First, apologies for not posting yesterday’s information. Internet issues prevented the collection and distribution of the data. But, we’re back up and running today, so I’ll summarize the progress of the virus using information from yesterday and today based on data releases from Southwestern Public Health, which covers Oxford and Elgin counties, including the city of St. Thomas.

Oxford County continues to have the vast majority of active cases in the area, but the numbers appear to be heading down. Active cases of Covid-19 have gone from 10 on Monday, down to 9 yesterday, and now down to 8 cases as of today. Ingersoll still has 4 cases – no change since Monday. Yesterday’s count in Woodstock dropped from 3 to 2, where it remains today. Tillsonburg continues to have 2 active cases, while East Zorra-Tavistock has resolved their single case. That leaves Oxford County with a total of 8 cases.

As of today, Elgin County has 1 active case of the coronavirus. Malahide was the only municipality with a case on Monday. However, St. Thomas added a new case yesterday, while the Malahide case is considered resolved as of today. With the lone case still in St. Thomas, Elgin County accounts for only 1 active case. The Southwestern Public Health total has dropped from 11 to 9 since yesterday.

A Covid-19 Assessment Centre opened today in Tillsonburg. The Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital made that announcement yesterday. The centre is located at 17 Bear Street, not far from the hospital, and is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 4pm. No referrals are needed but for safety reasons, patients are asked to schedule an appointment for testing. Visits should take less than 15 minutes and may be booked by called the TDMH Assessment Centre at 1-855-905-6148.

Parks Canada announced today over half of Canada’s 48 national parks, including some national historic sites, historic waterway and national marine conservation areas will resume starting June 1. The Ontario sites are Bruce Peninsula National Park, Rouge National Urban Park (in Scarborough), Georgian Bay Islands National Park, Thousand Islands National Park and Pukaskwa National Park (on Lake Superior).

For the latest local information on Covid-19, check these websites regularly…

Southwestern Public Health: https://www.swpublichealth.ca/content/community-update-novel-coronavirus-covid-19

Oxford County: http://www.oxfordcounty.ca/covid-19

Town of Tillsonburg: https://www.tillsonburg.ca/en/town-hall/novel-conoravirus-covid-19-information.aspx

Tillsonburg Assessment Centre: https://www.tillsonburghospital.on.ca/news/entry/tdmh-to-open-covid-19-assessment-centre

Stay safe, stay apart, stay home (as often as possible), stay informed…and wash your hands, often!