COVID-19: MLHU reports 1 death and 50 cases, 35 COVID-19 inpatients at LHSC

Jump to: Hospitalizations – Cases and testing – Outbreaks – Vaccinations – Ontario – Elgin and Oxford – Huron and Perth – Sarnia and Lambton

Hospitalizations

London Health Sciences Centre reported Tuesday that it was caring for 35 inpatients with COVID-19, with five or fewer in adult critical care. Last Tuesday, LHSC was caring for 45 COVID-19 patients 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. The same figures were reported last Tuesday.

Of the 35 inpatients with COVID-19, 14 are being treated for COVID-19 while 21 are being treated for something other than COVID-19 but were found to have an incidental infection.

At least 158 staff cases are currently active at LHSC, compared to 130 a week ago.

At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, officials reported 50 active cases among health-care workers along with one patient or resident case in the Parkwood Institute’s Main Building. Last Tuesday, St. Joseph’s reported 54 staff cases and three patient cases.

Cases and testing

On Tuesday, the MLHU reported one death and 50 new lab-confirmed cases. The death involved a woman in her 90s not associated with a long-term care home or retirement home.

A week ago, the MLHU reported two deaths and 62 cases. So far in March, there have been six COVID-19-related deaths in the region. 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 health unit says there have been 32,753 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. At least 664 are active (unchanged) while 31,756 have resolved (an increase of 72). A total of 353 deaths have been reported (an increase of one).

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.

The MLHU announced Tuesday that, starting March 21, it will hold COVID-19 media briefings once a week, a change from the current twice-a-week schedule.

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Outbreaks

LHSC has 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:

• • Chelsey Park, fourth floor – A, B and C wings, declared March 4
  • Chelsey Park Retirement Community, facility-wide, declared March 4
  • Horizon Place, facility-wide, declared Feb. 24
  • Middlesex Health Alliance (Four Counties acute care nursing unit), declared March. 12

A facility-wide outbreak at Ashwood Manor, declared Feb. 22, was listed as over as of March 14.

Vaccinations

The MLHU provided updated vaccination data on Tuesday.

As of the end of day March 12, 90.8 per cent of residents aged five and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine (unchanged from a week prior), while 87.7 per cent have had two (up from 87.5 the week prior).

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For third doses, 50.5 per cent of people five and older have received a booster, up from 50.2 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 60.3 per cent, up from 60.1 per cent a week earlier, while 44.4 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

The province reported 688 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Tuesday with 220 in ICUs. A week ago, those figures were 779 and 246, respectively.

Of the 688 in hospital, 49 per cent were admitted because of COVID-19 while the rest were admitted for another reason but tested positive for COVID-19. Of those in the ICU, 77 per cent were admitted because of COVID-19.

The province also reported 1,076 new lab-confirmed cases, though that is an under-estimate when factoring in widespread transmission combined with restrictions on testing.

Sixteen more COVID-19-related deaths were also reported, bringing the pandemic total to 12,272.

Elgin and Oxford

Southwestern Public Health issues updates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, barring holidays.

The health unit reported one new COVID-19 death 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.

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.

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Huron and Perth

Global News is awaiting Tuesday’s data from Huron Perth Public Health.

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-19 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.

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Sarnia and Lambton

Bluewater Health reported six patients in hospital with confirmed COVID-19 as of Tuesday, with none in the ICU. Last Tuesday, Bluewater Health reported the same figures.

The region’s average ICU occupancy sat at 38 per cent for the week of March 6.

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 Sawyer Bogdan