NEWS

Local news in and around Aylmer and Elgin County

Testing clinic announced for Port Burwell

November 19, 2021 | 0 Comments

Southwestern Public Health announced Friday morning, Nov. 19, that Ontario Health would host a COVID-19 testing clinic at Port Burwell Public School on Saturday, Nov. 20, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Testing would be open to staff, pupils, family and friends, and anyone who might have been exposed to a recent case of virus,…

Vienna holiday lights ceremony cancelled

November 19, 2021 | 0 Comments

Bayham Historical Society announced Friday morning, Nov. 19, that a traditional ceremony to turn on holiday lighting in Vienna’s Memorial Park Saturday night, Nov. 20, had been cancelled. Jeff Robinson, on behalf of the society, said the decision had been made reluctantly, but given the recent spike in COVID-19 cases and the temporary closure of…

Port Burwell Public School, with eight COVID-19 cases, temporarily closed

November 19, 2021 | 0 Comments

Thames Valley District School Board announced Thursday, Nov. 18, that Port Burwell Public School would temporarily close to in-person learning. The board had earlier on Thursday announced two more cases of confirmed COVID-19 at the school, bringing the ongoing total to eight. “Board administration has determined that school operations and instruction pose a challenge with…

One dead in Ron McNeil Line crash

November 18, 2021 | 0 Comments

Elgin Ontario Provincial Police reported Thursday, Nov. 18, that one person had died in a two-vehicle crash on Ron McNeil Line east of Highbury Avenue that day at about 8:45 a.m. Constable Norm Kelso said a second motorist had been taken to hospital as well. OPP, Central Elgin firefighters and Elgin paramedics responded to the…

New and ongoing cases dip downward

November 18, 2021 | 0 Comments

Southwestern Public Health was reporting 16 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Thursday, Nov. 18, down from 26 the previous day. The number of ongoing cases in the Southwestern also dropped, to 144 from 167. However, 14 SWPH residents are hospitalized with COVID-19, seven of them in intensive care…

COVID-19 positivity rate still climbing

November 17, 2021 | 3 Comments

Southwestern Public Health on Wednesday, Nov. 17, revealed that the percentage of COVID-19 tests coming back as positive had climbed again. It rose to 5.8 percent as of Nov. 7, up from 5.1 percent on Oct. 31. The positivity rate has been cited by the health unit as one factor in a decision announced Tuesday…

New COVID-19 restrictions coming

November 16, 2021 | 0 Comments

As case numbers continue to rise, Southwestern Public Health Medical Officer of Health Dr. Joyce Lock advised Tuesday, Nov. 16, that new COVID-19 restrictions would be put in place within the next seven days or so. She didn’t specify what the restrictions would be, but did say they would focus on indoor spaces where transmission…

Hospitalizations rise again; 66 new cases from weekend

November 15, 2021 | 0 Comments

Southwestern Public Health on Monday, Nov. 15, reported 66 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford from the weekend, an average of 22 a day. That’s down from Friday, when the average over two days (the health unit was closed for Remembrance Day Thursday) was 29. The number of ongoing confirmed…

Steven Chute, 56, of St. Thomas identified as victim of fatal crash

November 15, 2021 | 0 Comments

Aylmer Police on Monday, Nov. 15, identified Steven Chute, 56, as the St. Thomas driver who died in a crash with a transport truck on Talbot Street East in the area of King Street on Tuesday, Nov. 9, at about 11:20. His 2005 Nissan Murano was in a head-on crash with a transport truck being…

STEGH has surpassed its capacity for critical care due to COVID-19

November 12, 2021 | 0 Comments

St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital, in an urgent statement issued late Friday afternoon, Nov. 12, stated the number of patients requiring critical care there was at the highest since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of COVID-19 cases at STEGH was “increasing at an unprecedented rate,” it said. All 13 COVID-19 patients now…

Fifty-eight new cases in two days

November 12, 2021 | 0 Comments

Southwestern Public Health, after being closed Thursday for Remembrance Day, on Friday, Nov. 12, reported that 58 new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford, or an average of 29 a day. On Wednesday, 22 new cases had been announced. The number of ongoing confirmed cases being tracked by the…

Remembrance Day in Aylmer

November 11, 2021 | 0 Comments

Aylmer Police Chief Zvonko Horvat, left, and Deputy Chief Nick Novacich saluted after laying a wreath from the Aylmer Police Association during the Remembrance Day service at the town Cenotaph on Thursday, Nov. 11. A large group of Ontario Police College recruits were on parade for the event, which was well-attended by local residents. Similar…