COVID-19: MLHU reports 3 deaths from Saturday to Monday, LHSC caring for 155 patients

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

The Middlesex-London Health Unit reported three deaths and 483 COVID-19 cases between Saturday and Monday.

All three deaths involved double-vaccinated men, one in his 60s and two in their 80s. There were no associations with long-term care or retirement homes.

Meanwhile, the London Health Sciences Centre reported 155 COVID-19 inpatients on Monday.

Hospitalizations

As noted, LHSC is caring for 155 COVID-19 inpatients, with 26 inpatients in adult critical care.

That compares with 143 inpatients with 23 in adult critical care a week ago.

Of the 155 cases, there are five or fewer in Children’s Hospital with zero in pediatric critical care. The same figures were reported last Monday.

Of the 155 patients, 89 are being treated for COVID-19 while 66 others in hospital have incidental COVID-19 infections (meaning they were admitted for another reason).

Among staff, there are 197 cases, down from 214 a week ago but up from 189 on Friday.

There are several outbreaks at LHSC at St. Joseph’s Health Care London. Further information can be found in the Outbreaks section below.

St. Joseph’s Health Care London reported 13 cases among patients or residents in its care as of Tuesday and 69 health-care workers with COVID-19, compared with 16 patient/resident cases and 88 staff cases a week ago.

Among the 13 patient/resident cases, two are at Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care, three are at Parkwood Institute Main Building and eight are at Parkwood Institute Mental Health Care Building.

Cases and testing

As mentioned, the MLHU reported three deaths over the weekend.

The two deaths reported Monday involve men in their 60s and 80s with no association with long-term care or retirement homes.

The death reported Saturday involved a man in his 80s, also with no association to long-term care or a retirement home.

There have been at least 40 COVID-19-related deaths reported by the MLHU in January.

The MLHU also reported 83 cases Monday, 190 on Sunday and 210 on Saturday. Note that due to changes in eligibility for PCR testing, daily case counts are not considered a fully reliable reflection of COVID-19 activity in the region.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit says individuals who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should consider themselves to be positive for COVID-19 and self-isolate.

The health unit has provided information on what to do if you develop symptoms, test positive on a rapid test or PCR test or have been exposed to someone who has tested positive.

In total, there have been 29,150 confirmed cases since the onset of the pandemic, including 1,894 active cases (a decrease of 147 from Friday), 26,954 resolved cases (an increase of 646 from Friday) and 300 deaths (an increase of three from Friday).

The test positivity rate for the week of Jan. 16 was 21.3 per cent, down from 22.4 per cent the week of Jan. 9.

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Outbreaks

LHSC is reporting the following outbreaks:

• University Hospital
  • U4 North East and East Corridors, General Medicine, declared Jan. 25, eight patient cases and five or fewer staff cases
    
  • U10 Subacute Medicine and Palliative Care, declared Jan. 16, involving eight patient cases and five or fewer staff cases
  • A8 Surgery Inpatient, declared Jan. 14, involving 15 patient cases and seven staff cases
  • A9 Inpatients 100 and 200 Corridors, declared Jan. 11, involving 29 patient cases and 11 staff cases
• Victoria Hospital
  • D6-200 – Nephrology Inpatients, declared Jan. 25, six patient cases
  • D6-100 – Acute Medicine, declared Jan. 25, five or fewer patient cases and five or fewer staff cases
    
  • B72 – Adult Mental Health Inpatients, declared Jan. 17, involving seven patients and five or fewer staff cases
    

Two previous outbreaks at University Hospital, both declared Jan. 16, involving U6 200/300 Cardiac Surgery Inpatients and U5 100/300 Cardiology Inpatients, are no longer listed as active.

St. Joseph’s Health Care London is reporting the following outbreaks:

• Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care: SM5
• Parkwood Institute Mental Health Care Building: G3

Additionally, the MLHU is reporting the following institutional outbreaks:

• Arbor Trace Alzheimer’s Special Care Centre, facility-wide, declared Jan. 4
• Chartwell Riverside Retirement Residence, facility-wide, declared Jan. 21
• Chelsey Park, third floor-A Wing, declared Jan. 18
• Dearness Home, Oakdale, declared Dec. 29
• Elmwood Place, Victoria Unit, declared Dec. 27
• Extendicare, first floor and third floor, declared Dec. 24
• Henley Place LTC Residence, FW, Harris declared Jan. 28, initially declared Dec. 29
• Highview Residence – Chapin House, facility-wide, declared Jan. 7
• Meadow Park Care Centre, Blue Unit, declared Jan. 1
• Oneida Long Term Care Home, West Wing, declared Jan. 28
• Queens Village, lower level and second floor, declared Jan. 25, facility-wide declared Jan. 28
• Village of Glendale Crossing, facility-wide, declared Dec. 25

Previous outbreaks at Chartwell Parkhill, declared Jan. 1; Earls Court Village’s second floor, declared Jan. 2; and Manor Village at London’s 4 West unit, declared Jan. 10, are all listed as over.

Note that school closures and school absence rates can be found on the province’s website.

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Vaccinations

The MLHU announced Monday that, effective immediately, walk-ins will be accepted at all of its vaccination clinics: Western Fair District Agriplex, Caradoc Community Centre, Earl Nichols Arena or any Community Hub COVID-19 Vaccination clinic. Previously, walk-ins were only accepted at Earl Nichols.

For those who prefer a scheduled time, appointments can still be booked.

As of the end of day Jan. 22, 89.6 per cent of residents five and older in the region have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, up from 89.1 per cent as of Jan. 15.

Two-dose coverage for that cohort sits at 83.7 per cent, up from 83.2 per cent the week prior.

The percentage of people age five and older who’ve received third doses climbed to 43.2 per cent, up from 38.5 per cent a week prior. Note that those under 18 are not currently eligible for a third dose.

First-dose coverage for those aged five to 11 stands at 56.3 per cent, up from 54.1 per cent.

Health unit data shows that since Dec. 20, 31.78 per cent of hospitalized cases have involved people who were unvaccinated. Note that unvaccinated residents make up only 10.4 per cent of the region’s five-and-older population as of Jan. 22.

According to the MLHU, there have been 42 deaths within the last six weeks. Of those, 31 involved fully vaccinated individuals and 11 involved unvaccinated individuals.

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.

Ontario

Ontario is reporting 2,983 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Monday with 583 in intensive care units.

This is down by 36 hospitalizations and a decrease of four in ICUs since the previous day, though officials noted not all hospitals reported updated figures due to the weekend.

However, figures from last week show roughly 45 per cent of those hospitalized with COVID-19 were admitted for other reasons. Of those in intensive care with the virus, roughly 18 per cent were admitted for other reasons.

Meanwhile, Ontario also reported 3,043 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, though that is an underestimate of the true widespread transmission of the virus due to recent testing restrictions. Thirty-two more deaths were reported.

Elgin and Oxford

Southwestern Public Health is changing the way it reports data, as of Jan. 31. The dashboard will now only be updated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (excluding holidays) and the vaccine data will only be updated Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Additionally, SWPH is providing more information about the age and gender identity of those who have been hospitalized or have died due to COVID-19.

According to that data, 52.5 per cent of deaths reported to SWPH since the onset of the pandemic were among women, while men make up the majority of hospitalizations at 53.9 per cent.

SWPH reported one death on Monday, involving a man in his 60s from Oxford County, not linked to an institutional outbreak.

SWPH also reported 28 hospitalizations, down from 51 a week ago. Of the 28, eight are in the ICU. Last Monday, there were 10 COVID-19 patients in the ICU.

The test positivity rate for the week of Jan. 16 was 17.7 per cent, up from a revised 16.8 per cent the week prior.

As for cases, SWPH is reporting:

• 10,240 cases (an increase of 188 from Friday with one case removed due to data cleanup)
• 676 active cases (a decrease of 45)
• 9,425 resolved cases (an increase of 231; note that SWPH clears all cases after 10 days regardless of outcome)
• 139 total deaths (an increase of one)
  

There are active outbreaks at the following long-term homes, retirement homes and hospitals:

• Valleyview Nursing Home, St. Thomas, declared Dec. 23, 2021 and involving 17 resident cases, 34 staff cases and one death
• Tillsonburg Retirement Residence – Tillsonburg, declared Dec. 29 and involving three resident cases and one staff case
• Chartwell Oxford Gardens, Woodstock, declared Dec. 30 and involving 12 resident cases and four staff cases
• Caressant Care Bonnie Place Nursing Home, St. Thomas, declared Dec. 30 and involving 30 resident cases and 25 staff cases
  
• Secord Trails, Ingersoll, declared Jan. 2 and involving 41 resident cases, 26 staff cases and two deaths
• Chartwell Aylmer, Aylmer, declared Jan. 2 and involving seven resident cases and 14 staff cases
• Caressant Care Nursing Home – Woodstock, declared Jan. 3 and involving three resident cases and 25 staff cases
• Arches Transitional Bed Program, Woodstock, declared Jan. 10 and involving 17 resident cases, 16 staff cases and one death
• Cedarview Living Retirement, Woodstock, declared Jan. 13 and involving 73 resident cases and nine staff cases
• Metcalfe Gardens Retirement Home, St. Thomas, declared Jan. 13 and involving 26 resident cases, eight staff cases and one death
• Beattie Manor Retirement Residency, Wardsville, declared Jan. 17 and involving 14 residents cases and one staff case
• Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital, Tillsonburg, declared Jan. 18 and involving 10 patient cases, two staff cases, one death and one case under investigation
  
• Maple Manor Nursing Home, Tillsonburg, declared Jan. 18 and involving 23 resident cases and 15 staff cases
  
• Elgin Manor, St. Thomas, declared Jan. 20 and involving 14 resident cases and 14 staff cases

Previously reported outbreaks at Woodingford Lodge in Woodstock, Caressant Care Bonnie Place Retirement Home in St. Thomas, Terrace Lodge in Aylmer and Maples Nursing Home in Tavistock are no longer listed as active.

As of Jan. 26, 77.9 per cent of those aged five and older in the region had received two doses of the vaccine, while 82.7 per cent have had at least one dose.

Further 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.

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Huron and Perth

Global News is awaiting data from Huron Perth Public Health for Saturday through Monday.

On Friday, Huron Perth Public Health reported 11 people were in hospital with COVID-19.

Of those, nine are considered to be active cases.

For the week of Jan. 16, the test positivity rate was 11.7 per cent, up from 10 per cent the week prior.

In total, HPPH reported 4,996 total cases (an increase of 55) and 80 deaths to date (unchanged).

The most recent death was reported Jan. 25. No details were provided.

HPPH reported 521 total cases among health-care workers since March 2020, an increase of five from Thursday.

There are six active outbreaks reported by HPPH, including at the following long-term care or retirement homes:

• Braemar Nursing Home, North Huron, declared Jan. 12 and involving 40 residents and 15 staff cases
• Huronview, Huron East, declared Jan. 21 and involving five resident cases and five staff cases
• Kingsway Lodge, St. Marys, declared Jan. 3 and involving 17 resident cases and 14 staff cases
• Queensway Nursing Home, Bluewater, declared Jan. 27 and involving 10 resident cases and two staff

HPPH is also reporting an outbreak at South Huron Hospital in South Huron, declared Jan. 27, involving eight patients. There is also one congregate living outbreak reported but no further details were provided.

Two previously reported outbreaks, at Caressant Care Retirement Home, North Perth, declared Jan. 2 and involving six resident cases, and at Maplewood Manor Retirement Home, Huron East, declared Dec. 30 and involving two resident cases and two staff cases, are no longer listed as active.

As of Jan. 26, 84 per cent of residents aged five and older have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose while 79.4 per cent are fully vaccinated. Third-dose coverage stands at 48.6 per cent of those five and older, though those under the age of 18 are not eligible for a third dose.

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

Bluewater Health reported 35 patients in hospital with confirmed COVID-19, compared with 55 a week ago. Of those 35, five are in the ICU, compared with eight a week ago.

Lambton Public Health is reporting the average ICU occupancy was at 67 per cent the week of Jan. 23, down from 83 per cent for the week of Jan. 16.

The test positivity rate for the week of Jan. 16 was 30.8 per cent, down from 31.8 per cent the week of Jan. 9.

On Monday, Lambton Public Health reported:

• 8,793 total cases (an increase of 115 from Friday)
• 306 active cases (an increase of 120 from Friday)
• 8,379 resolved cases (an increase of 234 from Friday)
• 108 deaths to date (an increase of one from Friday)
  

No information was provided about the death reported Monday.

LPH reported 13 active outbreaks, including at the following congregate living facilities:

• Lambton County Developmental Services in Corunna, declared Jan. 23 and involving fewer than five resident cases and six staff cases
• Lambton County Developmental Services in Oil Springs, declared Jan. 19 and involving fewer than five residents and fewer than five staff cases

There are outbreaks at the following long-term care and retirement homes:

• Afton Park Place in Sarnia, declared Jan. 23 and involving fewer than five resident cases and fewer than five staff cases
• Fairwinds Lodge in Sarnia, declared Jan. 10 and involving fewer than five residents and fewer than five staff members
• Watford Quality Care in Watford, declared Jan. 5 and involving 15 resident cases and 16 staff cases
• Trillium Villa in Sarnia, declared Jan. 3 and involving 58 residents and 40 staff/caregivers
• Sumac Lodge in Sarnia, declared Dec. 31 and involving 36 resident cases and 32 cases among staff/caregivers

An outbreak at Sarnia Jail in Sarnia was declared Jan. 8 and involves 39 inmates and eight staff members.

An outbreak at Bluewater Health in Sarnia declared Jan. 7 involves 18 patients and 12 staff members.

There are four outbreaks in unidentified workplaces:

• declared Jan. 26, involving seven cases
• declared Jan. 18, involving eight cases
• declared Jan. 17, involving four cases
• declared Jan. 11, involving six cases

No further details were provided about the workplace outbreaks.

Among area residents aged five and older, 82 per cent have had at least one dose of vaccine, 78 per cent have had two doses and 45 per cent have had a third dose. Note that those under 18 are not currently eligible for 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 Gabby Rodrigues