A look at local numbers
There are ten new cases of COVID-19 in the Algoma District.
Algoma Public Health says all ten cases are in the Sault Ste. Marie and/or area and all, but one, were close contacts.
The health unit is also testing people who attended a New Year’s Eve party in Garden River and are contacting people who flew on a plane on December 28th.
The agency says Air Canada flight AC 8330 from Toronto to Sault Ste. Marie, passengers in rows 3-9 and flight crew that may have served these rows are considered close contacts.
And Public Health Sudbury & Districts report as of yesterday afternoon, there are 32 active cases with seven new cases in Greater Sudbury and three in the Manitoulin District.
School decision expected today
Premier Doug Ford could announce today whether Ontario schoolchildren will be returning to in-person classes on Monday.
Elementary students across the province, as well as high school students in the north, are scheduled to be back in the classroom Monday, halfway through the scheduled four-week lockdown.
But the number of new COVID-19 cases continues to soar, especially in hard-hit southern regions of the province.
The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario is calling on health units to reconsider the resumption of in-class attendance, especially in areas with high coronavirus transmission rates.
Possible curfews and tougher measures in Ontario
Premier Ford says all restrictions, including curfews, are still on the table, as the number of coronavirus cases continues to climb.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault will implement an 8 pm to 5 am curfew as of Saturday, saying the people in his province need to be shocked into recognizing the seriousness of the current situation.
Ford says a decision will be made later this week, once the latest COVID-19 numbers are in.
Any potential post-Christmas surge in infections is expected to begin to show by the weekend.
More vaccine needed in Ontario
Ontario is running out of COVID-19 vaccinations.
Supplies of the Pfizer vaccine are expected to be depleted by next week, just as the province ramps up its inoculation program.
Premier Ford is pleading with the federal government to send more shipments, saying the quicker they’re received, the sooner Ontarians will be safe from COVID-19.
Ford denies reports that the vaccines are sitting in freezers and not being administered.
Vaccinations in prison
Premier Ford is slamming the federal government over a program to begin vaccinating Canada’s prison population against the coronavirus.
About 600 inmates in prisons across the country are due to receive inoculations starting tomorrow.
They’ll be administered to sick and elderly prisoners.
Ford says he can’t believe that dangerous criminals will be receiving the vaccinations before long-term care residents.