Jump to: Hospitalizations – Outbreaks – Schools – Vaccinations and Testing – Ontario – Elgin and Oxford – Huron and Perth – Sarnia and Lambton

The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported 164 new coronavirus cases, 174 new recoveries and three more deaths since Christmas Eve.

MLHU provided its first update since Thursday on Sunday.

The region’s total COVID-19 case count now stands at 2,921 with 2,321 recoveries and 98 deaths.

At least 1,273 of the region’s cases and 32 of its deaths have occurred just since Dec. 1. The cases reported so far this month are more than any full month of the pandemic up to this point, and more than what was seen between March 1 and Oct. 1, according to the health unit.

The region’s test per cent positivity rate stood at 2.9 per cent as of the week of Dec. 13, up from 2.3 the week prior.

Hospitalizations

As of Thursday, the number of COVID-19 inpatients in the care of London Health Sciences Centre was 23. Seven are in critical or intensive care, the organization reported.

The number of staff cases stands at 20.

No COVID-19 inpatients were in the care of St. Joseph’s Health Care London. Three cases are active among the organization’s health-care staff.

Nine positive cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed through regular weekly staff testing at the Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care. The cases impact four units in the facility. No residents have tested positive at this time.

Detailed contact tracing is occurring and outbreak precautions are in place.

Residents and families have been notified and testing of all residents at Mount Hope is underway.

The health unit says at least 242 people have been hospitalized for COVID-19 during the pandemic, including at least 46 who have needed intensive care.

Institutional outbreaks

Three new outbreaks were declared on Boxing Day – Earls Court Village (third floor), Extendicare (third floor) and Oakcrossing Retirement Living (second floor).

The total number of active outbreaks at University Hospital is two.

Outbreaks that remain active were declared on:

• Nov. 10 in 4IP General Medicine. (This outbreak later spread to as many as five other units in the hospital, sickening dozens and leaving several dead.)
• Dec. 19 in U7 Clinical Neurosciences.

Outbreaks at the hospital in 5IP Cardiology, 10IP Palliative Care/Sub-Acute Medicine, 4TU Multi-Organ Transplant, 5IP Cardiology (offices), 6IP Acute/Decant Medicine, 6IP Cardiovascular Surgery, 8IP General Surgery, 9IP Orthopaedics, 9IP Sub-Acute Medicine and the 10th-floor Epilepsy Monitoring Unit have since resolved.

Non-urgent and non-emergent surgeries and procedures remain postponed at University Hospital, and ambulatory and outpatient activity at University Hospital has been reduced to urgent and emergent matters.

There are limits on visitors at both hospitals. As of Dec. 26, due to the lockdown, LHSC says it will only be permitting essential care partners to visit patients in hospital.

Elsewhere, one outbreak remains active at Victoria Hospital’s C5-100 ENT/Burns/Plastics. It was declared Dec. 15 and is tied to two deaths, fewer than five patient cases and five staff cases:

Outbreaks also remain active at several seniors’ homes in the region, according to the health unit:

• Country Terrace (Woodcrest)
• Dearness Home (facility-wide)
• McGarrell Place (facility-wide)
• Peoplecare Oak Crossing (Juniper, Norway Spruce, Sugar Maple, White Pine)
• Sisters of St. Joseph (Care Centre – East and North Hall)
• Westmount Gardens (Apple Blossom)
• Glendale Crossing (Westminster, Byron)
• Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care (SM1, SM2, MV4)
• Middlesex Terrace (Facility)

Since March, the region has seen at least 75 institutional outbreaks in London and Middlesex, including at least 54 at local seniors’ facilities.

Outbreaks at seniors’ facilities alone have been linked to 132 resident cases, 145 staff cases and 47 deaths.

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Schools

Positive and ongoing cases of COVID-19 were identified at the following Thames Valley schools on Sunday:

• A B Lucas Secondary School (two cases)
• Catholic Central High School (two cases)
• Clarke Road Secondary School (one case)
• École élémentaire catholique Monseigneur-Bruyère (three cases)
• École élémentaire Marie-Curie (one case)
• London South Collegiate Institute (one case)
• Nicholas Wilson Public School (one case)
• St Michael Catholic School (one case)
• West Oaks French Immersion Public School (one case)
• White Oaks Public School (one case)

A full list can be found on the MLHU website.

Outbreak declarations are also active in at least eight schools:

• A B Lucas Secondary School
• Ashley Oaks Public School
• John Paul II Catholic Secondary School
• Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School
• Sir Arthur Currie Public School
• St. Marguerite d’Youville Secondary School
• St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School
• Westminster Secondary School

Under the provincewide lockdown announced Monday, elementary-age children will not return to classes as planned on Jan. 4, 2021 and will instead engage in remote learning until Jan. 11, when they would then return to in-person classes in all areas of the province.

Secondary school students in northern areas of the province are also set to resume in-class instruction on Jan. 11, while in southern Ontario, high school students would work remotely until Jan. 25.

Child-care centres are expected to remain open for the duration of the shutdown, though during the period where elementary students will be out of classes, the centres will be prohibited from serving school-age children. Before and after school programs must also be cancelled the week of Jan. 4.

Vaccinations and testing

Karen Dann, a registered nurse and administrator with Country Terrace nursing home, was the region’s first recipient of Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine after receiving a shot at the Western Fair Agriplex on Wednesday.

The first of two doses was administered by Tracy Benedict, a public health nurse with the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU). Dann will receive her second dose in 21 days from Wednesday.

The province says the first shipment of vaccines will go to health-care workers in local long-term care and retirement homes, as well as some hospital staff.

The health unit says more than 119,000 people have been swabbed since April at the city’s two dedicated assessment centres, both of which are continuing to operate by appointment only.

Appointment testing for certain asymptomatic people is also continuing at eight local pharmacies.

The health unit says roughly 11,300 people were tested the week of Dec. 13, the most recent figure available.

Ontario

Ontario reported 2,005 new cases of COVID-19 Sunday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 171,416.

Eighteen additional deaths were also announced, bringing the provincial death toll to 4,377.

A total of 147,178 COVID-19 cases are considered resolved, which is 85.9 per cent of all confirmed cases.

Elgin and Oxford

Southwestern Public Health reported 87 new cases and 23 new recoveries on Sunday following its previous update on Wednesday.

There are now a total of 1,132 cases, 859 recoveries and 12 deaths. At least 261 cases remain active.

The region has seen at least 569 cases so far this month, along with six deaths.

The newest outbreak was declared Monday at Elgin Manor, tied to one resident case.

In Tavistock, an outbreak at Peoplecare Tavistock has led to cases among 10 of its residents and four of its staff members.

In addition, an outbreak at Maple Manor Nursing Home has also seen 10 resident cases along with eight staff cases.

Elsewhere, outbreaks are also active at Seasons Retirement Home (one staff case), Terrace Lodge (three staff cases) and Chartwell Aylmer (two staff cases).

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At least 17 institutional outbreaks have been declared at 14 facilities since March.

At least 15 school cases were active in the region as of Tuesday.

• Three cases at East Elgin Secondary School in Aylmer.
• Two cases at Davenport Public School in Aylmer.
• Two cases at Huron Park Secondary School in Woodstock.
• One case at Glendale High School
• One case at Parkside Collegiate Institute in St. Thomas.
• One case at Plattsville and District Public School in Plattsville.
• One case at Roch Carrier French Immersion Public School in Woodstock.
• One case at South Ridge Public School in Tillsonburg.
• One case at St. Anne’s Catholic School in St. Thomas.
• One case at Summers’ Corners Public School in Aylmer.
• One case at Westfield Public School in Tillsonburg.

The region has seen at least 42 school cases reported since the start of September.

At least 233 cases have been reported in Aylmer during the pandemic, resulting in the town clocking an incidence rate of 3,110 cases per 100,000 people.

Woodstock, which has reported 181 cases, has an incidence rate of 442.5.

Elsewhere, St. Thomas has seen 171 cases, Tillsonburg 121, Bayham 119, Norwich 93,  Ingersoll 49, East Zorra-Tavistock 46, Blandford-Blenheim 36, Zorra 19, Central Elgin 17, South-West Oxford 14 and Dutton/Dunwich 11.

Three other municipalities have recorded case totals under 10.

The region had a test per cent positivity rate of 2.7 per cent as of the week of Dec. 13, up from 2.4 the week before. Nearly 5,300 people were tested the week of Dec. 13.

Huron and Perth

Huron Perth Public Health’s last update was provided Wed. Dec. 23.

The region’s total case tally stood at 565, of which 492 people have recovered and 20 have died. The most recent death was reported on Dec. 10.

At least 53 active cases remain in the region. At least two people are in hospital.

No new school cases were reported, according to the Avon-Maitland District School Board and the Huron Perth Catholic District School Board.

At least nine cases are active in the region:

• Three cases at Listowel District Secondary School.
• Two cases at F. E. Madill Secondary School in Wingham.
• One case at Mornington Central Public School.
• One case at North Perth Westfield Elementary School.
• One case at Upper Thames Elementary School.

At least 34 school cases have been reported in the region since Sept. 1.

Meantime, no new institutional outbreaks were declared and one outbreak was resolved.

An outbreak at Stratford General Hospital is tied to seven staff cases and has since been resolved.

Four outbreaks remained active, including two at hospitals, two at long-term care homes and one at a retirement home.

An outbreak at Listowel Memorial Hospital is tied to four patient cases and nine staff cases.

Elsewhere, an outbreak at Exeter Villa is tied to two resident and two staff cases, while an outbreak at Knollcrest Lodge is tied to two staff cases.

An outbreak at Cedarcroft Place declared Oct. 27 — currently the oldest ongoing outbreak in the region — is tied to 50 resident cases and 24 staff cases. At least 12 residents have died.

No new cases have been reported at Cedarcroft since at least Dec. 7 and no cases are presently active.

At least 20 institutional outbreaks have been declared at 15 facilities since March, linked to 128 cases and at least 16 deaths — 12 at Cedarcroft and four at Greenwood Court in the spring.

At least 245 cases have been in Perth County, while 172 cases and at least 16 deaths have been in Stratford.

Elsewhere, 129 cases have been in Huron County, while nine cases and at least one death have been in St. Marys.

Locations for the region’s three other reported deaths were not immediately available.

As of the week of Dec. 6, the region’s test per cent positivity rate was 1.2 per cent, down from 1.6 the week before.

Sarnia and Lambton

Lambton Public Health reported 64 new cases and 35 new recoveries Sunday, which includes Friday and Saturday’s updates.

There are now a total of 641 cases in the region, which includes 486 recoveries and 28 deaths.

At least 127 cases region active.

The following information was last updated Wed. Dec. 23.

At least seven outbreaks were active in the region, six of them at unnamed workplaces, linked to a total of 26 cases — three more than the day before. The most recent workplace outbreak was declared on Sunday.

An outbreak is also active at Trillium Villa, declared on Saturday, linked to two staff cases. It’s the first seniors’ facility outbreak to be declared in the county since Oct. 30.

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The health unit says 21 outbreaks have been declared since the pandemic began, linked to 145 cases and 16 deaths. All 16 deaths are tied to outbreaks at two seniors’ homes in the spring.

It’s unclear if any new school cases have been confirmed or resolved as both the Lambton Kent District School Board and the St. Clair Catholic District School Board have paused the public reporting of cases on their websites until after the holidays.

At least 12 school cases have been reported in the county since the start of the school year.

As of the week of Dec. 13, the region had a weekly test per cent positivity rate of 1.8 per cent, up from 0.86 per cent the week before.

— With files from Global News’ Matthew Trevithick, Sawyer Bogdan and Ryan Rocca