NEWS

Local news in and around Aylmer and Elgin County

Ongoing Southwestern cases drop

April 27, 2021 | 0 Comments

Southwestern Public Health reported 20 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Tuesday, April 27. The number of ongoing cases is 150, down from 160 on Monday. St. Thomas and area decreased to 40 ongoing cases Tuesday from 44 Monday, Aylmer and area to six from seven and Bayham to…

Over weekend, 65 new cases in Southwestern region

April 26, 2021 | 0 Comments

Southwestern Public Health on Monday, April 26, announced 65 new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in Elgin, St. Thomas and Woodstock over the weekend, compared to 12 on Friday. Currently, the total number of ongoing cases being tracked in the region is at 160, up slightly from 159 Friday. The health unit also reported…

Three charged after service

April 25, 2021 | 3 Comments

Three persons from Perth County have been charged in connection with an incident following an in-person service at Aylmer Church of God on Sunday, April 25. In a statement, Aylmer Police said that the service had been monitored by officers starting at 10:30 a.m. in anticipation of breaches of Ontario’s COVID-19 pandemic orders. “A large…

Arrests after Church of God Service

April 25, 2021 | 0 Comments

Aylmer Police arrested a man (in red-and-black jacket) after repeatedly telling him he was too close to them, across from Aylmer Church of God on Sunday afternoon, April 25. The man, who wasn’t wearing a face mask and had been inside the church, had been holding a cell phone close to the officers’ faces, demanding…

Southwestern records 76th COVID-linked death

April 23, 2021 | 0 Comments

Southwestern Public Health announced on Friday morning, April 23, that a St. Thomas man in his 60s had died as a resulted of COVID-19. This is the 76th fatality since the pandemic started. The health unit also reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Friday, down from 26 the…

Two charged at Church of God are Toronto police officers-updated

April 23, 2021 | 1 Comment

A North York man, 42, and a Scarborough woman, 41, charged in connection with an alleged breach of pandemic restrictions at Aylmer Church of God on Tuesday night, April 20, identified themselves as Toronto police officers at the time in a video released on Ontario MPP Randy Hillier’s social media post. The video shows an…

Parking lots, washrooms closed at Elgin beaches

April 22, 2021 | 0 Comments

Elgin County Warden Tom Marks, in a statement Thursday, April 22, announced that while park trails and playgrounds remain open in local municipalities, other outdoor recreational facilities, including golf courses, soccer fields, basketball courts, tennis courts, baseball diamonds and skateparks are shut down because of provincial COVID-19 emergency orders. “Residents must stay home except for…

Ford: mea culpa

April 22, 2021 | 1 Comment

Ontario Premier Doug Ford, in a news conference on Thursday morning, April 22, acknowledged his government had erred the previous week in giving police additional powers to randomly stop motorists and pedestrians to see if they’re obeying a COVID-19 “stay-at-home” order. The powers were announced late Friday afternoon, April 16, in response to dire predictions…

Southwestern records 75th COVID-19 death.

April 22, 2021 | 0 Comments

Southwestern Public Health reported 26 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Thursday, April 22, down from 28 on Wednesday. More significantly, the number of ongoing cases being tracked in the region dropped to 168 from 198. However, Southwestern also announced the 75th death in its area linked to COVID-19…

Southwestern reports 74th COVID-19-related death

April 21, 2021 | 0 Comments

Southwestern Public Health on Wednesday, April 21, reported the 74th death connected to COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford since the pandemic began, a St. Thomas man in his 70s. The health unit also reported 28 confirmed new cases of COVID-19 in the region, up from 12 the previous day. Southwestern is currently tracking…

Four charged at Church of God

April 21, 2021 | 0 Comments

Aylmer Police have charged four persons with violating COVID-19 emergency orders while at Aylmer Church of God on John Street North on Tuesday night, April 20. In a statement, Police Chief Zvonko Horvat said a complaint from the public about a large gathering at the church was received Tuesday at 8:18 p.m. Officers went to…

Over 42,000 vaccinated at least once so far in Southwestern region

April 20, 2021 | 0 Comments

Southwestern Public Health, as of Monday, April 19, reported that 42,436 residents of Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford have so far received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The health unit’s target is 150,000, or three-quarters of all the adults in its region. The number vaccinated to date includes 9,587 in Elgin, 9,340 in…