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 Thursday.
The total number of cases now stands at 14,593, with 89 active cases (unchanged), 14,247 recoveries (an increase of 11) and 246 total deaths (unchanged).
The latest death, reported Nov. 2, involved a woman in her 70s not associated with a long-term care or retirement home. She was unvaccinated.
Of the 89 active cases, 23 involve kids aged 11 or under at a rate of 35.7 cases per 100,000 population. That cohort is not yet eligible for vaccination.
The age group with the largest number of active cases is the 40-64 age group with 35 active cases, though the rate of active cases per 100,000 population is less than those under 12, at 21.8 per 100,000 population.
Information on local variant of concern data can be found by visiting the health unit’s summary of COVID-19 cases in Middlesex-London page and clicking on the “Case Status” tab.
Hospitalizations
As of Wednesday, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) was caring for nine 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 and zero in pediatric critical care.
Five or fewer staff have currently tested positive for COVID-19.
St. Joseph’s Health Care London (SJHCL) reported two non-outbreak cases involving health-care workers.
Outbreaks
The MLHU is reporting two facility-wide outbreaks at Richmond Woods retirement home, declared Nov. 9, and The Village of Glendale Crossing.
An outbreak is active at Notre Dame Catholic School declared on Nov. 10, linked to three cases.
Schools
The following schools have active cases associated with them, according to the MLHU:
- Ashley Oaks Public School (one case)
- École élémentaire catholique Frère André (one case)
- Emily Carr Public School (one case)
- Matthews Hall Independent School (one case)
- Notre Dame Catholic School (three cases)
- St. John French Immersion School (one case)
- St. Nicholas Senior Catholic School (one case)
- St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School (two cases)
- St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School (one case)
- Valleyview Central Public School (one case)
- Wilberforce Public School (two cases)
- Wilfrid Jury Public School (one case)
The health unit says at least 218 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
As of end of day Nov. 6, 89.5 per cent of eligible residents (12 and older) have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine while 86.2 per cent are fully immunized.
Since Sep. 30, unvaccinated individuals have accounted for 56.8 per cent of all cases (or 275 of 484 cases) and 84.6 per cent of all hospitalizations (11 of 13).
Of the six COVID-19-related deaths reported in the last six weeks, four involved people who were unvaccinated, one involved an individual who was fully vaccinated and one involved someone who was 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 the locations of testing sites on the health unit’s website.
The latest COVID-19 test positivity rate in the region was 1.0 per cent for the week of Oct. 31, down from 1.6 per cent for the week of Oct. 24.
“Our incident rates in Middlesex-London continue to be favourable, however, when we look to other parts of the province and the province as a whole, there are warning signs on the dashboard regarding the COVID-19 cases,” said Dr. Alex Summers, associated medical officer of health for the MLHU.
“The incident rates amongst individuals who are unvaccinated are five to 10 times higher than what we would see amongst those that are vaccinated.”
Ontario
Ontario reported 642 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, the largest one-day increase in new infections in more than a month. The provincial case total now stands at 605,248.
It is the highest daily count since Oct. 9 when 654 new cases were reported. For comparison, last Thursday saw 438 new cases and the previous Thursday saw 409. All three Thursdays saw similar testing volumes in the 30,000 range.
Of the 642 new cases recorded, the data showed 334 were unvaccinated people, 18 were partially vaccinated people, 245 were fully vaccinated people and for 45 people the vaccination status was unknown.
According to Thursday’s report, 74 cases were recorded in Toronto, 62 in York Region, 61 in Peel Region, 52 in Simcoe Muskoka, 48 in Windsor-Essex, and 39 in Ottawa. All other local public health units reported fewer than 35 new cases in the provincial report.
The death toll in the province has risen to 9,916 as four more deaths were recorded.
As of 8 p.m. on Wednesday, 15,962 vaccines (5,721 for a first shot and 10,241 for a second shot) were administered in the last day.
There are more than 11.1 million people fully immunized with two doses, which is 85.3 per cent of the eligible (12 and older) population. First dose coverage stands at 88.6 per cent.
Elgin and Oxford
On Wednesday, Southwestern Public Health reported:
- 4,868 total cases (an increase of 22 with a previous case removed due to data cleanup)
- 131 active cases (a decrease of three)
- 4,642 resolved cases (an increase of 16)
- 95 deaths to date
Further details can be found on SWPH’s COVID-19 dashboard.
The most recent death was reported Tuesday and involved a woman in her 50s from Elgin County. It was the first death reported this week but the fourth death reported in the last two weeks.
Of the 131 active cases in the region, 58 were in Elgin County (including 27 in Aylmer) and 73 were in Oxford County (including 37 in Woodstock).
SWPH does not disclose the vaccination status of individuals but told Global News that roughly 78 per cent of active cases involve individuals who are not fully vaccinated.
Eleven people were hospitalized with COVID-19 with five in the ICU as of Wednesday. There were no active institutional outbreaks.
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 5.1 per cent for the week of Oct. 31, up from 3.6 per cent for the week of Oct. 24.
On Nov. 9, 83.8 per cent of those aged 12 and older in the region were fully vaccinated while 86.8 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
As of Thursday, Huron Perth Public Health reported:
- 2,421 total cases (an increase of 10)
- 62 active cases (an increase of seven)
- 2,292 recoveries (an increase of three)
- 67 deaths to date (unchanged)
Among the 62 active cases, 15 were reported in both Perth East and Stratford. Full case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.
There were two people hospitalized with COVID-19 and two active cases involving health-care workers, as of Thursday.
HPPH reported three outbreaks, though there were no long-term care home, retirement home or hospital outbreaks as of Monday.
An outbreak at Milverton Public School in Perth East was declared Oct. 27 and involves one staff case and 16 student cases.
The other two outbreaks involve workplaces. No further information was 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 2.7 per cent for the week of Oct. 31, up from 2.3 per cent for the week of Oct. 24.
HPPH’s vaccine dashboard showed that as of Nov. 8, 82.1 per cent of those aged 12 and older were fully vaccinated while 85.2 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 Thursday, Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported:
- 4,255 total cases (an increase of five)
- 43 active cases (unchanged)
- 4,141 resolved cases (an increase of five)
- 71 deaths to date
The most recent death was reported Oct. 28 and involved someone who was in their 90s.
Seven COVID-19 patients were in the care of Bluewater Health as of Wednesday.
LPH reported four active outbreaks in total:
- Brigden Public School, declared Nov. 4 and involving six cases
- Bluewater Health hospital, declared Nov. 5 and involving fewer than five patient cases and fewer than five staff cases
- a workplace outbreak declared Oct. 31, involving three cases
- a workplace outbreak declared Nov. 9, involving two 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. 31 was 3.8 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent the week prior.
Among area residents aged 12 and older, 80.9 per cent are fully vaccinated and 84 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’ Jacquelyn LeBel and Gabby Rodrigues
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