News

What’s opening this weekend

Southwestern Public Health on Friday, May 21, outlined what outdoor recreational facilities would be allowed to open to the public this weekend, and under what conditions: Parks and recreational areas Baseball diamonds Batting cages Soccer, football and sports fields Tennis, platform tennis, table tennis and pickleball courts Basketball courts BMX parks Skate parks Golf courses…

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Beach facilities to be opened in Port Bruce, Port Burwell

Washrooms and parking lots at Port Burwell’s municipal East Beach and in Port Bruce will be open this Saturday. On Thursday, Premier Doug Ford announced that many outdoor recreation facilities would be allowed to re-open this weekend, as long as those using them continued to follow public health guidelines on masking and maintaining physical distancing.…

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Port Stanley parking lots to re-open

Beach parking lots in Port Stanley, closed as part of the provincial COVID-19 shutdown, will re-open on Friday, May 21, Central Elgin announced on Thursday, May 20. Washrooms and the municipal boat launch in Port Stanley will be opened as well, as well as other outdoor recreational facilities including soccer fields, basketball courts, tennis courts,…

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Port Burwell pop-up clinic Thursday, May 27

Southwestern Public Health announced Thursday, May 20, that a one-day COVID-19 “pop-up” vaccination clinic would be held in partnership with East Elgin Family Health Team at the Port Burwell Fire Station on Thursday, May 27. Up to 400 appointments will be available between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Registration is limited to residents of Port…

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Golf courses, marinas and tennis courts can re-open Saturday, May 22–update

“Outdoor amenities” including golf courses, marinas and tennis courts will be allowed to re-open starting this Saturday, but other provincial lockdown measures will stay in place until at least June 14, when they might begin to be relaxed, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced on Thursday afternoon, May 20. He announced a three-phase program for starting…

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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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