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Five people have tested positive for the coronavirus in London and Middlesex while 27 others have recovered, the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported Monday.

The region’s total case count stands at 1,367, of which 1,180 have recovered. Sixty-three people have also died during the pandemic, most recently on Nov. 7.

There are at least 124 known active cases of the coronavirus in the London-Middlesex region as of Monday. Health officials reported 15 cases and 21 recoveries on Sunday.

The update comes as the city and county move into the more restrictive yellow-protect tier of the province’s colour-coded framework. The health unit is expected to issue more details regarding local impact Monday.

Of the five cases reported on Monday, all are from London and all are under the age of 30, health unit figures show.

Two involve people aged 19 or younger, while three involve people in their 20s. All five contracted the virus through close contact with a confirmed case.

It comes after a weekend that saw 39 cases, with just over half tied to people under the age of 30 — three aged 19 or younger and 18 in their 20s. Thirty-four recoveries were also reported, according to the health unit.

Of the at least 221 cases that the region has recorded since the start of November, 52 per cent have involved people under 30 — with 41 involving people 19 and under and 76 involving people in their 20s.

London police say three males, one 18 and two 19, were jointly charged over the weekend under the Reopening Ontario Act after a house party on Mill Street near Richmond Row on Friday saw more than 100 people in attendance. A separate party in northeast London remains under investigation.

1:00 London, Ont., police break up a large house party over the Halloween weekend

Last week, two males, aged 23 and 24, were charged in relation to a Halloween party on Oct. 30 near Western University that saw more than 100 attendees.

During Monday’s media briefing, London Mayor Ed Holder didn’t mince words when it came to voicing his anger about the three parties, adding he wished the fines facing those charged were higher.

“To say I’m frustrated would be a massive understatement. Given that kind of behaviour, we could shut down every single law abiding business in this region and we’d still run the risk of significant spread, all because some people are unable to control themselves when it comes to large indoor parties,” he said.

“Stupid doesn’t even come close to describing them. You know, it’s infuriating. I can’t imagine how maddening it must be to our first responders who put themselves in harm’s way when they’re called to these kinds of events.”

3:41 Large house parties in London, Ont., draw exasperated response from city’s mayor

Holder went on to say that the goal was not to issue an endless stream of $10,000 fines, but to keep such situations from happening to begin with. That being said, he stressed that local officials would not hesitate to act.

“I’ve come to the conclusion that you can’t fix stupid, but you can fine it,” he said in response to a follow-up question.

“There seems to be a preponderance of people in their late teens or early 20s, that… here’s the irony… they’re probably young enough and healthy enough to overcome anything related to COVID. But you know what? They’re killing their parents. They’re killing their grandparents. And maybe they don’t care, but as mayor of this city, I have to care, and maybe I have to care for them more than they care for their families. And believe me, we will act as we need to.”

Elsewhere, the health unit has confirmed that an outbreak has been declared after three staff members of Delilah’s, a new casual fine dining restaurant along Richmond Row, recently tested positive for coronavirus.

Health officials say they were notified of the cases on Nov. 12, 13, and 14, and established the connection to the eatery Monday afternoon. The restaurant has voluntarily shut down as a result of the cases.

Customers and patrons at the restaurant from Nov. 5 to 12 are said to have had a low risk exposure to the virus, but are still being asked to monitor themselves for symptoms, the health unit says.

Hospitalizations

The health unit’s non-ICU hospitalized tally has risen by one from the day before.

According to London Health Sciences Centre, eight inpatients are in its facilities with confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Monday.

In addition, at least 14 LHSC staff are currently infected with the virus, the organization said Monday — a notable jump from the “five or less” that were reported on Thursday in its previous update.

LHSC’s University Hospital has been the scene of two active COVID-19 outbreaks since last week.

Another update is expected from LHSC on Thursday. The organization only updates its case tally twice weekly.

At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, meanwhile, no infected patients are in its care, according to the organization’s website. At least five staff there have tested positive since Nov. 4.

“Our rates are driven in large part by what’s happening in some of our neighbouring communities, GTA in particular. So if our trend follows their trend, no reason to think that it wouldn’t, then then you would see those hospitalizations start to increase,” Mackie said.

“So far at this stage in the pandemic, we’re seeing very good protection of the elderly. No deaths for 10 days, which is wonderful. But again, with winter setting in, more people indoors, the holiday season upon us, that could very easily change quickly.”

Health unit figures show that of the region’s 1,367 overall cases, at least 216 have involved health-care workers.

According to the health unit, at least 138 people have been hospitalized due to the virus since March, with 34 needing intensive care.

Schools

No new cases were reported Monday involving schools in London and Middlesex.

Two cases were reported over the weekend by the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB) at Sir Arthur Carty Catholic School, and by the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) at Sir Wilfred Laurier Secondary School.

The case at Sir Arthur Carty is the fifth to be reported at the school, after four student cases were reported at the school between Nov. 5 and Nov. 8. Three remain active there.

Elsewhere, active cases also remain at: St. Nicholas Catholic Elementary School (one student); Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School (one student); Oakridge Secondary School (two students); Arthur Ford Public School (one staff in before/after school program); Catholic Central High School (one student); Eagle Heights Public School (two students); and Westminster Secondary School (one student).

According to the health unit, there have been at least 38 cases linked to schools in London and Middlesex, with 22 at local elementary schools and 13 at secondary schools.

Institutional outbreaks

An outbreak at Henley Place Long-Term Care Residence has been declared over, the health unit says.

The outbreak, declared Oct. 31, impacted the facility’s Harris and Medway areas. It’s not clear how many people were infected as a result of the outbreak as such information is not readily available by the health unit.

Meanwhile, two outbreaks remain active at University Hospital, according to the London Health Sciences Centre.

The outbreaks, declared last week, involve 4IP General Medicine and 9IP Orthopaedics. It’s also unclear how many people have tested positive in the outbreaks.

According to LHSC, at least eight inpatients were in the care of LHSC with confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Monday, while at least 14 staff were currently infected.

Since the pandemic began, at least 48 institutional outbreaks have been declared in London and Middlesex, of which 40 have been at seniors’ facilities.

Outbreaks at long-term care homes have been linked to 66 resident cases, 79 staff cases, and 26 deaths, while retirement home outbreaks have been tied to 46 resident cases, 32 staff cases, and 13 deaths.

Testing

Both Carling Heights and Oakridge Arena are operating by appointment only, while appointment testing is available for certain asymptomatic people at eight local pharmacies.

Last week, Carling Heights recorded a five-day average of 346 visits per day between Nov. 9 and 13, while Oakridge Arena saw 342 per day.

Since Carling Heights shifted to appointment-only earlier this week, a notable increase in visits has been reported.

According to the health unit, the region’s test 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.

The region’s cumulative incident rate stands at 269.3 per 100,000 people, compared to Ontario’s 632.4 per 100,000.

Ontario

Ontario reported 1,487 new cases of COVID-19 as of Monday, and 10 new deaths due to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says 508 cases are in Toronto, 392 in Peel Region and 170 in York Region.

The province also reported 106 new COVID-19 cases related to schools, including at least 63 among students.

Those bring the number of schools with a reported case to 683 out of Ontario’s 4,828 publicly funded schools.

In the province’s long-term care homes, 716 residents currently have COVID-19 and four new deaths were reported Monday.

The province says 107 of its 626 long-term care homes are experiencing an outbreak.

Meanwhile, three regions in the Toronto-area join the COVID-19 red zone Monday.

The stricter public health measures come into effect in Hamilton, York and Halton regions.

Toronto joined Peel Region in the red alert level — the highest short of a full lockdown — on Saturday.

Elgin and Oxford

Twelve people tested positive for the coronavirus while three others recovered, Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) reported Monday.

The jump brings the region’s case count to 448 since March, of which 379 have recovered and five have died — most recently in early July.

It leaves at least 64 known active cases in the region. Of those, 11 are in Elgin County and 53 are in Oxford County. None are currently in hospital.

In Oxford, there are 23 in Woodstock, 17 in Norwich, three each in Ingersoll, South-West Oxford, and Tillsonburg, two in Blandford-Blenheim, and one each in East Zorra-Tavistock and Zorra.

In Elgin County, there are eight active cases are in Aylmer, two are in St. Thomas, and one is in Bayham.

SWPH has reported at least 123 cases since the start of November. Eight were reported on Sunday along with three recoveries.

As of Monday, the region is in the yellow-protect tier of the province’s colour-coded framework.

The region’s school case tally has risen by one, after the Thames Valley District School Board reported a third case at Northdale Public School in Woodstock on Monday.

It’s unclear if this new case involves a staff member or student. Two other still-active cases, both reported Nov. 10, involve students.

Meanwhile, one case was reported over the weekend by the London District Catholic School Board at Assumption Catholic Secondary School in Aylmer.

Elsewhere, one student case remains active at Straffordville Public School in Bayham.

A total of eight cases have been reported at schools in Elgin and Oxford, including since-resolved cases at St. Thomas Community Christian School and Mitchell Hepburn Public School, and South Ridge Public School.

Oxford Community Child Care in Woodstock is still listed on the province’s database as being the site of two recent cases involving a child and staff member.

Meantime, an outbreak at a long-term care home in Norwich has grown since Friday.

The outbreak, declared Thursday at Bethany Care Home, is now linked to three resident cases. Two additional cases were reported over the weekend.

It’s currently the lone active outbreak in the region. Eight in total have been declared since March, linked to 15 cases, of which all but two have involved staff members. No deaths have been reported.

Health unit figures show that at least 100 cases have been reported in Aylmer since March, in large part due to a spike in late July and early August.

Elsewhere, 79 cases have been reported in Woodstock, 77 in Bayham, 52 in St. Thomas, 36 in Norwich, 14 in Ingersoll, 12 in East-Zorra-Tavistock, and 10 in Dutton/Dunwich. Seven other municipalities have case tallies under 10.

Health unit figures show since the pandemic began, at least 25 people have been hospitalized due to the virus.

As of the week of Nov. 1, 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

Four people have died, 20 more have tested positive, and 11 have recovered, Huron Perth Public Health reported Monday in its first update since Friday.

It brings the region’s total case count to 248, of which 166 have recovered and 13 have died.

Nine cases were reported in Stratford, eight in Perth East, and one each in Bluewater, North Perth, and South Huron.

It leaves 72 known active cases in Huron and Perth, the health unit says. At least 51 of them are in Stratford. At least nine are health-care workers.

The four deaths involved residents of Cedarcroft Place, a retirement home in Stratford who had been hospitalized for the virus.

The facility has seen an active outbreak since last month that has steadily worsened, infecting approximately half of its residents and one-third of its staff.

As of Monday, at least 44 residents and 18 staff had tested positive for the virus in the outbreak which was declared active on Oct. 27. Of those, at least eight residents have since died.

It’s unclear how many of the nine Stratford cases reported Monday are tied to the outbreak.

At least 10 residents were transferred temporarily to local hospitals in the region to help staffing capacity at the facility, the health unit said. The move is similar to one done earlier this year in Lambton County involving residents of Vision Nursing Home.

Staff prevalence testing was planned for Monday for those who have been negative and asymptomatic.

Elsewhere, one other outbreak remains active in the region at Knollcrest Lodge in Perth East. That outbreak was declared on Nov. 7 and is linked to one staff case.

At least 12 outbreaks have been declared at 10 facilities in the province since March. They’re linked to 89 cases and at least 12 deaths — eight at Cedarcroft and four at Greenwood Court in the spring.

No new cases have been reported involving schools. Three cases are currently active and all involve students. Two are at Milverton Public School in Perth East and one is at Shakespeare Public School in Stratford.

Prior to that, one presumptive case was reported Oct. 16 at Stratford’s St. Joseph’s Catholic Elementary School.

By location, Stratford has seen 113 cases reported since March, while Perth County has seen 73 and Huron County 54.

St. Marys has seen 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

One person has tested positive for the coronavirus while one has recovered, Lambton Public Health reported Monday.

It brings the region’s total case count to 387, of which 353 have recovered. Twenty-five people have also died during the pandemic, a tally unchanged since early June.

It leaves nine known active cases in the region. One person was still hospitalized at Bluewater Health as of Sunday. There are at least 61 people who have been admitted to hospital with COVID-19 since March.

Four cases were reported on Sunday.

Lambton is staying put in the green-prevent tier of the province’s colour-coded framework, unlike Elgin, Huron, Middlesex, Oxford, and Perth counties.

No new cases have been reported at local schools. One case remained active involving a student at Riverview Central School in Port Lambton as of Sunday afternoon.

A total of five school cases, all involving students, have been reported since the start of the school year.

Two were located at Northern Collegiate Institute and Vocational School in Sarnia, and one each at Bright’s Grove Public School in Sarnia and Colonel Cameron Public School in Corunna.

There was also no change in regards to outbreaks. None are currently active.

A total of 13 have been declared since March, linked to 115 cases and 16 deaths.

At least 51,383 people had been tested in the county as of Nov. 7, the most recent figures available.

— With files from Kelly Wang and The Canadian Press