Jump to: Hospitalizations – Cases and testing – Outbreaks – Vaccinations – Ontario – Elgin and Oxford – Huron and Perth – Sarnia and Lambton
- No deaths were reported to start the month of March after February became the second-deadliest month of the COVID-19 pandemic in Middlesex-London with 49 deaths.
- Officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit reported 42 lab-confirmed cases Tuesday, though case counts are considered an under-estimate due to testing restrictions and widespread transmission.
- At London Health Sciences Centre, 47 inpatients with COVID-19 were being cared for on Tuesday. Of those, five or fewer are in adult critical care.
- Data on active staff cases within LHSC was not available Tuesday but as of Monday, the count was 232.
Hospitalizations
LHSC was caring for 47 COVID-19 inpatients on Tuesday, with five or fewer in adult critical care. Last Tuesday, LHSC was caring for 64 COVID-19 inpatients with nine adults in the intensive care unit.
There are five or fewer COVID-19 inpatients in Children’s Hospital with five or fewer in pediatric critical care, down from seven inpatients with five or fewer in critical care a week ago.
LHSC says of its 47 COVID-19 inpatients, 13 are being treated for COVID-19, while 34 are being treated with COVID-19, meaning they were admitted for a different reason and were found to have an incidental COVID-19 infection.
As patient numbers have fallen in recent weeks, staff cases have continued to climb.
As of Monday, the most recent data available, 232 staff members at LHSC were positive for COVID-19, up from 198 on Friday and 151 a week ago.
At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, 49 cases were reported active among health-care workers, up from 43 a week ago but down from 59 on Friday. One case was reported involving a patient or resident of Parkwood Institute’s main building, compared with three patient cases a week ago.
Cases and testing
The Middlesex-London Health Unit reported no new deaths and 42 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, marking at least the sixth day in a row that the region has not reported a COVID-19-related death.
In February, a total of 49 deaths were reported by the MLHU, making it the second-deadliest month of the pandemic to date. The month with the most deaths recorded by the MLHU remains January 2021 when 71 deaths were reported, though at that time vaccines were not widely available. The month with the third-highest number of COVID-19-related deaths reported by the MLHU was January 2022 with 46 deaths.
When looking at case counts, it should be noted 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 31,799 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. At least 558 cases are currently active, a decrease of 92 from Monday, while 30,892 have resolved (an increase of 134). Forty-nine deaths have been reported in February. A total of 349 have been reported throughout the pandemic.
The test positivity rate for the week of Feb. 13 was 12.8 per cent, down from 16.6 per cent the week prior.
Outbreaks
The following outbreaks are active within LHSC:
- University Hospital
- U8 General Surgery 100/200, declared Feb. 28, no information provided yet on case counts
- U9 300 – Medicine, declared Feb. 17, involving nine patient cases
- Victoria Hospital
- C6 100 Geriatric Behavioural Unit, declared Feb. 21, involving five or fewer patient cases and five or fewer staff cases
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:
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- 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
A previously reported outbreak at Maple View Terrace, sixth floor, declared Feb. 12, was listed as over as of Feb. 28.
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.
The MLHU provided updated vaccination data on Tuesday, showing that as of the end of day Feb. 26, 90.7 per cent of residents age five and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine while 87.3 per cent have had two doses, up from 90.6 per cent and 86.9 per cent, respectively, a week prior.
The percentage of people aged five and older who have received third doses is 49.8 per cent, up from 49.2 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 59.8 per cent, up from 59.5 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 914 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Tuesday, with 278 in intensive care. Last Tuesday, there were 1,038 hospitalizations with 319 in ICU.
Of the 914 in hospital, 45 per cent were admitted because of COVID-19 while the rest were admitted for other reasons but tested positive. Of those in ICUs, 80 per cent were admitted because of COVID-19.
Ontario also reported 1,176 lab-confirmed cases Tuesday, though that is an under-estimate when factoring in widespread transmission and restrictions on testing.
Additionally, 18 more virus-related deaths were reported for a total of 12,451.
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 (a 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.
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
As of Tuesday, Huron Perth Public Health reported four patients in hospital due to COVID-19, with two cases considered active, up from two patient cases, both active, last Tuesday.
In total, HPPH has reported 5,665 cases (an increase of 19) and 93 deaths to date (unchanged).
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.
HPPH reported 690 total cases among health-care workers since March 2020, an increase of one from Monday.
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 10 patients in hospital with confirmed COVID-19 as of Tuesday, with two in the ICU. Last Tuesday, Bluewater Health had seven patients in hospital with COVID-19 with none in the ICU.
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 release about daily COVID-19 figures, and no longer issue the number of active and resolved cases. Data is released on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
On Monday, 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 and Matthew Trevithick