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COVID-19: 26 new cases reported in London-Middlesex

FILE-A person wears a mask to protect them from the COVID-19 virus while walking past a poster encouraging mask wearing in Kingston, Ontario on Tuesday September 7, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Lars Hagberg

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


Twenty-six new COVID-19 cases have been reported in London and Middlesex, officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit reported Friday.

It brings the region’s pandemic case total to 13,759, of which 13,325 have resolved, an increase of 16 from the day before.

At least 237 deaths have been reported.

The most recent death was reported Sept. 14 and involved a man in his 60s who was not vaccinated; the death was not associated with a long-term care or retirement home.

At least 197 cases are active in the region, 143 of them in London. At least 14 are active in Strathroy-Caradoc, seven in Thames Centre, and six in North Middlesex.

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Adelaide Metcalfe currently has five active cases, amounting to roughly a quarter of all cases seen in the municipality during the pandemic, health unit data shows.

The region’s seven-day moving case average is 22.0 as of Sept. 16, roughly the same as it was a week ago, and down slightly from two weeks ago (23.1).

The number of cases involving a variant of concern climbed by 17 to 4,124.

The breakdown of known variant cases is as follows:

  • 3,384 cases of the Alpha variant
  • 627 cases of the Delta variant (an increase of 17)
  • 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 reports it’s caring for eight patients with COVID-19, one more than the day before.

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Five or fewer of them are adults in critical care or ICU. No COVID-19 inpatients are reported in Children’s Hospital, down from five or fewer Thursday, and none are in paediatric critical care.

Five or fewer staff at LHSC are positive with COVID-19, unchanged from the day before.

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

Outbreaks

One new outbreak has been reported at a local seniors’ facility. The outbreak was declared Thursday at Earls Court Village affecting the first and second floors.

It’s the third COVID-19 outbreak at a seniors’ facility in the last month. An outbreak at McCormick Home was active from Sept. 3 to Sept. 11.

No other institutional outbreaks are active. There are no outbreaks active involving schools or child care centres.

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Schools

COVID-19 cases were active at the following schools as of Friday, according to the health unit:

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  • École élémentaire La Pommeraie Conseil scolaire Viamonde (three cases)
  • École secondaire catholique Monseigneur-Bruyère Conseil scolaire catholique Providence (three cases)
  • École secondaire Gabriel-Dumont Conseil scolaire Viamonde (two cases)
  • Hillcrest Public School Thames Valley District School Board (one case)
  • Kensal Park Public School Thames Valley District School Board (two cases)
  • Lambeth Public School Thames Valley District School Board (one case)
  • Sir Frederick Banting Secondary School Thames Valley District School Board (one case)
  • Stoney Creek Public School Thames Valley District School Board (one case)

The health unit is also reporting one case at a child-care setting or early years centre, at l’Escale la Pommeraie.

Vaccinations and testing

As of Sept. 11, the health unit says 84.7 per cent of people 12 and older have gotten at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 78.4 per cent have gotten two doses.

Young adults remain the least vaccinated age group, according to the health unit. Only 75 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 have gotten one shot, and 65 per cent two shots. The rates are 78 and 68.3 per cent, respectively, for those aged 25 to 29.

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Children aged 12 to 17 clock in at 85.3 per cent for one shot and 76.1 per cent for two.

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Roughly 83 per cent of cases seen in the region since Aug. 6 have involved people who are either unvaccinated (65.8), partially vaccinated (13.7), or who have gotten two shots but are still within the two week waiting period (3.4), according to the health unit.

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Of those hospitalized since Aug. 6, 87 per cent were not vaccinated at all. At least 6.5 per cent were partially vaccinated, and 3.2 per cent were less than two weeks out from their second shot.

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.

The discrepancy is due to a data issue. The health unit says the script written to update the COVID-19 dashboard ignored deaths reported within the last six weeks (reported date) if the person’s COVID-19 symptoms emerged more than six weeks ago (episode date). The health unit says it’s working to correct the issue.

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 the locations of testing sites on the health unit’s website.

The COVID-19 test positivity rate in the region was 2.2 per cent for the week of Sept. 5, down from 2.9 per cent for the week of Aug. 29.

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Ontario

Ontario reported 795 new COVID-19 cases and five deaths from the virus on Friday.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says 582 of the infected people are not vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.

She says 213 of the people are fully vaccinated.

The province completed 33,763 tests since the last daily update.

The province says 194 patients are in intensive care due to the virus, including 133 people on ventilators.

Eighty-four per cent of Ontario residents aged 12 and older have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 78 per cent have both shots.

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Elgin and Oxford

On Friday, Southwestern Public Health reported:

  • 4,207 total cases (an increase of 18)
  • 85 active cases (an increase of 13)
  • 4,037 resolved cases (an increase of four)
  • 85 deaths
  • 1,103 variant of concern cases, with 769 Alpha, 279 Delta (an increase of 22) and 55 Beta or Gamma

The most recent death reported by SWPH was on Aug. 31 involving a woman in her 80s from Oxford County.

According to the health unit, 54 of the region’s active cases are in Oxford, while 31 are in Elgin. At least 25 are in Woodstock, 11 in St. Thomas, and nine in Tillsonburg.

The health unit says three people with COVID-19 are hospitalized, with two in the ICU — down one and up one, respectively, from Thursday.

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Two new school cases were reported, one at Cedar Hollow Public School and one at Westfield Public School.

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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.

As of Sept. 5, the region’s test per cent positivity rate stood at 2.3 per cent, up from 1.9 per cent a week earlier, and 1.2 per cent the week before that.

As of Sept. 14, SWPH says 78 per cent of residents aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated while 84 per cent have had at least one dose.

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

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.

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.

Huron and Perth

Global News is awaiting Friday’s COVID-19 data from Huron Perth Public Health.

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On Thursday, Huron Perth Public Health reported:

  • 2,106 total cases (an increase of four)
  • 37 active cases (a decrease of two)
  • 2,004 recoveries (an increase of two)
  • 65 deaths (an increase of one)
  • 427 variant of concern cases (an increase of three)

Of the 37 active cases, 11 are in Stratford, and six are in Perth East. Four each are in North Perth and South Huron. Case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

One COVID-19 patient is in hospital, unchanged from the day before.

There are is one active case involving a health-care worker, up one from the day before.

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One outbreak remains active at Knollcrest Lodge in Perth East, declared Aug. 20. It’s linked to 13 cases involving seven staff and six residents. At least four deaths are associated with the outbreak.

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The 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 2.5 per cent for the week of Sept. 5, up from 2.2 per cent for the week of Aug. 29.

HPPH’s vaccine dashboard showed that as of Sept. 13, 75.7 per cent of residents aged 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.

Sarnia and Lambton

On Friday, Lambton Public Health reported:

  • 3,748 cases (an increase of eight)
  • 42 active (a decrease of seven)
  • 3,637 resolved cases (an increase of one)
  • 69 deaths
  • 549 variant of concern cases (an increase of four)

The health unit is reporting no active outbreaks in the region.

Bluewater Health is reporting two COVID-19 patients in its care as of Friday, the same as the day before.

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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.

Roughly 79.9 per cent of people aged 12 and older in Lambton County have gotten at least one dose of the vaccine while 74.4 per cent are fully immunized, the health unit says.

The most recent test positivity rate was 2.4 per cent for the week of Sept. 5, up from 0.81 per cent for the week of Aug. 29.

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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.

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Those who are able to get vaccinated on short notice are encouraged to sign up for Lambton Public Health’s daily Vaccine Standby List.

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

–With files from Jacquelyn LeBel and The Canadian Press

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