COVID-19 Update for the Blue Water Area May 15, 2020

Confirmed COVID-19 cases as of May 15th at  9 AM are as follows:

  • State of Michigan: 49,582 confirmed cases; 4,787 deaths
  • St. Clair County: 394 confirmed cases; 28 deaths
  • Ontario: 21,494 confirmed cases; 1,798 deaths
  • Sarnia-Lambton: 213 confirmed cases; 17 deaths

Confirmed Cases in St. Clair County remained the same since last week, but the county suffered five additional deaths. There are currently 78 active cases of COVID-19 reported in St. Clair County, and 3% of all hospital beds are being used for COVID-19 patients.

The St. Clair County Health Department created a new digital dashboard (available <HERE>) for more detailed reports of COVID-19 cases, that dashboard breaks down data into several segments such as confirmed and probable cases, hospitalizations, and recovered cases.

It is important to note that WGRT is continuing to report confirmed cases from each area, not total cases which are a combination of confirmed and probable cases. We have chosen to approach the data this way to simplify our reports and to create uniformity in the numbers we are reporting for each region, St.Clair County, Lambton County, Michigan, and Ontario.

Cases in Sarnia rose by 20 since last week, and the county suffered 1 additional death.

Today, the Ontario government announced the retailers, seasonal businesses, and health and community service providers who will be permitted to open or expand their services on Tuesday, May 19, 2020 at 12:01 AM, provided that the general trend on health indicators continues to improve as part of the first stage of the government’s reopening framework.

  • Retail services that are not in shopping malls and have separate street-front entrances with measures in place that can enable physical distancing, such as limiting the number of customers in the store at any one time and booking appointments beforehand or on the spot.
  • Seasonal businesses and recreational activities for individual or single competitors, including training and sport competitions conducted by a recognized national or provincial sport organization. This includes indoor and outdoor non-team sport competitions that can be played while maintaining physical distancing and without spectators, such as tennis, track and field and horse racing.
  • Animal services, specifically pet care services, such as grooming and training, and regular veterinary appointments.
  • Indoor and outdoor household services that can follow public health guidelines, such as housekeepers, cooks, cleaning and maintenance.
  • Lifting essential workplace limits on construction.

Additional seasonal services and activities will be permitted to open as early as Saturday May 16, 2020 at 12:01 AM, in time for the Victoria Day long weekend, as key public health indicators continue to show progress.

  • Golf courses will be able to open, with clubhouses open only for washrooms and restaurants open only for take-out.
  • Marinas, boat clubs and public boat launches may open for recreational use.
  • Private parks and campgrounds may open to enable preparation for the season and to allow access for trailers and recreational vehicles whose owners have a full season contract.
  • Businesses that board animals, such as stables, may allow boarders to visit, care for or ride their animal.

Please continue to rely on reputable sources for information on COVID-19:

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand