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…
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,”…
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…
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,…
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…
Southwestern Public Health reported 12 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Tuesday, March 30. The health unit was tracking 84 ongoing cases on Tuesday, down from 92 on Monday. Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford remain in the “Orange-Restrict” provincial pandemic colour code on Tuesday, but on that same day…
Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunizations has recommended that AstraZeneca not be administered as a COVID-19 vaccine to adults under 55 while potential complications involving blood clots are investigated by Health Canada. Meanwhile, Southwestern Public Health is awaiting an announcement about three pharmacies in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford that would become vaccination sites for…
Southwestern Public Health reported its 69th death linked to COVID-19 on Monday, March 29, involving an Oxford woman in her 70s. The health unit recorded 56 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing the total number of ongoing cases at the moment to 92, up from 76 on Friday. St. Thomas and area…
Southwestern Public Health announced Monday morning, March 29, that anyone 70 and older now qualified to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Previously, only those 75 and older could get them, with some exceptions. The health unit reported that Ontario government data showing that as of Saturday, March 27, more than 75 percent of residents 80 and…
Sherri Spanjers of Tillsonburg, left, a worker in a dental clinic, received her first dose of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from Elgin-Middlesex-London MPP and Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Jeff Yurek during a Southwestern Public Health mass vaccination clinic at Memorial Arena in St. Thomas on Saturday morning, March 27. This was the…
Southwestern Public Health reported on Friday, March 26, the death of an Oxford man in his 60s which was linked to COVID-19. That brings to 68 the total number of such deaths in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford. The health unit also reported 10 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday, up from eight on…
Southwestern Public Health announced Thursday, March 25, that “faith leaders” from local churches and places of worship were now eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. That would apply if as part of their work they were in close contact with individuals and families through: end of life care; care of the deceased, funerals, bathing or other…