There are no active institutional outbreaks. The community case breakdown is: Lanark County East 382 cases (six active), Lanark County West 393 cases (two active), Leeds-Grenville Central 207 cases (five active), Leeds-Grenville East 345 cases (12 active) and Leeds-Grenville West 196 cases (three active). (The health unit doesn’t update statistics on weekends)
- The Eastern Ontario Health Unit area stands at 4,786 confirmed cases, of which 129 are active and 4,554 are resolved. The number of deaths is 103. There are six people in hospital with three in the ICU. There are zero active institutional outbreaks. Testing is at 139,463. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 2,014 cases (68 active), SD&G 1,140 cases (36 active), Cornwall 1,282 cases (22 active) and Akwesasne (ON/QC) 350 cases (three active). (The health unit doesn’t update statistics on weekends)
- Vaccines: Ontario 8,839,445 (+148,972, last update May 29); EOHU 106,049 (last update May 28, +3,215 from previous update May 27); LGL 65,686 individuals with at least 1 shot (last update May 25, +7,850 from previous update May 17).
- Health Canada has given permission for the Ontario government to extend the expiry date by one month on some doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. It came after a review of vaccine stability data. Doses that were to expire Monday (May 31) will be good until July 1.
- The Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table believes schools can reopen safely on a regional basis. In a response to Premier Doug Ford, the advisory group says that any cases resulting from a month of in-class learning would be small.
- Montreal police say it was a peaceful evening Friday as the province lifted its curfew and opened restaurants to outside dining. But in Quebec City, violence happened at a large park, which included a reported stabbing.
- Even as infection rates, hospitalizations and deaths are dropping across Europe, the so-called Indian variant is growing in Britain. France and Germany have put mandatory quarantine measures in place for British visitors. The World Health Organization is warning that the entire global COVID-19 situation is fragile and volatile and that Europe isn’t out of the woods.
- A new variant of concern has popped up in Vietnam – a hybrid of the variants first found in India and Britain. Health officials believe it might be the source of a recent surge of cases in the country.
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.