The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported eight new cases of the novel coronavirus and one new recovery in the region on Monday.
Of those new cases, medical officer of health Dr. Chris Mackie said four involve post-secondary students at either Western University or Fanshawe College and the majority of the remaining cases involve “family spread” or some kind of “known risk factor.”
“Of the cases today, I would say that only maybe one or two are true community unexplained spread,” Mackie said.
On Sunday, 11 cases were reported, eight of which involved Western University students.
There are now a total of 864 cases and 713 recoveries in the region. The death toll has remained unchanged at 57 since June 12.
At least 94 COVID-19 cases are active in the region.
The city’s assessment centres have continued to see significant capacity issues over the last two weeks since the local case tally began to grow and demand for testing soared.
Both Carling Heights and Oakridge Arena now have a ticketing system in place that allows people to return at a later time to get tested, and both reached capacity for the day before noon on Monday.
An appointment booking system is expected to be in place early next month and testing for asymptomatic people is expected to begin at an unknown number of pharmacies starting this week.
Four outbreaks remain active.
Two outbreaks were declared on Thursday at Meadow Park Care Centre in its blue and yellow units and at Peoplecare Oak Crossing in its Red Oak area.
Two active outbreaks also remain at Country Terrace, declared Sept. 23, and at Ashwood Manor Retirement Home, declared Sept. 21. Both outbreaks are facility-wide.
The region’s incident rate stood at 170.2 per 100,000 people on Monday, while Ontario’s was 339.9.
By age, health unit figures show people in their 20s account for the most cases, with 202, or about 23.3 per cent.
People in their 50s make up 118 of the region’s cases, or about 13.66 per cent, while those in their 30s make up 13 per cent of cases with 112.
Those aged 19 and under make up 10 per cent of cases, or 88 cases.
A total of 117 people have been hospitalized, including 32 who have needed intensive care.
Ontario
Ontario is reporting 700 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, marking a new record for the most daily infections ever recorded in the province.
The previous high came on April 24, when 640 cases were reported, however, only 12,295 tests were completed on that day compared to 41,100 in the last 24 hours.
According to Monday’s provincial report, 344 new cases were recorded in Toronto, 104 in Peel Region, 89 in Ottawa and 56 in York Region.
All other public health units in Ontario reported 20 or fewer cases.
The province has also surpassed 50,000 total cases since the start of the pandemic, sitting at 50,531 cases.
Ontario says 60 per cent of Monday’s cases involve people under the age of 40.
Elgin and Oxford
Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) reported one new COVID-19 case while the recovery count actually decreased by one on Monday.
The region’s total case count sits at 265, with 254 recoveries, down from 255 on Sunday.
Five people have died, a tally unchanged since early July.
Six cases are listed as ongoing, with four in Woodstock and two in St. Thomas. Three are in their 20s, and one each listed as in their 30s, 60s and 80s. Four are listed as female and two as male.
Of all of the cases recorded in the region, 19.2 per cent, or 51 cases, involve people in their 50s, and 18.5 per cent, or 49 cases, involve people in their 20s. The next largest proportion was 38 cases among people in their 40s, or 14.3 per cent of cases in the region.
At least 23 people have been hospitalized since March, including 11 who’ve needed intensive care.
A total of four institutional outbreaks have been declared, with all since resolved. No deaths are linked to them.
The region’s per cent positivity rate was 0.2 per cent for the week of Sept. 13.
Huron and Perth
Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) reported two cases on Monday — in North Perth and Stratford — for a total case count of 129, up from 127 on Friday. The health unit does not provide COVID-19 updates on the weekends.
The number of recoveries remains at 122 with five total deaths. There are currently two active cases in the region.
Huron County has reported a total of 45 cases while Perth County has recorded 46. Stratford has had a total of 32 cases while St. Marys has had six confirmed cases.
At least 27 cases have been linked to people in their 20s, followed by 24 among people in their 50s and 22 among people in their 60s.
As of Sept. 13, the most recent figures available, at least 35,083 tests had been conducted by the health unit.
Sarnia and Lambton
Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported no new cases of COVID-19 late Sunday.
The region’s total case count remains at 346, of which 318 people have recovered. Twenty-five people have died, most recently in early June.
There are at least three known active cases in the county.
The number of outbreaks and hospitalizations in the region remain unchanged at 10, all of which are listed as resolved.
Of the outbreaks, eight have involved seniors’ homes, one has been at Bluewater Health hospital and one has been at an unspecified workplace.
Of the total cases in the region, exposure to the virus is linked to close contact in 135 cases, followed by outbreaks with 113 and travel with seven. Seventy-five cases have their exposure source listed as unknown.
People 80 and up account for 76 cases, while people in their 50s make up 52. At least 196 cases, or 57 per cent, involve women and girls.
The health unit says at least 27,811 tests have been received as of late Sunday. At least 1.2 per cent of tests are coming back positive.
— with files from Global News’ Kelly Wang and Gabby Rodrigues.
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