No new confirmed cases or recoveries were reported by the Porcupine Health Unit today.
To date, there have been 69 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the region. Of those, 59 are recovered and eight people have died. There are two known active cases of the virus.
The health unit is aware of 10,194 tests being done locally, which is an increase of 238 from yesterday's report.
For the local cases, 44 have been in the Timmins area, 24 in the area of Cochrane, Matheson, Iroquois Falls and Smooth Rock Falls, and and one in the Kapuskasing, Opasatika, Val Rita-Harty, Moonbeam, Fauquier-Strickland area.
For the second day in a row, and the third day this week, Ontario has reported 111 new COVID-19 cases. Public Health Ontario has reported 37,274 lab-confirmed cases since January, and has indicated 89 per cent of those cases (33,162) are now recovered. The province has reported 2,746 deaths (7.4 per cent of all cases), and of those 1,732 have been residents in long-term care homes.
Today, the Porcupine Health Unit is one of 24 regions in the province moving into Stage 3 of re-opening. In this stage, nearly all businesses and public spaces are permitted to reopen with workplace and public safety programs in place.
The province is not allowing reopening of amusement and water parks, buffet-style food services, dancing at restaurants and bars, overnight stays at camps for children, private karaoke rooms, saunas, steam rooms, bathhouses, nor table games at casinos. Sports with deliberate and prolonged contact are also not permitted to relaunch.
Gathering limits have been increased to allow 50 people to gather indoors and 100 people to gather outdoors, with physical distancing still required for all people not from the same household or social circle.
The gathering limit of 30 per cent building capacity for indoor religious services, rites or ceremonies, weddings, and funerals will remain in place.
Outdoor playgrounds are also permitted to reopen. '
As Timmins enters Stage 3 of reopening today. Bars are one of the businesses allowed to reopen, here's how some local establishments are adapting.
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COVID-19 testing is open to anyone who feels they need to be tested, even if you don't have symptoms. To access testing, call your health care provider or the health unit.
There are COVID-19 assessment centres in Timmins, Cochrane, Iroquois Falls, Kapuskasing, Smooth Rock Falls, Hearst and Hornepayne.
The PHU COVID-19 hotline is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. It can be reached at 705-267-1181 or 1-800-461-1818.
