Three more people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus while four others have recovered, officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported on Wednesday.
The update brings the total number of confirmed cases in London and Middlesex to 487, of which 341 have resolved, or about 70 per cent. Forty-eight people have died, a figure that remained unchanged.
Health officials also reported that two more-than-month-long outbreaks at Grand Wood Park and Earls Court Village had been declared over.
All three of the newly confirmed cases were reported in London and all are associated with outbreaks at local seniors’ facilities.
They involve a long-term care home resident, a long-term care home staff member and a retirement home resident.
As of Wednesday, 450 of the region’s cases have been reported in London, while 20 have been in Strathroy-Caradoc. There have also been seven cases in Middlesex Centre, four in North Middlesex, four in Thames Centre and one each in Lucan-Biddulph and Southwest Middlesex.
Of the region’s cases, 71 have involved non-intensive care hospitalizations, while 28 have seen patients being admitted to an ICU, according to new statistics released Wednesday by the health unit. A majority of both have involved patients over the age of 70.
The health unit does not publicly release the locations where recoveries and deaths have been reported.
According to London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), University and Victoria hospitals were treating a combined 17 COVID-19 patients as of midnight Wednesday, with one in intensive care at UH.
After nearly two months, an outbreak at Grand Wood Park that saw at least 23 residents test positive — four of whom later died — and seven staff members infected has been declared over.
The outbreak, first declared March 31, was the second COVID-19 outbreak to be declared in London and Middlesex after an outbreak at Henley Place on March 28.
The facility accounts for more than half of the 57 cases in London and Middlesex that are associated with retirement home residents, and 35 per cent of the 20 cases involving retirement home staff.
More than half of all deaths in the region linked to retirement homes have also been at Grand Wood — four of seven.
Meantime, after a month and a half, an outbreak at Earls Court Village has also been declared over.
The facility had at least 18 residents test positive — including five who later died — and 11 staff infections, health unit data shows.
Ninety-five cases have been reported at long-term care homes in the region involving 57 residents and 38 staff members. Twenty-one deaths have also been reported.
Combined, long-term care homes and retirement homes account for more than 30 per cent of all cases reported in the region, more than half of all deaths and a majority of the declared outbreaks.
At least 15 of the 21 outbreaks declared in London since the pandemic began have been at long-term care and retirement homes. Of the six outbreaks that remain active, five are at such facilities.
Three new outbreaks have been declared just in the last week — at Country Terrace, Mount Hope Centre for Long-Term Care (St. Mary’s 5th Floor) and at Waverly Mansion.
Elsewhere, outbreaks remain active at Sisters of St. Joseph, Meadow Park Care Centre and Kensington Village (LTCH).
The local outbreaks are among at least 399 that have been declared at seniors’ facilities across the province since mid-January, of which 299 remain active, according to Public Health Ontario.
According to the health unit, 125 cases in London and Middlesex, or about 26 per cent, involve health-care workers. Of those cases, 11 are listed as active, according to MLHU data. Eighty-five per cent of the cases involve women and all but seven cases are located in London.
As of Wednesday, at least 41 staff members with LSHC had tested positive, an increase of two from the organization’s previous update. It’s unclear how many cases remain active and where within the hospital system the staff members worked.
At least 350 hospital staff members across the province have tested positive since mid-January, according to Public Health Ontario. A total of 78 outbreaks have been declared in Ontario hospitals, 56 of which remain active.
Three since-resolved outbreaks have been declared in London — two at Victoria Hospital and one at University Hospital.
Provincially, Ontario reported 390 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and 43 more deaths.
That brings the provincial total to 23,774 cases, which is an increase of 1.7 per cent over the previous day.
It includes 1,962 deaths and 18,190 resolved cases.
Hospitalizations increased slightly, but the number of people in intensive care and on ventilators decreased.
The number of tests completed in the previous day remained low — 7,382 — for the third day in a row.
A testing blitz of every long-term care resident and staff member was completed over the weekend, and while criteria for the general public to get tested have been expanded, health officials say no large influx of people looking for tests materialized over the weekend.
Elgin and Oxford
No new cases or recoveries have been reported by officials with Southwestern Public Health (SWPH).
The total number of confirmed cases stands at 65, of which 56 people have recovered, or about 86 per cent. The number of deaths also remained unchanged at four. No deaths have been reported since April 22.
The most recent case reported by SWPH was on Tuesday involving a staff member at Secord Trails in Ingersoll, health unit figures show.
The case prompted an outbreak declaration at the facility — the region’s third. The previous two outbreaks have since been declared over.
Including the Secord Trails case, five active cases remain in the region.
Three of them are in Oxford County, including one each in East Zorra-Tavistock, Ingersoll and Woodstock. Two are in Elgin County, including one each in Malahide and St. Thomas.
As of Tuesday, 3,605 tests had been administered in Elgin and Oxford counties. Of those, 163 were awaiting results.
The region’s test per cent positivity stands at 1.9 per cent, which the health unit says indicates there are not many undetected cases in the community.
The figure has steadily declined as the health unit has conducted more tests, data shows.
Huron and Perth
The number of active cases in Huron and Perth counties remains at zero as of Wednesday, and all outbreaks have been declared over.
The last two active cases were declared resolved on Friday. No new confirmed cases have been reported since May 1, according to officials with Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH).
Forty-nine cases have been confirmed in Huron and Perth since the start of the pandemic, of which 44 people have recovered — about 89.8 per cent — and five have died.
A total of six outbreaks have been declared in the region.
According to the health unit, the lone two active outbreaks were declared over on Tuesday and Wednesday. Two staff had tested positive at Braemar Retirement Centre, while one staff member had tested positive at Exeter Villa.
Four of the region’s deaths were linked to an outbreak, declared over on May 11, at Greenwood Court, a long-term care facility in Stratford, in which six residents and 10 staff tested positive.
Elsewhere, one resident tested positive at Hillside Manor, one resident tested positive at Blue Water Rest Home and one staff member tested positive at Huronview.
Nearly half of all cases, 23, involve health-care workers, the health unit says.
Stratford has seen 25 of the region’s reported cases, and four of its deaths. Twelve cases have been reported in Huron County, while 10 have been reported in Perth County.
In St. Marys, one person out of the city’s two reported cases died while one recovered
As of Wednesday, the health unit says 2,505 tests have been administered in Huron and Perth. Of those, 52 were awaiting test results.
Sarnia and Lambton
Five people have tested positive, all at a single long-term care home, while four others have recovered, officials with Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported late Tuesday, the most recent figures available.
The new cases bring the total number of confirmed cases in the county to 230, of which now 167 — about 72.6 per cent — have recovered, and 19 have died.
Health unit figures show the five cases are linked to an active outbreak at Vision Nursing Home in Sarnia.
Four more staff members and one more resident have tested positive at the facility.
In total, 15 residents and 14 staff have now tested positive for the novel coronavirus since the outbreak was declared on April 23 and four residents have since died.
Two other outbreaks also remain active in the county. Both are in Sarnia and were declared on Friday, May 15.
One resident has tested positive at Marshall Gowland Manor, while two residents have tested positive at Village on the St. Clair.
Three other outbreaks at Landmark Village, Lambton Meadowview Villa and Sumac Lodge have since been declared over.
Health unit figures show that 21 per cent of the county’s cases, 48, are among long-term care and retirement home residents, while 16 per cent, 39, are among Lambton health-care workers.
A spokesperson with Sarnia’s Bluewater Health hospital told 980 CFPL on Tuesday that of the 15 staff members who had tested positive over the course of the pandemic, eight had since recovered.
The hospital was treating four confirmed COVID-19 patients as of Wednesday morning, in addition to 13 patients who were suspected positive or were awaiting tests.
As of late Monday, 5,287 test results had been received by the county. It’s not clear how many tests are awaiting results.
— With files from the Canadian Press
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