COVID-19: MLHU reports 7 cases, death of man in his 60s on Tuesday

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

The Middlesex-London Health Unit reported seven COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, though the total case count tally increased by only six, as well as one death.

The death involved a man in his 60s who was not vaccinated and the death was not associated with a long-term care or retirement home.

In total, the MLHU is reporting 13,662 cases with 180 active (a decrease of 13), 13,245 recoveries (an increase of 18) and 237 deaths.

The number of cases involving a variant of concern climbed by 29, all Delta, to 4,119.

The breakdown of known variant cases is as follows:

• 3,384 cases of the Alpha variant
• 605 cases of the Delta variant
• 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.

Hospitalizations

London Health Sciences Centre says it is caring for seven inpatients with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, unchanged from Monday. Five or fewer patients are in adult intensive care.

Five or fewer inpatients with COVID-19 are in Children’s Hospital, with none in pediatric critical care.

Five or fewer staff are currently positive with COVID-19, the organization reported.

St. Joseph’s Health Care London (SJHCL) is reporting one non-outbreak case involving a health-care worker.

Outbreaks

There are currently no active institutional outbreaks reported by the MLHU.

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Schools and child care

The MLHU is reporting cases at the following schools in its jurisdiction:

• École élémentaire La Pommeraie, two cases
• École secondaire catholique Monseigneur-Bruyère, three cases
• Hillcrest Public School, one case
• Kensal Park Public School, two cases
• Lambeth Public School, one case
• Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School, one case

Vaccinations and testing

In updated data released Tuesday covering up to the end of day Sept. 11, the MLHU says 78.4 per cent of residents aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated and 84.7 per cent have had at least one dose.

When looking specifically at the city of London, the number drops to 78.1 per cent fully vaccinated and 84.6 per cent with at least one dose.

For Middlesex County, 79.8 per cent of eligible residents are fully vaccinated and 85.2 per cent have had at least one dose.

The overall age range with the lowest vaccine uptake remains those aged 18 to 24, with 65.1 per cent fully vaccinated and 75.4 per cent with at least one dose.

In total, the MLHU says 738,157 doses of vaccine have been administered in the region as of the end of day Sept. 11.

MLHU data says, in the last six weeks, two deaths involved unvaccinated individuals and one involved a fully vaccinated individual. However, six deaths have been recorded in that time.

On Monday, medical officer of health Dr. Chris Mackie noted that there was an issue with the data that involved “the script that was written” to update the dashboard mistakenly identifying the date of diagnosis as the date of death.

As a result, deaths within the past six weeks that involved cases where symptoms emerged more than six weeks ago were not included in the dashboard.

“We’ll get that corrected as soon as we can,” he said.

According to the available data, only two hospitalizations, or 6.9 per cent of hospitalizations, involved individuals who were fully vaccinated.

As for reported cases in general, 16.89 per cent (or 138 of 817 cases) involved people who were fully vaccinated and 15.67 per cent (or 128 cases) were among those who 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.

The COVID-19 test positivity rate in the region was 2.9 per cent for the week of Aug. 29, the same as the week prior.

Ontario

Ontario reported 577 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, 125 of which involved individuals who were fully vaccinated. Seven deaths were also reported, though one occurred over a month ago.

Provincial figures showed there are 192 people in intensive care due to COVID-19 (up by three), 119 of whom are on a ventilator (up by three).

In Ontario, nearly 84.5 per cent of people aged 12-plus have received at least one vaccine dose and 78.2 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Elgin and Oxford

On Tuesday, Southwestern Public Health reported:

• 4,164 total cases (an increase of six)
• 50 active cases
• 4,029 recoveries (an increase of six)
• 85 deaths
• 1,068 variant of concern cases, with 769 Alpha, 244 Delta (an increase of five) 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 50 active cases, 15 are in Woodstock, nine in St. Thomas and seven in South-West Oxford. Per-municipality case counts for the pandemic can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

Four people are hospitalized with COVID-19, with one in the ICU.

There are no active institutional outbreaks, the health unit says.

The Thames Valley District School Board reports cases at its schools online. Cases at schools within the London District Catholic School Board can also be found online.

The region’s test positivity rate was 2.0 per cent for the week of Aug. 29, up from 1.0 per cent for the week of Aug. 22.

As of Sept. 12, SWPH says 77.7 per cent of residents aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated while 83.8 per cent have had at least one dose.

SWPH adds that if anyone needs a copy of their vaccination receipt, they can download it online using their postal code and Ontario health card or call 1-833-943-3900.

Information on where to get vaccinated, vaccine eligibility and booking and cancelling appointments can be found on the health unit’s website.

The immunization clinic closed at the Memorial Arena in St. Thomas on Friday and reopened at 1230 Talbot St. on Monday.

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:

• 2,092 total cases (an increase of five from Monday)
• 28 active cases (a decrease of three)
• 2,000 recoveries (an increase of seven)
• 64 deaths (an increase of one)
• 424 variant of concern cases (an increase of five)

Of the 28 active cases, eight are in Stratford and four in Perth East. Case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

Three people are listed as hospitalized as of Tuesday, a decrease of one from Monday.

There are now no active cases involving a health-care worker, down from one case Monday.

A outbreak declared Aug. 20 involving Knollcrest Lodge in Perth East remains active and involves a total of 13 cases with seven among residents and six among staff as of Tuesday. Four deaths are associated with the outbreak.

Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board lists cases at its schools on its website. The Avon-Maitland District School Board also lists cases at its schools on its website (under #3. Active Cases of COVID-19 in AMDSB Schools).

The region’s test positivity rate was 2.2 per cent for the week of Aug. 29, up from an adjusted 1.8 per cent for the week of Aug. 22.

HPPH’s vaccine dashboard showed that as of Sept. 13, 75.7 per cent of residents 12 and older were fully vaccinated while 81.8 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.

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Sarnia and Lambton

On Tuesday, Lambton Public Health reported:

• 3,729 cases (up four from Monday)
• 30 active (an increase of one)
• 3,630 recoveries (an increase of three)
• 69 deaths
• 545 variant of concern cases (an increase of one)
  

There are no active outbreaks reported by LPH.

Bluewater Health says it currently has two patients hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase from one on Monday.

Cases at schools within the Lambton Kent District School Board can be found online, as can cases at schools within the St. Clair Catholic District School Board.

The most recent test positivity rate was 0.81 per cent for the week of Aug. 29, down from 1.24 per cent for the week of Aug. 22.

Of those aged 12 and older, 73.7 per cent are fully vaccinated and 79.3 per cent have at least one dose.

Lambton Public Health is also working with Lambton County Library to make it easier to obtain vaccine receipts by assisting residents having trouble downloading or printing the receipts.

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’ Ryan Rocca