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Fourteen people have tested positive for the coronavirus in London and Middlesex, while seven others have recovered, local health officials said.
Two new school-linked cases have also been reported, while a new outbreak has been declared at University Hospital.
Wednesday’s update brings the region’s overall case count to 1,291, of which 1,099 have recovered. Sixty-three people have died, most recently on Saturday involving a 69-year-old man not linked to a seniors’ facility.
There are at least 129 known active cases of the coronavirus in London and Middlesex, according to figures from the Middlesex-London Health Unit.
Of Wednesday’s 14 cases, 12 are from London, while two are from Middlesex Centre. Nearly all are under the age of 30.
Two are 19 years old or younger, while eight are in their 20s. One each is in their 30s, 50s, 60s, and 70s.
Health unit data shows 11 contracted the virus through close contact of a confirmed case, while one became ill through travel. Two cases have no known link.
The number of non-ICU hospitalizations has risen by one compared to Tuesday, though it’s unclear how many people are currently in hospital.
London Health Sciences Centre said Monday that the number of COVID-19 patients in its care was five or fewer. An update is expected Thursday. St. Joseph’s Health Care reported no COVID-19 patients at its facilities.
Health officials reported 11 cases and 10 recoveries on Tuesday, 20 cases and nine recoveries Monday, and one death, 50 cases, and 11 recoveries over the weekend, with Sunday alone clocking in a record 37 new cases.
The region has seen at least 148 cases reported just since the start of the month, according to the health unit, with Wednesday marking the sixth day in a row of double-digit case increases.
Health officials have not confirmed whether the surge in cases seen over the last few days, in particular, is a result of Halloween gatherings. (One large party on Beaufort Street early Halloween morning attracted 150 people. The health unit said previously that three cases had been linked to the party, but officials walked back that assertion on Wednesday.)
Health unit data shows people under 30 have accounted for nearly half of all cases seen this month. At least 27 have involved people 19 or younger, while 48 have involved twentysomethings. Last month they accounted for 41.5 per cent of cases.
Schools
For at least the eighth day in a row, cases have been reported at local schools after two cases were reported late Tuesday.
The Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) reported one case at Eagle Heights Public School while the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB) reported a case at Catholic Central High School in the downtown.
(The two TVDSB cases were among four that it reported at schools within its jurisdiction Tuesday. Two cases, one of them presumptive, were reported at schools it operates in Elgin and Oxford counties.)
It’s unclear if the cases at Eagle Heights and Catholic Central involve students or staff members. Both schools remain open, the school boards said.
A total of 34 school-linked cases have been reported just in London and Middlesex since the start of the school year. Of those, 16 remain active.
Cases remain active at other TVDSB schools including Northbrae Public School (one student), Wilton Grove Public School (in before-and-after school program), Lambeth Public School (two students), Westminster Secondary School (one student), Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School (one student), Oakridge Secondary School (two students), and Arthur Ford Public School (one staff in the before-and-after school program.)
Cases also remain active at other LDCSB schools including Sir Arthur Carty (four students) and St. Nicholas Catholic Elementary School (one student).
Since-resolved cases were reported on:
- 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, at St. Andre Bessette Secondary School involving a student and at St. Kateri Separate School involving two students.
- Oct. 29 at École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc involving one staff member, at West Nissouri Public School involving one student, and at A.B. Lucas Secondary School involving one staff member.
- Oct. 31 at Eagle Heights Public School involving one staff member.
The cases, according to health officials, are coming largely from students becoming infected outside of the school environment.
Meantime, an outbreak declared Oct. 11 at Western University’s London Hall residence has been declared over as of Tuesday. The outbreak was linked to at least six cases.
Institutional outbreaks
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The number of institutional outbreaks in the region has risen by one after London Health Sciences Centre reported a second outbreak in as many days at University Hospital.
The new outbreak, declared Wednesday in 9IP Orthopaedics, comes a day after an outbreak was declared in 4IP General Medicine.
It’s not clear how many people have become infected as a result of both outbreaks.
At least three patients have tested positive in the outbreak in 4IP General Medicine, according to a report by CBC London, citing an internal memo sent by email to staff members. LHSC says the 60-bed unit provides care to acutely ill adults, with over 90 per cent of admissions coming from the emergency department.
No designated care providers or visitors are currently permitted in either affected unit as a result of the outbreaks.
Elsewhere, an outbreak remains active at Henley Place Long-Term Care Residence. The outbreak, declared Oct. 31, affects the facility’s Harris and Medway areas.
At least 47 institutional outbreaks have been declared in the region since March, including 40 at seniors’ facilities.
The seniors’ facility outbreaks have been linked to at least 223 cases in the region — around 19 per cent of all cases reported — involving 112 residents and 111 staff members, as well as 39 deaths.
Testing
Both Carling Heights and Oakridge Arena are now operating by appointment-only, while appointment testing is still available for certain asymptomatic people at eight local pharmacies.
Since the change to an appointment-based model, Carling Heights has seen an increase in visits, up from between 195 and 251 per day last week to 401 on Tuesday alone.
Last week, officials urged symptomatic residents to get tested following a slump in visits to the assessment centres. People are urged to get tested within 24 to 48 hours of showing symptoms.
According to the health unit, the region’s test per cent positivity rate was 1.7 per cent as of the week of Nov. 1 — up from 0.7 per cent the week before — with just over 6,000 people tested.
Ontario
Provincially, Ontario reported a record 1,426 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 468 new cases in Peel Region, 384 in Toronto, and 180 in York Region.
Elliott says there are also 63 new cases in Durham and 62 in Hamilton.
Ontario also reported 15 new deaths due to the virus.
The province says it has conducted 36,707 tests since the last daily report.
It also reported 198 new COVID-19 cases related to schools, including at least 116 among students.
Those bring the number of schools with a reported case to 654 out of Ontario’s 4,828 publicly funded schools.
Elgin and Oxford
Fifteen people have tested positive for the coronavirus while six others have recovered, Southwestern-Public Health (SWPH) said Wednesday.
Two cases were also reported at local schools.
The region’s case total stands at 401, of which 357 have recovered. Five people have also died, a tally that has not risen since early July.
There are currently 39 known active cases of the virus in the region, the health unit says, with 15 of them in Woodstock.
Elsewhere, nine cases are active in Norwich, five are in Aylmer, two are in Zorra, while one each is in Blandford-Blenheim, East Zorra-Tavistock, Ingersoll, St. Thomas, and Tillsonburg.
Bayham, which had as many as 30 active cases just days ago, now has none, according to the health unit. The spike was due to an outbreak at a local farm that sickened at least 40.
One person remains in an intensive care unit (ICU), according to the health unit. Twenty-five people have been hospitalized since March, including 13 in ICUs.
The region’s tally of school-linked cases has risen by three after the Thames Valley District School Board reported two cases at Northdale Public School in Woodstock and one presumptive case at Straffordville Public School.
It’s not clear if the cases involve staff or students.
One other case, located at South Ridge Public School in Tillsonburg involving a student, remains active as of Wednesday, leaving four active school cases in Elgin and Oxford.
So far this school year, six cases in total have been reported at local schools. Two other cases had been reported previously involving St. Thomas Community Christian School and Mitchell Hepburn Public School.
The province’s database also still lists a child-care centre in Woodstock — Oxford Community Child Care — as being the site of two cases, one involving a child and another involving a staff member.
An outbreak at Ingersoll’s Secord Trails has been deemed over, the health unit says. The outbreak was declared active on Oct. 24 and was tied to one staff case.
It was the second outbreak to be seen at the facility, following an outbreak in May that led to eight staff infections.
Seven outbreaks have been declared in the region since March, linked to 14 cases, of which all but one have involved staff members. No deaths have been reported.
Residents in St. Thomas are bracing for a planned anti-mask, anti-lockdown demonstration set for their community this weekend.
There’s no word how many people will be attending, but local businesses are already preparing. A rally in Alymer last weekend organized by the same group attracted some 2,000 maskless attendees from across the province.
Ninety-four cases have been reported in Aylmer since the pandemic began, giving the municipality an incident rate of 1,254 cases per 100,000 people, more than that reported by both Peel Public Health and Toronto Public Health.
Elsewhere, Bayham has seen 74 cases, driven largely by the farm outbreak, while Woodstock has seen 67, St. Thomas 51, Tillsonburg 33, Norwich 19, and Ingersoll 11.
As of the week of Oct. 25, the region’s test positivity rate stood at 0.9 per cent. At least 2,833 people were tested for the virus that week.
Huron and Perth
One person has recovered from the coronavirus, officials with Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) said Wednesday.
The region’s total case tally remains at 206, of which 151 have recovered and eight have died — most recently on Saturday.
Three cases and two recoveries were reported Tuesday, and one death, 34 cases, and six recoveries were reported Monday in the health unit’s first post-weekend update.
There are at least 47 known active cases in the region.
A vast majority are linked to an outbreak at a Stratford retirement home that has seen at least 50 people test positive, including 34 residents and 16 staff.
The outbreak at Cedarcroft Place was first declared Oct. 27.
In addition, at least three residents at the home have since died.
Elsewhere, an outbreak remains active at Knollcrest Lodge where one staff member has tested positive.
An outbreak at Mitchell Nursing Home, which the health unit says was declared out of an abundance of caution, was deemed over Tuesday afternoon.
One school-linked case remains active in the region, located at Milverton Public School involving one student, according to the province.
Previously, one probable case had been reported Oct. 16 at Stratford’s St. Joseph’s Catholic Elementary School. However, it was not officially confirmed and was not reported in the province’s database.
By location, Stratford has reported a total of 92 cases and seven deaths, while North Perth has seen 55 cases, including 21 in Perth East and 19 in North Perth.
Huron County, meantime, has seen 51 cases, including 14 in Central Huron and 13 in Bluewater, while St. Marys has reported eight cases and one death.
Some 51,884 tests had been conducted by the health unit as of Nov. 1, the most recent figures available. The test per cent positivity rate that week was 1.3 per cent. Just over 2,100 people were tested.
Sarnia and Lambton
No new cases, deaths, or recoveries were reported Wednesday by Lambton Public Health.
It keeps the region’s total case count at 381, of which 347 have recovered and 25 have died — most recently in early June.
Nine known active cases remain in the county. At least two people remain in hospital at Bluewater Health — among at least 61 who have been hospitalized since March.
One case was reported on Tuesday while one recovery was reported on Monday.
There is one active school-linked case in the region. The case, reported at Riverview Central School in Port Lambton on Sunday, involves one student, according to the province.
It’s the fifth school case to be reported in the region since the school year began.
Two cases have been reported at Northern Collegiate Institute and Vocational School in Sarnia, while one each has been at Bright’s Grove Public School in Sarnia and Colonel Cameron Public School in Corunna.
Meanwhile, an institutional outbreak, declared Oct. 30 at Fiddick’s Retirement Home in Petrolia, remains active as of Wednesday, linked to one resident case.
Thirteen outbreaks have been declared since March, of which 10 have been at seniors’ facilities, while one has been at Bluewater Health. They’re linked to 60 resident cases, 48 staff cases, and 16 deaths.
Two outbreaks have also been reported at unnamed workplaces, linked to seven cases.
At least 51,383 people had been tested in the county as of Nov. 7.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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