The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) says 11 more people have tested positive for novel coronavirus Saturday, and four others have recovered.
This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases in the area to 531 and the number of recoveries to 376.
The death count remains unchanged at 52.
All the new cases are from London Ont., according to the MLHU.
Out of the total number of cases, 167 are linked to seniors’ homes, which includes both long-term care and retirement homes.
Of the 21 cases that have been reported this week, excluding Saturday, only three have been tied to seniors’ homes, according to the health unit.
Health officials have stressed that although many recent cases in weeks past have been reported within regional seniors’ facilities, community transmission of the virus is still a very real and ongoing concern.
Londoners have been turning out in large numbers to the city’s two COVID-19 assessment centres since Premier Doug Ford announced over the weekend that anyone concerned they may have been exposed to the virus can get tested whether or not they are symptomatic.
New figures released by the health unit on Friday show 653 people had visited Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre and Oakridge Arena between Monday and Friday of last week.
Wait times for the two assessment centres can be found on the health unit’s Twitter account.
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) says 15 patients were being treated in hospital for COVID-19 as of Friday.
At least 42 staff members have also tested positive. It’s not clear how many cases remain active.
Of the region’s cases, 494 have been reported in London.
Elsewhere, 20 cases 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.
Currently, there are seven active outbreaks in the region, all at seniors’ homes. This includes the third floor of Chelsey Park, Country Terrace, the Medway area of Henley Place LTC Residence, Kensington Village, Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care, Sisters of St. Joseph and Waverley Mansion.
Long-term care and retirement homes account for 32 of the region’s 52 deaths.
No new outbreaks have been declared since May 23, when an outbreak was reported on the third floor of Chelsey Park. The outbreak is the second to be seen at the facility, following an outbreak that was active from April 2 to 14.
Nearly 5,000 long-term care residents have tested positive while at least 1,412 have died — about 63 per cent of Ontario’s COVID-19-related deaths. Nearly 1,800 long-term care staff have also tested positive, of whom five have died.
Ontario
Provincially, Ontario reported 323 new cases of novel coronavirus Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 27,533.
The death count rose by 17 to 2,247.
Over 21,300 cases are considered resolved, which makes up 77.6 per cent of all confirmed cases.
Over 20,600 additional tests have been conducted bringing the total number completed in the province to 701,327. Around 12,800 cases are under investigation.
Nationally, Canada is seeing 90,150 cases of COVID-19, which includes 7,073 deaths and 47,611 recoveries.
Elgin and Oxford
For the third day in a row, no new cases, deaths or recoveries were reported by officials with Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) on Saturday.
The total number of confirmed cases remains at 73, of which 60 have been resolved, or about 82 per cent of cases. Four people have also died, a tally that has remained unchanged since April 22.
Of the region’s cases, eight are linked to an active outbreak at Secord Trails, a long-term care facility in Ingersoll, Ont.
Eight staff members have tested positive at the home since the outbreak was declared on May 18. Health officials reported zero cases among residents at the facility.
It’s one of three outbreaks that have been declared in the region since late March. The other two have since been resolved. No deaths have been reported as a result of the outbreaks.
Nine cases remain active in the region, with eight cases in Oxford County, including four in Ingersoll, and two each in Tillsonburg and Woodstock.
In Elgin County, one active case has been reported in St. Thomas.
The health unit said 4,690 tests had been administered in Elgin and Oxford as of Saturday, with 409 awaiting results.
Huron and Perth
COVID-19 numbers in Huron and Perth remain the same as Friday’s, with 52 cases, 44 recoveries, and five deaths.
Health unit figures show the newest case was reported in Stratford, Ont., on Friday, where 26 of the region’s cases have been reported.
It’s among three active cases in the region. The other two cases were reported in North Perth and in Goderich.
The case in Goderich involves a resident at Maitland Manor, a long-term care facility, which has since declared an outbreak — the region’s seventh and only active outbreak.
As many as 23 of the region’s cases have been linked to the seven outbreaks, which have seen a total of 14 staff and eight resident cases as well as four deaths.
The deaths were associated with a since-resolved outbreak at Greenwood Court that saw six residents and 10 staff infected.
The health unit said 3,258 tests had been administered in Huron and Perth as of Saturday. Of those, 141 were awaiting test results, and 3,065 have tested negative.
Sarnia and Lambton
One more person has tested positive for coronavirus, while two others have recovered, according to officials with Lambton Public Health (LPH).
This brings the total number of cases in the region to 262, with 198 recoveries — about 75.5 per cent.
The total number of deaths remains unchanged at 22.
Two outbreaks remain active in Lambton, including one at Lambton Meadowview Villa in Petrolia, where one staff member has tested positive, and at Vision Nursing Home in Sarnia, where a severe outbreak has seen at least 24 residents infected, seven deaths and 24 staff test positive.
It’s the worst outbreak reported in the county so far, surpassing the outbreak at Landmark Village that saw 30 residents infected, six deaths and 10 staff test positive. That outbreak was declared over on May 6.
Bluewater Health in Sarnia was treating 13 COVID-19 patients on Saturday. The hospital was also seeing 23 patients who were suspected to be positive or awaiting tests, one less from Friday.
As of late Friday, 6,388 test results had been received by county health officials. It’s unclear how many tests remain pending.
— With files from Global News’ Ryan Rocca and Matthew Trevithick
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