Here are the latest local, regional and national headlines on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) for Friday, October 15, 2021:
- There have been 593,437 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across Ontario, an increase of 417 cases from the previous day (VAX: 228 unvaccinated, 16 partially vaccinated, 146 fully vaccinated, 27 unknown). There have been 579,608 people recovered from the virus while 9,807 have died. The number of Ontario people tested is 18,495,149 of which 18,914 have pending results.
- Canada’s coronavirus case is 1,673,408. The country has 28,421 deaths from the virus – 10 in the Yukon, nine in the Northwest Territories, four in Nunavut, 2,042 in British Columbia, 2,930 in Alberta, 769 in Saskatchewan, 1,226 in Manitoba, 9,807 in Ontario, 11,431 in Quebec, 82 in New Brunswick, 13 in Newfoundland & Labrador and 98 in Nova Scotia.
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit added four cases Thursday to bring the regional total to 1,924 confirmed cases, of which 13 are active (four more than Wednesday) and 1,849 are recovered (no change from Wednesday). There have been 62 deaths to date. There is one person in hospital, in the ICU one on a ventilator (no change from Wednesday). There are no active institutional outbreaks. The community case breakdown is: Lanark County East 425 cases (six active), Lanark County West 427 cases (zero active), Leeds-Grenville Central 239 cases (four active), Leeds-Grenville East 390 cases (one active), Leeds-Grenville West 213 cases (one active) and Unknown/Out of Region 22 cases (one active).
- The Eastern Ontario Health Unit added 33 cases Thursday – three in Prescott-Russell, three in SD&G, six in Cornwall – to bring the regional total to 5,672 confirmed cases, of which 171 are active (nine more than Wednesday) and 5,382 are resolved (21 more than Wednesday). There were 21 Akwesasne cases added as part of data catch-up. One death was added to bring the total to 117. There are 13 people in hospital (six fewer than Wednesday) and three in the ICU (three fewer than Wednesday). There are 11 institutional outbreaks (one more than Wednesday – six institutions, four schools, one daycare). Testing increased 394 to 163,376. The breakdown of cases is: Prescott-Russell 2,222 cases (50 active), SD&G 1,309 cases (30 active), Cornwall 1,684 cases (69 active) and Akwesasne (ON/QC) 457 cases (22 active)(Akwesasne health department reports two new cases Thursday: 461 total cases, 16 active, nine deaths to date).
- Vaccines: Ontario 22,148,068 (+28,756, last update Oct. 14); EOHU 321,797 (last update Oct. 14, +526 from previous update Oct. 13); LGL 150,924 individuals living in LGL with first doses, 142,818 with second doses (last update Oct. 13, +1,806 first doses, +1,890 second doses since previous update Oct. 4).
- Across the border, St. Lawrence County (which includes Massena, Potsdam and Canton) added 104 new cases on Thursday to bring the total number of cases in the county to 11,591. There are 572 active cases with most of them in Ogdensburg (99), Massena (92), Potsdam (55) and Canton (41). The number of deaths to date is 123, up one from the previous day. There are 20 people in hospital (one fewer than Wednesday). Just over 54 per cent of nearly 112,000 residents are vaccinated. Just over 411,000 tests have been performed during the pandemic.
- Up to 33 staff at the Cornwall Community Hospital are expected to be placed on unpaid leave as of today (Friday). The hospital says 10 staff members were already sent home unpaid due to not providing proof of vaccination or refusing to undergo regular testing. The deadline to provide proof was today.
- The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit will reopen its health unit offices to the public in Brockville and Smiths Falls. That starts Monday (Oct. 18).
- There are new restrictions in place in the northern portion of British Columbia. With the rapid spread of the virus, personal gatherings are exclusive to those who are vaccinated and church services are cancelled. The restrictions are in place for just over a month (Nov. 19).
- An apology from Alberta’s chief medical health officer after mistakenly saying a 14-year-old had died from COVID-19 with underlying medical conditions. It turned out COVID-19 was not the cause. The provincial health agency will now wait for a full review of deaths of minors before reporting it to the public.
- Saskatchewan’s health minister says the low vaccination rate data from the Public Health Agency of Canada is an underestimation. Paul Merriman says the 73 per cent rate is due to people are getting shots outside the province while their health records are still in Saskatchewan.
- Even as the U.S. is set to open its land border to Canadians sometime next month, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says a negative test result before Canadians come back is a measure that’s still needed. The test is $200.
- There are still around 66 million Americans who are not vaccinated. U.S. President Joe Biden is urging them to get vaccinated because it’s the only way to put an end to the pandemic and start an economic recovery. Employer vaccine mandates are going ahead despite stiff opposition.
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