One person has died, three people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and three others have recovered, officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported on Wednesday.
It brings the total number of confirmed cases in London and Middlesex to 461, of which now 306 have recovered — about 66 per cent — and 46 have died.
None of the three new cases involve long-term care or retirement homes, and all three were reported in London, health unit figures show. At least 425 cases have been reported in the city.
The reported death is associated with a long-term care home outbreak and involves a man in his 50s, the health unit says.
The health unit wouldn’t confirm the identity of the deceased, but the update comes a day after the Ontario Nurses’ Association announced that a registered nurse at a long-term care home in the city had died from COVID-19.
Brian Beattie worked as a registered nurse at Kensington Village, according to a statement from the ONA. The death is the first in the province involving an RN.
Kensington Village has seen at least 11 residents and eight staff members test positive for the novel coronavirus since an outbreak was declared there on April 3, according to a statement from Sharon Village Care Homes, the home’s operator.
Since then, in addition to Beattie, officials say five residents have died while seven staff and three residents have recovered. Three cases remain active at the home among residents as of Tuesday evening.
An outbreak also remains active in Kensington Village’s retirement residence, declared on April 30.
Elsewhere, 19 cases have been confirmed in Strathroy-Caradoc, while Middlesex Centre has seen seven cases. Four cases each have been reported in North Middlesex and Thames Centre, while one each has been reported in Lucan Biddulph and Southwest Middlesex.
On Tuesday, the health unit reported two new deaths in the region along with two new cases, all linked to seniors’ homes.
The deaths, involving a woman in her 60s and a man in his 80s, were linked to a retirement home and a long-term care home, respectively, while the two cases involved a long-term care resident and a long-term care staff member.
At least 140 confirmed cases involve local seniors’ facilities, including 88 at long-term care homes involving 54 residents and 34 staff members, and 52 at retirement homes involving 36 residents and 16 staff.
The two outbreaks at Kensington Village are among 10 still active in the region. All but one are located at local long-term care or retirement homes.
Local outbreaks also remain active at Peoplecare Oak Crossing, Elmwood Place, Sisters of St. Joseph, Horizon Place, Meadow Park Care Centre, Earls Court Village, Grand Wood Park, and Henley Place.
Across the province, at least 356 COVID-19 outbreaks have been declared at Ontario long-term care and retirement homes since Jan. 15. At least 2,982 residents and 1,561 staff have tested positive, while 814 residents and two staff members have died.
Premier Doug Ford announced Wednesday morning a new emergency order that allows the province to step in if a long-term care home has a high number of infections or deaths or has a shortage of staff.
The province says the appointed manager could be any person, including a corporation or hospital.
Ontario Minister of Long-Term Care Merrilee Fullerton rejected calls to take over management of some specific care homes just a few weeks ago, though she said the province was open to co-ordinating management teams to go in and help when necessary.
Long-term care homes have been among the hardest hit by COVID-19.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s chief public health officer, said Tuesday about 20 per cent of all confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada are linked to long-term care homes, but more than 80 per cent of the people who have died from COVID-19 were seniors living in the homes.
As many as 73 outbreaks have also been declared at hospitals across the province as well, including three in London, all of which have since been deemed resolved.
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As of Wednesday, at least 39 staff members with London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) had tested positive for the virus. It’s unclear how many cases remain active, whether any were hospitalized, and where within the hospital system the staff members worked.
LHSC says University and Victoria Hospitals were treating a total of 23 COVID-19 patients as of midnight Wednesday, including four in intensive care.
Victoria’s Children’s Hospital also reported it was treating one patient.
Ontario reported 329 new cases on Wednesday and 40 more deaths.
That brings the province to a total of 21,236 cases, including 1,765 deaths and 15,845 cases that have been resolved.
The new cases represent an increase of 1.6 per cent over the previous day.
Ontario has 1,018 patients (down by seven) hospitalized due to COVID-19, with 189 patients in an intensive care unit (down by three) and 144 patients in ICUs on a ventilator (down by two).
There were 15,137 tests completed in the previous day — with almost 13,400 still under investigation.
The government has pledged to do 16,000 tests per day by now, moving toward 20,000.
Elgin and Oxford
No new cases have been reported in Elgin and Oxford counties, while five people have recovered, Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) reported on Wednesday.
The total number of confirmed cases remains at 63, of which now 52 have recovered — about 82.5 per cent of cases. Four people have also died, a figure that has remained unchanged since April 22.
The health unit reported one new case in its jurisdiction on Monday.
Seven cases remain active in the region, according to the health unit.
Four cases are located in Elgin County, including two each in Malahide and St. Thomas, while three are in Oxford County, including two in Woodstock and one in South-West Oxford.
As of Wednesday, 3,259 tests had been administered in Elgin and Oxford counties, of which 256 are awaiting tests.
According to SWPH, the region’s test per cent positive rate stands at 2.1 per cent.
Two outbreaks have been declared in the region, both of which are resolved.
Huron and Perth
No new cases or deaths have been reported, one more person has recovered, and one outbreak has been declared over, Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) reported Wednesday.
It keeps the total number of confirmed cases at 49, of which 42 have recovered — about 83.6 per cent of cases — and five have died. The recovered case was reported in Huron County.
It’s the tenth day in a row that the health unit has reported no new cases in the region.
The health unit reported two new recoveries on Tuesday, reported no new cases, deaths or recoveries on Monday, and reported four recoveries on Sunday.
Of the two remaining active cases in the region, one is Huron County while one is in Stratford.
The resolved outbreak was located at Blue Water Rest Home in Bluewater, where one resident had tested positive, HPPH said.
An outbreak was also declared over earlier this week at Huronview, where one staff member had tested positive.
Two outbreaks remain active in the region, including at Braemark Retirement Centre, where two staff have tested positive, and at Exeter Villa, where one staff member has tested positive.
Twenty-five of the region’s cases and four of its deaths have been reported in Stratford. The deaths were linked to an outbreak at Greenwood Court retirement home, where at least 16 of the region’s cases were also reported.
The outbreak was declared over on Tuesday, more than month after it was first reported in late March. In total, six residents and 10 staff tested positive.
Nearly half of the region’s cases, 23, have involved health-care workers, health unit figures show. Of those, 20 have since recovered.
Elsewhere, 12 cases have been reported in Huron County, of which 11 have recovered, while in Perth County, 10 cases have been reported, of which all have recovered.
Two cases have been reported in St. Marys. One person died and one recovered.
As of Wednesday, the health unit says 2,130 tests have been administered in Huron and Perth, 67 more than the day before. Of those, 75 are still awaiting test results.
Sarnia and Lambton
One person has tested positive for the virus while another has recovered, health officials with Lambton Public Health reported late Tuesday in its most recent update.
It brings the total number of cases in the county to 204, of which now 146 have recovered — or about 71.5 per cent of cases. Seventeen people have died in Lambton, a figure that remained unchanged.
Health unit figures show the new case was not linked to an active outbreak at Vision Nursing Home, a long-term care home in Sarnia, where eight residents have tested positive, three of whom have since died. One of the deaths was reported late Saturday. Three staff members at the home have also tested positive.
Lambton health officials reported three new cases late Monday along with three new cases.
A total of four outbreaks have been declared at seniors’ facilities in Lambton, however, three have since been resolved.
According to LPH figures, 73 per cent of cases have been reported in urban areas, including Sarnia, Bright’s Grove and Point Edward.
Long-term care residents and retirement home residents make up about 18 per cent of the county’s cases, while health-care workers make up 14 per cent.
As of Friday, at least 15 staff members at Sarnia’s Bluewater Health hospital had tested positive for the virus, with two confirmed recovered. 980 CFPL has reached out to the hospital for an updated count.
The hospital was treating seven confirmed patients on Tuesday, with an additional 15 who were suspected positive or were awaiting test results.
As of late Tuesday, 4,409 test results had been received by county health officials, an increase of 93 from the day before. It’s unclear how many tests are pending. The positive test rate stands at five per cent.
— With files from Global’s Gabby Rodrigues and The Canadian Press
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