For the second day in a row, health officials in London and Middlesex are reporting no new coronavirus cases in the region.
The total number of cases remains unchanged at 630, of which at least 515 people have recovered — three more than Sunday — and 57 have died.
It’s been more than three weeks since the health unit last reported a COVID-19-related death in the region — on June 12 involving a woman in her 90s from a local retirement home.
The health unit reported no new cases and one recovery on Sunday, one new case and one recovery on Saturday, and two new cases and two recoveries on Friday.
The region’s seven-day average for new cases stands at 0.7 per day. Looking back two weeks to June 22, the average is 1.6 per day.
London has reported 585 cases in total during the pandemic.
Elsewhere, Strathroy-Caradoc has reported 22 cases, while Middlesex Centre has seen 10, Thames Centre six, North Middlesex five, and Lucan Biddulph and Southwest Middlesex one each.
On Monday, the health unit officially issued its Section 22 order mandating masks on public transit and in higher-risk businesses where physical distancing is not practical.
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The order will come into effect on July 20.
According to the health unit, there are no active outbreaks in local long-term care and seniors’ homes.
The last active outbreak in the region was deemed resolved on Thursday afternoon at Westmount Gardens, where at least three staff members had tested positive since June 18.
The two new cases reported on Friday both involved staff at two separate seniors’ homes, but the health unit did not declare outbreaks at either.
The region’s medical officer of health, Dr. Chris Mackie, explained Friday that recent changes to provincial guidelines regarding outbreak declarations at seniors’ homes gave the health unit more flexibility on the issue in certain situations.
Mackie also added that both cases had never been symptomatic and had a “tiny, tiny,” amount of the virus in their test samples — a sign that they could either be false positives, or if positive, very unlikely to be infective.
He added that the risk to staff and patients in the respective facilities related to the two cases was “nonexistent.”
At least 26 outbreaks have been reported locally, including 21 that have been at long-term care and retirement homes.
Seniors’ facilities account for 180 of the region’s cases and 37 of its deaths.
With the number of new cases remaining low, the number of hospitalizations also remains largely unchanged, according to London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC).
While an exact tally isn’t known, the number of hospitalized cases is between zero and five, based on LHSC’s guidelines for releasing a tally.
St. Joseph’s Health Care London had no COVID-19 patients in its care at any of its facilities as of Monday.
Of the region’s cases, 112 have had to be hospitalized, including 31 who have needed intensive care.
The most recent case to be reported that required intensive care at some point was on May 27, according to health unit data.
Ontario
Provincially, Ontario reported 154 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, with 160 recoveries and no new deaths.
The total number of cases now stands at 35,948, which includes 31,426 marked as resolved and 2,689 deaths.
The province completed roughly 17,303 tests for the novel coronavirus over the previous 24 hours.
Meantime, mayors from Ontario’s largest cities are calling on the provincial and federal governments to provide emergency funding to municipalities to cover pandemic-related costs.
The Large Urban Mayors’ Caucus of Ontario says upper levels of government must act now to prevent property tax increases, service cuts and user fee hikes.
The group has been calling for several months for a least $10 billion in relief funding for municipalities across the country.
Elgin and Oxford
No new cases, deaths or recoveries were reported on Monday by officials with Southwestern Public Health (SWPH).
The total number of cases remains unchanged at 85, of which 77 people have recovered and five have died.
The health unit reported one new case over the weekend and one death and one new case on Friday. The death was the first COVID-19 fatality to be reported in the region since April 22.
The deceased, identified as a 68-year-old Alymer, Ont.-area woman, had been admitted to Tillsonburg hospital on July 1 and was confirmed positive after her death.
Three cases remain active in the region, including two in Elgin County — one each in Dutton/Dunwich and Malahide — and one in Oxford County in Blandford-Blenheim.
A total of three outbreaks have been reported, all since-resolved with no deaths.
At least 8,821 tests have been conducted in Elgin and Oxford counties, with 122 people still awaiting test results.
The percentage of tests that come back positive is one per cent, where it has stayed since June 23.
Huron and Perth
No new cases, deaths or recoveries have been reported by officials with Huron Perth Public Health.
The total number of confirmed cases remains at 58, of which 52 have recovered and five have died.
The health unit didn’t provide an update over the weekend and reported one new case on Friday — the only active case in the region.
Friday’s case was reported in Perth County, where 14 cases have been reported overall, according to the health unit. Thirteen of those people have recovered.
Elsewhere, Stratford has seen 26 cases, including four deaths, while Huron County has seen 14 cases, and St. Marys four cases with one death.
The four Stratford deaths were linked to a since-resolved outbreak at Greenwood Court.
The outbreak, which ended May 11, is among at least nine outbreaks that have been reported in the region during the outbreak. All have since resolved, with a total of 23 cases and four deaths reported.
As of Monday, 9,146 people had been tested in the region, 393 more than the day before, according to the health unit.
According to the figures, fewer than one per cent of tests have come back positive.
Sarnia and Lambton
No new cases, deaths or recoveries were reported late Sunday by officials with Lambton Public Health (LPH).
The total number of confirmed cases remains at 286, of which at least 258 have recovered and 25 have died.
Health officials reported one recovery late Saturday and one new case late Friday.
No COVID-19 patients were being treated at Sarnia’s Bluewater Health hospital as of Monday morning.
It’s been more than three weeks since the hospital treated a confirmed COVID-19 patient. The last confirmed patient was discharged on June 14.
The hospital reported Monday that it had 10 patients in its care who were either suspected positive or had tests pending.
At least 19 staff at the hospital have tested positive for the virus over the course of the pandemic, including three cases in its since-closed COVID-19 unit that triggered an outbreak.
Nine outbreaks in total have been declared in the county, to which 105 cases and 16 deaths have been linked, nearly all of them at two seniors’ homes.
At least 13,032 test results have been received by local health officials. According to the health unit, 2.2 per cent of tests come back positive as of late Sunday.
— With files from the Canadian Press
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