News

Flames, explosions at junk yard fire in Calton late Wednesday night

Malahide Firefighters were called to their second major fire in two years at a junk yard in Calton on Wednesday, May 19, at 9:55 p.m. The blaze was reclassified as a structural fire, and additional equipment and firefighters from Malahide’s fire stations were called in starting at 10 p.m. Fire Chief Brent Smith said the…

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COVID-19 update for Thursday, May 20

Southwestern Public Health was reporting 10 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Thursday, May 20, down from 14 on Wednesday. The number of ongoing cases being tracked by the health unit across the region stayed unchanged at 102. In St. Thomas and area, ongoing cases decreased to 14 Thursday…

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Ongoing cases close to double digits

The number of ongoing cases in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford dropped to 102 on Wednesday, May 19, from 105 the previous day, continuing a steady decline. However, the number of new confirmed cases in the health unit’s region climbed to 14 Wednesday from just seven on Tuesday. The number of ongoing cases in St.…

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Just over 40 percent of Southwestern regional vaccinated

Southwestern Public Health, in a weekly surveillance report posted Monday, May 17, stated that over 86,000 residents of Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford had so far received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, up from almost 78,000 the week before. St. Thomas led the way with 46.6 percent of its population vaccinated, followed by…

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COVID-19 numbers down across the board

Southwestern Public Health reported confirming just seven new cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Tuesday, May 18, down from an average of 12 per day on the weekend. The health unit is now tracking 105 ongoing cases, down from 124 on Monday. No municipalities in the Southwestern region recorded an increase…

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Church, three men charged

Aylmer Police have charged Aylmer Church of God (Restoration), an Aylmer man, 57, an Aylmer man, 26, and a Steinbach, Manitoba, man, 26, after a large outdoor service was held at Aylmer Church of God on Sunday, May 16 in contravention of Ontario’s COVID-19 emergency orders. Police Chief Zvonko Horvat announced the charges on Tuesday,…

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18 and over eligible for vaccine

Southwestern Public Health announced Monday, May 17, that starting the next day, everyone who was at least 18 years old, or would turn 18 in 2021, would become eligible in Elgin, St. Thomas and Woodstock to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. Previously, that had only applied to the N5H postal code covering Aylmer and much of…

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New and ongoing cases go down

Southwestern Public Health reported Monday, May 17, 36 new cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford from the weekend or an average of 12 a day, compared to 24 new cases announced on Friday. The number of ongoing cases being tracked by the health unit fell to 124 Monday from 138 on Friday.…

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More charges for Church of God following outdoor service

Aylmer Police Chief Zvonko Horvat reported on Monday, May 17, that more charges were pending against Aylmer Church of God (Restoration) and the organizers of a large outdoor service held there on Sunday, May 16. He stated that police monitored the service, taking video footage of a large gathering around a makeshift outdoor stage and…

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