Deaths in Sudbury – outbreak at SSM long-term care home
Public Health Sudbury & Districts is reporting two COVID-19-related death in Greater Sudbury over the weekend.
The agency says the individuals were long-term care residents at two different facilities and out of respect to the families, no further details will be provided.
Considering new cases and those that have been resolved over the last three days, there are now 86 active cases with all the new ones being in the Greater Sudbury area.
Of the active cases, two are out-break related, one due to travel, seven because of close contact and one is unknown.
Health Sciences North is reporting 17 people have been hospitalized, eight are positive COVID-19 cases, and the other nine are awaiting test results.
The hospital adds of the nine, one is in intensive care.
Algoma Public Health has issued a notice confirming a COVID-19 outbreak at FJ Davey Home in Sault Ste. Marie after six staff members tested positive.
The health unit says none of the residents have tested positive.
The agency is also reporting three new cases all in the Sault Ste. Marie area.
Considering resolved cases, the health unit says there are 18 active cases in the Algoma District, with one person in the hospital.
Travel restrictions – no flights to Mexico or the Caribbean
Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra says Canadians should be prepared for tougher travel restrictions as of Thursday.
The new federal measures call for the mandatory COVID-19 testing of all those arriving by air, then a three-day stay in a federally approved hotel, at their own expense, until the test results come in.
They will still have to quarantine for a total of 14 days.
Alghabra tells the CBC that an exact date has yet to be set, but the traveller should be ready by then.
As of Thursday, all international arrivals will be channelled through four airports; Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and Montreal.
Canadian airlines have now halted all flights to Mexico and the Caribbean until the end of April.
The federal government has also begun discussions with the United States about testing all non-essential visitors arriving at land border crossings.
Testing travellers at Pearson Airport
COVID-19 testing of all international travellers arriving at Toronto’s Pearson airport begins today.
Premier Doug Ford says the program will be implemented as a stop-gap measure until the new federal testing project gets underway.
Those who refuse to be tested will be fined 750 dollars.
There were more than 18-hundred new coronavirus infections across the province yesterday, with another 43 deaths.
The seven-day average of new cases is now down to its lowest level since mid-December.
Low compliance in the big box stories
The latest blitz of big box stores in Ontario shows only a 59 percent compliance rate with the province’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Inspectors handed out 13 tickets at locations in Toronto, Hamilton, and Kitchener-Waterloo on Saturday, with local workplace issues and restrictions on customer capacity the biggest problems.
Data from Sunday’s visits is expected to be released later today.
Labor Minister Monte McNaughton says, at this stage in the battle against the coronavirus, there’s no excuse for such poor performance.
Church could be facing fine
Police expect to lay charges against a church in southwestern Ontario that held another service yesterday, in violation of provincial COVID-19 restrictions.
The Church of God in Aylmer has been holding regular gatherings since the lockdown order was issued.
The town’s police chief says its pastor and his congregants have shown no interest in following the rules, leaving him with little option but to proceed with charges.