The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported its largest daily surge of novel coronavirus cases with 24 new cases on Friday and two more deaths, bringing the total number of confirmed cases locally to 282 and the total deaths to 16. The MLHU says 125 cases are considered “resolved.”
Among the 24 new cases are 14 at London’s Grand Wood Park Retirement Residence. An outbreak was declared there on March 31 after two residents tested positive.
“Health Unit staff had directed the facility to test all staff and residents as part of the outbreak management process recently put in place as a result of new guidance from the Ministry of Health,” a release stated.
MLHU says all Grand Wood Park staff and residents who have not yet been tested are “in the process of being swabbed” and that risk assessments will be conducted over the weekend for “all long-term care homes and retirement residences in London and Middlesex County.”
Earlier in the week, health officials reported two deaths and eight new cases on Thursday, one death and three new cases on Wednesday, 13 new cases on Tuesday — 11 involving local seniors’ homes — and one death and 20 new cases on Monday.
Forty-five cases — 29 residents and 16 staff — and three deaths in London and Middlesex have been reported at long-term care homes (LTCH), while 24 cases — 21 residents and three staff — have been at retirement homes.
As of Thursday afternoon, 13 local COVID-19 outbreaks had been declared in London and Middlesex since the start of the pandemic, 10 of them at long-term care and retirement homes.
The most recent outbreak was declared at Horizon Place in west London on Wednesday.
Only one outbreak has been marked as resolved — an outbreak declared April 2 at Chelsey Park.
Elsewhere, outbreaks have also been declared at Grand Wood Park, Henley Place, Seasons Strathroy, Kensington Village (second floor), Earls Court Village, Meadow Park Care Centre, Sprucedale Care Centre and Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care (St. Mary’s fifth floor).
Health officials say they won’t be providing a breakdown of the number of cases at each facility.
Outbreaks also remain active at St Joseph’s Hospice, on the sixth floor of Zone C at Victoria Hospital (C6-100) and on the fifth floor of University Hospital in inpatient cardiology.
Provincially, at least 106 outbreaks have been reported at Ontario long-term care homes, where at least 1,229 residents and 621 staff have tested positive, and at least 216 residents have died.
About half of Canada’s more than 1,000 deaths from COVID-19 have involved residents of long-term care facilities.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced Wednesday additional testing and infection control measures at provincial long-term care homes, and also issued an emergency order to prevent long-term care staff from working at multiple facilities.
Ontario reported 514 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, and 38 more deaths.
It’s the largest single-day increase in cases the province has seen so far.
That brings the provincial total of cases to 8,961, including 423 deaths and nearly 4,200 cases that have been resolved.
The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital grew from 807 to 829, but the numbers of people in intensive care and on ventilators remained steady.
Nationally, more than 30,000 cases have been confirmed across Canada, including around 10,100 recoveries, and more than 1,200 deaths.
Elgin and Oxford
No new cases or deaths were reported on Friday in Elgin and Oxford counties, according to the area’s health unit, Southwestern Public Health (SWPH), keeping the total number of cases at 41 and the number of deaths at three.
The health unit reported one more person had recovered, bringing that total to 10.
One new case was reported in the region on Thursday.
Of the area’s 28 active COVID-19 cases, 18 are in Elgin County, including seven in St. Thomas and 10 are in Oxford County, including two in Woodstock, Ont. and two in Tillsonburg.
It’s not clear whether any of the patients are in the hospital.
One outbreak has been declared in the region at Beattie Manor, a retirement home in St. Thomas, according to SWPH. The outbreak was declared March 27 after a resident at the facility tested positive, and was still active as of SWPH’s most recent outbreak report, dated April 8.
According to SWPH figures, 75 per cent of all cases reported in Elgin and Oxford counties, 31, have involved patients over the age of 50.
As of Friday, 1,123 COVID-19 tests had been administered in Elgin and Oxford, with 265 awaiting results.
Huron and Perth
The number of confirmed cases in Huron and Perth stands at 35, with nine recovered cases and three deaths.
An update is expected Friday afternoon from Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH).
One new case was confirmed in Stratford on Thursday, while four cases were marked as recovered.
Nineteen of the area’s cases and two of its deaths have been confirmed in Stratford — 11 cases and one death at a single long-term care facility.
Six residents and five staff have tested positive at Greenwood Court. One, a resident in her 80s who became symptomatic on April 3, died over the weekend, according to HPPH.
It’s one of two outbreaks that have been declared in Huron and Perth since the start of the pandemic.
One case was reported in late March at Hillside Manor, a long-term care home in Sebringville, just outside of Stratford, involving a resident.
It’s not clear how many of the cases at both facilities remain active.
Eight cases have been reported in Huron County — three in Bluewater, two in South Huron and one each in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, Central Huron and Goderich.
Six cases have been confirmed in Perth County, including two each in Perth East and Perth South, and one each in North Perth and West Perth.
Two cases have been reported in St. Marys — the region’s first two confirmed cases.
Sarnia and Lambton
Lambton health officials reported two additional deaths in the county on Friday and say four more cases have recovered.
It brings the total number of deaths in Lambton to 13, and the number of recovered cases to 45. Details about the deceased have not been made public.
The total number of confirmed cases remains unchanged from Thursday at 128.
It comes a day after Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported eight new cases along with a second outbreak declaration in the county, and Sarnia’s hospital confirmed 11 staff infections.
Bluewater Health spokesperson, Julia Oosterman, said none of the infected staff members work in the COVID unit, intensive care unit, or emergency department, and all became infected over the last nine to 10 days, approximately — four through work, and seven through the community.
The hospital, which employs about 1,230 people, was treating 16 COVID-19 patients as of Friday morning, down from 23 the day before. The hospital has treated a total of 54 confirmed patients, 13 of which have died.
The latest outbreak in Lambton was declared at Lambton Meadowview Villa, a 125-resident, county-run, long-term care home in Petrolia after a staff member at the facility tested positive. The worker, the county’s long-term care division said, stopped providing care at the home after they became symptomatic.
The county’s first outbreak was reported last month at the Landmark Village retirement home in Sarnia where 16 staff and seven residents have tested positive, and where six people have died.
To try and curb the number of COVID-19 cases in the county’s long-term care homes, Bluewater Health and LPH announced on Friday that ramped up testing would begin at such facilities.
Officials said it was in response to Premier Doug Ford’s announcement Wednesday of additional testing and infection control measures at long-term care homes.
“There are 10 retirement residences and 10 long term care homes in Sarnia Lambton,” read a statement from Bluewater Health.
“Testing began in Landmark Village and Lambton Meadowview Villa as these two homes are currently in COVID-19 outbreak. Staff and residents are being tested. The remaining locations will be tested in a scheduled manner over the next few days.”
As of Friday, 736 COVID-19 tests had been administered in Lambton County. It’s unclear how many are awaiting results.
— With files from The Canadian Press
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Health officials caution against all international travel. Returning travellers are legally obligated to self-isolate for 14 days, beginning March 26, in case they develop symptoms and to prevent spreading the virus to others. Some provinces and territories have also implemented additional recommendations or enforcement measures to ensure those returning to the area self-isolate.
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out.
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