Coronavirus: 8 cases in London, 20-case surge in Elgin-Oxford, 1 death in Huron-Perth

Eight people have tested positive for the coronavirus while eight have recovered, the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported on Tuesday.

One new case has also been reported involving a local public school, while one seniors’ facility outbreak has been declared over.

The update brings the region’s total case count to 1,154, of which 1,045 people have recovered. The health unit has reported 61 deaths due to the virus, most recently on Monday involving a 71-year-old man who was linked to a long-term care home.

The death was the fourth to be confirmed in less than three weeks after the health unit reported the deaths of a 91-year-old seniors’ facility resident on Oct. 15, a 71-year-old man on Oct. 21 and a 51-year-old woman on Oct. 24.

Tuesday’s update leaves 48 known active cases in the region, the health unit says.

Health unit figures show all eight new cases were reported in London and span multiple age brackets.

Two each are aged 19 and under and in their 30s, while one each is in their 20s, 50s, 60s and 80s or older.

Three have their exposure source listed as “contact of a confirmed case” while one is tied to an outbreak. Two cases have their exposure source pending or undetermined, while two have no known link.

Health officials reported one death, one case and eight recoveries on Monday, and reported 13 cases and 17 recoveries over the weekend.

The region’s seven-day average for new cases stands at 6.28 as of Tuesday, while looking back to Oct. 20, the 14-day average is 7.35.

As of Monday, the daily incident rate (seven-day moving average) for London and Middlesex stood at 0.62 per 100,000 people compared to Ontario’s 2.34. Meanwhile, the cumulative incident rate for London and Middlesex is 227.4 per 100,000 people, while Ontario’s is 522.4.

The health unit’s non-intensive care hospitalization tally rose by one compared to Monday.

Few other details are known, including how many people are currently in hospital due to the virus as of Tuesday.

London Health Sciences Centre reported Monday that the number of inpatients at its facilities with COVID-19 stood at five or fewer. The organization will issue another update on Thursday.

Meantime, no hospitalizations were reported at St. Joseph’s Health Care London.

At least 131 people have been admitted to hospital due to the coronavirus, of which 33 have needed intensive care.

Health unit data shows that people under 30 have made up nearly half of the at least 274 cases reported in the region since the start of October.

The data shows that at least 56 cases have involved people aged 19 or younger, while 74 have involved people in their 20s.

Only time will tell whether the region will see a spike in cases in the coming weeks as a result of the Halloween weekend.

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A house party over the weekend that saw some 150 in attendance is currently under investigation by police and officials from the city, health unit and Western University.

Police said they responded to the party at a townhome on Beaufort Street near Wharncliffe and Western roads early Saturday morning. Security video from a property across the laneway shows a flood of people leaving the building after police arrived.

University officials say should they receive names of any students involved, they will review all cases under the school’s Code of Student Conduct and apply sanctions where appropriate.

The health unit says an outbreak declared Oct. 11 at Western University’s London Hall residence is still considered active as of Tuesday.

At least six positive cases have been linked to the outbreak.

The total number of student infections at the school since the start of September is not currently known. The health unit last released a tally of 70 on Oct. 1.

The total number of school-linked cases has risen by one after the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) reported a positive case at its Northbrae Public School late Monday.

It’s unclear if the case involves a staff member or student. School board officials say Northbrae will remain open and buses are still operating.

The case is among eight that are currently active at seven schools in London and Middlesex, according to the health unit.

Three were reported on Oct. 25 by the London District Catholic School Board, which said two had been confirmed at St. Kateri Separate School and one at St. Andre Bessette Secondary School, all involving students.

Elsewhere, on Oct. 29, one staff case each was reported at École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc and at A.B. Lucas Secondary, while a student case was reported at West Nissouri Public School in Thorndale.

On Oct. 31, a staff case was reported at Eagle Heights Public School.

At least 19 school-linked cases have been reported in London and Middlesex since the start of the school year in September. Since-resolved cases include:

• Sept. 21 at H.B. Beal Secondary School involving a student.
• Oct. 5 and Oct. 8 at École élémentaire La Pommeraie, both involving staff members.
• Oct. 7 at Saunders Secondary School involving a student.
• Oct. 9 and Oct. 12 at Sir Arthur Currie Public School, one involving a staff member, the other involving a student. The cases resulted in an outbreak declaration, which resolved on Oct. 30.
• Oct. 12 at Mary Wright Public School in Strathroy involving a student.
• Oct. 13 at Northdale Central Public School in Dorchester involving a student.
• Oct. 17 at Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School involving a student.
• Oct. 21 at Lambeth Public School involving a student.
• Oct. 25 at Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School involving a student.

The number of active institutional outbreaks in the region has declined by one after an outbreak at Oakcrossing Retirement Living was declared over late Monday.

The outbreak, declared Oct. 18, impacted the facility’s first, third and fourth floors. It’s unclear how many people were infected as a result of the outbreak.

Three active outbreaks remain in the region, according to the health unit:

• Henley Place Long-Term Care Residence (Harris, Medway)
• Chartwell Royalcliffe Retirement Residence (Entire facility)
• Strathmere Lodge (Bear Creek, Arbor Glen, Parkview Place)

The outbreak at Henley Place, declared Saturday, is the second one to be seen at the facility in less than a month. One outbreak was declared Oct. 11 in its Harris area. It was deemed over on Oct. 27.

At least 46 institutional outbreaks have been declared in the region since March, of which 40 have been at seniors’ facilities.

The health unit says they’re connected to 221 of the region’s cases, of which 111 have been seniors’ facility staff members and 110 residents. They’re also linked to at least 39 deaths, most recently the one reported Nov. 2.

At least 23 cases reported since the start of October have involved long-term care or retirement homes, the health unit says.

While testing is available in the city, the health unit says it’s seeing fewer people getting tested at London’s two COVID-19 assessment centres.

On Monday, Dr. Chris Mackie, the region’s medical officer of health, said that while the region has been fairly flat in new cases since the Thanksgiving weekend, the number of tests has been going down for people who are symptomatic.

“That’s why we’re really, really begging people (that) if you have symptoms, please go in and get tested for COVID-19 at the Carling Heights Optimist Centre,” he said.

“They’ve done a tremendous job to address the wait time issues, there’s much less challenge around getting tested or waiting in line, so if you have symptoms, please go as soon as possible to Carling Heights.”

Both facilities reported seeing an average of 242 people per day from Monday to Friday of last week.

London’s Carling Heights assessment centre is operating on a time-card system, while Oakridge Arena is taking appointments by phone or online. Those being prioritized are people with symptoms, school children, those exposed to a confirmed case and notified by the health unit or the COVID Alert app and those part of an outbreak investigation.

Mackie says what health officials are also seeing is people getting tested but doing so late in the course of their illness, making it hard to contact trace and keep the virus from spreading.

“That person may be doing the right thing in terms of reducing their contacts with others, but what about their contacts who don’t know that they’ve been in contact with somebody who’s positive maybe prior to being diagnosed or even prior to becoming sick?”

“It’s really important, it’s crucial, that people who develop illness get tested as soon as possible, ideally within 24 to 48 hours of developing symptoms.”

Meantime, testing for certain asymptomatic people, like those with loved ones in a seniors’ facility, close contacts of a known case and workers at high risk, is still also available at the following eight pharmacies in the city:

• London Medical Plex Pharmacy at 1807 Wonderland Rd. N.
• Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy at 279 Wharncliffe Rd. N.
• Medpoint Pharmacy in Citi Plaza
• Shoppers Drug Mart at 3090 Colonel Talbot Rd.
• Shoppers Drug Mart at 115 Commissioners Rd.
• Shoppers Drug Mart at 603 Fanshawe Park Rd. W.
• Shoppers Drug Mart at 395 Southdale Rd. E.
• TMC Pharmacy at 990 Gainsborough Rd.

According to the most recent figures available, the region’s test per cent positivity rate stood at 0.9 per cent as of the week of Oct. 18, compared to Ontario’s 2.7. Around 6,400 people were tested that week.

Ontario

Provincially, Ontario reported 1,050 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday — a new single-day record — and 14 additional deaths related to the novel coronavirus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says 408 of the new cases are in Toronto, 212 are in Peel Region, 86 in Halton Region, 76 in York Region and 57 in Durham Region.

Toronto, Peel Region and York Region are all considered hotspots for the virus and have been under additional restrictions since last month, as is Ottawa.

The stricter measures are set to expire at the end of this week for Toronto, Peel and Ottawa, and the province is looking into establishing a framework to allow businesses that were shuttered to reopen.

Ontario says it completed nearly 25,300 tests since its last daily report.

The latest figures bring the total number of cases in the province to 78,705, which includes 3,166 deaths and 67,244 cases considered resolved.

It comes as the province is introducing a new tiered system that will determine when and to what extent COVID-19 restrictions are placed on parts of Ontario.

The government says the colour-coded system will be used to respond to the pandemic on a regional level.

Areas with the lowest levels of virus case counts, positivity rates and community transmission will be placed in a green category, with the most permissive rules.

The system then moves upward through yellow, orange and red categories, with increasingly strict measures, and has a grey “lockdown” level where maximum measures would be implemented.

The system goes into effect this weekend, when restrictions previously placed on the hotspots of Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa will ease.

Elgin and Oxford

Twenty new cases have been reported by Southwestern Public Health, all connected to an outbreak at a farm in Bayham.

The update brings the region’s total case count to 357, of which 307 people have recovered and five have died. The death toll has remained unchanged since early July.

There are currently 45 known active cases in the region. Of those, 31 are located in Bayham, eight are in Woodstock, two are in Tillsonburg and one is in each of Aylmer, Ingersoll, South-West Oxford and St. Thomas.

Health officials reported 12 cases Monday, with 11 linked to the outbreak. One recovery was also reported.

In all, the health unit says at least 40 cases have been confirmed as part of the outbreak, with one individual in hospital. They’re among at least 25 people who have been hospitalized since March.

Health officials say those infected in the outbreak reside in living quarters at the farm, identified Tuesday as Vienna Farms Orchards, part of Martin’s Family Fruit Farm.

The region’s medical officer of health, Dr. Joyce Lock, said a lapse in compliance with public health measures resulted in the cases, and that the close proximity of the workers to each other facilitated the virus’ quick spread.

A total of 157 people, including the workers and their close contacts, have been tested as a result she said.

Those positive are a mix of local and migrant farm workers, Lock said, adding that there currently doesn’t appear to be community transmission of the virus beyond the farm outbreak.

The surge in cases in Bayham is taking place at the same time that Aylmer, which has been the hardest-hit municipality in SWPH’s jurisdiction during the pandemic, is declaring a state of emergency.

It comes ahead of a planned protest against pandemic restrictions that is set to take place Saturday.

Town officials say the declaration was made as a result of the potential for civil unrest and service disruptions related to the “anti-masking freedom march.”

Mayor Mary French said in a statement that the declaration conveys the seriousness of the situation and will help the municipality access funding, and may help residents with insurance claims.

Aylmer, which has a population of nearly 7,500 people, has recorded a total of 89 cases since March, a large number of them in late July and early August. As a result, the town’s incident rate is equivalent to that of 1,187 cases per 100,000 people.

One school-linked case remains active in the region. The case, reported on Saturday at South Ridge Public School in Tillsonburg, is linked to a student, according to the province.

It’s the third school case to be reported in the Elgin-Oxford region. Two cases were reported in September, with one at St. Thomas Community Christian School on Sept. 25 and another at Mitchell Hepburn Public School on Sept. 29.

Meantime, two cases remain active that have been linked to Oxford Community Child Care in Woodstock. It’s unclear when the cases, which involve one child and one staff member, were first confirmed.

Also active is an ongoing outbreak at Ingersoll’s Secord Trails. The outbreak, declared Oct. 24 and the second to be seen at the facility since March, has been linked to one staff infection. The previous outbreak in May was tied to eight staff cases.

Overall, seven such outbreaks have been declared in the region since March. They’re linked to 14 cases, of which all but one have involved staff members.

By location, Aylmer has reported a total of 89 cases, while Bayham has seen a total of 70 due in large part to the ongoing farm outbreak.

Elsewhere, St. Thomas and Woodstock have seen 50 cases each, while Tillsonburg has seen 32, Ingersoll 11, and Dutton/Dunwich and Norwich 10 apiece.

As of the week of Oct. 18, the region’s test positivity rate stood at 0.4 per cent. At least 3,379 people were tested for the virus that week.

Huron and Perth

One person has died and one person has tested positive for the coronavirus, Huron Perth Public Health reported Tuesday.

It marks the first time since late April that the health unit has reported a COVID-19-related death.

The region’s overall case count stands at 155, of which 139 people have recovered and six have died.

The death, health officials said, involved the resident of Cedarcroft Place, a retirement home in Stratford that has seen an active outbreak since Oct. 27.

The lone case reported Tuesday also involves a resident of the facility, health unit figures show. Overall, nine people have tested positive at the home, including seven residents and two staff members.

“We are very sorry to hear of this loss,” the region’s medical officer of health, Dr. Miriam Klassen, said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the individual’s family and friends, as well as with Cedarcroft residents and staff during this difficult time.”

The facility’s executive director, Dan Vito, said in a statement that the resident was being remembered as active, engaged and loved by neighbours and staff.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family at this time,” he said.

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The outbreak is among 10 institutional outbreaks that have been declared since March.

At least 34 cases have been reported as a result of them, as well as four deaths that occurred at Greenwood Court, a long-term care home in Stratford, which saw an outbreak from late March to mid-May.

There are no active school cases.

One probable case was reported Oct. 16 at Stratford’s St. Joseph’s Catholic Elementary School. It was not officially confirmed and was not reported in the province’s database.

“Test results were not obtained and the case remained a probable; just a reminder that we manage both confirmed and probable cases the same way,” a health unit spokesperson said last week.

“Oct. 22 was the last day of isolation for the school contacts and there were no additional cases from the exposure.”

At least 51 cases have been reported in Perth County since March, including 19 in North Perth and 17 in Perth East, while at least 49 cases have been reported in Huron County, including 14 in Central Huron, 13 in Bluewater and 10 in South Huron.

At least 48 cases have been reported in Stratford, along with the four deaths linked to Greenwood Court and the death linked to Cedarcroft Place.

St. Marys has reported seven cases and one death.

Some 47,632 tests had been conducted by the health unit as of Oct. 18, the most recent figure available.

Sarnia and Lambton

One person has tested positive for the coronavirus, Lambton Public Health reported late Monday.

The case brings the region’s total count to 373, of which 344 people have recovered. Twenty-five people have also died as a result of the virus, most recently in early June.

Following the update, there are at least four known active cases in the county, the locations of which have not been released.

The number of people hospitalized in Lambton has risen again by one. There are now three people in hospital at Bluewater Health who have tested positive, the hospital says. It’s the second day in a row that the hospitalized tally has risen.

At least 61 people have been hospitalized due to the virus since the pandemic began, the health unit says.

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An outbreak at Fiddick’s Retirement Home in Petrolia remains active as of Tuesday, the health unit says. Declared Oct. 30, the outbreak has been tied to one resident case at the facility.

At least 13 outbreaks have been declared in the region since March, with 10 at seniors’ facilities, two at unnamed workplaces and one at Bluewater Health hospital in Sarnia.

They’re tied to 115 cases, of which 60 have involved residents and 48 staff members of seniors’ facilities. Sixteen deaths have also been reported.

All of the deaths and nearly all of the outbreak-linked cases have been tied to just two seniors’ facilities in Sarnia — Landmark Village and Vision Nursing Home. The facilities saw outbreaks between late March and mid-June.

The Lambton Kent District School Board says there are no active cases of the virus at any school in Lambton as of Tuesday morning. Four overall have been reported, all involving students.

Two have been at Northern Collegiate Institute & Vocational School in Sarnia, one has been at Bright’s Grove Public School in Sarnia, and one has been at Colonel Cameron Public School in Corunna in St. Clair Township.

Nearly 47,367 people had been tested in the county as of Oct. 24, health unit figures show.

— With files from The Canadian Press