First case of community spread in Algoma
The Algoma District has its 11th COVID-19 case, the first to be considered community spread.
Associate Medical Officer of Health with the Algoma Health Unit, Dr. Jennifer Loo says finding a case of COVID-19 from community spread shows just how important it has been for everyone to practice physical distancing and stay home.
Dr. Loo says the woman in her 60’s, did not have any recent travel outside of the district, or any known contact with a confirmed case adding before she became ill, she had no exposures other than routine activities in Sault Ste. Marie & Area.
She is self-isolating at home.
Public Health Sudbury is also reporting two more unrelated cases, a man and a woman, both in their 20s, who had close contact with another positive.
They are also self-isolating at home.
In Ontario …
Ontario is again expending its testing priorities for the coronavirus.
Those considered essential workers, people living with health care employees, and staff and residents of homeless shelters will now get tests if they show any symptoms of COVID-19.
Also on the priority list now are people who are in close contact with the health system, such as pregnant women and cancer patients as well as first responders.
Provincial health officials say it will allow them to more effectively identify any outbreaks among vulnerable populations.
The number of tests being done jumped to nine thousand yesterday, the provincial capacity is now at 16-thousand tests a day.
Ontario recorded 514 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, increasing the provincial total to almost nine-thousand.
Another 38 deaths were also reported, bringing the toll to 423.
Outbreaks are now found in 104 long-term care homes, where 163 people have died.
So far, nearly 42-hundred people have recovered.
In Canada …
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it’s clear governments must to more to protect older Canadians.
Trudeau says the impact on long-term care homes and seniors’ residences has been far more severe than anticipated.
Federal officials say nearly half of the deaths reported across Canada have been linked to outbreaks in long term care homes.
More than 90 per cent of all fatalities have been people over 60.
Quebec has asked for federal help in battling outbreaks in their long-term care facilities.
Ottawa is considering whether the military or the Red Cross might be able to assist.
Helping businesses …
The federal government has announced a new program to help businesses cope with rental of their retail premises.
It will provide loans to commercial property owners, who will then lower or forego their rent from small businesses.
Ottawa has also expanded the program that allows small- and medium-sized companies to qualify for a loan of up to 40-thousand dollars.
Now, those businesses can have a payroll between 20-thousand dollars and 1.5-million dollars in order to take part.
In the United States …
U-S President Donald Trump has announced a three-stage plan to get America back up and running, but when and how it will be implemented is being left up to individual states.
However, the plan shouldn’t be implemented until a state or region has seen a two-week-long downturn in coronavirus cases, have a robust testing program in place, and have a health care system able to cope with any new outbreaks.
Currently, there have been more than 675-thousand cases diagnosed in the U-S, with almost 35-thousand deaths.
Around 56-thousand people are considered recovered.
What about the astronauts?
A three-member crew from the International Space Station returned to Earth this morning, to a world far different from when they blasted off six months ago.
The two Americans and one Russian touched down safely in the central Asian republic of Kazakhstan.
Russian space agency officials say the crews assigned to the recovery of the crew had been under close observation for a month, and have been tested for COVID-19.
The three are being flown directly to their home countries, following Kazakhstan’s coronavirus protocols.