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COVID-19: 17 new cases in London and Middlesex, 4 in Elgin Oxford

People wear surgical masks to protect them from the COVID-19 virus in Kingston, Ontario on Saturday May 15, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Lars Hagberg

Jump to: HospitalizationsOutbreaksSchoolsVaccinations and testingOntarioElgin and OxfordHuron and PerthSarnia and Lambton


The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported 17 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, along with 42 recoveries.

This brings the region’s pandemic case tally to 12,247, of which 11,752 have resolved.

A total of 219 deaths have been reported to date. The latest death was reported Saturday and involved a man in his 50s who was not associated with a long-term care or retirement home.

The health unit says at least 234 cases are active in the region, a decrease of 24 from the day before.

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London-Middlesex recorded at least 1,743 cases last month, along with 19 deaths, three of which have involved people under the age of 50, including an 18-year-old.

Of the 17 new cases reported Monday, 16 are from London, one is pending location.

The number of variant cases in the region stands at 3,044, an increase of 14 from the day before.

All of the new cases involve the B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the U.K.

The B.1.1.7 variant accounts for the vast majority of the region’s variant cases — 2,992.

Forty-nine cases have been confirmed to involve the P.1 variant, first identified in Brazil, and two have been confirmed to involve the B.1.617 variant, first identified in India. Of those, one has been identified as being the sub-lineage B.1.617.2.

Meanwhile, one case, reported Thursday, has been confirmed to involve the B.1.351 variant, first identified in South Africa.

Meanwhile, 375 other cases were found to have a spike protein mutation consistent with one or more coronavirus variants. An undetermined number are currently under investigation.

A total of 11,070 cases have been confirmed in London since the pandemic began, while 361 have been in Middlesex Centre.

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Elsewhere, 330 cases have been in Strathroy-Caradoc, 154 in Thames Centre, 72 in Lucan Biddulph, 58 in North Middlesex, 54 in Southwest Middlesex, 15 in Adelaide Metcalfe and six in Newbury, while 127 cases have pending location information.

Hospitalizations

Thirty-one COVID-19 patients were in the care of London Health Sciences Centre on Monday, up one from the day before. Of those, nine were in intensive care, down two from the day before.

Fewer than five COVID-19 patients from out of region are receiving acute care, and fewer than five are in ICU.

Though that tally has decreased, LHSC officials say they have begun to accept patients from hard-hit Manitoba.

The organization is currently tending to fewer than five patients from Manitoba, and says a small number of transfers are expected from the province in the coming days and weeks.

At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, meanwhile, no COVID-19 patients were reported in their care at St. Joseph’s Hospital. Three staff cases are active within SJHCL as of Monday.

The health unit says at least 641 people have been hospitalized for COVID-19 during the pandemic, including 110 who have needed intensive care.

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Outbreaks

No new outbreaks have been declared.

Two remain active, both involving seniors’ facilities.

Outbreaks are active at Kensington Village (first-floor long-term care) and Kensington Village Retirement (Canterbury).

A total of 851 cases and 109 deaths have been reported during the pandemic at local long-term care and retirement homes.

Meanwhile, a months-long outbreak at the city’s jail remains active, however, no inmate cases are currently listed there.

The outbreak at the Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, declared on Jan. 18, has been linked to cases involving 62 inmates and 43 staff.

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Schools

No new school cases have been reported, with no current active cases.

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An outbreak is still declared active at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School.

A total of 354 cases have been reported involving local elementary and secondary schools during the pandemic, according to the health unit.

Meanwhile, at least four cases are active in the region’s child-care sector involving two facilities.

Three are linked to Simply Kids. An active outbreak declaration has been in place since May 12.

Elsewhere, one case is active involving Kidorable Child Care Centre – Jim Ashton.

A total of 106 cases have been reported during the pandemic involving child-care and early-years settings.

In post-secondary, no outbreaks are currently active.

Western University students will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine in order to live on campus, university officials announced Thursday.

Eight student residence outbreaks on Western’s campus in late March and early April were linked to nearly 200 cases.

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Vaccinations and testing

A majority of Ontarians aged 80 and older will be able to begin booking second dose appointments this week, but those in London and Middlesex will have to wait for another week.

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The MLHU says it is still prioritizing first doses for those 12 and older, but it expects to allow those 80 and older “the opportunity to re-book their second dose appointments starting Monday, June 7 or sooner.”

The health unit will provide an update on Thursday on when those 80 and older can re-book.

Anyone aged 12 and older is eligible to get the vaccine, with youth able to get the Pfizer shot.

Eligible residents are asked to visit the local vaccine booking website or call 226-289-3560 to book an appointment at one of the region’s four vaccination clinics. Online appointments are encouraged.

A number of local pharmacies are also offering the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

Four mass vaccination clinics are in operation in the region, vaccinating roughly 3,200 people per day, about half of the maximum potential capacity.

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Those looking for a COVID-19 test can visit the region’s two main assessment centres.

The assessment centres, located at Carling Heights and Oakridge Arena, remain open and operating by appointment.

Small and medium-sized businesses looking to get their hands on free, rapid testing kits can still do so as part of the StaySafe London initiative.

As of May 29, the best up to date information available, 282,178 doses of COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered in the Middlesex-London region.

Ontario

Ontario is reporting 699 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the lowest increase in daily cases in seven-and-a-half months as the province climbs out of the third wave. The provincial total now stands at 532,158.

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Tuesday’s case count is the lowest daily increase since October 2020 (when 658 new cases were logged on Oct. 18).

This is also the second day in a row case counts are below 1,000. On Monday, 916 new cases were recorded and 1,033 on Sunday as cases continue to trend downwards.

As of 8 p.m. on Monday, more than 9.2 million total COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered. That marked an increase of over 120,195 vaccines in the last day. There are more than 739,000 people fully vaccinated with two doses.

Meanwhile, 511,703 Ontario residents were reported to have recovered from COVID-19, which is about 96 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 1,568 from the previous day.

The B.1.1.7 VOC: 126,707 variant cases, which is up by 762 since the previous day,
The B.1.351 VOC: 949 variant cases which is up by 1 since the previous day.
The P.1 VOC: 2,867 variant cases which is up by 45 since the previous day.

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Elgin and Oxford

Southwestern Public Health reported four new COVID-19 cases and seven recoveries Tuesday.

As of Monday, the region’s pandemic case total stands at 3,794, of which 3,666 have resolved.

Eighty deaths have been reported, most recently on May 25.

At least 39 cases are active in the region. At least three people are hospitalized, with none in the ICU.

The number of variant cases, and cases that have screened positive for a mutation consistent with a variant, is up by four to a total of 792.

At least 708 have been the B.1.1.7 variant, and four have involved the P.1 variant. One case has been confirmed to involve the B.1.351 variant.

At least 44 cases have tested positive for the E484K mutation and 35 have tested postive for both the E484K and N501Y mutation.

People aged 80 and older are not yet eligible to book a second shot, said officials with Southwestern Public Health on Monday.

They say a process is set to be announced by June 7.

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People aged 12 and older are eligible to get the vaccine. Youth are only able to get the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, however, meaning they are unable to get vaccinated at the Tillsonburg clinic as it only offers Moderna.

Eligible residents are asked to visit the area’s vaccine booking site and are being encouraged to add their names to a same-day vaccination list.

Several pharmacies in the region are also offering Pfizer and Moderna shots. Bookings must be made directly with the pharmacies.

No new outbreaks have been reported.

An outbreak at Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital has now been considered resolved. Declared on May 5, it’s been tied to 14 resident cases, five staff cases and three deaths.

Meanwhile, no new school-linked cases have been reported and none are active, according to the local school boards.

Per-municipality case counts can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

The region’s test positivity rate stood at 2.9 per cent the week of May 16.

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Huron Perth Public Health reported one new COVID-19 case and seven recoveries on Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, the region’s pandemic case total stands at 1,816, of which 1,719 have resolved.

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Fifty-seven deaths have been reported, most recently on May 20.

According to the health unit, 41 cases are active, including 9 in Huron East and 11 in North Perth. Two people are currently in hospital with COVID-19.

The number of variant cases, and cases that have screened positive for a mutation consistent with a variant, stands at 274 as of Tuesday.

At least 152 involve the B.1.1.7 variant, according to Public Health Ontario, while two involve the P.1 variant. The remaining cases are likely still under genomic analysis.

People 80 and older will be able to book their second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine starting this week, officials with Huron Perth Public Health say.

It comes after the province announced Friday that it would be shortening the interval between COVID-19 doses, starting with people 80 and older as of May 31.

Reminder emails have been sent out to people due for their second dose, however, people who have not gotten an email are asked to contact 1-833-753-2098.

All people aged 12 and older are eligible to get the vaccine. Youth are currently only able to get the Pfizer-BioNTech shot.

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Those looking to book an appointment are asked to do so via the local booking system or by calling 1-833-753-2098.

Several regional pharmacies are also offering the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine as part of a provincial initiative.

More than 72,305 Huron County residents have gotten at least one dose of  the COVID-19 vaccine, or roughly 59 per cent of eligible people.

No new school-related cases have been reported. Lists can be found on the websites of the Avon-Maitland District School Board and Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board.

One institutional outbreak remains active, located at Goderich Place. It involves at least one resident and one staff member.

Elsewhere, six outbreaks are active at unnamed workplaces.

Case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit dashboard.

The region’s most recent test positivity rate, from the week of May 16, was 2.2 per cent, down from 3.3 a week earlier.

Sarnia and Lambton

Lambton Public Health reported five new COVID-19 cases and five recoveries on Tuesday.

The region’s pandemic case total remains at 3,493, of which 3,400 have resolved. Sixty deaths have been reported, most recently on May 23.

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At least 33 cases are active in the region. Bluewater Health reported two COVID-19 patients in its care Tuesday.

The health unit says it is cancelling and re-scheduling all existing second dose appointments in an effort to re-prioritize and re-book second doses in succession.

Individuals who are 80 years of age and older, or who received their first dose on or before March 16, are now eligible to book their second dose appointment.

LPH says they will be contacted directly via email or phone.

Lambton Public Health has yet to update specific COVID-19 data since last week. The following information was last updated Thursday. 

The region’s variant case count stood at 565 as of Thursday. Public Health Ontario data shows 399 cases involved the B.1.1.7 variant, while 13 cases have been confirmed to be the P.1 variant. The remaining cases are under genomic sequencing.

All people aged 12 and older are eligible to get the vaccine. Currently, youth are only able to get the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. In Lambton, they can get the vaccine at the Point Edward Arena clinic.

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Eligible residents can book appointments through the health unit’s website. People with questions can contact the health unit’s call centre at 226-254-8222.

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Those who got a first shot of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will be offered a second dose after 12 weeks, though it could be a different vaccine depending on awaited federal guidance.

Meanwhile, some pharmacies are currently offering Pfizer or Moderna shots according to the health unit. Residents are asked to book spots with the pharmacies themselves.

The health unit says that more than 68,700 doses have been administered in Lambton.

No new outbreaks have been declared. Two outbreaks remain active.

One is located at Afton Park Place, a long-term care home, linked with at least two residents and 10 staff cases and one death. Elsewhere, a workplace outbreak is active linked with at least seven cases.

The region’s positivity rate was 1.8 per cent the week of May 16, down from 2.2 per cent a week earlier.

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With files from Matthew Trevithick, Kelly Wang, Gabby Rodrigues, and The Canadian Press

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