Health officials in London and Middlesex say five people have tested positive for novel coronavirus and 10 have recovered, while officials in Lambton County say a more-than-month-long outbreak at a Sarnia retirement home has been declared over.
Health officials also reported that an outbreak declared in mid-April at Victoria Hospital had been declared over.
It brings the total number of confirmed cases in London-Middlesex to 436, of which 284 have recovered — about 65 per cent of cases — and 42 have died.
Only one of the new cases is linked to an outbreak at a local seniors’ facility, Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLH) figures show. The case involves a resident at a retirement home. Details about the other four cases were not released.
All five of the cases are from London, the health unit says. The city has now seen 403 cases since the start of the pandemic. Elsewhere, 17 cases have been reported in Strathroy-Caradoc, seven in Middlesex Centre, four in Thames Centre four in North Middlesex and one in Southwest Middlesex.
Of those, at least 134 cases — nearly 31 per cent — have been linked to 12 outbreaks at long-term care and retirement homes, while of the region’s 42 deaths, at least 23 — nearly 55 per cent — have been linked to the outbreaks.
According to the health unit, 86 cases have been reported in long-term care homes involving 53 residents and 33 staff, in addition to 17 deaths.
At retirement homes, 48 cases have been reported involving 34 residents and 14 staff, in addition to six deaths.
It’s unclear how many of the cases remain active.
The number of active outbreaks in the region now stands at 10 after the health unit reported that an outbreak in Victoria Hospital’s geriatric behavioural unit (C6-100) was declared over on Wednesday.
The outbreak was first declared on April 11. It’s unclear how many people tested positive as a result of the outbreak. London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) has seen a total of three COVID-19 outbreaks over the course of the pandemic, including two at Victoria Hospital and one at University Hospital.
According to hospital figures, at least 39 staff members at LHSC had tested positive since the start of the pandemic as of Thursday, a number that has remained unchanged since Saturday. According to health unit figures, healthcare workers account for at least 27 per cent of cases.
As of Thursday, University and Victoria hospitals were treating a total of 26 COVID-19 patients, including eight in intensive care. Both figures were unchanged from the day before.
Outbreaks remain active at peopleCare Oakcrossing, Kensington Village Retirement, Kensington Village Long-Term Care Residence, Elmwood Place, Meadow Park Care Centre, Earls Court Village, Henley Place and Sisters of St. Joseph.
An outbreak also remains at Grand Wood Park Retirement Residence, where facility operator Revera reported on Tuesday that a total of 22 residents and seven staff had tested positive since the start of the pandemic — an increase of three and two, respectively, since the company’s last update on April 25.
Of those, four residents have died, one more since the last update, while 12 residents and six staff have recovered. Six residents and one staff member remain in isolation.
The firm also operates Horizon Place Retirement Residence, where an outbreak has been ongoing since April 15.
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In a similar update Tuesday, the company reported that four residents and two staff members had tested positive at that facility, an increase of one each, respectively, since a previous update on April 24.
One resident at the home had also died, the update said.
Provincially, Ontario reported 399 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and 48 more deaths.
That brings the province to a total of 19,121 cases — a 2.1 per cent increase over Wednesday’s total — including 1,477 deaths and 13,569 resolved cases.
The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 and the number of people in intensive care remained stable, while patients on ventilators dropped from 174 to 155.
Ontario completed 15,179 tests in the previous day, a higher daily total than the past several, but still short of the 16,000 a day the province said it would be doing by now.
Premier Doug Ford had a call Wednesday afternoon with cottage country mayors and says in a statement Thursday that they are asking people to hold off on travelling to their regions.
Ford’s statement doesn’t explicitly advise cottagers not to visit their seasonal properties in advance of the May long weekend, but says “there will be plenty of long weekends to come.”
Elgin and Oxford
Two people have tested positive for novel coronavirus, officials with Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) reported Thursday.
It brings the total number of confirmed cases in Elgin and Oxford counties to 62, of which 43 have recovered — about 69 per cent of cases — and four have died.
They’re the first new cases to be reported in the region since Monday. Neither are connected to area seniors’ facilities, meaning no new outbreaks have been reported.
Of the region’s 15 active cases, nine are located in Oxford County, including three in Tillsonburg and two in Woodstock, while six are located in Elgin County, including three in St. Thomas.
According to SWPH, as of Tuesday, 2,904 COVID-19 cases had been administered in the region, with 249 tests awaiting results.
Health unit figures show the percentage of positive tests remains at about 2.3 per cent, compared to 2.5 per cent on Monday and 6.4 per cent on April 12.
Huron and Perth
For at least the fourth day in a row, officials with Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) have reported no new cases, deaths, or recoveries.
It keeps the total number of confirmed cases unchanged at 49, of which 34 have recovered — about 69 per cent of cases — and five people have died.
The number of active outbreaks in the region also remained unchanged at four, including at Greenwood Court in Stratford, the first outbreak reported by HPPH.
Six residents and 10 staff have tested positive, and officials say four deaths have been linked to the outbreak, first declared in late March.
Outbreaks also remain at Blue Water Rest Home in Bluewater, at Huronview in Huron East and Braemar Retirement Centre in North Huron.
Twenty-five of the region’s cases have been reported in Stratford, where officials say 20 people have recovered and four have died.
In Huron County, 12 cases have been reported, of which nine have recovered, while in Perth County, 10 cases have been reported, of which five have recovered.
Two cases have been reported in St. Marys, of which one died and one recovered.
As of Thursday, 1,811 coronavirus tests had been administered in Huron and Perth, 45 more than Wednesday. Of those, 124 are pending results, a decrease of 10 from the day before.
Sarnia and Lambton
More than a month after it was declared, a COVID-19 outbreak at Landmark Village is officially over, Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported late Wednesday.
Health officials also reported that one more person had tested positive in the county, and four more people had recovered.
It brings the total number of confirmed cases in Lambton to 193, of which 126 have recovered — about 65 per cent of cases — and 16 have died.
Declared on March 26, the outbreak at the Sarnia retirement home saw 30 residents test positive, including six who later died. Ten staff members were also infected.
It comes a day after an outbreak at Sumac Lodge, a long-term care home in Sarnia, was declared over on Tuesday. One staff member had tested positive.
In total, four outbreaks have been declared in the region, of which only one remains active — an outbreak, declared April 23, at Vision Nursing Home in Sarnia, where four residents have tested positive along with two staff.
Two of the four residents who tested positive have since died, both just this week — one on Tuesday and one on Wednesday.
LPH figures show nearly 40 per cent of cases have been linked to close contact, while 25 per cent have been linked to the four outbreaks.
According to the health unit, long-term care and retirement home residents account for 18 per cent of confirmed cases, while health care workers account for 15 per cent.
At least 15 cases have been confirmed at Sarnia’s Bluewater Health among staff as of Wednesday. It’s not clear how many cases are still active, as the hospital is awaiting the results of double negative retests. Results are expected back this week, said a spokesperson.
The hospital was treating seven COVID-19 patients as of Tuesday morning, one fewer than Wednesday, along with an additional 14 patients who were suspected positive or awaiting tests, six more than the day before.
As of Wednesday, the health unit says it’s received results for 3,525 COVID-19 tests. It’s not clear how many tests in total have been administered, and how many tests are still pending results.
Health officials say the current per cent positive rate in Lambton is 5 per cent.
–With files from The Canadian Press
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