News
Vaccination clinics to be offered in schools
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce, in an announcement Wednesday, Jan. 12, said that with children back in classes starting Monday, Jan. 17, vaccination clinics would be offered in schools to make immunizations as accessible to as many as possible. “We believe so strongly that children belong in school,” and the clinics would help that to…
Read MoreFour COVID-19 deaths in last 24 hours
Southwestern Public Health on Wednesday, Jan. 12, announced the deaths related to COVID-19 of four area residents, including a man in his 50s from Elgin, an Oxford man in his 60s, an Oxford woman in her 80s and a man in his 70s who was a resident at Secord Trails Care Community, a nursing home…
Read MoreElgin County acknowledges first COVID-19 death in one of its long-term care homes
Elgin County late Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 11, reported that it had been notified that a resident of its Terrace Lodge long-term care home had died in a COVID-19-related case. The death was the first of its kind in any of the county’s three long-term care homes since the COVID-19 pandemic began. County Warden Mary French,…
Read MoreThree COVID-19 deaths in one day
Southwestern Public Health announced three COVID-19 related deaths on Tuesday, Jan. 11, all residents of long-term care or retirement homes, including a woman in her 90s at Terrace Lodge in Malahide, a woman in her 80s at Caressant Care on Bonnie Place in St. Thomas and a man in his 80s at Secord Trails in…
Read MoreTwo more COVID-19 deaths
Southwestern Public Health announced on Monday, Jan. 10, that two women in Woodstock, one in her 60s and one in her 70s, had died as a result of COVID-19. The total number of deaths in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford since the pandemic began now stands at 119. Monday, 22 local residents were hospitalized due…
Read MoreNow nine COVID cases at Terrace Lodge
Elgin County, in an update Sunday, Jan. 9, reported that in addition to the four residents and two staff members confirmed to have COVID-19 at Terrace Lodge long-term care home in Malahide just east of Aylmer, two more residents have been confirmed to have the virus, and one more was suspected of having it.
Read MoreCOVID-19 outbreak at STEGH
St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital on Friday night, Jan. 7, reported an outbreak of COVID-19 in its fifth floor Acute Medicine Unit, with three patients testing positive for the virus. “The unit is currently closed to essential caregivers,” the hospital said in a statement. “STEGH is working closely with Southwestern Public Health Unit and its…
Read MoreSurgeries being reduced at STEGH
St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital announced Friday, Jan. 7, that in line with provincial directives, surgical services were being reduced there in anticipation of an influx of COVID-19 patients in coming weeks. “Our surgical team is working to prioritize patients and will determine which surgeries can safely be postponed,” the hospital said. Anyone affected would…
Read MoreLocal case counts keep rising
Southwestern Public Health announced on Friday, Jan. 7, that even with restrictions on who is now eligible for testing, 194 new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford, up from 137 the previous day. The health unit is tracking 1,543 ongoing confirmed cases, up from 1,435 Thursday. Southwestern was reporting…
Read MoreMPP Jeff Yurek resigning his seat at end of February
Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP Jeff Yurek announced Friday, Jan. 7, that he would not be seeking re-election this year and would resign from his seat in the provincial Legislature at the end of February. “When I entered politics over 10 years ago, I made three promises to myself: represent the people of Elgin-Middlesex-London to my fullest ability,…
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