Chris Daponte

WELLINGTON COUNTY – Local public health officials are reporting the first local case of the Brazilian COVID-19 variant and urging residents to take all possible precautions to protect themselves.

TORONTO – With health officials suggesting the province's health care system is about to reach a breaking point, Premier Doug Ford has announced more restrictive public health measures to try to slow the spread of COVID-19 during the third wave.

TORONTO – Provincial health officials are urging Ontarians to take the COVID-19 situation seriously, as provincial modelling shows the third wave could continue through summer without more strict measures in place.

WELLINGTON COUNTY – The local public health order prohibiting in-person learning will expire following the break this week. However, students will still be restricted to remote learning indefinitely.

Public health reported 278 new COVID-19 cases in the region over the weekend - the highest total to date for a regular weekend. Cases have risen dramatically in the region over the last several weeks, with active cases now at a record-high of 630. The previous high was 489, set on Jan. 11.

TORONTO –The Province of Ontario has issued a third state of emergency as well as another stay-at-home order, and non-essential retail stores must close to in-person shopping.

WELLINGTON COUNTY – The Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health long weekend total works out to a daily average of over 59 new cases. In the week leading up to the long weekend, the region averaged just under 21 new cases per day.

WELLINGTON COUNTY – All schools in the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) region will close to in-person learning on Wednesday (April 7) due to "the troubling rise in cases of COVID-19 among children." Dr. Nicola Mercer is expected to order the closures on Tuesday morning.

WELLINGTON COUNTY – Pharmacies in Erin, Fergus and Guelph are among those offering AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccinations for eligible people aged 55 or older.

ELORA – The Elora Farmers' Market will open for the season in less than a month. The market will celebrate its 16th season at Bissell Park starting on May 1, operating every Saturday from 9am to 1pm through October.

WELLINGTON COUNTY – Doug Ford has announced Ontario will enter an "emergency brake shutdown" for the next month. The premier announced the province-wide shutdown on April 1 in response to rising COVID-19 cases and the spread of several variants, as well as the strain on the health care system.

WELLINGTON NORTH – A young child has died in an tragic accident on a farm here. Wellington County OPP officials have confirmed a "non-suspicious death" on the property, located on Highway 6 between Arthur and Kenilworth.

OTTAWA – Michael Chong says sanctions imposed on him and his international colleagues by China will do nothing to deter them from continuing to speak out against human rights violations. "The sanctions have only doubled down our resolve to continue to speak up," the Wellington-Halton Hills MP said.

WELLINGTON COUNTY – Sixty-one new COVID-19 cases were reported across the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) region over the weekend.

WELLINGTON COUNTY – There were seven new COVID-19 cases reported in Wellington County over the weekend (March 19 to 21) – and 54 across the region. The county also recorded its 35th COVID-related death, a 65-year-old woman who passed away on March 16.