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 seven new COVID-19 cases on Monday.
In total, there have been 14,400 cases, of which 116 are active (a decrease of 11), 14,048 are recovered (an increase of 19) 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.
“When we look over the last few weeks that incident rate continues to gradually make its way down,” said Dr. Alex Summers, associate medical officer of health.
“The highest incident rate continues to be seen amongst those who are unvaccinated, particularly those under the age of 12. I would remind folks if you have kids of folks in your family not vaccinated, it’s critical to make sure those adults around them who are eligible to be vaccinated are vaccinated.”
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
- 760 cases of the Delta variant (increase of one)
- 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.
On Monday, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) was caring for seven inpatients with COVID-19.
There were five or fewer inpatients in adult critical care or the intensive care unit.
There were 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 are three active school outbreaks at Our Lady of the Pillar Academy, declared Oct. 18, and two outbreaks declared on Oct. 23 declared at Clara Brenton Public School and Covenant Christian School.
Schools
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 (two cases)
- Clarke Road Secondary School (two cases)
- Covenant Christian School (four cases)
- 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)
- Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School (one case)
- Mountsfield Public School (one case)
- Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School (one case)
- Our Lady of the Pillar Academy (four cases)
- Providence Reformed Collegiate (one case)
- Rick Hansen Public School (two cases)
- St. Nicholas Senior Catholic School (three cases)
- St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School (one case)
- Wilberforce Public School (one case)
There are four active COVID-19 cases associated with child-care or early years centres:
- Kidventures (one case)
- London Children’s Connection: Caradoc – Before and After School (one case)
- Noshin’s Kids Care (two cases)
The health unit said at least 165 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. 17, 84.1 per cent of residents aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated and 88.3 per cent have had one dose.
Since Sept. 13, unvaccinated individuals have accounted for 62.8 per cent of all cases (or 408 of 650 cases) and 71.4 per cent of all hospitalizations (20 of 28).
Meanwhile, 29.1 per cent of all cases (or 189 of 650 cases) involved those who were fully vaccinated while 21.4 per cent of all hospitalizations (six 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 eight COVID-19-related deaths reported in the last six weeks, three 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 is reporting 326 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, as the seven-day average continues to decline. The provincial case total now stands at 597,841.
Of the 326 new cases recorded, the data showed 183 were unvaccinated people, 7 were partially vaccinated people, 95 were fully vaccinated people and for 41 people the vaccination status was unknown.
According to Monday’s report, 39 cases were recorded in Toronto, 33 in Peel Region, 31 in York Region, 24 in Ottawa, 20 in Chatham-Kent and 20 in Waterloo Region.
All other local public health units reported fewer than 30 new cases in the provincial report.
The death toll in the province has remained at 9,846 as no new deaths were recorded.
There are more than 10.9 million people fully immunized with two doses, which is 83.9 per cent of the eligible (12 and older) population. First dose coverage stands at 87.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, 584,780 Ontario residents were reported to have recovered from COVID-19, which is about 98 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 369 from the previous day.
Elgin and Oxford
Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) does not update cases on the weekend.
On Monday, SWPH reported 35 cases since Friday:
- 4,604 total cases (an increase of 35)
- 87 active cases (an increase of five)
- 4,427 resolved cases (an increase of 30)
- 90 deaths to date (unchanged)
- 1,409 variant of concern cases (an increase of 30, 29 of which are Delta, one is Alpha), with 775 Alpha, 610 Delta and 54 Beta or Gamma
Of the 87 active cases in the region, 31 were in Elgin County (including 13 in Aylmer and seven in St. Thomas) and 56 were in Oxford County (including 19 in Woodstock, nine each Ingersoll, Norwich Township, and Tillsonburg).
The most recent death was reported Oct. 19, involving a woman in her 80s from Elgin County.
Five people are hospitalized with COVID-19 with two cases in the ICU.
There are no active institutional outbreaks as of Monday.
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. 24, 82.5 per cent of those aged 12 and older in the region were fully vaccinated while 86.2 per cent have 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:
- 2,306 total cases (an increase of 12)
- 22 active cases (an increase of seven)
- 2,217 recoveries (an increase of five)
- 67 deaths to date (an increase of one)
Among the 22 active cases, 13 were in Perth East and three in North Perth. Full case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.
There was one patient hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Monday and there are three active cases involving a health-care worker.
HPPH reported three outbreaks, though there were no long-term care home, retirement home or hospital outbreaks as of Friday.
One of the outbreaks involved a school:
- Huron Christian School in Clinton, declared Oct. 8 and involving seven student cases
The other outbreaks were listed as a community outbreak and a workplace outbreak. 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, 81 per cent of those aged 12 and older were fully vaccinated while 84.7 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 Monday, Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported:
- 4,152 total cases (an increase of nine)
- 87 active cases (an increase of one)
- 3,995 resolved cases (an increase of eight)
- 70 deaths to date (unchanged)
On Monday, LPH reported a total of 604 variant of concern cases, an increase of 17 from Friday (all Delta). Of that, 439 have been Alpha, 147 have been Delta and 18 have been Gamma.
Seven COVID-19 patients were in the care of Bluewater Health as of Monday.
LPH is reporting four active outbreaks on Monday, all in schools.
Four outbreaks linked to schools were 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. The fourth outbreak is at Queen Elizabeth II Public School Petrolia declared on Oct. 22 with 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, 79.5 per cent are fully vaccinated and 83.1 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’ Kelly Wang and Gabby Rodrigues