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The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported 31 new coronavirus cases along with 16 recoveries on Saturday.

The update brings the region’s COVID-19 case total to 5,840, of which 3,875 people have recovered.

At least 177 people have died during the pandemic.

At least 71 deaths have been reported so far this, year, including 69 through the month of January.

London and Middlesex has seen at least four cases of the U.K. variant and none of the South African variant. Health officials have warned that cases could spike again if people fail to follow pandemic measures, especially as concerns mount over those more contagious variants.

With the Super Bowl taking place this Sunday, Mayor Ed Holder on Thursday warned against holding any gatherings to watch the game.

“The desire to maintain your annual tradition shouldn’t supersede your desire to save lives, keep our kids in school and hopefully get countless numbers of small businesses up and running again across our broad community,” he said.

“We’ve seen how quickly a single outbreak can quickly expand and multiply from household to household and workplace to workplace. After all the sacrifices made to get the virus back under control, especially recently, it would be so disappointing to see it all undone because of someone’s Super Bowl party.”

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The region’s seven-day case average stood at 27.71 on Friday, down from 30.0 on Thursday. The 14-day average is 32.57, down from 33.78.

At least 5,067 cases have been reported in London during the pandemic, followed by 241 in Middlesex Centre.

Elsewhere, Strathroy-Caradoc has reported 198 cases; Thames Centre, 95; Lucan Biddulph, 50; Southwest Middlesex, 36; North Middlesex, 30; Adelaide Metcalfe, 15; and Newbury, two. At least 106 cases are pending location data.

People under the age of 40 have accounted for roughly 54 per cent of the region’s overall caseload. People in their 20s account for 23 per cent.

Hospitalizations

As of Friday, 16 COVID-19 inpatients were in the care of the London Health Sciences Centre.

The number of patients in intensive or critical care remained at eight, while active staff cases remained at 11.

At St. Joseph’s Health Care London (SJHCL), no COVID-19 patients were listed as being in the care of St. Joseph’s Hospital as of Friday afternoon, its most recent update.

At least three active staff cases, linked to a since-resolved outbreak at Mount Hope, were listed by the organization.

One patient case was also listed as active at Parkwood’s Mental Health Care Building.

At least 344 people have been hospitalized due to COVID-19 in the region, including 66 who have needed to be admitted to an intensive care unit.

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Institutional outbreaks

One new outbreak has been declared in the region, according to the health unit.

The outbreak, declared active Friday, is located at Dearness Home in its 3E and 3W units. It’s not clear how many cases have been reported in connection to the outbreak.

At least nine institutional outbreaks are active in the region at long-term care and retirement homes.

Since March 2020, the region has seen at least 97 institutional outbreaks in London and Middlesex, including 71 at local seniors’ facilities.

One outbreak also remains active at the city’s jail, declared on Jan. 18.

At least 22 inmates and 21 staff members have tested positive in connection to the outbreak at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, health officials said Thursday.

At least four inmates have since recovered, according to provincial data. Similar information was not immediately available for staff members.

The Ministry of the Solicitor General said the facility had not recently transported any inmates to hospital.

Schools

The Thames Valley District School Board confirmed two cases late Thursday, saying one involved Hickson Central Public School while the other involved Sir Isaac Brock Public School.

The cases are among three presently active in the region.

One case was also reported late Tuesday at Kensal Park French Immersion Public School.

As of Thursday, high schools in the London-Middlesex region are open for in-person learning. Elementary schools returned on Monday.

The province says it’s added a number of safety measures, including asymptomatic testing and enhanced screening for secondary students and staff.

Vaccinations and testing

Health officials provided the latest details in the region’s ongoing vaccination campaign Thursday, announcing that a second vaccination clinic in London and Middlesex will open in the coming weeks in Mount Brydges.

The clinic will be located at the Caradoc Community Centre, according to the announcement from the health unit, Middlesex County, Middlesex-London Paramedic Service, Middlesex Hospital Alliance and the Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc.

A date for opening was not immediately available. The clinic is set to come online as more vaccine is made available in the region in the near future.

“The Health Unit has been working closely with Strathroy-Caradoc administration to ensure all necessary measures are being put in place to ensure the facility will be ready to support the vaccination operations that will happen there, once additional supply becomes available,” read a joint statement from the parties involved.

“Work currently being done at the Caradoc Community Centre includes implementing the necessary security measures and upgrading the building’s technological infrastructure.”

Dr. Chris Mackie, medical officer of health said the London-Middlesex region is expected to receive doses of the Pfizer vaccine, noting that some other communities have seen a mix of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

“You can imagine that logistically that’s a major challenge that we’re hoping to avoid,” he said.

A large number of the doses expected later this month are doses that would have been delivered early this month or later last month, had Pfizer not embarked on upgrades at its Belgium facility that resulted in major supply issues.

The news came nearly two weeks to the day since the region’s first, and currently only, vaccination clinic at the Western Fair District Agriplex, closed temporarily due to supply issues with the Pfizer vaccine. The clinic is set to reopen on Monday.

The health unit plans to open as many as four vaccination clinics in the region, with the aim of vaccinating as many as 3,000 people per day, according to a draft vaccination plan released last month by the health unit. The locations of the remaining two pending clinics have not been released.

Currently, long-term care and high-risk retirement homes are receiving second doses of the vaccine for residents.

The region’s test positivity rate fell to 2.2 per cent the week of Jan. 24 from 2.6 the week prior, figures released Wednesday show.

Roughly 10,246 people were tested that week, down from 11,455 the week before.

Ontario

Ontario reported 1,388 cases of the novel coronavirus Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 276,718.

“Locally, there are 455 new cases in Toronto, 288 in Peel and 131 in York Region,” Health Minister Christine Elliott said.

A total of 254,966 COVID-19 cases are considered resolved, which is up by 1,796 and is 92.1 per cent of all known cases.

Forty-five additional deaths were also reported on Saturday, bringing the provincial death toll to 6,483.

More than 62,300 additional tests were completed. Ontario has now completed a total of 9,974,364 tests and 31,924 remain under investigation.

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The province indicated that the positivity rate for the last day was 2.6 per cent, which is up slightly from Friday’s report, when it was 2.5 per cent, and is down from last Saturday’s report, when it was 3.3 per cent.

Provincial figures showed there are 1,021 people hospitalized with the virus (down by 22), with 325 in intensive care (no change), 228 of whom are on a ventilator (up by three).

Elgin and Oxford

One person has died, fourteen people have tested positive for the coronavirus while 10 have recovered, officials with Southwestern Public Health reported Saturday.

The region’s pandemic case tally now stands at 2,371, of which 2,183 people have recovered and 62 have died.

Details about Saturday’s death were not immediately available but two deaths were reported on Thursday involving a man in his 70s from Oxford and a woman in her 80s from Oxford, whose death was linked to an outbreak at Caressant Care Retirement Home in Woodstock.

As of Friday, at least 126 cases are active in Elgin-Oxford. Of those, at least 76, or 60 per cent, are located in Woodstock.

Elsewhere, 19 cases are in St. Thomas and nine are in Ingersoll. Eleven other municipalities have six or fewer active cases.

At least five people were in hospital as of Saturday, with none in intensive care.

No new institutional outbreaks have been declared and none have been resolved.

An outbreak at Caressant Care Retirement Home in Woodstock grew by 14 cases, after nine new resident cases and five staff cases were confirmed at the facility.

The home has seen a total of 49 resident and 16 staff cases along with one reported death.

Eight outbreaks are currently active, declared on:

• Feb. 2 at Trillium Retirement Home in Norwich (one resident case, one death)
• Jan. 28 at Extendicare in Port Stanley (one staff case)
• Jan. 24 at Arches Transitional Bed Program in Woodstock (one staff case)
• Jan. 21 at Caressant Care Retirement Home in Woodstock (51 resident, 18 staff cases, one death; two more resident cases and two staff cases more than the day before)
• Jan. 15 at Dayspring Residence in Tillsonburg (1 resident case)
• Jan. 1 at Woodingford Lodge – Woodstock (two resident, two staff cases)
• Dec. 16 at PeopleCare Tavistock (47 resident, 38 staff cases, 10 deaths)
• Dec. 12 at Maple Manor Nursing Home (85 resident, 52 staff cases; 20 deaths)

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Global News does not update school cases on the weekend.

One case remains active in the Elgin-Oxford region, located at Central Public School in Woodstock.

Elementary schools within Southwestern Public Health were allowed to return to in-person learning on Monday, and high school classes resumed on Thursday.

The health unit says a total of 454 cases have been reported in Woodstock during the pandemic, while 410 have been in St. Thomas, 359 in Aylmer and 320 in Tillsonburg.

Elsewhere, 199 cases have been in Norwich, 161 in Bayham, 103 in Ingersoll, 101 in East Zorra-Tavistock, 54 in Zorra, 47 in Blandford-Blenheim, 46 in South-West Oxford, 44 in Central Elgin, 25 in Southwold, 21 in West Elgin, 20 in Dutton/Dunwich and eight in Malahide.

The region’s test positivity rate stood at 1.4 per cent as of the week of Jan. 24, health unit figures released Wednesday show. At least 4,946 people were tested the week of Jan. 24, down from 5,331 a week earlier.

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Huron and Perth

Ten people have tested positive and two people have recovered from the coronavirus, Huron Perth Public Health reported Saturday.

The update brings the region’s pandemic case tally to 1,250, of which 1,134 people have recovered. One case from the previous day was reassigned to another health unit.

At least 45 people have died. Details about the death reported Friday were not immediately available.

The health unit says of the new cases on Saturday, two each were reported in Perth South, North Perth, and Huron East, and one each in Goderich, Morris Turnberry, West Perth, and Stratford.

The update leaves at least 80 active cases in the region. At least 45 of them are in Huron East, while nine are in North Perth and seven in Goderich. Six other municipalities have fewer than five active cases.

At least two people are in hospital.

No new institutional outbreaks have been declared and none have been resolved.

At least seven outbreaks remain active in the region, with six at long-term care homes and retirement homes, and one at a hospital.

The active seniors’ home outbreaks were declared on:

• Feb. 3 at Hillside Manor in Perth East (two staff cases; one more than the day before)
• Jan. 31 at St Marys Memorial Hospital (one patient, five staff cases)
• Jan. 31 at Seaforth Manor Retirement Home in Huron East (five resident cases)
• Jan. 30 at Fordwich Village in Howick (one staff case)
• Jan. 17 at Seaforth Manor Nursing Home in Huron East (41 resident, 17 staff cases, at least five deaths; one staff case more than the day before)
• Jan. 10 at Caressant Care Nursing Home in North Perth (43 resident, 27 staff cases, 13 deaths)
• Jan. 7 at Caressant Care Retirement Home in North Perth (30 resident, 10 staff cases, at least one death)

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Global News does not update the school cases over the weekend.

Three cases remain active at local schools, all under the Avon-Maitland District School Board.

One case is active at Elma Township Public School, while two are active at Listowel District Secondary School.

Schools in the region are set to return to in-person learning next week.

At least 530 cases have been reported in Perth County during the pandemic, including 339 in North Perth 132 in Perth East, 31 in Perth South and 28 in West Perth.

Elsewhere, 411 cases have been reported in Huron County, including 92 in South Huron, 84 in Huron East, 50 in Central Huron, 42 in Morris Turnberry, 38 in North Huron, 34 in Howick, 32 in Bluewater, 21 in ACW and 18 in Goderich.

At least 288 cases have been reported in Stratford and 30 in St. Marys.

The region’s test positivity rate fell to 1.6 per cent the week of Jan. 24 from 3.3 per cent a week earlier, figures released Wednesday show.

Roughly 3,311 people were tested the week of the 24th, down from 3,689 the week prior.

Sarnia and Lambton

Seven people have tested positive for the coronavirus, while another 10 have recovered, Lambton Public Health reported Saturday.

It brings the region’s pandemic case tally to 1,861, of which 1,774 people have recovered and 41 have died. The three most recent deaths were reported Thursday involving two people aged 80 or older who died in hospital, and one person aged 90 or older.

At least 46 cases remain active in the county. Bluewater Health reported Saturday that five COVID-19 patients were in its care.

Lambton Public Health does not provide updates on specific COVID-19 data on the weekends.

As of Friday, six outbreaks were active in the region, with four at seniors’ facilities, one at Bluewater Health hospital and one at an unnamed workplace.

The seniors’ facility outbreaks were declared on:

• Jan. 28 at Lambton Meadowview Villa in Petrolia (one staff case)
• Jan. 13 at Vision Rest Home (32 resident, 16 staff cases, three deaths)
• Jan. 8 at Twin Lakes Terrace (LTC) in Sarnia (18 resident, five staff cases, one death)
• Dec. 30 at Village on the St. Clair in Sarnia (28 resident, 15 staff cases, four deaths)

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The hospital outbreak, meantime, was declared Jan. 22 and is linked to four patient and six staff cases.

The unidentified workplace outbreak was declared Jan. 29 and is tied to three cases.

No information has been released regarding possible new school cases.

The health unit itself does not report school cases, and both the Lambton Kent district and St. Clair Catholic district school boards have paused public reporting while students are in remote learning.

Schools in the county are set to return to in-person learning next week.

The region’s test per cent positivity rate sat at 1.5 per cent as of the week of Jan. 24, down from 2.3 the week before, figures released Wednesday show.

It’s a far cry from the 6.2 per cent rate seen during the week of Jan. 3.

— With files from Matthew Trevithick, Ryan Rocca, and The Canadian Press