News
Province-wide “emergency-brake” shutdown
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Thursday afternoon, April 1, that a four-week “emergency brake shutdown” was being imposed on the province in an effort to check the spread of COVID-19 variants that are more dangerous than the original strain. Food stores and pharmacies can stay open at a 50 percent capacity for customers, and other…
Read MoreEight new cases in Southwestern region
Southwestern Public Health reported eight new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Thursday, April 1, down from 18 on Wednesday. The health unit was tracking 90 ongoing cases Thursday, down from 92 Wednesday. St. Thomas and area dropped to 20 cases Thursday from 23 Wednesday, Central Elgin to seven from…
Read MoreSchools to stay open
Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce, in a social media post on Thursday morning, April 1, announced that schools in the province would remain open. Schools were “critical for students’ mental health and learning,” he said, adding Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health David Williams had stated schools remained safe, despite a third wave of COVID-19…
Read MoreTrees to be razed to make way for Clarence roadwork
About 10 trees along Clarence Street in Aylmer, marked by painted orange “X”s, will be removed as part of the upcoming road reconstruction project. “This is not an uncommon occurrence with this type of a construction project, with municipal servicing requirements and a modest expansion of the road way necessitating the removal of the trees,”…
Read MoreICU cases in province at new high
Southwestern Public Health Medical Officer of Health Dr. Joyce Lock was called to an “urgent provincial meeting” Wednesday, March 31, and so had to postpone a weekly news briefing for local journalists. East Elgin Secondary School, in a twitter post the same day, said students were being told to take home all electronic devices and…
Read MoreCOVID-19 vaccination eligibility expanded again
Southwestern Public Health announced Wednesday, March 31, that eligibility to receive a COVID-19 vaccination has been expanded to include residents, “primary essential caregivers” and staff of “high-risk congregate living settings.” Such settings were described as “residential facilities where a high-risk client populatoin live or stay overnight and use shared spaces” such as sleeping areas, bathrooms,…
Read MoreSouthwestern: 18 new COVID-19 cases confirmed
Southwestern Public Health reported 18 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Wednesday, March 31, up from 12 on Tuesday. The number of ongoing cases being tracked by the health unit stands at 92, up from 84 Tuesday. St. Thomas stayed unchanged at 23 ongoing cases, Malahide at four, Aylmer…
Read MoreSouthwestern still at Orange, but London moves to Red
Southwestern Public Health reported 12 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Tuesday, March 30. The health unit was tracking 84 ongoing cases on Tuesday, down from 92 on Monday. Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford remain in the “Orange-Restrict” provincial pandemic colour code on Tuesday, but on that same day…
Read MoreAstraZeneca vaccine not recommended for adults under 55 at this time
Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunizations has recommended that AstraZeneca not be administered as a COVID-19 vaccine to adults under 55 while potential complications involving blood clots are investigated by Health Canada. Meanwhile, Southwestern Public Health is awaiting an announcement about three pharmacies in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford that would become vaccination sites for…
Read MoreSouthwestern confirms 56 new COVID-19 cases, and one death
Southwestern Public Health reported its 69th death linked to COVID-19 on Monday, March 29, involving an Oxford woman in her 70s. The health unit recorded 56 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, bringing the total number of ongoing cases at the moment to 92, up from 76 on Friday. St. Thomas and area…
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