COVID-19: Middlesex-London Health Unit reports 8 cases, 14 recoveries

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

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Eight new cases were reported by the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) on Thursday for a total of 12,821 cases with 52 active (a decrease of six), 12,538 resolved (an increase of 14) and 231 deaths.

The most recent deaths were reported last Friday, involving a man in his 50s and a man in his 60s.

The number of confirmed variant of concern cases is unchanged from Wednesday at 3,636.

The breakdown of known variant cases is as follows:

• 3,381 cases of the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7), first identified in the U.K.
• 129 cases of the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant, first identified in India
• 120 cases of the Gamma (P.1) variant, first identified in Brazil
• two cases of the Beta (B.1.351) variant, first identified in South Africa
• one case of the Kappa (B.1.617.1) variant, first identified in India
• one case of the Zeta (P.2) variant, first identified in Brazil

There is also one case listed only as B.1.617 and one case listed as B.1.617.3.

A total of 11,587 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in London since the pandemic began, while 380 have been in Middlesex Centre and 334 in Strathroy-Caradoc.

Further information can be found on the health unit’s summary of COVID-19 cases in Middlesex-London page.

Hospitalizations

The London Health Sciences Centre says it is caring for seven inpatients with COVID-19, a decrease of one from Wednesday, with five or fewer of those patients in the intensive care unit.

In an effort to protect the privacy of patients, LHSC only provides specific numbers when there are more than five.

Fewer than five LHSC employees have tested positive for COVID-19.

At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, the organization is reporting no cases involving patients, residents or health-care workers.

Institutional outbreaks

LHSC reported an outbreak at Victoria Hospital’s B7-200 Adult Inpatient Mental Health/PICU unit on Monday.

LHSC said Tuesday that it believes the outbreak is now contained. It is still listed as ongoing as of Thursday and involves fewer than five cases.

Vaccinations and testing

Of residents aged 12 and older, 80.8 per cent have had at least one dose, while 66.9 per cent have received two doses, as of July 31.

According to the MLHU, all deaths reported in the region since June 24 involved people who were entirely unvaccinated.

All hospitalizations involved people who were unvaccinated, not yet protected from vaccination (infection occurred less than 14 days after first dose), or partially vaccinated (infection occurred more than 14 days after first dose but less than 14 days after second dose).

Of all cases reported since June 24, 6.3 per cent (or 18 cases) involve people who were fully 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 locations of testing sites on the health unit’s website.

The test positivity rate in the region was 1.4 per cent for the week of July 25, up from 1.0 per cent for the week of July 18.

Ontario

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Ontario added 213 cases to its provincial tally on Thursday for a total of 551,338 with 1,706 active cases, 540,258 recoveries and 9,374 deaths — an increase of 14 from the previous day, though the province says 12 of the 14 occurred between February and May and were added as a result of a data clean-up.

According to Thursday’s report, 44 cases were recorded in Toronto, 31 in Peel Region, 18 each in Hamilton and York Region, 17 in Windsor-Essex, 14 in Waterloo, 11 in Halton Region and 10 in Middlesex-London (note that the number of cases may not align with counts reported by local health units on a given day).

The province says 80.7 per cent of residents age 12 and older have had at least one dose of vaccine while 70.5 per cent are fully immunized.

Elgin and Oxford

Southwestern Public Health added three cases to its tally on Thursday and five recoveries.

The total case count sits at 3,975 with 36 active cases, 3,855 resolved and 84 deaths.

Of the 36 active cases, 15 are in Woodstock, eight are in St. Thomas and five are in West Elgin. Per-municipality case counts can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

No one is currently hospitalized with COVID-19, according to SWPH.

The number of variant of concern cases climbed by six — all Delta — to 889, with 766 of those listed as the Alpha variant, 72 the Delta), and 51 the Beta.

There are no active institutional outbreaks reported in the region.

The region’s test positivity rate was 1.4 per cent for the week of July 25, up from 0.5 per cent for the week of July 18.

As of Aug. 3, SWPH says 79.2 per cent of its residents aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 65.2 per cent have had two doses.

Information on where to get vaccinated, vaccine eligibility, and booking and cancelling appointments can be found on the health unit’s website.

People can also add their names on a weekly basis to the health unit’s same-day vaccination list, also known as the Cancellation List.

Select pharmacies in the region are also continuing to offer COVID-19 vaccine shots.

Huron and Perth

Global News is awaiting Huron Perth Public Health’s COVID-19 case count and test positivity data for Thursday, though vaccination data has been updated.

As of Wednesday, HPPH reported a total of 1,945 cases with eight listed as active, 1,880 recoveries and 57 deaths. There were 362 confirmed variant of concern cases.

Six of the eight active cases were in Stratford and there was one each in South Huron and Perth South. Case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

No one was listed as hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday and there were no active outbreaks reported in the region.

The region’s test positivity rate was 1.0 per cent for the week of July 18, up from 0.9 per cent for the week of July 11.

HPPH’s vaccine dashboard showed that as of Thursday, 78.1 per cent of those aged 12 and older have had at least one vaccine dose, while 68.5 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Starting this week, HPPH is providing “more options to make it easier for residents to get vaccinated, including walk-ins, evening hours, pop-up locations and a drive-thru clinic.” Further information can be found on the health unit’s website.

Information on pharmacies offering COVID-19 vaccine can be found on the province’s website.

Sarnia and Lambton

Lambton Public Health reported two cases and one recovery on Thursday, for a total of 3,640 cases with two active cases, 3,570 resolved and 68 deaths.

The most recent death, involving someone in their 70s, was reported last Monday.

The number of confirmed variant of concern cases remains at 685.

According to Bluewater Health, there are currently no patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Lambton Public Health is not reporting any active outbreaks in the region.

The region’s test positivity rate was 0.82 per cent for the week of July 25, up from 0.36 per cent for the week of July 18.

As of Thursday, 76.5 per cent of adults have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 69.6 per cent are fully vaccinated.

LPH says mass vaccination clinics will begin winding down this month and appointments scheduled for after Aug. 10 will be cancelled.

Residents who are able to get vaccinated on short notice are encouraged to sign up for Lambton Public Health’s daily Vaccine Standby List.

Residents can book and re-book COVID-19 vaccine appointments using the health unit’s registration page. People can also call the vaccine call centre at 226-254-8222.

Information on pharmacies offering COVID-19 vaccines can be found on the province’s website.

— with files from Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues