COVID-19: Another record for MLHU with 263 cases reported Thursday

Jump to: Hospitalizations – Outbreaks – Schools – Vaccinations and testing – Ontario – Elgin and Oxford – Huron and Perth – Sarnia and Lambton

For the second day in a row, the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported a record number of COVID-19 cases as the Omicron variant surges through the region.

The MLHU reported 263 cases Thursday after reporting 228 cases Wednesday. No new deaths were reported.

The health unit also issued new guidance this week, stating that the influx of cases has challenged contact tracing efforts. The MLHU is now advising anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 or develops respiratory symptoms to self-isolate immediately and ask members of their household to do the same.

In total, there have been 16,743 confirmed cases since the onset of the pandemic, including 1,318 active cases (an increase of 175), 15,168 recoveries (an increase of 78) and 257 deaths (unchanged).

The most recent death was reported Dec. 16 and involved a man in his 90s, not associated with a long-term care or retirement home. He was unvaccinated.

Active case rates per 100,000 population remain highest among school-aged children aged 17 and younger, followed by those 25 to 39, those 18 to 24, those 40 to 64 and, lastly, those 65 and older.

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

Hospitalizations

Cases among London Health Sciences Centre staff have exploded over the last week, with 54 current staff cases, up from just 12 last Thursday.

At St. Joseph’s Health Care, 17 health-care workers have COVID-19, up from three just the day before.

However, there are no active outbreaks at either St. Joseph’s or LHSC.

As for patients, LHSC is reporting 15 patients with COVID-19 with six in adult critical care or the intensive care unit, up from 13 patients with five or fewer in the ICU on Wednesday.

There were five or fewer inpatients with COVID-19 in LHSC’s Children’s Hospital, with five or fewer in pediatric critical care, up from zero in pediatric critical care on Wednesday.

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Outbreaks

The MLHU has reported an outbreak at Chartwell London’s Magnolia area, declared Dec. 18. There is also an ongoing outbreak at McCormick Home’s Memory Lane, declared Dec. 14.

There are also outbreaks at the following schools:

• A. B. Lucas Secondary School, declared Dec. 20
• Blessed Sacrament Catholic School, declared Dec. 18
• Byron Northview Public School, declared Dec. 9
• Byron Somerset Public School, declared Dec. 21
• Caradoc Public School, declared Dec. 19
• Clara Brenton Public School, declared Dec. 17
• École élémentaire catholique Frère-André, declared Dec. 15
• École élémentaire catholique Saint-Jean-de-Brébeuf, declared Dec. 10
• École élémentaire catholique St-Jeanne-d’Arc, declared Dec. 12
• École élémentaire La Pommeraie, declared Dec. 16
• Emily Carr Public School, declared Dec. 20
• H. B. Beal Secondary School, declared Dec. 21
• John Dearness Public School, declared Dec. 20
• London Christian Academy, declared Dec. 16
• Notre Dame Catholic School, declared Dec. 20
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, declared Dec. 6
• Princess Elizabeth Public School, declared Dec. 9
• Riverside Public School, declared Dec. 6
• Sir Arthur Carty Catholic School, declared Dec. 10
• Sir Arthur Currie Public School, declared Dec. 14
• St. Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School, declared Dec. 17
• St. André Bessette Secondary School, declared Dec. 9
• Strathroy Community Christian School, declared Dec. 13
• Wilberforce Public School, declared Dec. 22

There are active outbreaks in child-care settings at the YMCA: St. Patrick Catholic School Before and After School, declared Dec. 19, and at YMCA: North Meadows Elementary School Before and After School, declared Dec. 22.

The following post-secondary institutions have outbreaks:

• Fanshawe College – Merlin House Residence, declared Nov. 28
• Western University – Delaware Hall Residence, declared Dec. 10
• Western University – Saugeen-Maitland Hall Residence, declared Nov. 27

Acting medical officer of health Dr. Alex Summers said Dec. 16 that the outbreaks at Western and Fanshawe were “fairly stable.”

Schools

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

• A. B. Lucas Secondary School (seven cases)
• Ashley Oaks Public School (one case)
• Blessed Sacrament Catholic School (one case)
• Byron Somerset Public School (three cases)
• C. C. Carrothers Public School (one case)
• Caradoc Public School (one case)
• Clarke Road Secondary School (two cases)
• École élémentaire catholique Frère André (three cases)
• École élémentaire catholique Saint-Jean-de-Brébeuf (six cases)
• École élémentaire catholique Saint-Jeanne-d’Arc (two cases)
• École élémentaire La Pommeraie (two cases)
• Emily Carr Public School (three cases)
• Glen Cairn Public School (one case)
• J. S. Buchanan French immersion Public School (two cases)
• John Dearness Public School (four cases)
• Kensal Park French Immersion Public School (one case)
• London Central Secondary School (one case)
• London Christian Academy (one case)
• Northdale Central Public School (one case)
• Northridge Public School (one case)
• Notre Dame Catholic School (five cases)
• Oakridge Secondary School (one case)
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School (one case)
• Regina Mundi College (one case)
• Ryerson Public School (one case)
• Saunders Secondary School (two cases)
• Sir Arthur Carty Catholic School (one case)
• Sir Arthur Currie Public School (seven cases)
• Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School (four cases)
• St. Andre Bessette Secondary School (nine cases)
• St. Anthony Catholic French Immersion School (one case)
• St. Catherine of Siena Elementary School (one case)
• St. Francis Catholic School (two cases)
• St. Jude Catholic School (one case)
• St. Kateri Catholic School (two cases)
• St. Marguerite d’Youville School (one case)
• St. Mary Choir and Orchestra Catholic School (two cases)
• St. Patrick Catholic School (two cases)
• St. Thomas More Catholic School (one case)
• Stoney Creek Public School (two cases)
• Strathroy Community Christian School (one case)
• Tweedsmuir Public School (one case)
• West Nissouri Public School (one case)
• Wilberforce Public School (four cases)
• Woodland Heights Public School (one case)

Child-care and early-years centres:

• London Children’s Connection: John Dearness Before and After School (four cases)
• Springbank Early Childhood Learning Centre (one case)

The health unit says at least 600 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 health unit announced Thursday that it is prioritizing its limited supply of adult Pfizer vaccine for those 12 to 29 and will be providing the Moderna vaccine to those 30 and older.

As of Dec. 18, 81.7 per cent of residents five and older were fully vaccinated while 87.1 per cent have had at least one dose, up from 81.5 per cent and 86.3 per cent the week prior.

When looking specifically at those five to 11, who have only been able to get vaccinated locally since Nov. 26, 40.5 per cent have had their first dose as of Dec. 18.

The MLHU and LHSC have announced holiday hours for the Carling COVID-19 Assessment Centre. The centre will operate from 9:20 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 24 and from 10:20 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 25 before resuming regular hours on Sunday, Dec. 26 (9:20 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.).

Telephone booking will be unavailable from Dec. 24 to 27 as well as on Jan. 3, 2022, but appointments can still be booked online at any time.

As for the vaccination status of cases, the MLHU says unvaccinated individuals have accounted for 38.48 per cent of all cases (803 of 2,087) and 40.74 per cent of hospitalizations (11 of 27) since Nov. 9. Note that those who are unvaccinated account for only 12.9 per cent of the population aged five and older as of Dec. 18.

Of the 11 COVID-19-related deaths reported in the last six weeks, six individuals were unvaccinated, four were fully vaccinated and one 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 6.7 per cent for the week of Dec. 12, up from 3.7 per cent for the week of Dec. 5 and 3.1 per cent for the week of Nov. 28.

Ontario

Ontario reported 5,790 cases Thursday — a new record for the largest single-day increase in cases, easily surpassing the previous record of 4,812 on April 16.

Seven deaths were also reported on Thursday.

Provincial figures showed there are 440 people hospitalized with COVID-19 (up by 20), 169 of whom are in intensive care due to COVID-19 (up by one); 106 people in ICUs are on a ventilator (down by two).

Elgin and Oxford

Southwestern Public Health provided more information on Wednesday as to the circumstances that resulted in as many as six people mistakenly receiving saline solution instead of COVID-19 vaccine on Nov. 30.

On Thursday, Southwestern Public Health reported:

• 6,113 total cases (an increase of 89, with two previous cases removed due to data cleanup)
• 397 active cases (an increase of 69)
• 5,606 resolved cases (an increase of 18)
• 110 deaths to date (unchanged)

The most recent deaths were reported Tuesday, Dec. 21 and involved a woman in her 100s from St. Thomas and a woman in her 80s from Oxford County.

Southwestern Public Health says as of Dec. 16, all cases “will be automatically closed after 10 days of a positive result,” regardless of their outcome.

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

Of the 397 active cases in the region, 186 were in Elgin County (including 112 in St. Thomas and 22 in Central Elgin) and 211 were in Oxford County (including 91 in Woodstock and 31 in Ingersoll).

Twelve people were hospitalized with COVID-19, with four in the ICU as of Thursday.

An outbreak at Caressant Care Bonnie Place in St. Thomas declared Nov. 28 is ongoing. It involves 11 resident cases and nine staff cases. Two deaths are associated with the outbreak.

SWPH is reporting outbreaks at the following schools:

• St. Mary’s Catholic Elementary School in West Lorne, declared Dec. 10
• Hickson Central Public School in Hickson, declared Dec. 15
• Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute in Ingersoll, declared Dec. 15
• King’s Academy Private School in St. Thomas, declared Dec. 16
• St. Joseph High School in St. Thomas, declared Dec. 17
• St. Michael’s Catholic Elementary School, declared Dec. 19
• Westfield Public School in Tillsonburg, declared Dec. 19
• Mitchell Hepburn Public School, declared Dec. 20
• Dunwich Dutton Public School in Dutton, declared Dec. 21
• Oliver Stephens Public School in Woodstock, declared Dec. 21
• Holy Family Catholic French Immersion School in Woodstock, declared Dec. 22
• Thamesford Public School in Thamesford, declared Dec. 22

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 6.8 per cent for the week of Dec. 12, up from 4.6 per cent for the week of Dec. 5.

As of Dec. 21, 76.0 per cent of those aged five and older in the region were fully vaccinated while 80.8 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. SWPH is not currently accepting calls for vaccine appointments “until we get through our current backlog of voicemails.” The health unit encouraged people to join its Same Day Vaccination List, which offers any leftover doses due to cancellations or no-shows.

Huron and Perth

On Thursday, Huron Perth Public Health reported:

• 2,930 total cases (an increase of 61)
• 173 active cases (an increase of 54)
• 2,686 recoveries (an increase of six)
• 71 deaths to date (an increase of one)

Details on the death are not yet know.

Among the 173 active cases, 44 in Stratford, 24 were in North Perth, and 19 in Huron East. Full case counts by the municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

There were five people hospitalized with active COVID-19 and eight cases currently hospitalized. HPPH is now reporting the numbers separately, with “all currently hospitalized” including the active cases and cases deemed non-active who are in hospital. There were also two cases involving health-care workers as of Wednesday.

HPPH has 10 active outbreaks involving nine schools and one workplace:

• Clinton Public School in Central Huron, declared Dec. 13 and involving one staff member and two students
• Elma Township Public School in North Perth, declared Nov. 23 and involving 26 students
• Howick Central Public School in Howick, declared Dec. 15 and involving three student cases
• Listowel District Secondary School in North Perth, declared Dec. 16 and involving two staff and three student cases
• Little Falls Public School in St. Marys, declared Dec. 14 and involving four students
• Milverton Public School in Perth East, declared Dec. 9 and involving four students
• North Perth Westfield ES in North Perth, declared Nov. 30 and involving one staff member and 11 students
• North Woods Elementary School in Huron East, declared Dec. 22 and involving 1 student
• St. Josephs Catholic Elementary Public School in Stratford, declared Dec. 13 and involving two students

No further information was provided about the workplace outbreak.

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. 22, 82.15 per cent of residents aged five and older have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose while 77.6 per cent are fully vaccinated. Third-dose coverage stands at 21.4 per cent.

The region’s test positivity rate was 3.8 per cent for the week of Dec. 12, down from 4.5 per cent for the week of Dec. 5.

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 Thursday, Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported:

• 4,796 total cases (an increase of 57)
• 206 active cases (an increase of 33)
• 4,510 resolved cases (an increase of 23)
• 80 deaths to date (an increase of one)

No further information was provided about the death. It’s the second death reported this week, with the first reported Dec. 21.

As of Thursday, there were 17 COVID-19 patients in the care of Bluewater Health, up from 14 the day before.

LPH is reporting 10 active outbreaks, eight of which are at unidentified workplaces.

• Bright’s Grove Public School, declared Dec. 10 and involving 10 cases
• John Knox Christian School, declared Dec. 10 and involving five cases
• an unidentified workplace declared Dec. 15, involving four cases
• four unidentified workplaces, all declared Dec. 16 and involving two cases each
• an unidentified workplace, declared Dec. 17 and involving two cases
• an unidentified workplace, declared Dec. 17 and involving three cases
• an unidentified workplace, declared Dec. 20 and 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 was 6.8 per cent for the week of Dec. 12, up from 3.6 per cent for the week of Dec. 5.

Among area residents aged five and older, 80 per cent have had at least one dose while 76 per cent have had two doses. Fifteen 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