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 80 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases Saturday, 60 new cases Sunday, and 55 new cases Monday.
- At London Health Sciences Centre, 41 inpatients with COVID-19 are being cared for as of Monday. Of those, five or fewer are in adult critical care.
- LHSC reported 151 active staff cases on Monday, a decrease of three from Friday.
Hospitalizations
London Health Sciences Centre reported Monday that it was caring for 41 inpatients with COVID-19, with five or fewer in adult critical care, unchanged from the day before. Last Monday, LHSC was caring for 46 COVID-19 inpatients with five or fewer in adult critical care.
LHSC says five or fewer of its COVID-19 inpatients are in Children’s Hospital, while zero are in pediatric critical care. Last week, there were five or fewer COVID-19 inpatients in Children’s Hospital with five or fewer in pediatric critical care.
Of the 41 inpatients with COVID-19, 15 are being treated for COVID-19 while 26 are being treated for something other than COVID-19 but were found to have an incidental infection.
At least 151 staff cases are currently active at LHSC. Last Monday it was 136 staff cases.
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At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, officials reported 46 active cases among health-care workers along with one patient or resident case in the Parkwood Institute’s Main Building. Last Monday, St. Joseph’s reported 43 health-care worker cases and one patient or resident case.
Cases and testing
The last COVID-19 death involved a woman in her 90s associated with a retirement home reported on Friday.
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.
So far, there have been five deaths reported in March. However, the MLHU has removed two previously reported deaths from its total count in order to align with a revised provincial approach in reporting COVID-19-related deaths. The two deaths were both from 2020, the health unit confirmed to Global News.
The health unit says there have been 32,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. At least 664 are active (an increase of 22) while 31,684 have resolved (an increase of 177). A total of 352 deaths have been reported (unchanged).
The test positivity rate for the week of Feb. 27 was 11.9 per cent, up from a revised 10.5 per cent the week prior.
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.
Outbreaks
As of Friday, LHSC had one active outbreak in University Hospital’s U8 General Surgery 100/200/300, declared Feb. 28, involving 12 patient cases and 11 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:
- Middlesex Health Alliance (Fourth Counties & SMGH), Four Counties – Acute Care Nursing Unit, declared March. 12
- Ashwood Manor, facility-wide, declared Feb. 22
- Chelsey Park, fourth floor – A Wing and B Wing, declared March 4
- Chelsey Park Retirement Community, facility-wide, declared March 4
- Horizon Place, facility-wide, declared Feb. 24
An outbreak at Kensington Village Retirement, eighth avenue, has since been declared over.
Vaccinations
As of March 14, the Caradoc Community Centre in Mount Brydges will be open Monday to Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. As of March 29, the Agriplex location in London will operate Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Shipments of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine are expected “over the next little while” and the MLHU says it plans to develop a wait-list for those interested in that vaccine. Further details were not yet available.
As of the end of day March 5, 90.8 per cent of residents aged five and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 87.5 per cent have had two — up from 90.7 per cent and 87.3 per cent, respectively, a week earlier.
For third doses, 50.2 per cent of people five and older have received a booster, up from 49.8 per cent a week earlier. 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.
For children aged five to 11, first-dose coverage stands at 60.1 per cent, up from 59.8 per cent a week earlier, while 42.7 per cent have received two doses.
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
Ontario is reporting 228 people in intensive care units in hospital with COVID on Monday.
No data was released on the total number of people in hospital for the second straight day. The latest figure from Saturday indicate there were 722 in hospital with COVID.
Last Monday, there were 693 hospitalizations with 249 in ICU.
Meanwhile, Ontario also reported 1,116 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, though that is an underestimate of the true widespread transmission of the virus due to testing restrictions. The provincial case total now stands at 1,126,456.
The death toll in the province has remained at 12,256 as no new virus-related deaths were added.
There are a total of 1,098,189 recoveries, which is around 97 per cent of known cases. Resolved cases increased by 1,333 from the previous day.
For vaccinations, of the aged 12 and older population, 90.8 per cent are fully vaccinated. First dose coverage stands at 92.7 per cent. Third dose immunization is at 54.8 per cent — more than 7 million Ontarians have received a booster shot.
For young children aged five to 11, first dose coverage stands at 55.1 per cent with 30.6 per cent who are now fully vaccinated.
Elgin and Oxford
Southwestern Public Health issues updates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, barring holidays.
The health unit reported one new COVID-19 deaths on Monday and 61 additional lab-confirmed cases on Monday
There were five COVID-19 hospitalizations on Monday, with two in intensive care, compared with nine hospitalizations with four in intensive care a week ago.
The test positivity rate for the week of Feb. 27 was 10.4 per cent, down from a revised 11.5 per cent the week prior.
SWPH reported on Monday:
- 11,520 cases (an increase of 61 cases from Friday)
- 221 active cases (a decrease of 10 from Friday)
- 11,147 resolved cases (an increase of 70 from Friday; note that SWPH clears all cases after 10 days regardless of outcome)
- 152 total deaths to date (an increase of one)
Health unit officials reported one active institutional outbreak at Chartwell Oxford Gardens in Woodstock. Declared March 2, it involves eight resident cases and three staff cases.
As of March 10 80.9 per cent of those aged five and older in the region had received two doses of the vaccine, while 83.7 per cent have had at least one dose.
Southwestern Public Health announced Thursday that it is expecting a limited supply of Novavax vaccine in the coming weeks.
Anyone with questions about the Novavax vaccine or anyone interested in adding their name to a wait-list for the vaccine is asked to contact SWPH at 1-800-922-0096 ext. 9.
“Those who speak Low German can press ext. 1 for the St. Thomas location and 2 to leave a message,” SWPH said.
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 Monday, Huron Perth Public Health reported one patient in hospital due to COVID-19, with 53 new cases from the day before. Last Friday, HPPH said there were three COVID patients in hospital with one case considered active.
In total, HPPH has reported 5,853 cases (an increase of 53) and 94 deaths to date (unchanged).
For the week of Feb. 27, the test positivity rate was 7.9 per cent, up from 7.7 per cent a week prior.
HPPH reported 731 total cases among health-care workers since March 2020, an increase of nine from Friday.
As of March 14, 84.2 per cent of residents aged five and older have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose while 81.1 per cent have received two.
Third-dose coverage stands at 52.5 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 seven patients in hospital with confirmed COVID-19 as of Monday, with one in the ICU. Last Monday, Bluewater Health had five patients in hospital with COVID with one in the ICU.
The region’s average ICU occupancy sat at 38 per cent for the week of Feb. 27, down from 63 per cent for the week of Feb. 20, health officials said.
Lambton Public Health releases case information on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
The health unit reported one death and 26 cases on Monday, for a total of 129 deaths and 10,024 cases.
Only one congregate setting outbreak remains active, at Vision Nursing Home long-term care home in Sarnia. It was declared March 7 and involves 10 resident cases and fewer than five staff or visitor cases.
The test positivity rate for the week of Feb. 27 was 11.6 per cent, down from a revised 13.4 per cent for the week of Feb. 20.
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 and Jacquelyn LeBel
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