The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported seven new cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, along with 12 more recoveries.
There are now a total of 895 COVID-19 cases in London and Middlesex, with 782 recoveries and 57 deaths. The latest death was reported on June 12.
At least 56 cases remain active in the region. As many as 163 cases have been reported since the start of September amid an ongoing second wave of the virus, according to the health unit.
The seven new cases involve five people from London, one person from Middlesex Centre, and one person from North Middlesex.
One person is under the age of 19, another is in their 20s, one is in their 30s, and four people are in their 60s.
Five are female and two are male. None are health-care workers.
The region’s incident rate is at 176.3 per 100,000 people, while Ontario’s was 360.8.
As of Thursday, at least 70 cases have been tied to students at Western University since the start of September. The health unit says it will refrain from issuing a further tally as student cases have been fewer this week compared to previous weeks.
The city’s two COVID-19 assessment centres, like all assessment centres in the province, will both soon be accessible by appointment only.
The province announced Friday that assessment centres will transition to appointment-based testing starting on Oct. 6, and that walk-in testing services will be discontinued starting Sunday to help clear a massive 90,513-test backlog.
It was on Thursday that the Thames Valley Family Health Team (TVFHT), which operates London’s two assessment centres alongside the London Health Sciences Centre, announced Oakridge Arena would move to appointment-only, while Carling Heights would take only walk-ins.
Those changes had been expected to come into place starting next week.
In an interview with 980 CFPL on Friday, Mike McMahon, executive director of TVFHT, said Oakridge would move ahead with its phone-based appointment system, while Carling Heights would continue operating with its current ticketing system until phone or online appointment bookings were set up.
Those looking to book an appointment by phone at Oakridge Arena can call 519-667-6886 and leave a message.
Elsewhere, appointment-only asymptomatic testing at three Shoppers Drug Mart locations in London have been launched, as has the Middlesex-London Paramedic Service’s mobile testing bus.
The bus will be at the Strathroy Gemini Arena on Monday.
Four institutional outbreaks remain active at seniors’ homes in London and Middlesex, according to the health unit.
At least 32 institutional outbreaks have been declared in the region during the pandemic, including 26 at seniors’ facilities.
The most recent outbreaks, both declared on Sept. 24, are located at Meadow Park Care Centre in its blue and yellow units and at Peoplecare Oak Crossing in its Red Oak area.
Two facility-wide outbreaks also remain at Country Terrace and Ashwood Manor Retirement Home.
Overall, the health unit says the institutional outbreaks have been linked to at least 201 of the region’s cases, with 108 residents and 92 staff infected. The outbreaks have also left 37 people dead.
A total of 117 people have been hospitalized, including 32 who have needed intensive care. A vast majority of those hospitalized have been people over the age of 50.
By age, health unit figures show people in their 20s account for the largest number of cases, with 208, or about 23.2 per cent.
People in their 50s make up 120 of the region’s cases, or about 13.4 per cent, while those in their 30s and those 80 and above make up 119 and 111 cases, respectively.
Those aged 19 and under make up 95 cases — at least 56 of which have come within the last 30 days.
Ontario
Ontario reported new 566 cases of the novel coronavirus on Sunday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 54,199.
Seven deaths were also reported. The provincial death toll now stands at 2,975.
Meanwhile, 45,819 cases are considered resolved, which is 84.5 per cent of all confirmed cases.
“Locally, there are 196 new cases in Toronto, 123 in Peel and 81 in Ottawa,” Health Minister Christine Elliott said on Twitter.
Elliott said the province completed nearly 39,700 additional tests.
The province introduced a new set of restrictions on Friday, which included making COVID-19 testing available by appointment only, making masks mandatory in public indoor spaces across the province, and tightening restrictions on businesses in virus hot spots.
Elgin and Oxford
Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) reported one new case of COVID-19 on Sunday.
There are now at least 271 cases in the region, and at least seven are active.
The number of recoveries remains unchanged at 259. Five people have died during the pandemic, most recently in early July.
Six active cases are in St. Thomas, and Sunday’s newest case is a woman in her 30s from East Zorra-Tavistock.
- Canadian man dies during Texas Ironman event. His widow wants answers as to why
- Canadians more likely to eat food past best-before date. What are the risks?
- ‘Sciatica was gone’: hospital performs robot-assisted spinal surgery in Canadian first
- Treatment from female doctors leads to lower death rates, study finds
Of the region’s active cases, two people are under the age of 10, one is in their 20s, three are in their 30s, and one is in their 60s. Five are female and two are male.
One case has been reported involving an elementary or secondary school in the region. The case, reported Tuesday, involves a student at Mitchell Hepburn Public School in St. Thomas.
No one is currently in hospital within SWPH’s jurisdiction. A total of 23 people have been admitted during the pandemic, including 11 who have needed intensive care.
The health unit says 51 cases, or 19 per cent, have involved people in their 50s, while 50 cases, or 18.5 per cent, have been people in their 20s. People in their 40s make up 38 cases or 14 per cent.
At least 108 cases of the region’s total count have been linked to close contact, health unit figures show. Workplaces are linked to 39 cases, while 27 involve health-care workers, 25 involve travel and 13 are tied to social gatherings.
The exposure source is unknown for at least 55 cases.
During the pandemic, Aylmer has recorded the most cases, 82, followed by St. Thomas with 44, Bayham with 38, Woodstock with 30, Tillsonburg with 25 and Dutton/Dunwich with 10.
Ten other communities have case counts in the single digits.
The region’s per cent positivity rate was 0.1 per cent for the week of Sept. 20, the most recent data available. Nearly 3,000 tests were conducted that week.
Huron and Perth
Huron Perth Public Health does not update numbers on the weekend. The region’s overall case count stood at 129 as of Friday.
At least 122 recoveries have been reported along with five deaths, leaving a total of two active cases in the region.
The health unit has reported 46 cases in Perth County and 45 in Huron County.
Elsewhere, Stratford has seen 32 cases, and St. Marys has seen six. Four deaths have been reported in Stratford and one in St. Marys.
At least 27 cases have been linked to people in their 20s, followed by people in their 50s with 24 and people in their 60s with 22. At least 55 per cent of cases involve women and girls.
Some 37,438 tests had been conducted by the health unit as of Sept. 20, the most recent figures available. That week saw 2,269 tests completed and a per cent positivity rate of 0.1 per cent.
Sarnia and Lambton
Officials with Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported no new cases or recoveries late Saturday.
The region’s total count remains unchanged at 347, of which 319 people have recovered. Twenty-five people have died, most recently in early June.
There are at least three active cases of the virus in the county. The locations of the cases are unclear as the health unit does not release such information.
The county has reported at least eight cases since the start of September, a change from the 22 seen in August.
Thirty-two cases were seen in July, due in large part to a 15-case spike reported at the end of the month.
As part of the province’s announcement on Friday, masks will now be mandated across Lambton County as well as the rest of the province.
No change has been reported to the region’s overall hospitalization count, which has stayed at 58 since late May, or to its outbreak count, which has remained at 10 since mid-August.
By age, people 80 and up account for at least 76 cases, while people in their 50s make up 52 and people in their 20s account for 50.
At least 197 cases, or 57 per cent, involve women and girls. At least 18 per cent of all cases involve health-care workers.
According to health officials, a total of 27,811 tests have been received as of Sept. 27.
–With files from Matthew Trevithick, Ryan Rocca, and Sawyer Bodgan
Comments