October 15, 2021
October 15th is the 288th day of 2021. There are 77 days remaining until the end of the year.
There were 5 new positive COVID-19 cases reported Thursday by Chatham-Kent Public Health.
There were 10 resolved cases, the total active case count locally is down to 65.
There are 417 new cases of COVID-19 across the province, 271 (65%) cases are in individuals not fully vaccinated.
With cases trending down, a government source says Ontario will announce a plan to loosen more COVID-19 restrictions late next week.
The announcement will include a plan to end capacity limits in venues such as restaurants and gyms.
Masking indoors and other public health restrictions are expected to remain in effect.
Businesses can now download Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccine verification app.
Businesses and organizations can use the app to scan the QR codes for entry. Premier Doug Ford will make an announcement today and to ensure that the app was available, the app was added to app stores Thursday.
It is not necessary for individuals to download the app. The Verify Ontario app is available in the Apple app store and Google Play. When a proof of vaccination QR code is scanned in the app, it will respond with either a green check, yellow caution sign or a red “X,” which means the certificate is invalid.
Lots of rain expected for the weekend.
Environment Canada issued a special weather statement Thursday afternoon. Heavy periods of rain are expected for most of southwestern Ontario, including Chatham-Kent, Windsor-Essex, London-Middlesex, Elgin and Oxford counties, as well as Huron-Perth and Grey-Bruce.
Meteorologists predict rainfall amounts could reach between 30-40 millimeters by Saturday morning, while amounts closer to 50 mm are possible for some areas. Thunderstorms may also be possible.
The world’s largest wine factory has been uncovered by archaeologists in the Israeli town of Yavne, after a two-year excavation process.
The 1,500-year-old complex was used to produce wine in huge commercial quantities, with experts calculating that about two million liters were marketed every year. There were five wine presses, four large warehouses where wine was aged and marketed and jars where the wine was stored.
It was used during the Byzantine period, roughly between 330 AD and 1453.
