COVID-19: Middlesex-London Health Unit reports 11 cases Thursday

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 11 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, for a total of 14,451 cases.

Of those, 127 are active (a decrease of one), 14,079 are recovered (an increase of 12) and 245 people have died (unchanged).

The most recent death was reported Oct. 21 and involved a man in his 70s who was not associated with a long-term care or retirement home and who was fully vaccinated but eligible for a third dose due to a suppressed immune system.

Of the 127 active cases, 44 involve kids 11 or under, a cohort that is not yet eligible for vaccination. The rate of active cases among that age group is 68.3 per 100,000 population.

The next highest rate of active cases involves those aged 12 to 17, at 27.2 cases per 100,000 population (or nine active cases).

Since Sept. 12, the MLHU says all of the variant of concern cases in the region have been the Delta variant except for one case in which they were unable to generate sequencing. Total counts by the type of variant of concern can be found on the health unit’s summary of COVID-19 cases in Middlesex-London page and clicking the “Case Status” tab.

Hospitalizations

London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) was caring for six inpatients with COVID-19 as of Thursday.

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

There were zero in patients with COVID-19 in Children’s Hospital and, as a result, zero in pediatric critical care.

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

St. Joseph’s Health Care London (SJHCL) reported three non-outbreak cases involving health-care workers, an increase of one from Wednesday.

Outbreaks

The MLHU is not reporting any active outbreaks in the region involving long-term care homes, retirement homes or hospitals.

During Thursday afternoon’s media briefing, associate medical officer of health Dr. Alex Summers confirmed that the health unit was investigating a possible outbreak at London Health Sciences Centre’s Victoria campus in the obstetrics unit, involving two cases.

However, LHSC has since confirmed to Global News that “in light of new information obtained through contact tracing,” an outbreak will not be declared at this time.

“Enhanced surveillance remains in effect,” a spokesperson added.

The MLHU is reporting that the following schools are experiencing outbreaks:

• Our Lady of the Pillar Academy, declared Oct. 18
• Clara Brenton Public School, declared Oct. 23
• Covenant Christian School, declared Oct. 23
• St. Nicholas Senior Catholic School, declared Oct. 24

Schools

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

• Ashley Oaks Public School (two cases)
• Clara Brenton Public School (two cases)
• Covenant Christian School (five cases)
• John P. Robarts Public School (one case)
• Kensal Park Public School (two cases)
• Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts (one case)
• Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School (two cases)
• Mountsfield Public School (one case)
• Oakridge Secondary School (one case)
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School (one case)
• Our Lady of the Pillar Academy (one case)
• Providence Reformed Collegiate (one case)
• St. Nicholas Senior Catholic School (three cases)
• Wilberforce Public School (two cases)
  

There is only one active case associated with child-care or an early years centre, at Kidventures in London.

The health unit said at least 177 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 the end of day on Oct. 23, 84.9 per cent of eligible residents were fully vaccinated while 88.8 per cent have had at least one dose.

When it comes to COVID-19 cases, MLHU data shows most cases involve individuals who have not been vaccinated, even though they make up a smaller proportion of the population.

Since Sept. 16, unvaccinated individuals have accounted for 60.56 per cent of all cases (or 370 of 611 cases) and 70.83 per cent of all hospitalizations (17 of 24).

The rest of the cases and hospitalizations involved individuals who were fully vaccinated, partially vaccinated or not yet protected by vaccination.

Of the eight COVID-19-related deaths reported in the last six weeks, three involved people who were unvaccinated, two involved individuals who were fully vaccinated, two involved people who were partially vaccinated and one involved someone who was not yet protected by vaccination.

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 1.8 per cent for the week of Oct. 17, up from 1.1 per cent for the week of Oct. 10.

Ontario

The province reported 409 COVID-19 cases Thursday, of which 220 involved unvaccinated people, 16 involved partially vaccinated individuals, 144 were fully vaccinated and 29 had an unknown status.

According to Thursday’s report, 54 cases were recorded in Toronto, 45 in Peel Region, 25 in York Region, 27 in Ottawa and 26 in Sudbury. All other health units had fewer than 25 cases.

Three more deaths were reported.

Among those 12 and older, 84.2 per cent are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Elgin and Oxford

On Thursday, Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) reported 10 cases and said that one case was removed due to data cleanup.

In total, SWPH is reporting:

• 4,644 total cases
• 88 active cases (an increase of one)
• 4,465 resolved cases (an increase of eight)
• 91 deaths to date (unchanged)
• 1,470 variant of concern cases (an increase of 22, all Delta), with 775 Alpha, 641 Delta and 54 Beta or Gamma

The most recent death was reported Oct. 27 and involved a woman in her 70s from Oxford County.

Of the 88 active cases in the region, 38 were in Elgin County (including 19 in Aylmer and eight in St. Thomas) and 50 were in Oxford County (including 21 in Woodstock, eight in Tillsonburg and seven in Ingersoll).

Three people are hospitalized with COVID-19 with two cases in the ICU. There are no active institutional outbreaks as of Thursday.

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 3.9 per cent for the week of Oct. 17, up from an adjusted 3.5 per cent for the week of Oct. 10.

On Oct. 26, 82.5 per cent of those aged 12 and older in the region were fully vaccinated while 86.0 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

On Thursday, Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) reported:

• 2,323 total cases (an increase of eight)
• 31 active cases (an increase of six)
• 2,225 recoveries (an increase of two)
• 67 deaths to date (unchanged)

Among the 31 active cases, 22 are in Perth East. Full case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

There is one patient hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Thursday and there were two active cases involving health-care workers.

HPPH is reporting two outbreaks, though there were no long-term care home, retirement home or hospital outbreaks as of Thursday.

The outbreaks involve:

• Huron Christian School in Clinton, declared Oct. 8 and involving seven student cases.
• Milverton Public School in Perth East, declared Oct. 27 and involving one staff case and seven student cases.

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 1.2 per cent for the week of Oct. 17, down from 2.2 per cent for the week of Oct. 10.

HPPH’s vaccine dashboard showed that as of Oct. 24, 81.0 per cent of those aged 12 and older were fully vaccinated while 84.7 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 Thursday, Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported:

• 4,164 total cases (an increase of six)
• 52 active cases (a decrease of three)
• 4,041 resolved cases (an increase of eight)
• 71 deaths to date (an increase of one)

The death involved someone who was in their 90s.

LPH reported a total of 608 variant of concern cases, an increase of four, all Delta. Of those, 439 have been Alpha, 151 have been Delta and 18 have been Gamma.

Four COVID-19 patients were in the care of Bluewater Health as of Thursday.

LPH is reporting two active outbreaks on Thursday, both in schools:

• Queen Elizabeth II Public School Petrolia, declared Oct. 22 and involving fewer than five cases
• Cathcart Boulevard Public School, declared Oct. 14 and involving fewer than five cases

A previous outbreak at Gregory A. Hogan Catholic School, declared Oct. 14 and involving fewer than five cases, was listed as resolved as of Oct. 27.

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. 17 was 3.8 per cent, down from 5.2 per cent the week prior.

Among area residents aged 12 and older, 79.8 per cent are fully vaccinated and 83.3 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’ Jessica Patton