Jump to: Hospitalizations – Outbreaks – Schools – Vaccinations and testing – Ontario – Elgin and Oxford – Huron and Perth – Sarnia and Lambton
The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported 11 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, though the tally increased by 12 to 14,382.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 14,382 cases, of which 119 are active (an increase of four), 14,002 are recovered (an increase of four) and 245 people have died.
The most recent death was reported Oct. 21 and involved a man in his 70s who was not associated with a long-term care or retirement home. Medical officer of health Dr. Chris Mackie said Thursday that while the man was fully vaccinated, he was eligible for a third dose because of a suppressed immune system.
The MLHU dashboard is no longer including the total number of confirmed variant of concern cases at the top of its dashboard, however, it is still listing the breakdown of confirmed variant of concern cases:
- 3,385 cases of the Alpha variant (an increase of one)
- 779 cases of the Delta variant (an increase of six)
- 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.
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Hospitalizations
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is caring for six inpatients with COVID-19 as of Friday, unchanged from Thursday.
There are five or fewer inpatients in adult critical care or the intensive care unit.
There are five or fewer inpatients with COVID-19 in Children’s Hospital with five or fewer in pediatric critical care.
Five or fewer staff have currently tested positive for COVID-19.
St. Joseph’s Health Care London (SJHCL) reported one non-outbreak case involving a health-care worker.
Outbreaks
The MLHU is not reporting any active outbreaks in the region involving long-term care homes, retirement homes or hospitals.
There is one active school outbreak at Our Lady of the Pillar Academy, declared Oct. 18.
Schools
The number of schools with cases associated with them doubled from Thursday to Friday, from nine schools to 18, according to the MLHU, though the majority of schools have a single active case.
The following schools have cases associated with them, according to the MLHU:
- Byron Southwood Public School (one case)
- Caradoc Public School (one case)
- Clara Brenton Public School (one case)
- Clarke Road Secondary School (two cases)
- Covenant Christian School (one case)
- John P. Robarts Public School (one case)
- Kensal Park Public School (one case)
- Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts (one case)
- Mary Wright Public School (one case)
- Masonville Public School (one case)
- Mountsfield Public School (one case)
- Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School (one case)
- Our Lady of the Pillar Academy (six cases)
- Providence Reformed Collegiate (two cases)
- Rick Hansen Public School (two cases)
- St. Nicholas Senior Catholic School (one case)
- St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School (one case)
- Wilfrid Jury Public School (one case)
There are four active COVID-19 cases associated with child-care or early years centres, with one case at London Children’s Connection: Caradoc – Before and After School and three cases at Noshin’s Kids Care.
The health unit said at least 156 cases have been reported since the start of the school year involving elementary and secondary schools, as well as child-care and early years centres.
Vaccinations and testing
The latest vaccination update says as of Oct. 16, 84.1 per cent of residents aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated and 88.3 per cent have had at least one dose.
Since Sept. 11, unvaccinated individuals have accounted for 62.6 per cent of all cases (or 415 of 663 cases) and 67.9 per cent of all hospitalizations (19 of 28).
Meanwhile, 28.5 per cent of all cases (or 189 of 663 cases) involved those who were fully vaccinated while 25 per cent of all hospitalizations (seven of 28) involved individuals who were fully vaccinated.
Medical officer of health Dr. Chris Mackie has noted that the vast majority of the population is vaccinated. While unvaccinated individuals account for nearly two-thirds of all cases, they make up less than 16 per cent of the population aged 12 and older.
The rest of the cases involved individuals who were partially vaccinated or not yet protected by vaccination.
Of the nine COVID-19-related deaths reported in the last six weeks, four involved people who were unvaccinated, two involved individuals who were fully vaccinated, two involved people who were partially vaccinated and one involved someone who was not yet protected by vaccination.
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 latest COVID-19 test positivity rate in the region was 1.1 per cent for the week of Oct. 10, down from 1.7 per cent for the week of Oct. 3.
Ontario
Ontario reported 373 COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 597,145.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said of the new cases, 264 involve people who are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status, while 109 are fully vaccinated individuals.
For comparison, last Saturday 486 cases were reported, meaning the seven-day average dropped.
Six additional deaths were also announced on Oct. 23, bringing the provincial virus-related death toll to 9,845.
A total of 583,931 coronavirus cases are considered resolved, which is up by 419.
More than 27,300 additional tests were completed. Ontario has now administered a total of 18,751,965 tests and 13,410 remain under investigation.
As of 8 p.m. Friday, 22,365,905 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered in Ontario, marking an increase of 27,243. Of the latest shots administered, 9,041 were first doses and 18,202 were second doses.
In Ontario, 87.8 per cent of people aged 12-plus have received at least one vaccine dose and more than 83.7 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Elgin and Oxford
Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) does not update cases on the weekend.
On Friday, SWPH reported 19 cases, while one case was removed through data cleaning:
- 4,569 total cases (an increase of 18)
- 82 active cases (an increase of three)
- 4,397 resolved cases (an increase of 15)
- 90 deaths to date
- 1,409 variant of concern cases (an increase of nine, all Delta), with 774 Alpha, 581 Delta and 54 Beta or Gamma
Of the 82 active cases in the region, 26 were in Elgin County (including 10 in Aylmer and seven in West Elgin) and 56 were in Oxford County (including 17 in Woodstock, 13 in Norwich Township, 12 in Tillsonburg and seven in Ingersoll).
The most recent death was reported Oct. 19 and involved a woman in her 80s from Elgin County.
Four people are hospitalized with COVID-19 with two cases in the ICU, unchanged from Wednesday.
There are no active institutional outbreaks as of Friday.
Information on school cases can be found on the websites of the Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board.
The region’s test positivity rate was 3.4 per cent for the week of Oct. 10, up from 2.9 per cent for the week of Oct. 3.
On Oct. 19, 82.5 per cent of those aged 12 and older in the region were fully vaccinated while 86.4 per cent have had at least one dose. However, the health unit provided lower figures on Friday.
As of Oct. 21, the health unit says 82.2 per cent were fully vaccinated and 86.0 per cent had at least one dose.
Information on where and how to get vaccinated can be found on the health unit’s website.
Huron and Perth
Huron Perth Public Health (HPP) does not update cases on the weekend.
On Friday, HPPH reported:
- 2,294 total cases (an increase of two)
- 15 active cases (a decrease of four)
- 2,212 recoveries (an increase of five)
- 66 deaths to date (unchanged)
Among the 15 active cases, four are in Perth East and three each in Stratford and North Perth. Full case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.
There is one patient hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday and there is one active case involving a health-care worker.
HPPH reported four outbreaks, though there were no long-term care home, retirement home or hospital outbreaks as of Friday.
Two of the outbreaks involved schools:
- Huron Christian School in Clinton, declared Oct. 8 and involving six student cases
- Stratford District Christian School in Stratford, declared Oct. 8 and involving two students
The other outbreaks were listed as a community outbreak and a workplace outbreak. A previously reported congregate living setting outbreak has since been declared over. No further details were provided.
Data on school cases can be found on the websites of the Avon-Maitland District School Board and the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board.
The region’s test positivity rate was 2.3 per cent for the week of Oct. 3, down from 2.6 per cent the week of Sept. 26. The data for the week of Oct. 10 has not yet been provided.
HPPH’s vaccine dashboard showed that as of Oct. 18, 80.3 per cent of those aged 12 and older were fully vaccinated while 84.4 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.
Sarnia and Lambton
On Saturday, Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported:
- 4,140 total cases (an increase of 13)
- 103 active cases (an increase of six)
- 3,967 resolved cases (an increase of seven)
- 70 deaths to date (unchanged)
LPH reported a total of 587 variant of concern cases, unchanged from Friday. Of that total, 439 have been Alpha, 130 have been Delta and 18 have been Gamma.
Seven COVID-19 patients are in the care of Bluewater Health as of Friday, an increase of one from Thursday.
LPH reported an active outbreak at one unidentified workplace, declared on Oct. 3 linked to four cases.
Three outbreaks linked to schools are active, one at Confederation Central Public School, declared Oct. 12, and linked to fewer than five cases. The two other active outbreaks were declared on Oct. 14 at Cathcart Boulevard Public School and Gregory A. Hogan Catholic School, both linked to fewer than five cases.
All active 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 test positivity rate for the week of Oct. 10 was 5.2 per cent, up from 3.6 per cent the week prior.
Among area residents aged 12 and older, 79.4 per cent are fully vaccinated and 83.0 per cent have had at least one dose.
Residents can book and re-book COVID-19 vaccine appointments or find information on vaccine availability at pharmacies using the health unit’s registration page. People can also call the vaccine call centre at 226-254-8222.
Those who are able to get vaccinated on short notice are encouraged to sign up for Lambton Public Health’s daily Vaccine Standby List.
—With files from Global News’ Ryan Rocca and Jacquelyn LeBel
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