Six people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in London and Middlesex, nine others have recovered and one new outbreak has been declared, officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported Thursday.
The update brings the total number of confirmed cases in the region to 493, of which 350 have now recovered, or about 71 per cent. Forty-eight people have also died — a figure that remained unchanged.
All six of the new cases were reported in London, with two linked to outbreaks at local seniors’ facilities. One case involves a long-term care home staff member, while the other involves a retirement home resident.
Health officials reported three new cases and four recoveries on Wednesday, and reported 11 new cases on Tuesday.
As of Thursday, 456 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, 14.4 per cent of cases have involved non-intensive care hospitalizations, while 5.6 per cent have seen patients being admitted to an ICU. A majority of both have involved patients over the age of 70.
The latest outbreak, the health unit said, was officially declared on Wednesday at Henley Place, a long-term care facility in London. It’s the second outbreak to be reported at the home.
The first outbreak, declared on March 28, was reported resolved this past Sunday.
At least 17 cases have been reported at the facility over the course of the two outbreaks, health unit data shows, involving at least 14 residents and three staff. At least six residents have died.
At least 162 cases and 28 deaths have been reported at local seniors’ homes, including 98 at long-term care homes, involving 58 residents and 40 staff, and 64 at retirement homes, involving 44 residents and 20 staff.
Twenty-one deaths have been at long-term care homes, while seven have been at retirement homes.
Long-term care and retirement homes also account for at least 17 of the now 22 outbreaks that have been declared in London and Middlesex.
Of the seven outbreaks that remain active, all are located at long-term care and retirement homes, including Country Terrace, Mount Hope Centre for Long-Term Care (St. Mary’s 5th Floor), Waverly Mansion, Sisters of St. Joseph, Meadow Park Care Centre and Kensington Village (LTCH).
The outbreaks at Country Terrace, Mount Hope and Waverly Mansion were declared in the last seven days.
Over the same time period, outbreaks were declared resolved at Horizon Place, Earls Court Village, Elmwood Place, Kensington Village Retirement, Peoplecare Oakcrossing and Grand Wood, in addition to the first outbreak at Henley Place.
The local outbreaks are among at least 404 that have been declared at seniors’ facilities across the province since mid-January, of which 293 remain active, according to Public Health Ontario.
According to the health unit, 126 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, according to the organization’s last update. It’s unclear how many cases remain active and where within the hospital system the staff members worked.
Both University and Victoria hospitals were treating a total of 17 COVID-19 patients as of midnight Wednesday, with one in intensive care.
At least 347 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, 53 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 413 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and 31 more deaths.
That brings the province to a total of 24,187 cases, which is an increase of 1.7 per cent over the previous day.
Ontario’s growth rate in cases has steadily hovered between 1.5 and 1.9 per cent for 11 of the past 12 days.
The province’s case total includes 1,993 deaths and 18,509 resolved cases.
The numbers of people in hospital with COVID-19, in intensive care and on ventilators all declined in the past day.
Ontario completed 10,506 tests in the previous day, marking a fourth straight day the province has fallen short of its goal of doing at least 16,000 tests per day.
Elgin and Oxford
One more person has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials with Southwestern Public Health reported on Thursday.
The new case brings the total number of confirmed cases in Elgin and Oxford counties to 66, of which 56 people have recovered — about 84.4 per cent — and four have died.
No new deaths have been reported since April 22.
The new case was reported in Tillsonburg in Oxford County, health unit data shows.
The last case to be confirmed by SWPH was on Tuesday involving a staff member at Secord Trails in Ingersoll, prompting an outbreak declaration at the facility.
So far, three outbreaks have been declared in the region. The previous two have since been resolved.
With the new case, six active cases remain in the region.
Four are now in Oxford County, with one each in East Zorra-Tavistock, Ingersoll, Tillsonburg and Woodstock. Two cases are in Elgin County, including one each in Malahide and St. Thomas.
As of Thursday, 3,712 tests had been administered in Elgin and Oxford counties. Of those, 201 were awaiting results.
The region’s test per cent positivity remains at 1.9 per cent. The figure has steadily declined over time as the health unit has conducted more tests.
Huron and Perth
For the first time in nearly three weeks, health officials in Huron and Perth have reported a new case of COVID-19.
The new case, reported in Goderich, brings the total number of confirmed cases in the region to 50, of which 44 have recovered — 88 per cent — and five have died.
It’s also the first time since Friday that the region has had an active case.
Health officials say the new case involves a resident at Maitland Manor, a long-term care home, which has declared an outbreak as a result.
It’s the seventh outbreak to be declared in the region since the pandemic began, and the only one currently active.
Two outbreaks were declared over on Tuesday and Wednesday at Braemar Retirement Centre and at Exeter Villa, respectively.
Elsewhere, outbreaks at Greenwood Court, Blue Water Rest Home and Huronview were all declared over earlier this month, while an outbreak at Hillside Manor was resolved April 14.
Of the region’s five deaths, four have been linked to the resolved outbreak at Greenwood Court in Stratford. The home saw 10 staff infections and six resident infections.
Stratford has seen 25 of the region’s reported cases.
With Thursday’s update, 13 cases have now been reported in Huron County, with all but one resolved, 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 Thursday, the health unit says 2,567 tests have been administered in Huron and Perth. Of those, 72 were awaiting test results.
Sarnia and Lambton
Five people have tested positive while three others have recovered, officials with Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported late Wednesday in its most recent update.
The numbers bring the total number of confirmed cases in the region to 235, of which now 170 have recovered — about 72 per cent — and 19 have died.
Four of the cases are linked to an active outbreak at a long-term care home in Sarnia, health unit figures show.
Two more residents and two more staff members at Vision Nursing Home have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases at the facility to 17 among residents and 16 among staff.
Five cases were reported at the facility on Wednesday.
The outbreak, declared April 23, has also resulted in the deaths of four residents, the health unit says.
Two other outbreaks remain active in the county: Marshall Gowland Manor, where one resident has tested positive, and Village on the St. Clair, where two residents have tested positive.
Both facilities are in Sarnia and both outbreaks were declared on Friday, May 15.
It’s not clear how many cases at the three seniors’ homes remain active.
Three other outbreaks at Landmark Village, Lambton Meadowview Villa and Sumac Lodge have since been declared over.
Seniors’ home residents make up 21 per cent of all cases reported in the county.
An outbreak among staff at Bluewater Health has improved, according to hospital officials.
As many as 15 staff members had tested positive over the course of the pandemic. Of those, eight have since recovered.
Figures show health-care workers make up 17 per cent of Lambton’s case count.
The hospital was treating four confirmed COVID-19 patients as of Wednesday morning, in addition to 13 patients who were suspected positive or awaiting tests.
As of late Monday, 5,322 test results had been received by the county. It’s unclear how many cases remain pending results.
— With files from the Canadian Press
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