Two new people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in London and Middlesex, local health officials reported on Thursday.
It brings the region’s total case count to 719, of which 626 have recovered, a figure unchanged from the day before. The death toll, 57, has remained the same since June 12.
There are at least 36 known active cases in the region.
Both of Thursday’s cases involve people from London, Ont. One is a person in their 30s who became infected through travel, while the other is a person in their 50s whose acquisition source is listed as ‘no known link.’
Health unit data lists the person in their 50s as being a staff member at a local retirement home, however, no outbreak declarations have been made.
Health officials reported six new cases and one recovery on Wednesday, two new cases on Tuesday, two on Monday, and 12 on Saturday.
Four of the cases reported Wednesday and seven on Saturday involved people aged 19 or under who acquired the virus through close contact with a confirmed case.
During Wednesday’s COVID-19 media briefing, the region’s medical officer of health, Dr. Chris Mackie, attributed the spike in cases to household exposure.
“The ages are distributed. We’ve got teenagers down to, you know, under five. And they really are household contacts situations,” he said.
“All of those cases are cases where there are others in the household, adults who are most likely to have been the ones that brought the illness into the family. Once the adult tests positive, then we offer testing to the whole family. And that’s why we’re picking up these young children.”
The region’s seven-day average for new cases stands at 3.71 as of Thursday. Looking back 14 days to Aug. 6, the average is 2.71.
As of Thursday, the region’s cases per 100,000 rate stands at 141.7, while Ontario’s is 275.6.
The region’s test positivity rate stood at 0.5 per cent as of the week of Aug. 9, the most recent figures available. Ontario’s was 0.4 per cent. The health unit tested 4,643 people that week.
London has reported a vast majority of the region’s cases — at least 666.
Elsewhere, 26 cases have been reported in Strathroy-Caradoc, 12 in Middlesex Centre, seven in Thames Centre, six in North Middlesex and one each in Lucan Biddulph and Southwest Middlesex.
All but one of the region’s active cases are in London.
By age, people in their 20s account for the most cases at 151, or about 21 per cent. People in their 50s account for 108 cases, while people 80 and above account for 107.
At least 58 per cent of cases involve women, while 22 per cent involve health-care workers — of which 83 per cent are listed as women.
No COVID-19 patients are currently in hospital, according to health unit data. All cases listed as needing hospitalization during the pandemic have since been marked as resolved.
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At least 114 people have had to be hospitalized due to the coronavirus, including 32 who have needed to be admitted to intensive care.
No outbreaks are currently active. At least 27 have been declared, with 21 at local seniors’ facilities.
Five cases this month have been linked to seniors’ homes, but none have resulted in an outbreak being declared.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) reported Thursday that the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (PaLM) team, based in London, had gone from processing 50 coronavirus tests a day in Mid-March to more than 3,000 per day now.
The ramp-up in speed is being attributed to a partnership with LHSC’s Information Technology Services team, which resulted in “highly innovative digital solutions,” including online test ordering tools, connectivity between health information systems, and solutions aimed at accurately entering hundreds of results at a time.
PaLM, which serves southwestern Ontario, is a joint venture of LHSC and St. Joseph’s Health Care London.
Ontario
Provincially, Ontario reported 76 new cases of COVID-19 and one death on Thursday.
The province is also reporting 76 newly resolved cases.
The total number of cases in Ontario now stands at 41,048, which includes 2,793 deaths and 37,291 cases marked as resolved.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says that due to an issue with the province’s reporting system, data was not available Thursday from 11 of Ontario’s 34 public health units.
Elliott says hospitalizations and patients on ventilators both declined as intensive care admissions remained stable.
The province was able to complete 25,917 tests over the previous day.
Meanwhile, the Ontario government extended its emergency orders on Thursday, saying it continues to need the tools to address the COVID-19 pandemic.
Solicitor General Sylvia Jones said that while virus cases continue to go down, the province will extend most orders until Sept. 22.
Elgin and Oxford
Two people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials with Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) reported Thursday.
It brings the region’s total case count to 241.
Health officials reported four new cases and two recoveries on Wednesday, seven new cases on Tuesday, and no new cases Monday.
Further details about the region’s case situation are limited as the health unit is in the midst of transitioning to a new reporting database.
On Wednesday, the health unit had reported at least 197 of the region’s cases had recovered, and five have died — a tally unchanged since early July.
At the time, at least 16 active cases were in Aylmer, seven each were in Bayham and St. Thomas, five were in Tillsonburg and two were in Woodstock.
The region has reported 158 cases since the beginning of July, with 89 of those just this month. In comparison, March, April and May altogether saw 83 cases reported.
Aylmer has been hardest-hit by the increase, reporting a total of at least 74 cases overall since the beginning of the pandemic as of Wednesday — a case rate of about 987.7 per 100,000 people.
St. Thomas, which has reported at least 36 cases, had a case rate of 92.5 per 100,000 people.
SWPH had received 20,649 tests as of Wednesday. The region’s test-positivity rate was 1.2 per cent.
Huron and Perth
Two additional people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials with Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) reported Thursday.
It brings the region’s total case count to 110. There are at least 29 known active cases in the region, the health unit says.
Further details were unavailable as the health unit is continuing to move over to the province’s new case and contact management system. It says it’ll be Friday or later before more detailed information is available again.
Health officials reported two new cases on Wednesday, 13 new cases on Tuesday, and six on Monday.
In a release issued early this week, the health unit attributed the spike to a workplace outbreak in Bluewater/South Huron, with many cases linked to clusters within the same households.
“These cases are also connected to a larger spread of cases across southwestern Ontario,” the health unit said.
It’s not clear if the health unit was referring to the spike in cases seen in Low German-speaking communities in the region.
There are no active long-term care home outbreaks.
Sarnia and Lambton
No new cases, deaths, or recoveries were reported late Wednesday by officials with Lambton Public Health (LPH).
It leaves the region’s total case count unchanged at 336, of which 299 have recovered. The death toll has remained unchanged since early June at 25.
There are at least 12 known active cases in the county as of Thursday, according to the health unit. It’s not known where the cases are located as health officials have refused to release that information.
Health officials reported one recovery late Tuesday, three recoveries late Monday, and four cases late Sunday.
Starting Monday, masks will be mandatory in enclosed, public spaces in the Municipality of Lambton Shores, which includes Grand Bend, Ipperwash, and Port Franks.
The municipal council there voted 7-2 on Tuesday to implement the bylaw, which mandates face coverings in any type of enclosed space where the public is permitted.
It’s one of three municipalities in Lambton County to enact its own mask bylaw. The others are Petrolia and Sarnia.
The region’s health unit has refrained from implementing a county-wide mask order, and has instead left the matter up to each of Lambton’s 11 municipalities.
No COVID-19 patients are being treated at Bluewater Health as of Wednesday. It was June 14 when Bluewater Health last treated a COVID-19 patient.
There are no active outbreaks in the region, according to the health unit. A total of 10 have been declared during the pandemic, including eight at seniors’ homes, one at Bluewater Health, and one at an unspecified workplace.
As of late Tuesday, at least 21,146 tests had been conducted in the county. The region’s per cent positivity rate stands at 1.6 per cent.
— ith files from The Canadian Press
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