COVID-19: Middlesex-London Health Unit reports 14 cases, death of man in his 70s

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 14 COVID-19 cases and one death on Wednesday.

The death involved a man in his 70s who was not associated with a long-term care or retirement home. Based on available data for the vaccination status of deceased individuals in the last six weeks, it’s believed the man was unvaccinated.

The region’s total case count has risen to 14,324, with 13,985 recoveries (an increase of 18), 95 active cases (a decrease of five) and 244 deaths.

The total number of cases involving a variant of concern stayed the same at 4,280. The breakdown of known variant cases is as follows:

• 3,384 cases of the Alpha variant
• 766 cases of the Delta variant
• 124 cases of the Gamma variant
• two cases of the Beta variant
• one case of the Kappa variant
• one case of the Zeta variant

There are also two cases listed using the old code numbers, one described as B.1.617 and another listed as B.1.617.3.

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

Hospitalizations

London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is caring for nine inpatients with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, a decrease of one from Tuesday.

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

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

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

St. Joseph’s Health Care London (SJHCL) reported one non-outbreak case involving a health-care worker.

Outbreaks

As of Wednesday, there were no active outbreaks in the region involving long-term care homes, retirement homes or hospitals.

There is one active school outbreak at Our Lady of the Pillar Academy, declared Oct. 18.

A previously reported outbreak at Providence Reformed Collegiate, declared Oct. 14, is listed as over as of Oct. 19.

Schools

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

• Caradoc Public School (one case)
• Clarke Road Secondary School (two cases)
• Covenant Christian School (two cases)
• Our Lady of the Pillar Academy (three cases)
• Providence Reformed Collegiate (three cases)
• St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School (one case)
• Wilfrid Jury Public School (one case)

There are two active COVID-19 cases associated with child-care or early years centres, with one case at London Children’s Connection: Caradoc – Before and After School and one case at Noshin’s Kids Care.

The health unit said at least 135 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

The latest vaccination update says as of Oct. 16, 84.1 per cent of residents aged 12 and older are fully vaccinated and 88.3 per cent have had at least one dose.

Since Sept. 8, unvaccinated individuals have accounted for 64.3 per cent of all cases (or 434 of 675 cases) and 62.07 per cent of all hospitalizations (18 of 29).

Meanwhile, 26.96 per cent of all cases (or 182 of 675 cases) involved those who were fully vaccinated while 31.03 per cent of all hospitalizations (nine of 29) involved individuals who were fully vaccinated.

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

Of the nine COVID-19-related deaths reported in the last six weeks, four 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 1.7 per cent for the week of Oct. 3, unchanged from the week of Sept. 26.

Ontario

The province reported 304 cases Wednesday — the 10th consecutive day with a case count under 500 and the lowest daily case count since 213 cases were reported Aug. 5.

Of the 304 cases, 198 involved unvaccinated individuals, 10 were partially vaccinated, 84 were fully vaccinated and for 12 people the status was unknown.

According to Wednesday’s report, 46 cases were recorded in Toronto, 24 in Sudbury, 22 in York Region, 21 in Windsor-Essex, 20 in Hamilton, 19 in Ottawa, and 15 in Durham Region. All other health units reported fewer than 15 cases.

Four more deaths were also recorded.

Among those eligible, 83.4 per cent are fully immunized.

Elgin and Oxford

On Wednesday, Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) reported:

• 4,534 total cases (an increase of 14)
• 80 active cases (an increase of four)
• 4,364 resolved cases (an increase of 10)
• 90 deaths to date
• 1,386 variant of concern cases (an increase of 12, all Delta), with 774 Alpha, 558 Delta and 54 Beta or Gamma

Of the 80 active cases in the region, 33 were in Elgin County (including 11 each in Aylmer and St. Thomas) and 47 were in Oxford County (including 14 in Norwich Township, 12 in Tillsonburg and eight in Woodstock).

The most recent death was reported Tuesday and involved a woman in her 80s from Elgin County.

Four people are hospitalized with COVID-19 with two cases in the ICU as of Wednesday.

An outbreak declared Oct. 3 at Elgin Manor in St. Thomas, involving two resident cases and two staff cases, is now over.

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 2.9 per cent for the week of Oct. 3, up from 2.5 per cent a week earlier.

As of Oct. 19, 82.5 per cent of those aged 12 and older in the region were fully vaccinated while 86.4 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

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

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

• 2,288 total cases (an increase of four)
• 27 active cases (a decrease of one)
• 2,195 recoveries (an increase of five)
• 66 deaths to date (unchanged)

Among the 27 active cases, 11 were in North Perth and five in Morris Turnberry. Full case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

There were no patients hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, nor were there any active cases involving health-care workers.

HPPH reported five outbreaks, though there were no long-term care home, retirement home or hospital outbreaks.

Two of the outbreaks involved schools:

• Huron Christian School in Clinton, declared Oct. 8 and involving six student cases
• Stratford District Christian School in Stratford, declared Oct. 8 and involving two students

The other outbreaks were listed as a community outbreak, a congregate living setting outbreak and a workplace outbreak. No further details were 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 2.3 per cent for the week of Oct. 3, down from 2.6 per cent the week of Sept. 26.

HPPH’s vaccine dashboard showed that as of Oct. 18, 80.3 per cent of those aged 12 and older were fully vaccinated while 84.4 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:

• 4,107 total cases (an increase of 19)
• 88 active cases (an increase of seven)
• 3,949 resolved cases (an increase of 12)
• 70 deaths to date (unchanged)
  

LPH reported a total of 586 variant of concern cases. Of that total, 439 have been Alpha, 129 have been Delta and 18 have been Gamma.

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

LPH reported active outbreaks at two unidentified workplaces, declared on Oct. 3 and Oct. 8, linked to four and two cases, respectively.

Three outbreaks linked to schools are active, one at Confederation Central Public School, declared Oct. 12, and linked to fewer than five cases.

The two other active outbreaks were declared on Oct. 14 at Cathcart Boulevard Public School and Gregory A. Hogan Catholic School, both linked to fewer than five 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. 3 was 3.6 per cent, down from 3.7 per cent the week prior.

Among those aged 12 and older, 79.1 per cent are fully vaccinated and 82.9 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’ Gabby Rodrigues and Sawyer Bogdan