COVID-19: 21 new cases in London and Middlesex Saturday

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 21 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday.

In total, there have been 14,837 cases, including 145 active cases (an increase of eight), 14,440 recoveries (an increase of 16) and 252 deaths (unchanged).

The most recent deaths were reported Nov. 22 and involved an unvaccinated man in his 60s and a fully vaccinated woman in her 80s.

The rate of active cases among those aged 25 to 39 is now higher than the rate among those 11 and under, who have not previously been able to get vaccinated. There are 41 active cases among people in the 25-to-39 age group at a rate of 36.6 cases per 100,000. For those under the age of 11, there are 21 active cases at a rate of 32.6 cases per 100,000.

Vaccinations for those aged five to 11 began Friday in the London, Ont., region.

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

London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) does not update COVID-19 data over the weekend.

On Friday, LHSC was caring for 22 inpatients with COVID-19. Ten were in adult critical care or the intensive care unit.

On Monday, LHSC chief medical officer Dr. Adam Dukelow explained that, over the past four weeks, roughly two-thirds of LHSC’s COVID-19 admissions have come from outside of London-Middlesex.

There were five or fewer inpatients with COVID-19 in LHSC’s Children’s Hospital, with five or fewer in pediatric critical care as of Friday.

Five or fewer staff members had tested positive for COVID-19.

St. Joseph’s Health Care London reported one non-outbreak case involving a health-care worker.

Outbreaks

The MLHU is not currently reporting any active institutional outbreaks. There are also no active outbreaks associated with any schools or child-care centres.

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Schools

The following schools have active cases associated with them, according to the MLHU:

• Lord Nelson Public School (two cases)
• Medway High School (one case)
• Mosa Central Public School (one case)
• Oakridge Secondary School (one case)
• Sir John A. Macdonald Public School (one case)
• Strathroy District Collegiate Institute (one case)
• Victoria Public School (two cases)
• Woodland Heights Public School (one case)

The following child-care and early years centres have active cases associated with them, says the MLHU:

• Kidzone Day Care Centre (one case)
• London Bridge: Huron Heights Early Childhood Learning Centre (one case)
• Nshwaasnangong Child Care and Family Centre (one case)

The health unit says at least 265 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

According to the latest vaccination data released Tuesday, 90.0 per cent of residents aged 12 and older have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of Nov. 20 while 87.2 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Since Oct. 15, unvaccinated individuals have accounted for 50.51 per cent of all cases (247 of 489) and 50.0 per cent of all hospitalizations (eight of 16).

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Of the nine COVID-19-related deaths reported in the last six weeks, five involved individuals who were unvaccinated, one involved someone partially vaccinated and three involved people who were fully 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 1.6 per cent for the week of Nov. 14, up from 1.2 per cent for the week of Nov. 7.

Ontario

Ontario reported 854 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the total case count in the province to 616,051.

Two more deaths were recorded on Saturday, bringing the provincial death toll to 9,993.

Meanwhile, the province also reported 580 cases were deemed resolved Saturday. A total of 599,979 Ontario residents were reported to have recovered from the virus.

There are 134 patients in intensive care units due to COVID-19, (down by six from the previous day) and 87 patients in intensive care units on a ventilator (up by one from the previous day).

Within the last 24 hours, 31,444 tests were completed. The data also reported 13,818 tests are under investigation.

Test positivity hit 3.0 per cent. Last week, test positivity was at 2.3 per cent.

Active cases in Ontario now stand at 6,079 — up from the previous day when it was at 5,807.

According to the latest data, 86.26 per cent of the eligible population are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. At least 89.35 per cent have received at least one dose.

More than 29,600 doses were administered in the last 24 hours. At least 22.8 million doses have been administered since the rollout of vaccines began last year.

Elgin and Oxford

Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) does not update COVID-19 data over the weekend.

On Friday, SWPH reported:

• 5,275 total cases
• 181 active cases
• 4,997 resolved cases
• 97 deaths to date

Further details can be found on SWPH’s COVID-19 dashboard.

The latest death, reported Nov. 23, involved a man in his 60s from Elgin County. SWPH also reported a death Nov. 22 involving a man in his 80s from Elgin County.

Of the 181 active cases in the region, 84 were in Elgin County (including 39 in Aylmer, 21 in Bayham and 20 in St. Thomas) and 97 were in Oxford County (including 37 in Tillsonburg and 32 in Woodstock).

SWPH does not disclose the vaccination status of individuals but told Global News on Nov. 9 that roughly 78 per cent of active cases at the time involved individuals who were not fully vaccinated.

Thirteen people were hospitalized with COVID-19, with three in the ICU as of Friday.

SWPH is reporting an outbreak at Aylmer Retirement Residence, declared Nov. 18, involving eight resident cases and two staff cases.

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 5.4 per cent for the week of Nov. 14, down from 5.8 per cent for the week of Nov. 7.

As of Nov. 25, 75.0 per cent of those aged five and older in the region were fully vaccinated while 77.4 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.

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Huron and Perth

Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) does not update COVID-19 data over the weekend.

On Friday, HPPH reported:

• 2,525 total cases
• 48 active cases
• 2,408 recoveries
• 69 deaths to date

The most recent death was reported on Nov. 16. HPPH also reported a death on Nov. 15.

Among the 48 active cases, 21 were reported in North Perth. Full case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

There were three people hospitalized with COVID-19 and there was one active case involving a health-care worker as of Friday.

HPPH is reporting two outbreaks, both involving unidentified workplaces.

An outbreak at Elma Township Public School in North Perth, declared Nov. 23, involves six students.

An outbreak at North Perth Spinrite Child and Family Centre in North Perth, declared Nov. 22 and involving two child cases, is ongoing.

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 2.9 per cent for the week of Nov. 14, down from 3.2 per cent for the week of Nov. 7.

HPPH’s vaccine dashboard showed that as of Nov. 22, 83.1 per cent of those aged 12 and older were fully vaccinated while 85.6 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:

• 4,360 total cases (an increase of five)
• 42 active cases (a decrease of three)
• 4,242 resolved cases (an increase of eight)
• 76 deaths (unchanged)

The most recent death involved someone in their 80s who died at Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital.

This is the second death reported this week. The first was reported Nov. 23 and involved someone in their 80s who died in hospital Nov. 20.

LPH does not update COVID-19 data over the weekend.

On Friday, six COVID-19 patients were in the care of Bluewater Health.

LPH reported one active outbreak at Bluewater Health hospital, declared Nov. 18 and involving fewer than five patient cases and fewer than five staff 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 Nov. 14 was 2.7 per cent, up from 2.2 per cent the week before.

Among area residents aged 12 and older, 81.8 per cent are fully vaccinated and 84.4 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 contact 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 Kabi Moulitharan