Six more people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in London-Middlesex, the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported Saturday.
This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases in the area to 555.
The number of recoveries increased by five on Saturday and now sits at 408 — about 73.5 per cent of cases.
The number of deaths remains at 56.
The MLHU says all six new cases are from London, where 518 of the region’s cases have been reported — about 93 per cent — while 20 cases have been reported in Strathroy-Caradoc and seven Middlesex Centre.
Elsewhere, four cases each have been reported in North Middlesex and Thames Centre, and one each has been reported in Lucan Biddulph and Southwest Middlesex.
The health unit says the COVID-19 assessment centre at the Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre has swabbed 8,011 clients, and the assessment centre at Oakridge Arena has swabbed 4,762 as of Saturday.
Health officials say the number of active outbreaks in London and Middlesex dropped to three on Friday after three other outbreaks were declared over the day before.
Outbreaks remain active at Kensington Village, Sisters of St. Joseph and Chelsey Park Retirement Community. They were declared April 3, April 17 and May 30, respectively.
At least 19 of the 24 outbreaks that have been declared locally during the pandemic have involved seniors’ facilities.
Local senior homes, which includes both long-term care and retirement homes, have seen 169 cases of COVID-19. This includes 104 residents and 65 staff. Additionally, 36 people have died.
In terms of total case count, the most severe of the three outbreaks has been at Sisters of St. Joseph, where at least 25 cases have been reported involving 13 residents and 12 staff members.
Of those, three residents and one staff member have died.
At least 457 outbreaks have been reported at seniors’ homes across the province since mid-January, according to Public Health Ontario.
The number of hospitalized patients in the city declined by one to eight as of midnight Friday, according to the most recent update from London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC).
The figure is a combination of cases at University and Victoria hospitals. It’s not clear whether any patients are in intensive care.
LHSC announced Friday that it would stop releasing an updated number of positive cases among staff members unless the tally increased by five or greater. The organization said it was to protect staff privacy.
In its update on Wednesday, LHSC said there had been at least 42 staff cases reported during the pandemic.
At least 18 staff members with St. Joseph’s Health Care have tested positive. It’s not clear how many cases remain active.
At least 410 hospital workers across Ontario have tested positive for the virus since mid-January, while 393 residents/patients have also been infected, according to Public Health Ontario.
Ontario
Provincially, Ontario reported 455 new cases of the novel coronavirus Saturday morning, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 30,202.
Of the new cases, 68 were included due to a reporting delay, meaning 387 cases have been confirmed since the last report.
The death toll rose by 35, bringing the total fatalities to 2,407.
A total of 23,947 cases are considered resolved, which makes up 79.3 per cent of all confirmed cases.
Nationally, Canada has reported 95,001 of COVID-19, 7,773 deaths and 52,932 recoveries.
Elgin and Oxford
No new cases or deaths were reported Saturday in the region, and the total number of recoveries rose by two.
Officials with Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) say there are now 68 recoveries, the total number of confirmed cases remains at 75, and no new deaths have been reported since April 22.
Officials say an outbreak at Secord Trails that has left at least eight staff sickened remains active as of Saturday. The long-term care facility in Ingersoll has seen an active outbreak since May 18.
Of the three cases that remain active in the region, one is in Oxford County in Tillsonburg, while two remain active in Elgin County, both in St. Thomas.
As of Saturday, 5,738 tests had been conducted in Elgin and Oxford counties, of which 580 remained pending results.
Huron and Perth
As of Saturday, no new cases, deaths or recoveries were reported.
At least 54 cases have been reported in the region, of which 46 have recovered and five have died. No new deaths have been reported in the region since April 29.
The last new case to be reported by health officials was on Wednesday. Before that, a case was reported on Monday.
Three active cases remain in the region, including two in St. Marys — both reported earlier this week — and one in Stratford.
- Buzz kill? Gen Z less interested in coffee than older Canadians, survey shows
- Naloxone-resistant street drug linked to 9 deaths in Eastern Canada seized in Alberta
- Bird flu risk to humans an ‘enormous concern,’ WHO says. Here’s what to know
- Canada updating sperm donor screening criteria for men who have sex with men
The number of active outbreaks remains at zero. A total of seven have been declared, involving 27 cases.
All but seven of those cases were reported at Greenwood Court in Stratford. An outbreak there saw six residents and 10 staff members test positive, and four people die. It was declared over May 11.
Twenty-six cases have been reported in Stratford, while 13 have been reported in Huron County and 11 in Perth County.
Four cases have been in St. Marys, including the region’s first two.
The health unit said 3,829 tests had been administered in Huron and Perth as of Friday. Of those, 124 were awaiting test results.
Sarnia and Lambton
Six more people have recovered from the novel coronavirus and no new cases or deaths were reported as of late Friday, according to Lambton Public Health (LPH).
This brings the total number of recoveries to 223. The total number of confirmed cases remains at 267 and the death count at 24.
LPH says one outbreak remains active — at Vision Nursing Home in Sarnia, where 26 residents and 25 staff members have tested positive for the virus. Nine residents have since died.
Still-positive residents from the home have been moved to Bluewater Health hospital to keep the outbreak from spreading.
The hospital says it’s treating 11 COVID-19 patients as of Saturday, one fewer than the day before, along with 21 who are suspected positive or are awaiting tests, five fewer than the day before.
According to the health unit, 40 per cent of all COVID-19 cases in the county have been outbreak-related and 35 per cent are related to close contact.
As of late Friday, LPH said 7,861 test results had been received by health officials. It’s not clear how many cases are still pending.
— With files from Global News’ Ryan Rocca and Matthew Trevithick
Comments