Jump to: Hospitalizations – Outbreaks – Schools – Vaccinations and testing – Ontario – Elgin and Oxford – Huron and Perth – Sarnia and Lambton
For the third time in less than seven days, London and Middlesex has set a new COVID-19 case record, health officials said Wednesday.
The region also recorded its first COVID-19-related death since Dec. 19.
The Middlesex-London Health Unit reported Wednesday that 378 new cases had been recorded in the region, eclipsing the previous single-day case record set on Christmas Day when 355 cases were reported.
The health unit initially reported 357 cases that day, but has since revised the tally following data cleanup.
The death reported Wednesday involved a woman in her 100s who was not associated with a long-term care or retirement home, the health unit said. No further detail was provided.
The surge in cases seen over the last two weeks has rocketed the region’s seven-day moving case average to a new high of 303 as of Wednesday, up from 132 a week earlier, and 56 two weeks earlier, an increase of 5.4 times.
Roughly 3,700 cases have been reported in the region so far this month, more than was reported from the start of June to the end of November, and surpassing the previous monthly case record of 3,307 set in April. Half of December’s cases have been reported just in the last seven days.
In total, there have been 18,606 confirmed cases since the onset of the pandemic, including 2,542 active cases (an increase of 225 from Tuesday), 15,651 resolved cases (an increase of 155) and 258 deaths (an increase of one).
The active case tally is likely much higher due to testing backlogs and a lack of available testing appointments.
Health officials are reminding the public that due to contact tracing efforts being overwhelmed by the number of new cases, anyone who develops any kind of respiratory symptoms should treat it like COVID-19 and self-isolate.
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
At least 22 COVID-19 patients were in the care of London Health Sciences Centre on Wednesday, an increase of five from the day before.
Of those, eight are in adult critical care/intensive care, an increase of one from Tuesday. Five or fewer are in Children’s Hospital and five or fewer are in pediatric critical care, unchanged from the day before.
Staff cases within LHSC continue to surge, with 113 now positive, up from 104 on Tuesday and 50 on Dec. 23.
In a statement, LHSC said the positive cases among staff were reflective of COVID-19’s widespread transmission in the community, and said LHSC brass were working to review strategic plans to ensure delivery of essential services was not disrupted.
There were no known service disruptions due to the number of staff cases, LHSC said in a statement Tuesday.
At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, meanwhile, cases among staff are also continuing to rise, with 26 staff positive with COVID-19, up from 20 on Friday.
At least five cases are linked to an outbreak. Five patient cases are also active involving Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care.
Institutional outbreaks
One new institutional outbreak has been declared involving a long-term care or retirement home.
The outbreak involves Country Terrace and is located in its Nottinghill Unit.
Elsewhere active outbreaks remain at:
- McCormick Home, in its Memory Lane area, declared Dec. 14
- Chartwell London, in its Magnolia and Pinebrook areas, declared Dec. 18
- Parkwood Institute Main Building, on 3A-East, declared Dec. 23
- Extendicare, on its second and third floors, declared Dec. 24
- Sisters of St. Joseph, facility-wide, declared Dec. 24
- Longworth Retirement Residence on its second and third floors, declared Dec. 25
- Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care in SM1, declared Dec. 25
- Village of Glendale Crossing in its Brighton area, declared Dec. 25. An outbreak is also active in the Lambeth area, however the health unit says the type of outbreak is unknown yet.
- Middlesex Terrace on its third floor, declared Dec. 26
- Elmwood Place, facility-wide, declared Dec. 27
At local schools, no new outbreaks have been declared. As of Wednesday, outbreaks are active at the following schools:
- A. B. Lucas Secondary School, declared Dec. 20
- Blessed Sacrament Catholic School, declared Dec. 18
- Byron Somerset Public School, declared Dec. 21
- Clara Brenton Public School, declared Dec. 17
- Emily Carr Public School, declared Dec. 20
- H. B. Beal Secondary School, declared Dec. 21
- J S Buchanan French Immersion Public School, declared Dec. 23
- John Dearness Public School, declared Dec. 20
- Notre Dame Catholic School, declared Dec. 20
- Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, declared Dec. 6
- Sir Arthur Currie Public School, declared Dec. 14
- St. Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School, declared Dec. 17
- Stoney Creek Public School, declared Dec. 23
- Wilberforce Public School, declared Dec. 22
At local child-care and early years centres, one outbreak has resolved at Wee Watch — Dream Weavers Daycare. Outbreaks remain active at:
- YMCA: North Meadows Elementary School – Before and After School, declared Dec. 22
- YMCA: St. Patrick Catholic School – Before and After School, declared Dec. 19
In post-secondary, outbreaks also remain active at
- Western University – Delaware Hall Residence, declared Dec. 10
- Western University – Saugeen-Maitland Hall Residence, declared Nov. 27
Schools
No new COVID-19 cases have been reported involving schools and none were active as of Wednesday.
Cases have decreased significantly involving schools as children have returned home from class for the holiday break.
No cases were also listed as being active at child-care or early years centres.
Information on school and child-care centre outbreaks can be found in the outbreaks section.
At least 560 cases have been reported at local elementary and secondary schools since the start of the school year in September. In comparison, 351 were reported during the 12 months from September 2020 to August 2021.
Vaccinations and testing
At least 82.1 per cent of residents five and older in London and Middlesex have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 87.6 have received one dose.
As of Dec. 18, the most recent data available, roughly 34,814 people, or about 20 per cent of the population, had received a third booster dose.
The health unit says it’s continuing to prioritize its Pfizer supply for people 29 and younger. Those 30 and older will receive the Moderna vaccine.
Unvaccinated residents, who make up only 11 per cent of the local 12-plus population, made up 42 per cent of the region’s 38 hospitalizations over the last six weeks, according to the health unit.
Roughly 73 per cent of cases in that time period involved fully vaccinated individuals, while 19.5 per cent were unvaccinated. Of the nine COVID-19-related deaths reported in the last six weeks, five were unvaccinated and four were fully vaccinated.
The health unit notes that people who are vaccinated can still get COVID-19, however, they “become less sick than individuals with COVID-19 who were not vaccinated, and are much less likely to require hospitalization or die,” something borne out by local stats.
On the health unit’s website, residents can find information on pop-up clinics, mass vaccination clinics and pharmacies, as well as guidance for anyone vaccinated outside of the province or country, transportation support for those in need and more.
The city’s main assessment centre at Carling Heights tested a near-record number of people on Monday with 631 people, shy of the record 635 set on Dec. 16.
Appointment slots open up every morning, however spots fill up quickly. Telephone booking will be unavailable on Jan. 3, 2022.
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 is reporting 10,436 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths from the virus Wednesday.
The daily infection tally broke the record set on Christmas Day — which saw 10,412 cases — for the most cases reported in a single day in Ontario since the pandemic began.
Provincial data shows that 190 people are currently in intensive care due to COVID-19, including 104 people on ventilators.
In total, the province reported 726 people hospitalized with COVID-19.
A government website noted that 10 per cent of hospitals did not submit daily data and the number of hospitalized patients is expected to increase.
The province says 81 per cent of all residents aged five and older have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and 86 per cent have at least one shot.
Elgin and Oxford
No COVID-19 update was available on Tuesday from Southwestern Public Health due to the holiday period.
On Friday, Dec. 24 the health unit reported:
- 6,221 total cases
- 479 active cases
- 5,631 resolved cases
- 111 deaths to date
The region’s most recent publicly reported death, reported on Friday, involved a woman in her 70s from Elgin.
The health unit automatically closes all cases 10 days after a positive result, regardless of their outcome.
On Friday, 13 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, with five in the ICU. No details were available about their vaccination status.
An outbreak at Caressant Care Bonnie Place in St. Thomas declared Nov. 28 was ongoing on Friday. It involves 11 resident cases and nine staff cases. Two deaths are associated with the outbreak.
No new school outbreaks were reported on Friday. Outbreaks were active 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
Their current outbreak status is unclear due to the pause in reporting.
More information on school cases can be found on the websites of the Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board.
Roughly 6.8 per cent of tests in the region were coming back positive as of the week of Dec. 12.
As of Dec. 23, 76.0 per cent of those aged five and older in the region had received two doses of the vaccine, while 81 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.
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
No COVID-19 update was available from Huron Perth Public Health as of early Wednesday afternoon.
On Monday, Huron Perth Public Health reported:
- 3,143 total cases
- 229 active cases
- 2,727 recoveries
- 73 deaths to date
Full case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.
Five people were hospitalized as a result of COVID-19 as of Monday, with three patients still considered active cases. At least five of the region’s active cases involve health-care workers.
HPPH had 11 active outbreaks listed on Monday involving 10 schools and one workplace. The most recent school outbreak was declared on Dec. 23, at Listowel Christian School.
- 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 27 students
- Howick Central Public School in Howick, declared Dec. 15 and involving three student cases
- Listowel Christian School in North Perth, declared Dec. 23 and involving two 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 five 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 one staff member and five students
- St. Josephs Catholic Elementary Public School in Stratford, declared Dec. 13 and involving two students
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. 23, 82.5 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.
Information on how and where to get a vaccine can be found on the health unit’s website.
Sarnia and Lambton
On Wednesday, Lambton Public Health reported:
- 5,291 total cases (an increase of 71)
- 532 active cases (a decrease of 35)
- 4,676 resolved cases (an increase of 36)
- 83 deaths to date (unchanged)
The region’s three most recent deaths, all reported Tuesday, involved people who were hospitalized, one each in their 50s, 60s and 80s, who died between Dec. 23 and 27. Their vaccination status was not released.
As of Wednesday, there were 17 COVID-19 patients in the care of Bluewater Health, an increase of three from Friday.
The region’s seven-day case average is 78 as of Wednesday, due in part to a surge in cases reported Christmas Eve (111) and Christmas Day (132, a single-day record).
LPH reported nine active outbreaks as of Wednesday, five of which were 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
- an unidentified workplace, declared Dec. 16, involving two cases
- 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
- Errol Road Public School, declared Dec. 23, and involving fewer than five cases
- Rosewood Retirement Village, declared Dec. 26, and involving fewer than five resident 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 was 6.8 per cent for the week of Dec. 12, up from 3.6 per cent for the week of Dec. 5. An updated tally is expected this week.
Roughly 80 per cent of area residents 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 Jacquelyn LeBel, Sawyer Bogdan and The Canadian Press
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