News

Two COVID-19 cases at New Sarum PS

Thames Valley District School Board has announced the discovery of two cases of COVID-19 at New Sarum Public School. The board said the school would remain open despite the cases. All parents and staff members were immediately notified of the cases, TVDSB stated. Staff and pupils found to have been in close contact to the…

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Two St. Thomas pharmacies to administer vaccines

The Ontario government has announced two pharmacies in St. Thomas have been authorized to being administering COVID-19 immunization injections as soon as they receive supplies of the AstraZeneca vaccine. One is the Shoppers Drug Mart at the intersection of Edward Street and First Avenue. Bookings for appointments are mandatory, and can be made by phone…

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Province-wide “emergency-brake” shutdown

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday afternoon, April 1, that a four-week “emergency brake shutdown” was being imposed on the province in an effort to check the spread of COVID-19 variants that are more dangerous than the original strain. Food stores and pharmacies can stay open at a 50 percent capacity for customers, and other…

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Eight new cases in Southwestern region

Southwestern Public Health reported eight new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Thursday, April 1, down from 18 on Wednesday. The health unit was tracking 90 ongoing cases Thursday, down from 92 Wednesday. St. Thomas and area dropped to 20 cases Thursday from 23 Wednesday, Central Elgin to seven from…

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Schools to stay open

Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce, in a social media post on Thursday morning, April 1, announced that schools in the province would remain open. Schools were “critical for students’ mental health and learning,” he said, adding Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health David Williams had stated schools remained safe, despite a third wave of COVID-19…

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Trees to be razed to make way for Clarence roadwork

About 10 trees along Clarence Street in Aylmer, marked by painted orange “X”s, will be removed as part of the upcoming road reconstruction project. “This is not an uncommon occurrence with this type of a construction project, with municipal servicing requirements and a modest expansion of the road way necessitating the removal of the trees,”…

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ICU cases in province at new high

Southwestern Public Health Medical Officer of Health Dr. Joyce Lock was called to an “urgent provincial meeting” Wednesday, March 31, and so had to postpone a weekly news briefing for local journalists. East Elgin Secondary School, in a twitter post the same day, said students were being told to take home all electronic devices and…

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COVID-19 vaccination eligibility expanded again

Southwestern Public Health announced Wednesday, March 31, that eligibility to receive a COVID-19 vaccination has been expanded to include residents, “primary essential caregivers” and staff of “high-risk congregate living settings.” Such settings were described as “residential facilities where a high-risk client populatoin live or stay overnight and use shared spaces” such as sleeping areas, bathrooms,…

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Southwestern: 18 new COVID-19 cases confirmed

Southwestern Public Health reported 18 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Wednesday, March 31, up from 12 on Tuesday. The number of ongoing cases being tracked by the health unit stands at 92, up from 84 Tuesday. St. Thomas stayed unchanged at 23 ongoing cases, Malahide at four, Aylmer…

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