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Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced that private parks, marinas and golf courses could re-open for business on Saturday, May 16, as long as strict distancing requirements continued to be met. Campgrounds can re-open to prepare for the coming season Saturday, but access is limited to campers with full-season rentals for now. He also said that,…

The number of COVID-19 cases confirmed through medical testing in the Southwestern Public Health Region, which includes Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford, dropped to seven as of Wednesday, May 13. Locally, Malahide continued to have two cases and St. Thomas two. Oxford dropped to three, with two in Woodstock and one in South-West Oxford. So…

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Wednesday, May 6, that effective Friday, May 8, garden centres and nurseries could re-open to public shopping, as long as distancing and other health precautions could be and were maintained. Hardware and safety supply stores could do the same starting Saturday, May 9. Finally, on Monday, May 12, all retail…

Southwestern Public Health’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. Joyce Lock is telling cottagers and other seasonal visitors that the province easing some COVID-19 pandemic precautions “does not mean an immediate return to normal activities.” In a statement posted on Central Elgin’s website, she said, “This includes visits to secondary residences, such as cottages, beach houses,…

Southwestern Public Health hasn’t recorded a single new case of COVID-19 confirmed by medical testing in Elgin, St. Thomas and Woodstock since Friday, April 24. As of Saturday morning, Southwestern’s website was reporting seven ongoing cases in Elgin and St. Thomas. St. Thomas has four cases, and Aylmer Malahide and Dutton Dunwich one each. Oxford…

Chief Zvonko Horvat announced Thursday, April 30, that Aylmer Police would not lay any charges in connection with a drive-in service conducted by Aylmer Church of God on John Street North on Sunday, April 26. Police believed they had reasonable and probable grounds to lay a charge for a violation of Ontario’s emergency order banning…

About 70 vehicles were parked at Aylmer Church of God on John Street North for a drive-in service on Sunday morning, April 26. Two Aylmer Police officers took video recordings of the gathering, but didn’t issue any tickets immediately for illegally gathering under Ontario’s emergency orders regarding COVID-19 pandemic precautions. Pastor Henry Hildebrandt said afterward,…

Aylmer Police are warning a town church (Aylmer Church of God, though police won’t identify the institution by name) that members could face charges if they gather for a service this Sunday, April 26, as they did last Sunday, April 19, even if they’re only sitting in their vehicles with windows rolled up in the…

Southwestern Public Health on Wednesday, April 22, reported that a fourth person had died as a result of COVID-19 in its jurisdiction, which is Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford. The woman was 72, and had been admitted to St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital before her death. The health unit stated she had caught COVID-19 through…

Southwestern Public Health is currently reporting, as of Monday morning, April 20, 18 ongoing cases of confirmed COVID-19 in Elgin and St. Thomas, and 10 more in Oxford. St. Thomas has seven cases, Dutton Dunwich four, Central Elgin and West Elgin two each and Aylmer, Bayham and Malahide, one each. So far in the Southwestern…