COVID-19: Middlesex-London reports 10 cases, Southwestern Public Health adds 22

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

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The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported 10 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.

The total number of cases now stands at 14,582, with 89 active cases (a decrease of two), 14,247 recoveries (an increase of 12) and 246 total deaths (unchanged).

The latest death, reported Nov. 2, involved a woman in her 70s not associated with a long-term care or retirement home. She was unvaccinated.

Of the 89 active cases, 28 involve kids aged 11 or under at a rate of 43.5 cases per 100,000 population. That cohort that is not yet eligible for vaccination.

The age group with the largest number of active cases is among the 40-64 age group with 32 active cases, though the rate of active cases per 100,000 population is less than half that of those under 12, at 20.0 per 100,000 population.

Information on local variant of concern data can be found by visiting the health unit’s summary of COVID-19 cases in Middlesex-London page and clicking on the “Case Status” tab.

Hospitalizations

As of Wednesday, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) was caring for nine inpatients with COVID-19.

There were five or fewer inpatients in adult critical care or the intensive care unit.

There were five or fewer inpatients with COVID-19 in Children’s Hospital and zero in pediatric critical care.

Five or fewer staff have currently tested positive for COVID-19.

St. Joseph’s Health Care London (SJHCL) reported two non-outbreak cases involving health-care workers.

Outbreaks

The MLHU is reporting a facility-wide outbreak at Richmond Woods retirement home, declared Nov. 9.

An outbreak at Wilberforce Public School, declared Oct. 28, was declared over Nov. 9.

Schools

The following schools have active cases associated with them, according to the MLHU:

• Ashley Oaks Public School (one case)
• École élémentaire catholique Frère André (one case)
• London Waldorf School (one case)
• Matthews Hall Independent School (one case)
• Notre Dame Catholic School (two cases)
• St. John French Immersion School (one case)
• St. Nicholas Senior Catholic School (one case)
• St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School (two cases)
• St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School (one case)
• Valleyview Central Public School (one case)
• Wilberforce Public School (three cases)
• Wilfrid Jury Public School (one case)

The health unit says at least 216 cases have been reported since the start of the school year involving elementary and secondary schools, as well as child-care and early years centres.

Vaccinations and testing

As of end of day Nov. 6, 89.5 per cent of eligible residents (12 and older) have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine while 86.2 per cent are fully immunized.

Since Sep. 28, unvaccinated individuals have accounted for 57.29 per cent of all cases (or 287 of 501 cases) and 73.33 per cent of all hospitalizations (11 of 15).

Of the six COVID-19-related deaths reported in the last six weeks, four involved people who were unvaccinated, one involved an individual who was fully vaccinated and one involved someone who was partially vaccinated.

On the health unit’s website, residents can find information on pop-up clinics, mass vaccination clinics and pharmacies; guidance for anyone vaccinated outside of the province or country; transportation support for those in need; and more.

Anyone looking to be tested for COVID-19 can find information about the locations of testing sites on the health unit’s website.

The latest COVID-19 test positivity rate in the region was 1.0 per cent for the week of Oct. 31, down from 1.6 per cent for the week of Oct. 24.

Ontario

The province reported 454 cases on Wednesday, of which 211 involved unvaccinated individuals.

According to Wednesday’s report, 43 cases were recorded in Ottawa, 42 in Toronto, 38 in Simcoe Muskoka, 34 in York Region, 33 in Peel Region, 29 in Sudbury, and 26 in Niagara. All other health units reported fewer than 25 new cases.

Nine more deaths were recorded.

Among those eligible, 85.1 per cent of people in the province are fully vaccinated.

Elgin and Oxford

On Wednesday, Southwestern Public Health reported:

• 4,868 total cases (an increase of 22 with a previous case removed due to data cleanup)
• 131 active cases (a decrease of three)
• 4,642 resolved cases (an increase of 16)
• 95 deaths to date

Further details can be found on SWPH’s COVID-19 dashboard.

The most recent death was reported Tuesday and involved a woman in her 50s from Elgin County. It was the first death reported this week but the fourth death reported in the last two weeks.

Of the 131 active cases in the region, 58 were in Elgin County (including 27 in Aylmer) and 73 were in Oxford County (including 37 in Woodstock).

SWPH does not disclose the vaccination status of individuals but told Global News that roughly 78 per cent of active cases involve individuals who are not fully vaccinated.

Eleven people were hospitalized with COVID-19 with five in the ICU as of Wednesday. There were no active institutional outbreaks.

Information on school cases can be found on the websites of the Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board.

The region’s test positivity rate was 5.1 per cent for the week of Oct. 31, up from 3.6 per cent for the week of Oct. 24.

On Nov. 9, 83.8 per cent of those aged 12 and older in the region were fully vaccinated while 86.8 per cent have had at least one dose.

Information on where and how to get vaccinated can be found on the health unit’s website.

Huron and Perth

As of Wednesday, Huron Perth Public Health reported:

• 2,411 total cases (an increase of 10)
• 55 active cases (an increase of 12)
• 2,289 recoveries (an increase of seven)
• 67 deaths to date (unchanged)

Among the 55 active cases, 16 were in Perth East and 15 in Stratford. Full case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

There were two people hospitalized with COVID-19 and two active cases involving health-care workers, as of Wednesday.

HPPH reported three outbreaks, though there were no long-term care home, retirement home or hospital outbreaks as of Monday.

An outbreak at Milverton Public School in Perth East was declared Oct. 27 and involves one staff case and 16 student cases.

The other two outbreaks involve workplaces. No further information was provided.

Data on school cases can be found on the websites of the Avon-Maitland District School Board and the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board.

The region’s test positivity rate was 2.7 per cent for the week of Oct. 31, up from 2.3 per cent for the week of Oct. 24.

HPPH’s vaccine dashboard showed that as of Nov. 8, 82.1 per cent of those aged 12 and older were fully vaccinated while 85.2 per cent have had at least one dose.

Information on how and where to get a vaccine can be found on the health unit’s website.

Sarnia and Lambton

On Wednesday, Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported:

• 4,250 total cases (an increase of four)
• 43 active cases (a decrease of six)
• 4,136 resolved cases (an increase of 10)
• 71 deaths to date

The most recent death was reported Oct. 28 and involved someone who was in their 90s.

Seven COVID-19 patients were in the care of Bluewater Health as of Wednesday.

LPH reported four active outbreaks in total:

• Brigden Public School, declared Nov. 4 and involving five cases
• Bluewater Health hospital, declared Nov. 5 and involving fewer than five patient cases and fewer than five staff cases
• a workplace outbreak declared Oct. 31, involving three cases
• a workplace outbreak declared Nov. 9, involving two cases

All active cases at schools within the Lambton Kent District School Board can be found online, as can cases at schools within the St. Clair Catholic District School Board.

The test positivity rate for the week of Oct. 31 was 3.8 per cent, up from 2.5 per cent the week prior.

Among area residents aged 12 and older, 80.8 per cent are fully vaccinated and 83.9 per cent have had at least one 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 call 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’ Sawyer Bogdan and Gabby Rodrigues