One more person has died and two more people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported Monday.
The total number of confirmed cases in London and Middlesex is now 374 and the number of deaths is 32. The number of resolved cases, meanwhile, stands at 194 after four more people were said to have recovered.
Health officials reported the deceased was a resident in her 80s at a local long-term care home. No other information was released. Details about the two new cases were not immediately available, but neither was connected to a long-term care or retirement home.
Ninety-two per cent of the region’s cases, 346, have been reported in London. Fifteen cases have been reported in Strathroy-Caradoc, while six have been in Middlesex Centre, four in Thames Centre and three in North Middlesex.
Five deaths were reported on the weekend, including three at local seniors’ facilities, another 15 people tested positive, and another 17 recovered.
The weekend also saw another outbreak declared at a local long-term care home.
The outbreak, declared Saturday at Elmwood Place Long-Term Care Home, came after a resident of the facility tested positive, read a statement from Revera, the home’s operator. The resident is currently in isolation at the home.
“We are in the process of notifying the residents, their families and our staff about the outbreak,” the statement said. “We will continue to reach out to all families of residents as often as possible to provide updates on their loved ones during this time of physical isolation.”
Long-term care and retirement homes account for at least 11 of the 16 outbreaks that have been declared in London and Middlesex over the course of the pandemic, and at least 100 of the region’s cases, according to MLHU figures.
Fifty-nine cases have been reported at long-term care homes, involving 39 residents and 20 staff, while 41 cases have been reported at retirement homes, involving 29 residents and 12 staff. Thirteen deaths have been reported at long-term care homes and four at retirement homes.
More than half of all cases and deaths reported at retirement homes have been linked to Grand Wood Park Retirement Residence, home to the region’s second declared COVID-19 outbreak.
Nineteen residents and five staff had tested positive at the facility as of Saturday, while three residents have died, according to a statement from Revera.
“The residents are in isolation in their suites. The staff members are in isolation at home,” the statement reads.
In addition to Elmwood Place and Grand Wood Place, active outbreaks remain at Earls Court Village, Henley Place, Horizon Place, Kensington Village and Meadow Park Care Centre.
Local outbreaks also remain active at Sisters of St. Joseph, St. Joseph’s Hospice and Victoria Hospital‘s oncology unit (C7-400) and geriatric behavioural unit (C6-100).
At least 36 London Health Sciences Centre staff members had tested positive for the novel coronavirus as of Monday, an increase of two from late last week. It’s unclear whether any have been hospitalized. University and Victoria Hospitals were treating a total of 34 COVID-19 patients on Monday, the same as the day before, with 11 in intensive care.
Five outbreaks — at Chelsey Park, Mount Hope Centre for Long-Term Care, Seasons Strathroy, Sprucedale Care Centre and University Hospital’s inpatient cardiology unit — have been declared over.
At least 170 outbreaks have been reported at long-term care homes across Ontario since mid-January, according to Public Health Ontario. At least 2,346 residents and 1,101 staff members have tested positive, while 497 residents and one staff member have died.
Provincially, Ontario reported 424 new COVID-19 cases and 57 more deaths on Monday.
The new cases bring the total number in the province to 14,856, a 2.9 per cent increase over Sunday’s total, continuing several days of falling growth rates.
Ontario’s total number of cases includes 892 deaths and 8,525 resolved cases.
Meanwhile, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to lay out his plan for reopening the province’s economy, which has been largely locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nationally, more than 47,300 cases had been confirmed across the country as of early Monday afternoon, including around 18,000 recovered cases and 2,600 deaths.
Elgin and Oxford
Health officials with Southwestern Public Health reported no new cases, deaths or recoveries in Elgin and Oxford counties on Monday.
Health officials reported three new cases over the weekend along with four more recovered cases.
Fifty-seven cases have been confirmed in the region, including 24 resolved cases and four deaths.
According to SWPH, of the 29 cases that remain active, 17 are located in Oxford, including four each in Blandford-Blenheim and Woodstock, while 12 are in Elgin, including six in St. Thomas.
Two outbreaks have been declared in Elgin and Oxford counties, one of which remains active.
An outbreak was declared on April 21 at Caressant Care on Bonnie Place in St. Thomas after a health-care worker tested positive.
The region’s first outbreak, declared March 27 at Beattie Manor, was declared over on April 22.
As of Monday, 1,940 COVID-19 tests had been administered in Elgin and Oxford counties, with 608 awaiting results.
Huron and Perth
One more person has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, health officials with Huron Public Health reported Monday.
It brings the total number of cases in the region to 43. No new deaths or recovered cases were reported, keeping those totals at four and 30, respectively.
Health officials reported one new confirmed case over the weekend in North Perth along with five more recovered cases.
Details about the case confirmed on Monday were not immediately available, other than that it was reported in Stratford, where 24 of the region’s cases have been confirmed.
The case is not linked to an ongoing outbreak at Greenwood Court, a long-term care home in the city, where six residents and eight staff members have tested positive, and where three deaths have been reported, health unit figures show.
The most recent case reported at the facility was on Friday involving a staff member. It’s not clear how many cases remain active.
County figures show nine cases have been confirmed in Huron County, including three in South Huron, two in Bluewater and one each in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, Central Huron, Goderich and Huron East.
In Perth County, eight cases have been reported, including two each in Perth East, North Perth, Perth South and West Perth.
Two cases, including one death, have been reported in St. Marys.
As of Monday, 1,380 COVID-19 tests had been administered in Huron and Perth counties, with 321 awaiting results.
Sarnia and Lambton
Three more people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, while three more have recovered, Lambton health officials reported late Sunday, the latest figures available.
It brings the total number of confirmed cases in the county to 170 and the number of recovered cases to 80.
The number of deaths remains unchanged at 14.
Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported three new confirmed cases over the weekend along with 11 more recovered cases.
At least 45 cases have been linked to three outbreaks at long-term care and retirement homes in the county — two of which remain active, both of them in Sarnia.
At Sarnia’s Landmark Village, 30 residents and nine staff have tested positive and six residents have died since the facility declared an outbreak on March 26.
The county’s second outbreak, declared on April 15 at Meadowview Village in Petrolia after a staff member tested positive, was declared over on April 23.
That same day, Lambton’s third outbreak was declared at Vision Nursing Home in Sarnia, where three residents and two staff members have tested positive.
According to LPH, 19 per cent of the county’s cases involve long-term care or retirement home residents. At least 15 per cent involve health-care workers.
At least 14 of the region’s cases involve staff members at Sarnia’s Bluewater Health, a hospital spokesperson says, adding that 11 had contracted it through the community and four through work.
None of the staff who became infected through work were staff in the hospital’s COVID-19 or intensive care units, or its emergency department, but officials were able to trace the cases back to patients they had been treating.
The hospital was treating 12 confirmed COVID-19 patients and another 13 who were suspected cases or were awaiting tests as of Monday morning.
As of late Sunday night, 1,758 COVID-19 cases had been administered in the county. The number of cases awaiting results was not immediately available.
— 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.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
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