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 reported one death and 65 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases Friday, though case counts are considered an under-estimate due to testing restrictions and widespread transmission.
- At London Health Sciences Centre, 43 inpatients with COVID-19 were being cared for on Friday. Of those, six are in adult critical care.
- For the fourth consecutive day, updated data on active staff cases within LHSC was not available. LHSC said it is “validating our data and will post when it is available.” As of Monday, the count was 232.
Hospitalizations
LHSC was caring for 43 COVID-19 inpatients on Friday, with six in adult critical care. Last Friday, LHSC was caring for 44 inpatients, with six in adult intensive care.
There are five or fewer COVID-19 inpatients in Children’s Hospital with five or fewer in pediatric critical care. The same figures were reported last Friday.
LHSC says of its 43 COVID-19 inpatients, 13 are being treated for COVID-19, while 30 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 climbed but data on staff cases has not been updated since Monday. LHSC said “we are currently validating our data and will post when it is available.”
As of Monday, the most recent data available, 232 staff members at LHSC were positive for COVID-19. Last Friday, there were 198 staff cases while two weeks prior there were 144.
At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, 59 cases were reported active among health-care workers and two cases were reported among patients or residents (both at Parkwood Institute Main Building).
Last Friday, St. Joseph’s reported 59 cases among health-care workers and three patient or resident cases.
Cases and testing
The Middlesex-London Health Unit reported one death involving a woman in her 60s, not associated with a long-term care or retirement home. So far, two deaths have been reported in March.
The MLHU also reported 65 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday. Last Friday, zero deaths and 72 cases were reported.
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 32,007 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. At least 554 cases are currently active (a decrease of 20) while 31,102 have resolved (an increase of 81) and 351 deaths have been reported (an increase of one).
The test positivity rate for the week of Feb. 20 was 12.6 per cent, up from a revised 11.2 per cent the week prior.
Outbreaks
The following outbreaks are active within LHSC:
- University Hospital
- U8 General Surgery 100/200/300, declared Feb. 28, nine patient cases and eight staff cases
- 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.
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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
Vaccinations
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.
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.
Ontario
The province reported 821 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Friday, with 262 in ICUs. Last Friday, there were 1,003 hospitalizations with 297 in ICUs.
Of the 821 in hospital, 44 per cent were admitted because of COVID-19 while the rest were there for other reasons but tested positive. Of the 262 in ICUs, 80 per cent were admitted because of the virus itself.
Ontario also reported 2,085 lab-confirmed cases Friday, an under-estimate when factoring in restricted testing and widespread transmission.
Another 28 virus-related deaths were reported for a pandemic total of 12,525.
Elgin and Oxford
Southwestern Public Health reported no new COVID-19 deaths on Friday, and 56 additional lab-confirmed cases from Wednesday’s total. Last Friday, SWPH reported one death and 73 cases.
The health unit issues updates Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, barring holidays.
There were at least six COVID-19 hospitalizations on Friday, with three in intensive care. Last Friday, SWPH reported 11 hospitalizations with five in the ICU.
The most recent death to be reported was Feb. 25 and involved a woman in her 60s from Oxford County.
The test positivity rate for the week of Feb. 20 was 13.1 per cent, up from 11.7 per cent the week prior.
SWPH reported:
- 11,299 cases (an increase of 56 cases from Wednesday with one case removed due to data cleanup).
- 242 active cases (an increase of 20 from Wednesday).
- 10,873 resolved cases (an increase of 35 from Wednesday; note that SWPH clears all cases after 10 days regardless of outcome).
- 149 total deaths to date (unchanged).
SWPH reported one active institutional outbreak on Friday at Chartwell Oxford Gardens in Woodstock. The outbreak was declared March 2 and involves four resident cases, two staff cases and one case under investigation.
As of March 2, 80.7 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. Those figures are unchanged from Feb. 28.
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
On Friday, Huron Perth Public Health reported three patients in hospital due to COVID-19, with one case considered active. Last Friday, HPPH reported six patients in hospital with COVID-19, with three cases considered active.
In total, HPPH has reported 5,711 cases (an increase of 18) and 94 deaths to date (unchanged).
For the week of Feb. 20, the test positivity rate was 7.7 per cent, down from 9.0 per cent the week prior.
HPPH reported 702 total cases among health-care workers since March 2020, an increase of three from Thursday.
As of Feb. 27, the most recent data available, 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 five patients in hospital with confirmed COVID-19 as of Thurday, with one in the ICU. Last Friday, the hospital reported 15 COVID-19 patients with one in the ICU.
Lambton Public Health reported 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.
LPH case information is released on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
On Friday, LPH said there were 9,864 total cases (an increase of 43 from Wednesday) and 129 deaths (an increase of two).
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. 20 was 14.7 per cent, down from 18.1 per cent the week prior.
Among area residents aged five and older, 83 per cent have had at least one dose of vaccine, 80 per cent have had two doses and 49 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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