Jump to: Hospitalizations – Cases and testing – Outbreaks – Vaccinations – Ontario – Elgin and Oxford – Huron and Perth – Sarnia and Lambton
- Officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit say no deaths and 50 lab-confirmed cases were reported Monday, though case counts are considered an under-estimate due to testing restrictions and widespread transmission.
- Zero deaths were reported over the weekend, while a total of 114 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 were recorded.
- At London Health Sciences Centre, 44 inpatients with COVID-19 were being cared for on Monday, unchanged from Friday. Of those, five or fewer are in adult critical care, down from six on Friday.
- Active staff cases within LHSC continue to rise, hitting 232 on Monday, up from 198 on Friday.
Hospitalizations
LHSC was caring for 44 COVID-19 inpatients on Monday, with five or fewer in adult critical care, down from six on Friday. Five or fewer are in Children’s Hospital, a tally unchanged from Friday.
No COVID-19 inpatients are in pediatric critical care, down from five or fewer on Friday.
LHSC says of their 44 COVID-19 inpatients, 13 are being treated for COVID, while 31 are being treated with COVID, meaning they were admitted for a different reason and were found to have an incidental COVID infection.
As patient numbers have fallen in recent weeks, staff cases have continued to climb.
As of Monday, 232 staff members at LHSC were positive for COVID-19, up from 198 on Friday, and 144 on Feb. 18.
At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, 47 cases were reported active among health care workers, down from 59 on Friday. One case was reported involving a patient or resident of Parkwood Institute’s main building, down from one on Friday.
Cases and testing
The Middlesex-London Health Unit reported no new deaths and 50 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, marking at least the fifth day in a row that the region has not reported a COVID-related death.
At least 49 COVID-19-related deaths have been reported in the region so far this month. Eight were reported on Wednesday of last week.
Health officials say no deaths were reported over the weekend, while 57 lab-confirmed cases each were reported on Saturday and Sunday.
It should be noted, however, 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.
The health unit says there have been 31,757 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. At least 650 cases are currently active, a decrease of 93 from Friday, while 30,758 have resolved (an increase of 260). Forty-nine deaths have been reported.
The test positivity rate for the week of Feb. 13 was 12.8 per cent, down from 16.6 per cent the week prior. Updated figures are expected this week.
Outbreaks
LHSC reports two outbreaks at University Hospital are over.
The outbreaks were declared Jan. 11 in A9 Inpatients 100 and 200 Corridors (41 patient, 13 staff cases), and on Jan. 25 in U4 North East and East Corridors, General Medicine (17 patient, 14 staff cases).
As of Monday, the following outbreaks are active within LHSC:
- University Hospital
- U9 300 – Medicine, declared Feb. 17, involving nine patient cases (an increase of one from Friday).
- Victoria Hospital
- C6 100 Geriatric Behavioural Unit, declared Feb. 21, involving five or fewer patient cases and five or fewer staff cases (unchanged).
LHSC updates its outbreak data on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, unless an outbreak is declared or resolved.
Additionally, the MLHU is reporting the following active institutional outbreaks:
- Ashwood Manor, facility-wide, declared Feb. 22
- Dorchester Terrace, second floor, declared Feb. 19
- Horizon Place, facility-wide, declared Feb. 24
- Kensington Village Retirement, eighth avenue, declared Feb. 18
- Maple View Terrace, sixth floor, declared Feb. 12
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A previously reported outbreak at Westmount Gardens, declared Feb. 15 in the Lily Unit, was declared over on Sunday, Feb. 27.
Vaccinations
The MLHU’s mass vaccination clinic at Earl Nichols Recreation Centre will close March 4 due to decreased demand combined with a pivot towards increasing mobile operations.
Further information on vaccination in the MLHU’s region, as well as other COVID-19-related information, can be found on the health unit’s website.
As of end of day Feb. 19, 90.6 per cent of residents aged five and older had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, up from 90.4 per cent the week prior. Two-dose coverage for that cohort sits at 86.9 per cent, up from 86.5 per cent. Updated figures are expected this week.
The percentage of people aged five and older who have received third doses is 49.2 per cent, up from 48.5 per cent the week before. Note that those aged 12 to 17 only became eligible for a third dose as of Feb. 18 and those under 12 are still not eligible.
First-dose coverage for those aged five to 11 is 59.5 per cent, up from 59.0 per cent. Last week, the MLHU announced it would be rolling out several additional child- and youth-focused COVID-19 vaccination clinics in a bid to get more doses of the vaccine into the arms of local children.
Ontario
The province reported 849 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Monday, with 279 in intensive care.
This is up by seven hospitalizations but a decrease of two for ICUs since the previous day, though officials noted not all hospitals reported updated figures due to the weekend.
Last Monday, there were 1,064 hospitalizations with 320 in ICU.
The province recently began distinguishing between those who were admitted to hospital directly because of COVID, and those who were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for the virus.
Those figures aren’t updated on Mondays due to incomplete data reporting from hospitals over the weekend.
However, latest figures from last week show roughly 54 per cent of those hospitalized with COVID were admitted for other reasons. Of those in intensive care with the virus, roughly 18 per cent were admitted for other reasons.
Elgin and Oxford
Southwestern Public Health reported no new COVID-19 deaths on Monday, and 71 new lab-confirmed cases.
The health unit issues updates Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, barring holidays.
There were at least eight COVID-19 hospitalizations on Monday, with two in intensive care. That’s down from 11 hospitalizations and five ICU inpatients on Friday.
The most recent death to be reported was on Friday involving a woman in her 60s from Oxford County.
The test positivity rate for the week of Feb. 13 was 11.7 per cent, down from 13.5 per cent the week prior. Updated figures are expected this week.
SWPH reported:
- 11,212 cases (an increase of 69 from Friday. Two cases were removed due to data cleanup)
- 239 active cases (an decrease of 23 from Friday)
- 10,824 resolved cases (an increase of 92 from Friday; note that SWPH clears all cases after 10 days regardless of outcome)
- 149 total deaths to date (unchanged from Friday)
No active outbreaks were reported due to COVID-19 on Monday.
Two previously active outbreaks, located at Bethany Care Home in Norwich and Maple Manor Nursing Home in Tillsonburg, were declared over on Feb. 25 and 27, respectively.
The outbreak at Maple Manor was initially declared Jan. 18 and involved 50 resident and 21 staff cases, while the outbreak at Bethany Care Home, declared Feb. 9, involved four resident cases and one staff case.
As of Feb. 23, 80.6 per cent of those aged five and older in the region had received two doses of the vaccine, while 83.6 per cent have had at least one dose. Updated figures are expected this week.
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
Huron Perth Public Health reported one new death on Monday.
Five patients were reported in hospital due to COVID-19, with one case considered active, down from six and three, respectively, on Friday.
In total, HPPH has reported 5,617 total cases (an increase of 29 from Friday) and 93 deaths to date.
For the week of Feb. 13, the test positivity rate was 9.0 per cent, down from 11.0 per cent the week prior. Updated figures are expected this week.
As of Friday, LPH was not reporting any active outbreaks at long-term care homes, retirement homes, hospitals or congregate living settings.
HPPH reported 689 total cases among health-care workers since March 2020, an increase of 13 from Friday.
As of Feb. 27, 84.2 per cent of residents aged five and older have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose while 80.9 per cent have received two.
Third-dose coverage stands at 52 per cent of those five and older. It should be noted, however, that those under the age of 12 are not yet eligible for a third dose, and those aged 12 to 17 only became eligible for a booster dose as of Feb. 18.
Information on how and where to get a vaccine can be found on the health unit’s website.
Sarnia and Lambton
Bluewater Health reported 11 patients in hospital with confirmed COVID-19 as of Monday, a decrease of four from Friday. One is in intensive care, a tally unchanged.
Lambton Public Health reported Monday that the region’s average occupancy sat at 50 per cent for the week of Feb. 20, down from 55 per cent a week earlier and 67 per cent the week of Feb. 6. The average number of inpatients with COVID-19 is 10.
Health unit officials have reduced the amount of information they releases about daily COVID-19 figures, and no longer issues the number of active and resolved cases. Data is released on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
LPH said there were 9,785 total cases (an increase of 62 from Friday) and 127 deaths (unchanged).
Two active outbreaks have been reported in “congregate settings,” both declared active on Feb. 25.
The outbreaks involve St. Francis Advocates, a congregate living setting in Port Franks, and Trillium Villa, a long-term care home in Sarnia. Both outbreaks involve fewer than five resident cases and fewer than five staff or visitor cases.
The test positivity rate for the week of Feb. 13 was 18.1 per cent, down from a corrected 21.9 per cent the week prior. Updated figures are expected this week.
Among area residents aged five and older, 83 per cent have had at least one dose of vaccine, 79 per cent have had two doses and 48 per cent have had a third dose. Note that those under 12 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 Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues
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