One person has died, two others have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, and three people have recovered, officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported on Monday.
The update brings the total number of confirmed cases in the region to 501, of which 366 people have recovered — about 73 per cent — and 50 have died.
The health unit says the deceased was a man in his 80s, adding that his death was associated with an outbreak at a local retirement home.
Both new cases were reported in London, however neither was associated with a long-term care or retirement home.
Of the region’s cases 501 cases, 464 have been reported in London.
Elsewhere, 20 have been reported in Strathroy-Caradoc, along with seven in Middlesex Centre, four each in North Middlesex and Thames Centre, and one each in Lucan Biddulph and Southwest Middlesex.
It’s not clear how many cases in each location have been resolved as the health unit does not make that information publicly available.
As of Monday, about 20 per cent of the region’s cases have involved hospitalizations, including 5.8 per cent who, at one point, have been admitted to intensive care. A majority of hospitalized cases in London and Middlesex, 73 out of 100 cases, have involved patients over 60, health unit data shows.
A total of 16 COVID-19 patients were being treated in University and Victoria hospitals as of midnight Monday.
It’s not clear whether any patients are in intensive care, as London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) has stopped releasing that information to protect patient privacy as case numbers decrease.
Health officials reported one new death, eight new cases and six recoveries over the weekend.
The death involved a woman in her 80s and was associated with a retirement home.
One of the reported cases involved a food handler in the bakery of the Real Canadian Superstore location on Oxford Street East at Gammage Street. The worker, according to the health unit, worked between May 20 and 23.
Customers who purchased baked goods that were store-prepared or store-packaged during this period were advised to throw the products out.
The number of active outbreaks also rose over the weekend to eight after an outbreak was declared on the third floor of Chelsey Park, a long-term care facility.
It’s the second outbreak to be declared at Chelsey Park during the pandemic. The facility’s first outbreak was declared on April 2 and was resolved on April 14.
Long-term care and retirement homes have accounted for at least 18 of the now 23 outbreaks that have been declared since the start of the pandemic. The eight active outbreaks are located at such facilities.
As of Monday, 99 cases have been reported in long-term care homes, involving 58 residents and 41 staff members, while 65 cases have been reported in retirement homes, involving 43 residents and 22 staff members.
Twenty-one deaths have been reported at long-term care homes, and nine at retirement homes.
Outbreaks also remain active at Henley Place, Country Terrace, Mount Hope Centre for Long-Term Care (St. Mary’s 5th Floor), Waverly Mansion, Meadow Park Care Centre and Kensington Village (LTCH).
An outbreak also remains active at Sisters of St. Joseph, a facility in north London for retired nuns.
Health unit data shows at least 24 cases have been reported involving 13 residents and 11 staff. Two deaths have also been reported involving one resident and one staff member.
The local outbreaks are among at least 418 that have been declared at seniors’ facilities across the province since mid-January, of which 284 remained active as of Sunday afternoon, according to Public Health Ontario.
Of the region’s cases, 25 per cent, or 126 cases, involve local health-care workers, according to the health unit. Eight cases are listed as active as of Monday, health unit data shows. Eighty-five percent of cases involve women, and all but seven are in London.
At least 41 staff members have tested positive during the pandemic at LHSC, according to the organization, a figure that remains unchanged from its previous update on Friday. No details about the cases have been made public.
Provincially, Ontario reported 404 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, and 29 more deaths.
That brings the total in the province to 25,904, including 2,102 deaths and 19,698 resolved cases.
The new cases represent an increase of 1.6 per cent over Sunday’s total.
Just 8,170 tests were completed in the previous day — the eighth straight day Ontario has fallen short of its goal of 16,000 a day, and far short of its capacity of over 21,000.
Premier Doug Ford announced Sunday that anyone concerned they may have been exposed to COVID-19 can now get tested, whether or not they have symptoms.
Ontario has struggled to boost its testing numbers after completing a blitz of testing nearly every resident and staff member of long-term care.
Elgin and Oxford
No new cases, deaths or recoveries have been reported by officials with Southwestern Public Health (SWPH).
It keeps the total number of cases unchanged at 72, of which 57 have recovered — about 80 per cent — and four have died.
Health officials reported one new case over the weekend.
The case was not connected to an ongoing outbreak at Secord Trails in Ingersoll, where seven staff members of the long-term facility have tested positive since the outbreak was declared on May 18.
The outbreak at Secord Trails is one of three to be declared in the region. The other two, at Beattie Manor and Caressant Care Bonnie Place, have since been resolved.
Eleven cases remain active in Elgin and Oxford counties combined, with 10 cases in Oxford County, including four in Ingersoll, three in Woodstock, two in Tillsonburg and one in East Zorra-Tavistock.
One case remains active in Elgin County in Malahide, according to the health unit.
As of Monday, 4,034 tests had been administered in Elgin and Oxford counties. Of those, 190 were awaiting results.
According to the health unit, the region’s test per cent positivity rate stands at 1.9 per cent, down from 2.8 per cent on May 1 and down from a peak of 6.4 in mid-April.
The percentage has steadily decreased as the number of tests conducted has increased.
Huron and Perth
No new cases, deaths or recoveries have been reported by officials with Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH).
The total number of cases remains at 51, of which 44 people have recovered and five have died.
The region has two active cases.
Health officials reported one new case on Sunday in North Perth and one new case on Thursday at a long-term care home in Goderich. The latter was the first new case to be seen in the region in nearly three weeks.
As a result, an outbreak was declared at Maitland Manor. It’s the region’s seventh outbreak.
In a statement on Friday, the health unit said the resident was in stable condition.
Nearly half of all cases reported in Huron and Perth, 23, are linked to the outbreaks, which have seen 14 staff and eight resident cases, health unit figures show.
The county’s worst outbreak remains the one seen at Greenwood Court until May 11. Six residents and 10 staff members tested positive, and four deaths were reported.
Geographically, 25 cases have been reported in Stratford and 13 have been reported in Huron County, while 10 have been in Perth County.
St. Mary’s has seen two cases. One person died and one recovered.
As of Friday, the health unit says 2,643 tests have been administered in Huron and Perth. Of those, 128 were awaiting test results.
Sarnia and Lambton
One person has died, one has tested positive and two have recovered from the novel coronavirus, health officials with Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported late Sunday in its latest update.
It brings the total number of confirmed cases in the region to 248, of which 177 have recovered, or about 71 per cent of cases, and 21 have died.
Health unit figures show the death and the new case involved residents of Vision Nursing Home, a hard-hit long-term care facility in Sarnia that has seen 22 residents and 19 staff members infected.
It’s the sixth day in a row that a case has been confirmed at the facility, which has had an active outbreak since April 23.
Health officials reported one resident infection, one resident death and one staff infection at the home over the weekend.
The outbreak is now the worst to be seen in the county, surpassing the number of cases and equalling the number of deaths that had been reported at Landmark Village.
Two other outbreaks remain active in the region, both also in Sarnia.
Marshall Gowland Manor and Village on the St. Clair have seen one and two residents test positive, respectively. Both outbreaks were declared active on May 15.
It’s unclear how many cases linked to the three outbreaks remain active.
Three other outbreaks at Landmark Village, Lambton Meadowview Villa and Sumac Lodge have since been declared over.
Health unit figures peg the percentage of cases among long-term care and retirement home residents at 22 per cent, with health-care workers making up 17 per cent of cases.
That tally includes at least 15 staff infections at Bluewater Health in Sarnia, of which eight had recovered as of the middle of last week.
As of Monday morning, four COVID-19 patients were being treated at Bluewater Health, in addition to 18 who were suspected positive or awaiting tests.
As of late Sunday, 5,759 test results had been received by the county. Health officials don’t say how many tests are pending results.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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