Five people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, while eight others have recovered, officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported Tuesday.
The update brings the total number of confirmed cases in the region to 590, of which 460 people have recovered. Fifty-seven people have also died.
All five new cases are from London, which has seen at least 552 cases, and none are linked to seniors’ facilities.
Of the at least 51 cases that have been reported in London since June 1, only two have been linked to long-term care and retirement homes, according to health unit figures.
Elsewhere, 20 cases have been reported in Strathroy-Caradoc, seven in Middlesex Centre, five in North Middlesex, four in Thames Centre and one each in Lucan Biddulph and Southwest Middlesex.
Monday saw the largest number of people so far visit the COVID-19 assessment centre at Oakridge Arena, according to the health unit.
At least 373 people were assessed there, while 350 were assessed at Carling Heights Optimist Community Centre.
Around 5,800 people have been seen at the two centres over the last two weeks, according to health unit stats.
In total, the two facilities have seen a combined 22,000 people and swabbed just over 16,500.
The number of hospitalized patients in the city remains low, according to London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC). The organization is only releasing an exact tally if the patient count rises above five.
No COVID-19 patients were being treated within St. Joseph’s Health Care London as of June 8, the organization’s most recent update.
According to health unit figures, 81 per cent of cases have not required hospitalization, while 111 (19 per cent) have. Five per cent of cases have been admitted to intensive care.
Ninety-eight hospitalized cases, 88 per cent, have involved people over 50.
Of all the cases reported in the region, 23 per cent have involved health-care workers.
At least 42 staff members at LHSC have tested positive for the virus.
LHSC officials stopped releasing an updated figure earlier this month out of concern for staff privacy but said they would release a tally if the number of new staff cases rose by five or more.
St. Joseph’s Health Care said in its June 8 update that at least 18 staff members had tested positive.
READ MORE: Long-term care facilities are the only option for many. What happens when they fall short?
Health officials say the two remaining outbreaks in the region were still active as of Tuesday.
The two outbreaks, at Kensington Village and Chelsey Park Retirement Community, were declared active on April 3 and May 30, respectively.
They’re among at least 24 outbreaks that have been reported in London and Middlesex since the pandemic began.
Of those, at least 19 have been at seniors’ facilities, which have seen 170 cases and 37 deaths in total.
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Long-term care homes have been hit hardest, with 103 cases, involving 61 residents and 42 staff members. Twenty-four deaths have also been reported.
At retirement homes, 67 cases have been reported, involving 44 residents and 23 staff. Thirteen deaths have been reported.
According to Public Health Ontario, at least 485 outbreaks have been reported at Ontario seniors’ homes since mid-January, of which 98 remain active.
An analysis by Global News found that nearly a third of the province’s nursing home deaths were at facilities owned by just two corporate chains — Sienna Senior Living and Revera Inc.
Three Revera-owned facilities — Elmwood Place Long-Term Care, Grand Wood Park Retirement Residence and Horizon Place Retirement Residence — experienced outbreaks.
Grand Wood Park alone reported 30 cases, involving 22 residents and eight staff members. Three residents later died, according to health unit data.
At Elmwood Place, one resident and one staff member tested positive, while at Horizon Place, four residents and two staff tested positive. Two residents later died.
Ontario
Provincially, Ontario reported 184 new cases on Tuesday, and 11 more deaths.
Roughly two-thirds of the new cases come from Toronto, Peel Region and Windsor-Essex — the only three areas that won’t be in Stage 2 of the province’s reopening plan as of Friday.
The new cases bring the province to a total of 32,554, which is an increase of 0.6 per cent over the previous day.
The total includes 2,538 deaths and 27,431 resolved cases — 218 more than the previous day, continuing a trend of resolved cases growing more quickly than the total.
The numbers of people in hospital and in intensive care with COVID-19 both dropped, though the number of people on ventilators rose slightly.
Meanwhile, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health is now recommending that hospitals start allowing family and caregiver visits in acute care settings.
Elgin and Oxford
One person has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials with Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) reported Tuesday.
The new case brings the total number of confirmed cases in the region to 81, of which 70 have recovered and four have died.
Officials reported no new cases, deaths or recoveries on Monday or over the weekend.
Seven cases are active in the region.
The newest case was reported in Dutton/Dunwich in Elgin County, health unit figures show.
Elsewhere, two cases are active in St. Thomas, while in Oxford County, three cases are in East Zorra-Tavistock, and one is in Tillsonburg.
There are no active outbreaks. Three in total have been declared, with no associated deaths.
The health unit says no active cases are in hospital. The last case to be admitted to hospital was in late April.
As of Tuesday, 7,083 tests had been conducted in Elgin and Oxford counties, with 446 people still awaiting test results.
The test per cent positivity rate for Elgin and Oxford is 1.2 per cent.
Huron and Perth
No new cases, deaths or recoveries were reported Monday by officials with Huron Perth Public Health.
An update is expected Tuesday afternoon.
The total number of cases in the region stands at 56, of which 48 people have recovered and five have died.
Three cases remain active, including one each in Huron County, Perth County and St. Marys.
A total of 26 cases have been reported in Stratford, along with four deaths, while 14 cases have been reported in Huron County and 12 in Perth County.
The four deaths were linked to an outbreak at Greenwood Court.
Four cases have also been reported in St. Marys, including one death.
A total of seven outbreaks have been declared.
At least 4,706 tests had been administered in Huron and Perth as of Monday.
Sarnia and Lambton
No new cases, deaths or recoveries were reported late Monday by officials with Lambton Public Health (LPH).
The total number of cases reported in the region remains unchanged at 276, of which 235 people have recovered and 25 have died.
Health officials reported one new case and two recoveries on Monday and one new case over the weekend.
Neither case was linked to Vision Nursing Home, where an outbreak declared April 23 has sickened 28 staff members along with 26 residents — 10 of whom have since died.
The outbreak, the only active one in the county, is among seven in total that have been declared during the pandemic.
READ MORE: More Ontario regions to enter Stage 2 of reopening Friday; Toronto, Peel, Windsor still excluded
The outbreak at Vision, and a previous outbreak at Landmark Village, have produced the brunt of the outbreak-related cases — 94 of 100. The two facilities have also seen all 16 of the county’s outbreak-related deaths.
Fifteen cases remain active in the county.
No confirmed COVID-19 patients were being treated at Bluewater Health in Sarnia as of Tuesday morning. The hospital said it had 11 patients who were suspected positive or had tests pending.
The percentage of tests that come back positive stands at three per cent, up from 2.9 per cent on Monday.
Lambton County is among several regions in the province that will be allowed to move into Stage 2 of Ontario’s reopening framework on Friday.
— With files from the Canadian Press
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