News

Southwestern reports 95th COVID-related death

Southwestern Public Health reported on Tuesday, Nov. 9, that an Elgin woman in her 50s with a confirmed case of COVID-19 had died, bringing the death toll in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford since the pandemic began to 95. On Tuesday, the health unit also reported 18 new confirmed cases in its area, about the…

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St. Thomas motorcyclist sustains “life-altering” injuries

A St. Thomas motorcyclist, 59, sustained what Norfolk Ontario Provincial Police described as “life-altering injuries” in a collision with a pickup truck on Highway 3 at Courtland on Saturday, Nov. 6, at about 1:40 p.m. OPP Acting Sergeant Ed Sanchuk reported that the crash occurred at the intersection of Highway 3 and Rhineland Road. The…

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Hospitalizations ease in Southwestern area

Southwestern Public Health reported Monday, Nov. 8, that nine residents of the Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford region were hospitalized with COVID-19, four of them in intensive care units. That’s down from 13 hospitalizations last Friday, but the number in ICUs has increased by one. Southwestern announced Monday that 52 new cases of COVID-19 had…

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Two injured, one critically, in Imperial Road crash–correction

Two motorists were injured, one critically, after a vehicle hit a tree on Imperial Road near Rush Creek Line in Malahide in the early-morning hours of Saturday, Nov. 6. Constable Norm Kelso of Elgin Ontario Provincial Police said OPP officers, Malahide firefighters and Elgin paramedics were called to the scene at about 1:10 a.m. The…

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STEGH sticks by vaccine requirement for staff

St. Thomas Elgin General hospital, in a statement posted Friday, Nov. 5, said it has admitted “a very high number” of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients in the last few weeks. As a result, despite Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s stand this week that the province won’t require hospital and other health care workers to have mandatory COVID-19…

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Surge in COVID-19 cases locally

Southwestern Public Health reported 32 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Friday, Nov. 5, up from 21 on Thursday. The number of ongoing cases being tracked by the health unit also rose, to 121 Friday from 95 Thursday. in addition, 13 Southwestern residents are hospitalized with COVID-19, four of…

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Aylmer still COVID-19 hotspot

Southwestern Public Health was reporting 21 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Thursday, Nov. 4, up from 15 the previous day. The health unit is now tracking 95 cases, up from 85 Wednesday. Eleven residents of the region are hospitalized with COVID-19, two in intensive care units. Aylmer and…

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Warning of renewed COVID-19 restrictions

Recent increases in the number of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford has led Southwestern Public Health Medical Officer of Health Dr. Joyce Lock to warn of the potential return of pandemic restrictions in the region. During a news briefing on Thursday, Nov. 4, she reported that 21 new confirmed…

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Third round of vaccinations expanded

The Ontario government on Wednesday, Nov. 3. announced increased eligibility for a third round of COVID-19 booster shots starting Saturday, Nov. 6. In a statement, the province said the third shot was to provide recipients with “an extra layer of protection against the Delta variant,” and that in coming months, they would be made available…

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Three deaths in three days; hospitalizations in double digits

Southwestern Public Health announced on Wednesday, Nov. 3, that an Elgin woman in her 70s who was confirmed as having COVID-19 had died. That’s the third death in three days in Elgin. An Aylmer man, 85, died Monday and an Elgin woman in her 80s Tuesday. The death toll for Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford…

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