Jump to: Hospitalizations – Outbreaks – Vaccinations and testing – Ontario – Elgin and Oxford – Huron and Perth – Sarnia and Lambton
The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported 10 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, though the region’s tally increased by 11, as well as two additional deaths.
The deaths involve a man in his 50s and a man in his 60s. Neither death is associated with a long-term care or retirement home and the health unit tells Global News that neither had been vaccinated.
The health unit also recorded eight recoveries and confirmed 18 more variant of concern cases, 17 of which involve the Delta variant and one involving the Alpha variant.
In total, the health unit says there have been 12,776 cases with 55 active, 12,490 resolved, 231 fatalities, and 3,612 variant of concern cases.
The breakdown of known variant cases is as follows:
- 3,380 cases of the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7), first identified in the U.K.
- 116 cases of the Gamma (P.1) variant, first identified in Brazil
- 110 cases of the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant, first identified in India
- 2 cases of the Beta (B.1.351) variant, first identified in South Africa
- 1 case of the Kappa (B.1.617.1) variant, first identified in India
- 1 case of the Zeta (P.2) variant, first identified in Brazil
There is also one case listed only as B.1.617 and one case listed as B.1.617.3.
A total of 11,552 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in London since the pandemic began, while 374 have been in Middlesex Centre and 334 in Strathroy-Caradoc.
Further information can be found on the health unit’s Summary of COVID-19 Cases in Middlesex-London page.
Hospitalizations
The London Health Sciences Centre says it is caring for six inpatients with COVID-19, with five or fewer of those patients in the intensive care unit, as of Friday.
In an effort to protect the privacy of patients, LHSC only provides specific numbers when there are more than five.
LHSC is not reporting any patients from outside of the region.
Fewer than five LHSC employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, the organization is reporting no cases involving patients, residents or health-care workers.
Institutional outbreaks
LHSC reported an outbreak at Victoria Hospital’s B7-200 Adult Inpatient Mental Health/PICU unit on Monday. As of Friday, it involves fewer than five cases.
Vaccinations and testing
The MLHU released updated vaccination data on Tuesday as of the end of the day, July 24.
Of residents aged 12 and older, 80.1 per cent have had at least one dose while 62.8 per cent are fully vaccinated.
According to the MLHU, all deaths reported in the region since June 18 involved people who were entirely unvaccinated.
All hospitalizations involved people who were unvaccinated, not yet protected from vaccination (infection occurred less than 14 days after first dose), or partially vaccinated (infection occurred more than 14 days after first dose but less than 14 days after second dose).
Of all cases reported since June 18, just 4.8 per cent involve people who were fully vaccinated.
The health unit is accepting walk-ins for first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine at its mass vaccination clinics from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. Hours and days of operation at many of the mass clinics will be reduced starting next month. Full details can be found on our website.
The North London Optimist Community Centre and Earl Nichols Recreation Centre will be closed from July 31 to Aug. 2, reopening on Aug. 3.
Information on how to book and cancel appointments can be found on the health unit’s website.
Information on local pharmacies offering COVID-19 vaccines can be found on the province’s website.
Several pop-up walk-in clinics are scheduled throughout the region. A full list can be found on the health unit’s website.
Anyone looking to be tested for COVID-19 can find information about locations of testing sites on the health unit’s website.
Ahead of the holiday weekend, officials say the Carling COVID-19 Assessment Centre will operate as usual on Monday, Aug. 2, but telephone booking will be unavailable that day.
The test positivity rate in the region was 1.0 per cent for the week of July 18, down from 1.1 per cent for the week of July 11.
Ontario
Ontario reported 226 cases on Friday and 11 deaths for a total of 550,178 cases and 9,339 deaths.
Of the 226 cases, 62 were reported in Toronto, 35 in Waterloo Region, 24 in Peel Region, 13 in York Region, 13 in Hamilton and 13 in Halton Region.
In Ontario, 80.2 per cent of those aged 12-plus have received at least one vaccine dose and 68.4 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Elgin and Oxford
Southwestern Public Health reported four cases and two recoveries on Friday.
The total case count stands at 3,950 with 20 active cases, 3,846 recoveries and 84 deaths.
Of the 20 active cases, 10 are in Woodstock, six are in St. Thomas, three are in Blandford-Blenheim and one is in Southwold. Per-municipality case counts can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.
One person is currently hospitalized with COVID-19, according to SWPH, but is not in the ICU.
The number of variant of concern cases increased by five to 873, with 766 of those listed as the Alpha variant, 56 the Delta variant and 51 the Beta variant.
There are no active institutional outbreaks reported in the region.
The region’s test positivity rate was 0.4 per cent for the week of July 18, down from 1.1 per cent for the week of July 11.
As of July 29, SWPH says 78.8 per cent of its residents aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 62.9 per cent have had two doses.
Walk-in appointments are available at all of SWPH’s mass vaccination clinics but appointments can be booked or re-booked through the online booking portal or by phone at 1-800-922-0096 ext. 9.
Anyone who re-books an earlier appointment should make sure they cancel their existing appointment. Appointments at SWPH’s Tillsonburg, Woodstock or St. Thomas mass immunization clinics can be cancelled online.
The health unit is also still encouraging people to add their names to a same-day vaccination list.
Select pharmacies in the region are also continuing to offer COVID-19 vaccine shots.
Huron and Perth
Huron Perth Public Health reported two new cases on Friday and three recoveries, for a total of 1,939 cases with 1,878 recoveries, four active cases and 57 deaths.
The number of cases involving a confirmed variant of concern rose by five to 354.
Of the four active cases, two are in Stratford while one each is reported in North Perth and in Perth South. Case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.
No one is currently hospitalized with COVID-19.
There were no active institutional outbreaks reported in the region as of Friday and an unidentified workplace outbreak has been declared over.
The region’s test positivity rate was 1.0 per cent for the week of July 18, up from 0.9 per cent for the week of July 11.
HPPH’s vaccine dashboard showed that as of Friday, 77.7 per cent of those aged 12 and older have had at least one vaccine dose, while 66.7 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Information on vaccine eligibility and booking an appointment can be found on HPPH’s website.
HPPH says beginning next week, it will be providing more options to get vaccinated, including walk-in clinics, evening hours, pop-up locations and a drive-thru clinic.
More information on where to get a vaccination can be found on the health unit’s website.
Sarnia and Lambton
Lambton Public Health reported no new cases on Friday but did add one recovery.
The total case count stands at 3,638 with five active cases, 3,565 listed as recovered and 68 deaths.
The most recent death was reported Monday and involved someone in their 70s.
The number of confirmed variant of concern cases has increased by three to 679.
According to Bluewater Health, there are currently no patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
Lambton Public Health is not reporting any active outbreaks in the region.
The region’s test positivity rate was 0.36 per cent for the week of July 18, up from 0.34 per cent for the week of July 11.
As of Friday, 76.0 per cent of adults have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine while 67.9 per cent are fully vaccinated.
LPH is asking everyone who has already received a first dose to book their second dose appointment as soon as possible as the region prepares to wind down mass immunization clinics next month.
Residents who are able to get vaccinated on short notice are encouraged to sign up for Lambton Public Health’s daily Vaccine Standby List.
Residents can book and re-book COVID-19 vaccine appointments using the health unit’s registration page. People can also call the vaccine call centre at 226-254-8222.
Some pharmacies are also continuing to offer Pfizer or Moderna shots.
—With files from Global News’ Kelly Wang and Ryan Rocca