Jump to: Hospitalizations – Outbreaks – Vaccinations and testing – Ontario – Elgin and Oxford – Huron and Perth – Sarnia and Lambton
The Middlesex-London Health Unit reported 82 COVID-19 cases over the long weekend, with 12 on Tuesday, 18 cases Monday, 30 cases on Sunday and 22 cases on Saturday.
The most recently recorded death was added to the MLHU’s dashboard on Friday and involved a woman in her early 30s who was unvaccinated.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Chris Mackie confirmed Tuesday that the case was linked to a “complex multi-site outbreak” associated with Drewlo Holdings from earlier this summer.
“Unfortunately, many people in that setting were not vaccinated. This individual didn’t work in that facility, but was connected through family connections to that outbreak,” said Mackie.
“And there may have actually been another death that was linked through second-hand contact through that outbreak as well.”
The total number of cases in the region now stands at 13,530, with 203 active (a decrease of 16), 13,092 recovered (an increase of 98) and 235 deaths.
The number of cases involving a variant of concern climbed by four to 3,981.
The breakdown of known variant cases is as follows:
- 3,384 cases of the Alpha variant (a decrease of one)
- 467 cases of the Delta variant (an increase of five)
- 124 cases of the Gamma variant
- two cases of the Beta variant
- one case of the Kappa variant
- one case of the Zeta variant
There are also two cases listed using the old code numbers, one described as B.1.617 and another listed as B.1.617.3.
Further information can be found on the health unit’s summary of COVID-19 cases in Middlesex-London.
The test positivity rate in the region was 2.9 per cent for the week of Aug. 22, down from a revised 3.4 per cent for the week of Aug. 15.
Hospitalizations
London Health Sciences Centre says it is caring for 11 inpatients with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, an increase of three from Friday. Five or fewer are in intensive care.
LHSC is also now reporting pediatric critical care cases. Currently, there are zero patients in pediatric critical care.
When asked why the LHSC will be publishing those numbers, LHSC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Adam Dukelow described it as a “proactive” decision.
“We’ve all seen the impact of the Delta variant on the unvaccinated, including those that are less than 12-years-old around the world and are unable to get a vaccine at this point in time,” Dukelow said Tuesday.
“We as an organization have also had many inquiries from media and otherwise about the number of children with COVID who we are caring for, so we wanted to be proactive by publishing these numbers.”
Six staff are currently positive with COVID-19, the organization reported, up from five or fewer on Friday.
St. Joseph’s Health Care London (SJHCL) is reporting one non-outbreak case involving health-care workers, a decrease from two on Friday.
Outbreaks
The MLHU is reporting that an outbreak was declared at McCormick Home on Sept. 3. The outbreak is tied to two of its resident home areas: Memory Lane (dedicated dementia care wing) and Evergreen Walk.
While there are currently no outbreaks tied to child-care settings or early years centres, the MLHU says there is one confirmed case of COVID-19 tied to Kids and Company – London.
Vaccinations and testing
In data covering up to the end of day Sept. 4 and released on Tuesday, the MLHU says 77.3 per cent of residents age 12 and older are fully vaccinated and 84.0 per cent have had at least one dose.
The lowest vaccine uptake is among those 18 to 24 with 63.4 per cent fully vaccinated and 73.9 per cent with at least one dose.
Mackie said Tuesday that since the province announced its plans for a vaccine certificate system, the MLHU has seen a “big jump” in the number of first doses being administered.
“I did mention we’ve had a 50 per cent increase overall in in vaccinations since the announcement, but that jump is higher in people who are first time doses. It’s more like 55-60 per cent.”
According to the health unit, all deaths reported in the last six weeks in the region were among people who were unvaccinated.
Only two hospitalizations, or 6.9 per cent of hospitalizations, involved individuals who were fully vaccinated.
When looking at all cases in the last six weeks, 16.28 per cent (or 120 of 737 cases) involved people who were fully vaccinated and 16.28 per cent (or 120 cases) were partially vaccinated.
On the health unit’s website, residents can find information on pop-up clinics, mass vaccination clinics and pharmacies; guidance for anyone vaccinated outside of the province or country; transportation support for those in need; and more.
Anyone looking to be tested for COVID-19 can find information about locations of testing sites on the health unit’s website.
Ontario
The province reported 564 cases on Tuesday, 581 on Monday, 811 on Sunday and 944 on Saturday.
Of the 564 cases reported Tuesday:
- 339 were among unvaccinated individuals
- 37 among partially vaccinated people
- 130 among fully vaccinated people
- 58 had vaccination status “unknown”
According to Tuesday’s report, 114 cases were recorded in Toronto, 87 in Peel Region, 61 in York Region, 55 in Windsor-Essex and 40 in Hamilton. All other health units had fewer than 40 cases.
Three deaths were reported on Tuesday in addition to two deaths reported Monday.
Among those eligible, 77.2 per cent are fully vaccinated while 83.7 per cent have had at least one dose.
Elgin and Oxford
Southwestern Public Health reported on Tuesday:
- 4,114 total cases (an increase of 16 from Friday, though 18 cases were reported and two previously reported cases were removed due to data cleanup)
- 32 active cases (a decrease of one)
- 3,997 recoveries (an increase of 17)
- 85 deaths
- 1,025 variant of concern cases (an increase of 18 from Friday), with 769 Alpha, 201 Delta (an increase of 18) and 55 Beta or Gamma
The most recent death was reported Aug. 31 and involved a woman in her 80s from Oxford County.
Of the 32 active cases, 10 are in Woodstock, eight in St. Thomas and five in Aylmer. Per-municipality case counts for the pandemic can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.
Two people are hospitalized with COVID-19, with none in the ICU, an increase from zero hospitalizations on Friday.
There are no active institutional outbreaks, the health unit says.
The region’s test positivity rate was 1.0 per cent for the week of Aug. 22, down from a revised 1.4 per cent for the week of Aug. 15.
As of Aug. 31, SWPH says 82.0 per cent of its residents aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 75.7 per cent have had two doses.
Information on where to get vaccinated, vaccine eligibility and booking and cancelling appointments can be found on the health unit’s website.
Health officials say the mass immunization clinic in St. Thomas will administer its final doses at Memorial Arena on Sept. 10 before reopening on Sept. 13 at a new location at 1230 Talbot St.
People can add their names on a weekly basis to the health unit’s same-day vaccination list, also known as the Cancellation List. Select pharmacies in the region are also continuing to offer COVID-19 vaccine shots.
Huron and Perth
On Tuesday, Huron Perth Public Health reported:
- 2,064 total cases (an increase of 20 from Friday)
- 38 active (an increase of 10)
- 1,966 recoveries (increase of seven)
- 60 deaths (an increase of three)
- 407 variant of concern cases (increase of two)
All three deaths are associated with the ongoing outbreak at Knollcrest Lodge long-term care home.
Of the 38 active cases, 11 are in Stratford, eight in West Perth, and six in Perth East. Case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.
Seven people were listed as hospitalized as of Tuesday, an increase of four from Friday.
There are three active cases among health-care workers.
As previously mentioned, an outbreak declared Aug. 20 involving Knollcrest Lodge in Perth East remains active and involves a total of 12 cases with seven among residents and five among staff as of Tuesday.
The region’s test positivity rate was 1.6 per cent for the week of Aug. 22, down from an adjusted 1.9 per cent for the week of Aug. 15.
HPPH’s vaccine dashboard showed that as of Sept. 7, 74.8 per cent of residents 12 and older were fully vaccinated while 81.1 per cent have had at least one dose.
Information on how and where to get a vaccine can be found on the health unit’s website.
Information on pharmacies offering COVID-19 vaccines can be found on the province’s website.
Sarnia and Lambton
On Tuesday, Lambton Public Health reported:
- 3,698 cases (an increase of six from Friday)
- 11 active (an increase of three from Friday)
- 3,618 recoveries (an increase of three from Friday)
- 69 deaths
- 537 variant of concern cases (an increase of one from Friday)
There are no active outbreaks reported by LPH. The most recent test positivity rate was 1.24 per cent for the week of Aug. 22, down from 1.41 per cent the week before. Of those 12 and older, 72.8 per cent are fully vaccinated and 78.3 per cent have at least one dose.
Bluewater Health says it currently has zero patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
Those 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.
Information on pharmacies offering COVID-19 vaccines can be found on the province’s website.
—With files from Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues.