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 189 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, compared with one death and 220 cases last Thursday.
The deaths involved two men, in their 60s and 80s, and a woman in her 90s. None were associated with long-term care homes or retirement homes.
Meanwhile, the London Health Sciences Centre reported 139 COVID-19 inpatients on Thursday, with 25 in critical care.
Hospitalizations
As noted, LHSC is caring for 139 COVID-19 inpatients, with 25 inpatients in adult critical care, compared with a record-high 166 inpatients, 19 of whom were in critical care, last Thursday.
Of those, there are five or fewer in Children’s Hospital with zero in pediatric critical care. Last Thursday, the same figures were reported.
Of the 139 patients, 86 are being treated for COVID-19 while 53 others in hospital have incidental COVID-19 infections (meaning they were admitted for another reason).
Among staff, there are 192 cases, up from 200 a week ago.
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 Thursday and 77 health-care workers with COVID-19. The figures are little changed from a week ago when St. Joseph’s had 13 patient/resident cases and 76 staff cases.
Among the 13 patient/resident cases, two are at Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care, four are at Parkwood Institute Main Building and seven are at Parkwood Institute Mental Health Care Building.
Cases and testing
As mentioned, the MLHU reported the deaths of a man in his 60s, a man in his 80s and a woman in her 90s. None had any association with a long-term care home or retirement home.
Based on the vaccination status of all deaths reported over the past six weeks, two were unvaccinated and one was fully vaccinated.
Thursday’s deaths bring the total for February to 10. There have been 13 deaths reported this week.
The MLHU reported two deaths Wednesday, five deaths on Tuesday and on Monday the health unit announced three deaths between Saturday and Monday.
The MLHU also reported 189 cases on Thursday. 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 29,677 confirmed cases since the onset of the pandemic, including 1,735 active cases (a decrease of six), 27,632 resolved cases (an increase of 211) and 310 deaths (an increase of three).
The test positivity rate for the week of Jan. 23 was 18.9 per cent, down from 21.3 per cent the week before.
Outbreaks
LHSC is reporting the following outbreaks:
- University Hospital
- U4 North East and East Corridors, General Medicine, declared Jan. 25, 12 patient cases and five or fewer staff cases
- U10 Subacute Medicine and Palliative Care, declared Jan. 16, involving nine patient cases and five or fewer staff cases
- A9 Inpatients 100 and 200 Corridors, declared Jan. 11, involving 33 patient cases and 12 staff cases
- U4 North East and East Corridors, General Medicine, declared Jan. 25, 12 patient cases and five or fewer staff cases
- Victoria Hospital
- D6-200 – Nephrology Inpatients, declared Jan. 25, seven patient cases and five or fewer staff cases
- D6-100 – Acute Medicine, declared Jan. 25, five or fewer patient cases and five or fewer staff cases
A previous outbreak at UH’s A8 Surgery Inpatient, declared Jan. 14, involving 15 patient cases and seven staff cases, is no longer listed as active.
St. Joseph’s Health Care London is only reporting one outbreak, at Parkwood Institute Mental Health Care Building’s G3 unit.
The MLHU has declared an outbreak at Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital in 1S, as of Feb. 2.
The hospital said in a statement this is the first time in over a year that it’s experienced an outbreak. Two patients tested positive on the 1 South (Medicine) inpatient unit. They and their families have been contacted and the process is ongoing to contact staff and physicians.
The unit is closed to admissions until further notice and visitors and essential care providers are no longer allowed, except in cases of palliative care patients.
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Additionally, the MLHU is reporting the following institutional outbreaks:
- Arbor Trace Alzheimer’s Special Care Centre, facility-wide, declared Jan. 4
- Babcock Community Care Centre, facility-wide, declared Jan. 31
- Chartwell Riverside Retirement Residence, facility-wide, declared Jan. 21
- Chelsey Park, third floor-A Wing, second and fourth floor, 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, Gibbons, Springbank, Harris and Medway, declared Dec. 29
- Manor Village at London, 4E, declared Jan. 31
- Meadow Park Care Centre, Blue Unit, declared Jan. 1
- Oneida Long Term Care Home, facility-wide, 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
Note that school closures and school absence rates can be found on the province’s website.
Vaccinations
As of the end of day Jan. 29, 89.9 per cent of those aged five and older have had at least one dose, up from 89.6 per cent as of Jan. 22. Two-dose coverage for that cohort sits at 84.9 per cent, up from 83.7 per cent a week prior.
The percentage of people aged five and older who’ve received third doses climbed to 46.1 per cent, up from 43.2 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 57.3 per cent, up from 56.3 per cent.
Health unit data shows that since Dec. 23, 31.15 per cent of hospitalized cases have involved people who were unvaccinated. Note that unvaccinated residents make up only 10.1 per cent of the region’s five-and-older population as of Jan. 29.
According to the MLHU, there have been 52 deaths within the last six weeks. Of those, 36 involved fully vaccinated individuals and 16 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 2,797 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Thursday with 541 in intensive care units.
This is down by 142 hospitalizations and a decrease of 14 in ICUs since the previous day. Last Thursday, there were 3,645 hospitalizations, with 599 in ICU.
Fifty-six per cent of those in hospital are there because of COVID-19 while the rest were admitted for another reason and tested positive. For those in ICUs, 83 per cent were admitted because of the virus.
Meanwhile, 4,098 cases were reported, though that is an underestimate due to testing restrictions. The death toll in the province has risen to 11,651 as 75 more virus-related deaths were added.
Elgin and Oxford
Starting this week, Southwestern Public Health’s COVID-19 cases dashboard is only updated Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, barring holidays.
On Wednesday, SWPH reported one death, involving a woman in her 70s from Elgin County.
SWPH also reported 25 hospitalizations, down from 29 a week ago. Of the 25, six are in the ICU. Last Wednesday, there were 10 COVID-19 patients in the ICU.
The test positivity rate for the week of Jan. 23 was 15.9 per cent, down from 17.7 per cent the week prior.
As for cases, SWPH is reporting:
- 10,326 cases (an increase of 99 from Monday with three cases removed due to data cleanup)
- 570 active cases (a decrease of 106 from Monday)
- 9,425 resolved cases (an increase of 191 from Monday; note that SWPH clears all cases after 10 days regardless of outcome)
- 140 total deaths to date (an increase of one from Monday)
There are active outbreaks at the following long-term homes, retirement homes and hospitals:
- Aylmer Retirement Residence, Aylmer, declared Jan. 24, involving one resident case and two staff cases
- Valleyview Nursing Home, St. Thomas, declared Dec. 23, 2021, involving 17 resident cases, 34 staff cases and one death
- Woodingford Lodge, Woodstock, declared Jan. 27, involving two staff cases
- 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 31 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 15 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 74 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 resident 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 29 resident cases and 16 staff cases
- Elgin Manor, St. Thomas, declared Jan. 20 and involving 19 resident cases and 15 staff cases
As of Jan. 31, 78.8 per cent of those aged five and older in the region had received two doses of the vaccine, while 83.1 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.
Huron and Perth
Global News is awaiting Thursday’s data from Huron Perth Public Health.
On Wednesday, Huron Perth Public Health reported eight people were in hospital with COVID-19. Of those, five were considered to be active cases. Last Wednesday, HPPH reported seven people in hospital, six with active cases.
For the week of Jan. 23, the test positivity rate was 11.5 per cent, down from 11.7 per cent the week before.
In total, HPPH reported 5,127 total cases (an increase of 37) and 86 deaths to date (an increase of one). No further details were provided about the death reported Wednesday.
HPPH reported 552 total cases among health-care workers since March 2020, an increase of four from Tuesday.
There are seven 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 41 residents and 17 staff cases
- Huronview, Huron East, declared Jan. 21 and involving five resident cases and eight staff cases
- Kingsway Lodge, St. Marys, declared Jan. 3 and involving 19 resident cases and 17 staff cases
- Queensway Nursing Home, Bluewater, declared Jan. 27 and involving 17 resident cases and 10 staff cases
HPPH is also reporting an outbreak at South Huron Hospital in South Huron, declared Jan. 27, involving 14 patients and four staff members. There are also two congregate living outbreaks reported but no further details were provided.
As of Jan. 31, 84.1 per cent of residents aged five and older have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose while 79.8 per cent are fully vaccinated. Third-dose coverage stands at 49.6 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.
Sarnia and Lambton
Bluewater Health reported 28 patients in hospital with confirmed COVID-19, compared with 35 a week ago. Of those 28, three are in the ICU, compared with five 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. 23 was 21.9 per cent, down from 30.8 per cent the week before.
On Thursday, Lambton Public Health reported:
- 8,962 total cases (an increase of 87)
- 288 active cases (an increase of 27)
- 8,564 resolved cases (an increase of 59)
- 110 deaths to date (an increase of one)
No further details were provided about the death reported Feb. 3.
LPH reported six active outbreaks, including at the following congregate living facility:
- 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
- Watford Quality Care in Watford, declared Jan. 5 and involving 19 resident cases and 15 staff cases
- Trillium Villa in Sarnia, declared Jan. 3 and involving 60 residents and 41 staff/caregivers
An outbreak at Sarnia Jail in Sarnia was declared Jan. 8 and involves 41 inmates and nine staff members.
There is one ongoing outbreak in an unidentified workplace, declared Jan. 26 and involving eight cases.
A workplace outbreak declared Jan. 17 and involving eight cases is now listed as over.
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 46 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
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