News

Rising COVID counts bring warning

Southwestern Public Health Medical Officer of Health Dr. Joyce Lock issued a special appeal to area residents in the face of steadily rising COVID-19 case counts, Wednesday, Oct. 13. In a statement, she said local numbers “are rising at a time when the seven-day average number of cases in Ontario is declining. “Most active cases…

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53 new cases over the Thanksgiving weekend

Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford are continuing to experience a slow increase in the number of new and ongoing cases of COVID-19 among residents. Southwestern Public Health on Tuesday, Oct. 12, reported 53 new cases were confirmed over four days during Thanksgiving, or an average of just over 13 a day, compared to 16 last…

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Two crash death victims named

Peter Harder, 29, of Aylmer and Neil Banman, 26, of Chatham-Kent, died after a pickup truck went into a ditch on Richmond Road between Vienna Line and Calton Line, on the boundary between Malahide and Bayham, on Saturday night, Oct. 9, at about 8:53 p.m. A third person from that truck was also badly injured…

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Two dead after crash on Richmond Road

Two persons died and a third was seriously injured after a pickup truck left Richmond Road, entered a ditch and rolled over several times, ejecting the driver and a passenger, on Saturday, Oct. 9, about 8:53 p.m. Ontario Provincial Police Acting Sergeant Ed Sanchuk, in a statement, said that speed, alcohol and lack of use…

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Southwestern COVID-19 cases continue gradual rise

Southwestern Public Health was reporting 16 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Friday, Oct. 8, up from 11 new cases the previous day. The number of ongoing cases being tracked by the health unit also rose, to 84 Friday from 79 Thursday. A quarter of the cases involve residents…

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Jessie Reimer, 28, dies from crash injuries

Elgin Ontario Provincial Police reported on Thursday, Oct. 7, that Jessie Reimer, 28, of Brownsville had died of injuries she sustained during a crash involving her sports-utility vehicle and a grain truck on Lyons Line on Thursday, Sept. 30. The westbound SUV had been westbound on Lyons Line and struck the rear of the grain…

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Aylmer man, 75, dies of COVID-19

Southwestern Public Health reported the death of an Aylmer man, 75, related to COVID-19 on Tuesday morning, Oct. 5. He is the 87th resident of Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford area to die so far in the pandemic. The region has seen a surge of confirmed cases in the last week. The number of ongoing…

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Aylmer and area now at 22 cases

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Aylmer and area increased to 22 on Monday, Oct. 4, from 10 on Friday, Oct. 1. That’s the biggest increase of any municipality in the Southwestern Public Health region of Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford. The health unit on Monday was tracking 71 ongoing COVID-19 cases, up…

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Some Westminster Central pupils to be shifted to South Dorchester Public School

Middlesex Trustee Sean Hunt warned, “We must not make these mistakes again,” after Thames Valley District School Board on Tuesday, Sept. 28, approved sending some pupils from Westminster Central Public School, which will be closed as of September of 2022, to South Dorchester Public School. The original plan had been to close both Westminster Central…

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Confirmed outbreak at Elgin Manor

Elgin Manor long-term care home, with the confirmation of two more cases of COVID-19, in addition to one discovered Friday, is now in a “confirmed outbreak,” Elgin County announced Sunday afternoon, Oct. 3. The first case on Friday involved a resident. The Sunday cases involve another resident and one staff member. All other residents and…

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