One person has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and six people have recovered, officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported Monday.
The update brings the region’s total case count to 684, of which 612 people have recovered. Fifty-seven people have also died, most recently on June 12.
There are now at least 15 known active cases in the region, down from 23 on Friday.
Health officials reported one new case and three recoveries on Sunday, one recovery on Saturday, and one case and three recoveries on Friday.
Monday’s case was reported in London and involves a person in their 20s whose source of acquisition is listed as pending or undetermined.
They are not listed as being a health-care worker or linked to a seniors’ home.
So far, at least 632 cases have been reported in London, while 26 have been reported in Strathroy-Caradoc and 12 in Middlesex Centre.
Six cases each have been reported in North Middlesex and Thames Centre, and one in each of Lucan Biddulph and Southwest Middlesex.
The region’s seven-day average for new cases stands at 1.0 as of Monday. Looking back 14 days to July 27, the average is 1.35.
According to the health unit, the region’s test positivity rate for the week of July 26 stood at 0.2 per cent. The figures are the most recent available. Ontario’s was 0.4 per cent.
As of this week, the region’s case per 100,000 people rate stands at 134.8, while Ontario’s is 269.4.
At least 27 outbreaks have been declared since the start of the pandemic, with the most recent outbreak at Victoria Hospital in its child and adolescent mental health unit. The outbreak was declared over last week.
At least 21 of those outbreaks have been at long-term care and retirement homes, which have seen at least 185 cases and 35 deaths.
The facilities accounted for a chunk of cases in April and May, but have only been linked to eight of the region’s cases since July 1.
People in their 20s remain the largest age group of cases, accounting for 145 cases, or about 21 per cent. People 80 and above account for 107 cases, or about 15.7 per cent.
Hospitalizations remain low, if nonexistent. LHSC reports inpatients with COVID-19 number five or fewer, while St. Joseph’s Health Care London reported no such patients in its care as of Monday.
At least 114 people have had to be hospitalized for the virus during the pandemic.
Ontario
Provincially, Ontario reported 115 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday.
It’s the first time in more than a week that the province has seen more than 100 new cases of the novel coronavirus in a day.
The total number of cases in the province is now 40,161, with 36,381 marked as resolved and 2,786 deaths.
Health Minister Christine Elliott acknowledges the “slight uptick” but says the trend in the province remains downward.
The minister also says 28 out of 34 of the province’s public health units are reporting five or fewer new cases, while 18 are reporting none.
The province says it processed 22,275 tests over the last 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the Windsor-Essex region will join the rest of Ontario in Stage 3 of the province’s reopening plan on Wednesday.
The provincial government made the announcement Monday morning.
Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, said he made the decision based on positive local trends, including lower transmission rates, a significant increase in testing and the local public health unit’s capacity to conduct rapid case and contact management.
Outbreaks among migrant workers on farms in the region had previously held Windsor-Essex back from Stage 3, which the rest of the province entered throughout July.
Elgin and Oxford
Seven people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus while five people have recovered, officials with Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) reported Monday.
The numbers bring the region’s total case count to 209, of which 132 people have recovered. Five have also died, most recently in early July.
Health officials reported three new cases and 10 recoveries on Sunday, seven cases and 16 recoveries on Saturday, and six new cases and two recoveries on Friday.
One outbreak remained active at Terrace Lodge after a staff member tested positive. The outbreak was declared July 31. It’s one of four to be reported in the region during the pandemic.
The region has been experiencing a recent surge in new cases over the last several weeks, recording at least 126 cases since the start of July. Fifty-seven cases have been reported since Aug. 1.
In comparison, 24 cases were reported in May and June combined.
There are at least 72 known active cases in the health unit’s jurisdiction.
More than half of those are located in Aylmer. The town has reported 60 cases during the pandemic. Thirty-nine of those are currently active.
Elsewhere, Bayham, which has reported a total of 30 cases, has 15 that are still active. Active cases are also present in Tillsonburg (11), Norwich (two), St. Thomas (two) and Woodstock (one).
Aylmer remains the region’s hardest-hit municipality, recording an overall incident rate of 800.9 per 100,000 as of Monday. Bayham’s incident rate stands at 405.6, while St. Thomas and Woodstock stand at 69.4 and 44.0, respectively.
The town implemented its own mask bylaw last week.
The health unit says the recent increase can’t be pinpointed to one source.
“Some are related to workplaces, some to social gatherings, some to family clusters and others are individual cases of infection related to close contacts from other regions,” spokesperson Megan Cornwell said by email last week.
Cornwell said the health unit has seen a trend toward the relaxing of physical distancing and is reminding residents to follow provincial guidelines.
One person was in critical care in the region as of Saturday, the most recent figures. The patients were in hospital in Tillsonburg and Woodstock.
SWPH has received 18,865 tests to date, with 538 pending results. At least 1.1 per cent of tests are coming back positive.
Huron and Perth
Eight people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus while four have recovered, officials with Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) reported Monday.
The update brings the region’s total case count to 82, of which 69 people have recovered and five have died. The death toll has not changed since late April.
Health officials did not release an update over the weekend and reported no new cases, deaths, or recoveries on Friday.
Four of Monday’s new cases were reported in Perth County. Elsewhere, three cases were reported in Stratford, while one case was reported in Huron County.
The new cases are the only known active cases in the region.
Overall, Perth County has reported 31 cases, while Stratford has seen 29, Huron County 17 and St. Marys five.
Four deaths have also been reported in Stratford, all linked to a long-term care home outbreak. One death has also been reported in St. Marys.
At least 12,186 people had been tested as of Monday, according to the health unit. The region’s test per cent positivity rate was 1.32 per cent as of Sunday.
Sarnia and Lambton
Five new cases of the coronavirus and two recoveries were reported late Sunday by officials with Lambton Public Health.
They bring the region’s total case count to 326, of which 288 people have recovered. Twenty-five have died, a tally that has remained unchanged since early June.
There are at least 13 known active cases in the county. It’s not known where the active cases are as the health unit has refused to release location information.
Health officials reported two new cases late Friday and six recoveries late Thursday.
No COVID-19 patients were being treated by Bluewater Health on Monday. The hospital has reported no such patients in its care since June 14.
At least 58 people have had to be hospitalized during the pandemic due to the virus, most recently in late May.
A total of nine outbreaks have been declared in the county during the pandemic. All have since resolved.
Overall, 108 cases, or 36 per cent, are due to outbreaks, along with 16 deaths, health unit figures show. All of the deaths, and nearly all of the cases, were linked to two outbreaks at Landmark Village and Vision Nursing Home.
At least 18,859 test results had been received as of late Saturday. The region’s test positivity stands at 1.7 per cent.
– With files from The Canadian Press