Three people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported Monday.
The new cases bring the region’s total case count to 667. No recoveries were reported, keeping that tally at 582.
There are now at least 28 active cases in the city and county.
At least 57 people have died during the pandemic due to the coronavirus, with the most recent death reported on June 12.
All three cases reported Monday are from London and involve a man in his 20s and two women in their 40s and 60s. None are listed as health-care workers and none are linked to an outbreak.
Two of the cases contracted the virus through contact with a confirmed case, while one is listed as having no known link.
At least 617 cases have been reported in London during the pandemic, followed by 24 in Strathroy-Caradoc, 12 in Middlesex Centre and six each in North Middlesex and Thames Centre.
One case each has been reported in Lucan Biddulph and Southwest Middlesex.
Speaking on Monday, the region’s medical officer of health, Dr. Chris Mackie, said London and Middlesex residents should be concerned about the recent uptick in cases.
“Obviously it’s not a cause for panic, this is a slow, gradual increase. It’s not surprising… at this stage, when we’re seeing a lot more close contacts, we’d see the cases go up,” he said.
“The reassuring thing, of course, is that we’re not seeing an increase in deaths. And the majority of cases are in young people who tend to do better off. But I definitely think that we are, if not at the beginning of a second wave, this certainly could become a second wave over the coming weeks.”
Mackie said the health unit is seeing an increase in the number of people reporting a large number of close contacts.
“At the beginning of the pandemic, people would report that they had close contact with a dozen or more people. During the shut down… that went down to pretty close to zero to one, on average,” he said.
“We’re now seeing back in the 10 to 20 case contacts not being an unusual number. So it’s definitely about more contact happening in the community.”
Mackie attributed that more to an increase in gatherings at homes, such as barbecues, than to businesses reopening.
“Another driver is clearly travel, people are travelling again. And many places, particularly the U.S., still have very high case counts. Some of our cases lately have come from travel.”
The region’s seven-day average for new cases stands at 3.0 per day as of Monday, up from 2.57 on Friday. Looking back 14 days to July 13, the average is 1.92.
The region’s test positivity rate stood at 0.1 per cent as of the week of July 12, the most recent data available. That figure is the same as it was the two weeks prior, according to the health unit.
According to the health unit, 4,450 tests were administered during the week of July 12, and 4,381 the week of July 5.
Compared to other areas, London and Middlesex has seen 131.4 cases per 100,000 people as of Monday, up from 129.8 on Friday. Ontario has seen 260.2 cases per 100,000.
Health officials reported two new cases on Sunday, three cases on Saturday, and seven new cases and one recovery on Friday.
One of Friday’s cases involved a young child linked to a local unnamed daycare, according to the health unit. The case was not severe and the child was doing well as of last week.
Another case involved a staff member at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), prompting an outbreak declaration at Victoria Hospital in B8-200, the child and adolescent mental health unit, according to MLHU.
It’s currently the only active outbreak in the region. There have been at least 27 declared.
One of the cases reported Saturday was listed as a health-care worker at a local long-term care home. The case did not prompt an outbreak declaration.
At least 21 of the region’s outbreaks have been at seniors’ facilities. The homes account for at least 184 cases and 37 deaths.
Twenty-one per cent of the region’s cases, 140, involve people in their 20s, followed by people 80-plus with 16 per cent, or 107, and people in their 50s with 15.5 per cent, or 103.
A vast majority of cases involving people 80 and above are linked to outbreaks — some 84 per cent.
According to the health unit, women make up nearly 60 per cent of all cases. Thirty-three per cent are listed as being health-care workers. In comparison, just under nine per cent of cases involving men are health-care workers.
Of the 155 cases attributed to health-care workers, 131 are women.
Hospitalizations continue to be low in the region.
St. Joseph’s Health Care again reported no such patients in its care, while London Health Sciences Centre has not issued a tally since June 10. It says it will do so only if the number of COVID-19 patients rises above five.
Overall, at least 113 people have had to be hospitalized for COVID-19, with the vast majority, about 90 per cent, over the age of 50.
At least 31 patients have had to be admitted to intensive care units.
Ontario
Provincially, Ontario reported 119 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday and one new death.
The total number of cases now stands at 38,799, which includes 2,764 deaths and 34,461 resolved cases.
There were 102 new resolved cases reported Monday.
Some 64 per cent of new cases involve people under 40.
The provincial government says it was able to complete more than 24,664 tests the previous day.
It also says 82 people are in hospital because of the virus, including 30 people in intensive care and 18 on ventilators.
The province notes several hospitals did not submit data over the weekend and there will likely be an increase in numbers when they do.
Elgin and Oxford
Seven new cases of the novel coronavirus were reported Monday by officials with Southwestern Public Health, continuing a steady increase in active cases over the last week.
They bring the region’s total case count to 112, of which 82 people have recovered, a tally that was unchanged. At least five people have died, most recently in early July.
The health unit has reported at least one new coronavirus case every day for the last 10 days.
Health officials reported five new cases over the weekend — four on Saturday and one on Sunday — and four cases on Friday.
Monday’s seven-case increase is the largest spike seen in the region since March 20, when seven cases were reported.
There are at least 25 active cases in the region, including seven in Aylmer, six in Bayham, six in St. Thomas, three in Tillsonburg and one in Norwich. Locations for two cases were not immediately available.
The reason for the increase in cases this month — the region saw six cases through all of June — is not clear.
Last week, the health unit issued a Section 22 order to enforce individual compliance with public health instructions.
In particular, the order sought to address issues around self-isolation or quarantine of people “diagnosed with, exposed to, or symptomatic and waiting for COVID-19 results.”
The region’s medical officer of health, Dr. Joyce Lock, has said to some St. Thomas media outlets that a face mask mandate is on the way for Elgin and Oxford.
“It is something we’re looking at, it’s on the horizon,” she told myFM over the weekend.
“We’re just working through some final steps with our municipal partners, and once those are completed, hopefully we’ll be open to the public about the new direction.”
Hospitalizations remain low in the region as of Monday. Only one person has had to be hospitalized so far this month. They have since been discharged, according to health unit figures.
Fifty-six per cent of all confirmed cases are female, and 44 per cent are male. People in their 50s make up 24 per cent of all cases, followed by people in their 60s with 14 per cent.
SWPH has received 14,482 tests to date, with 307 pending results. At least 0.8 per cent of tests are coming back positive, up from 0.7 last week.
Huron and Perth
Two more people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials with Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) reported Monday.
They bring the region’s case count to 65, of which 57 people have recovered, one more than Friday, and five have died, a tally unchanged since late April.
There are two known active cases in the region, with one in Perth County and one in St. Marys.
Health officials did not issue an update over the weekend, and reported two cases and three recoveries on Friday.
No hospitalizations have been reported since late April, according to the health unit.
At least three patients have needed oxygen therapy, two have been in the ICU, one has needed a ventilator and one has needed intubation.
People in their 60s make up the largest age group of cases with 17. People in their 50s account for 13 cases, while people in their 30s account for 10.
At least 26 cases have been reported in Stratford during the pandemic, along with four deaths, which health officials say were linked to a since-resolved outbreak at Greenwood Court, a long-term care home. The outbreak was declared over in May.
In Perth County, 19 cases have been reported, while in Huron County, 15 have been reported.
St. Marys has seen five cases, including one death.
At least 11,225 people had been tested as of Monday, according to the health unit. The region’s test per cent positivity stands at under 0.1 per cent.
Sarnia and Lambton
Two people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials with Lambton Public Health reported late Sunday.
The new cases bring the region’s total case count to 295, of which 261 people have recovered, a tally unchanged from the day before. Twenty-five people have died, most recently in early June.
Health officials reported one new case over the weekend late Saturday.
There are currently nine known active cases in the county. At least seven are in Sarnia, according to health unit data.
Further details about the cases were not immediately available, but the health unit says none are linked to local long-term care or retirement homes.
A total of nine outbreaks have been declared during the pandemic, most recently on June 18. It was declared over July 2.
There are zero hospitalized patients at Bluewater Health in Sarnia, the hospital reported Monday. The hospital has not seen a COVID-19 patient in its care since June 14.
At least 58 people have had to be hospitalized for COVID-19, most recently in early June. A vast majority of hospital admissions occurred in late March and early April.
At least 16,386 test results had been received by the health unit as of late Sunday, with 1.8 per cent coming back positive.
— With files from The Canadian Press
Comments