COVID-19: MLHU reports 33 cases and 2 deaths, SWPH adds 36 cases and 2 deaths

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 33 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, as well as two deaths.

The deaths involved a man in his 50s not associated with a long-term care or retirement home and a man in his 80s associated with a retirement home. These are the first deaths reported since Nov. 22.

On Monday, the MLHU announced that a cluster of at least 30 cases is believed to involve the Omicron variant.

The London District Catholic School Board has closed three schools tied to the cluster while the Thames Valley District School Board says close contacts have been identified at a school in London and a school in Delaware but they remain open.

In total, the MLHU reported 15,124 cases (an increase of 36 from Monday, the discrepancy likely due to data cleanup), 275 active cases (an increase of 20), 14,595 recoveries (an increase of 14) and 254 deaths (an increase of two).

The rate of active cases continues to climb among those in the 0-11 age group.

For children under 11, there are 65 cases or 100.9 cases per 100,000 population, up from 56 or 86.9 cases per 100,000 population the day before and 33 cases or 51.2 per 100,000 population on Friday.

As of end of day Dec. 4, 23.5 per cent of those aged five to 11 have received their first dose of vaccine. Children under five are still not eligible for vaccination.

The cohort with the next highest rate of active cases is the 18-24 age group, with 42 active cases working out to 79.6 per 100,000, up from 41 cases or 77.7 per 100,000 population on Monday.

Information on local variant of concern data can be found by visiting the health unit’s summary of COVID-19 cases on the Middlesex-London page and clicking on the “Case Status” tab.

Hospitalizations

London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is caring for 14 inpatients with COVID-19 on Tuesday, with five or fewer in adult critical care or the intensive care unit.

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 Tuesday.

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

St. Joseph’s Health Care London is reporting zero cases involving health-care workers.

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Outbreaks

The MLHU is not reporting any outbreaks at long-term care homes, retirement homes or hospitals but there are several outbreaks involving schools:

• Blessed Sacrament Catholic School, declared Dec. 4
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, declared Dec. 6
• Riverside Public School, declared Dec. 6
• St. Marguerite d’Youville School, declared Dec. 3
• St. Mary Choir and Orchestra Catholic School, declared Dec. 5
• Tecumseh Public School, declared Dec. 3
• West Oaks French Immersion Public School, declared Dec. 4

There is also an outbreak, declared Dec. 6, at Kidzone Day Care Centre.

Additionally, an outbreak at Fanshawe College’s Merlin House residence, declared Nov. 28, and at Western University’s Saugeen-Maitland Hall residence, declared Nov. 27, are both ongoing.

The MLHU also announced Monday that there is an outbreak at God’s Favourite House, a church on Dearness Drive, connected to the potential Omicron cluster.

Schools

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

• A. B. Lucas Secondary School (one case)
• Blessed Sacrament Catholic School (one case)
• Byron Northview Public School (one case)
• Cedar Hollow Public School (one case)
• Covenant Christian School (one case)
• Delaware Central School (two cases)
• École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc (one case)
• Franklin D. Roosevelt Public School (one case)
• Glen Cairn Public School (one case)
• London Christian High (one case)
• London South Collegiate Institute (one case)
• Matthews Hall (one case)
• Mountsfield Public School (three cases)
• Northridge Public School (one case)
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School (three cases)
• Princess Elizabeth Public School (one case)
• Riverside Public School (one case)
• Ryerson Public School (one case)
• Saunders Secondary School (one case)
• St. Andre Bessette Secondary School (one case)
• St. Anthony Catholic French Immersion School (one case)
• St. Jude Catholic School (one case)
• St. Marguerite d’Youville School (five cases)
• St. Mary Choice and Orchestra Catholic School (two cases)
• St. Nicholas Catholic School (three cases)
• St. Paul Catholic School (one case)
• Stoneybrook Public School (one case)
• Tecumseh Public School (three cases)
• West Oaks French Immersion Public School (four cases)
• Westmount Public School (one case)
• Woodland Heights Public School (one case)

As for child-care and early-years centres in the MLHU’s jurisdiction, there are two active cases at Kidzone Day Care Centre, where an outbreak was declared Dec. 6, and one case at St. Theresa YMCA Child Care, both in London.

The health unit says at least 324 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.

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Vaccinations and testing

The MLHU provided updated vaccination data on Tuesday, covering up to the end of day on Dec. 4.

According to the MLHU, 90.5 per cent of residents aged 12 and older have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of Dec. 4 while 87.9 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Among the entire population aged five and over, 85.1 per cent of the population has had at least one dose while 81.1 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Vaccinations for those aged five to 11 began Nov. 26 in London and in just over a week, 23.5 per cent of that cohort have had their first dose.

As for the vaccination status of cases, the MLHU says unvaccinated individuals have accounted for 43.41 per cent of all cases (270 of 622) and 40.91 per cent of hospitalizations (nine of 22) since Oct. 26.

Of the seven COVID-19-related deaths reported in the last six weeks, four involved individuals who were unvaccinated, one involved someone partially vaccinated and two involved someone who was fully vaccinated. It was not immediately clear if this data included the two deaths reported Tuesday.

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 2.1 per cent for the week of Nov. 21, up from 1.6 per cent for the week of Nov. 14.

Ontario

Ontario reported 928 cases Tuesday, 424 of which involved unvaccinated individuals.

According to Tuesday’s report, 163 cases were recorded in Toronto, 85 in York Region, 58 in Sudbury, 51 in Windsor-Essex and 50 in Hamilton. All other local public health units reported fewer than 50 cases.

Seven more deaths were also reported Tuesday.

Among those 12 and older, 87.4 per cent are fully vaccinated. For those five to 11, 22.1 per cent have had their first dose.

Elgin and Oxford

Southwestern Public Health reported two deaths on Tuesday, in addition to one death on Monday and three deaths reported last week, all involving people from Elgin County.

In total, on Tuesday, SWPH reported:

• 5,559 total cases (an increase of 36 cases)
• 203 active cases (an increase of one)
• 5,253 resolved cases (an increase of 33)
• 103 deaths to date (an increase of two)

Tuesday’s deaths involved a woman in her 50s and a man in his 60s, both from Elgin County. The death reported Monday involved a man in his 70s.

Three deaths were reported last week, involving a woman in her 70s reported in the Dec. 3 update, a woman in her 50s in the Dec. 2 update and a woman in her 80s in the Nov. 29 update.

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

Of the 203 active cases in the region, 98 were in Elgin County (including 56 in St. Thomas and 27 in Aylmer) and 105 were in Oxford County (including 38 in Woodstock and 37 in Tillsonburg).

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.

Twelve people were hospitalized with COVID-19, with five in the ICU as of Tuesday.

An outbreak at Caressant Care Bonnie Place in St. Thomas declared Nov. 28 is ongoing. It now involves five resident cases and seven 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 5.9 per cent for the week of Nov. 21, up from 5.4 per cent for the week of Nov. 14.

As of Dec. 5, 75.4 per cent of those aged five and older in the region were fully vaccinated while 79.1 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

On Tuesday, Huron Perth Public Health reported:

• 2,620 total cases (an increase of six)
• 68 active cases (a decrease of eight)
• 2,482 recoveries (an increase of 14)
• 70 deaths to date (unchanged)

The most recent death was reported Nov. 29 and involved a community member connected to a workplace outbreak, according to a spokesperson for the health unit.

Among the 68 active cases, 30 were reported in North Perth and 10 in Perth East.

Full case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

There were six people hospitalized with COVID-19 and zero active cases involving health-care workers as of Tuesday.

HPPH has six active outbreaks involving four schools, one child-care centre and one workplace:

• An outbreak at Perth Care for Kids in West Perth, declared Dec. 6, involves three students.
• An outbreak at North Perth Westfield ES in North Perth, declared Nov. 30, involves nine students and one staff case.
• An outbreak at North Perth Westfield Before and After Program, declared Nov. 29, involves two students.
• An outbreak at Elma Township Public School in North Perth, declared Nov. 23, involves 26 students and one staff case.
• An outbreak at North Perth Spinrite Child and Family Centre in North Perth, declared Nov. 22, involves three child cases.

No further information was provided about the workplace outbreaks.

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.

As of Dec. 6, 81 per cent of residents aged five and older have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose while 77 per cent are fully vaccinated.

The region’s test positivity rate was 3.6 per cent for the week of Nov. 21, up from 2.9 per cent for the week of Nov. 14.

Information on how and where to get a vaccine can be found on the health unit’s website.

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Sarnia and Lambton

On Tuesday, Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported:

• 4,445 total cases (an increase of 11)
• 65 active cases (an increase of four)
• 4,302 resolved cases (an increase of seven)
• 78 deaths (unchanged)

The most recent death was reported Friday, Dec. 3.

As of Tuesday, there are three COVID-19 patients in the care of Bluewater Health, up from one on Monday.

LPH is reporting five active outbreaks:

• an outbreak at St. Anne Catholic School declared Dec. 3 and involving six cases
• an outbreak at St. Bartholomew’s Early Childhood Learning Centre declared Dec. 3 and involving fewer than five cases
• an outbreak at Generations Day Care – St. Philip Site, declared Nov. 28 and involving fewer than five cases.
• an outbreak at an unidentified workplace declared Dec. 6, involving two cases.
• an outbreak at an unidentified workplace declared Nov. 28, 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 Nov. 21 was 2.8 per cent, up slightly from 2.7 per cent the week prior.

Among area residents aged five and older, 78 per cent have had at least one dose while 75 per cent have had two doses. Six per cent have had a third 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’ Gabby Rodrigues