Another COVID-19 related death was reported in the London region Monday as daily cases crept back up to near 30.
The Middlesex London Health Unit said there were 27 new infections recorded over the past 24 hours. That is up from eight on Sunday and 25 on Saturday. Cases were higher on Friday when 29 were reported. Since mid-February, the number of infections logged daily has ranged between the single-digits and low 30s.
A total of 6,310 cases have been reported in the city and county since the pandemic began. The health unit said there have been four confirmed variant and 21 variant screened positive cases in the region.
Sixteen more people recovered from the virus to bring London and Middlesex County's total resolved numbers up to 5,978. Currently, there are 147 known active cases.
One additional death was also confirmed on Monday. The health unit said a woman in her 70s, who did not live in a seniors facility, succumbed to the virus. Her death is the second to be recorded this month. The region's death toll now stands at 185.
Outbreaks remain at six local long-term care and retirement facilities, three area schools, and one residence at Western University. Cases at elementary and secondary schools in the London region have grown to 12, with six schools reporting infections. The Thames Valley District school board confirmed its first case involving a COVID-19 variant on Sunday. A student at Saunders Secondary tested positive for a "variant of concern," although it hasn't been specified which strain. Another case of COVID-19 was reported at Bonaventure Meadows Public School. The newest case marks the elementary school's fifth active infection. Both schools remain open.
Daily cases were up slightly Monday in Elgin and Oxford counties. Southwestern Public Health, the health unit for the two counties, reported eight new infections for a total case count of 2,577. The minor increase comes after the region recorded three new case Sunday and five Saturday. The death toll is unchanged at 67 with no additional deaths reported since February 20. There is now a second area seniors facility reporting the presence of the virus. Maples Retirement Home in Tavistock joins Bethany Care Home Norwich in reporting a single resident care. The health unit said the total number of resolved cases in the counties is 2,449, leaving 61 known active cases.
Provincially, the number of new cases reached the highest level seen since early February.
Public health officials logged 1,631 new infections across the province Monday, a jump from 1,299 on Sunday. In fact ,the last time daily cases climbed above 1,600 was February 5 when 1,670 infections were reported. However, the spike in cases was the result of data catch-up related to the province's case and contact management system, public health officials noted.
Regions with the most new cases Monday were Toronto with 568, Peel with 322, and York Region with 119.
According to the province’s daily epidemiologic summary, there were 51 more confirmed cases of the U.K. variant, known as B.1.1.7 to bring the total to 879. The number of lab confirmed cases of the South African variant, B.1.351, rose by eight to 39. There were nine more cases of the Brazil variant, P.1. for a total of 17.
The province’s total case count since the start of the pandemic now sits at 309,927.
Ten deaths were reported over the past 24 hours, to increase the province’s death toll to 7,077.
At hospitals in Ontario, there are 626 patients with COVID-19. Of those, 282 are in intensive care and 184 are on ventilators.
The number of resolved cases rose to 291,834. There are currently 11,016 known active cases of the virus in Ontario.
In the last 24 hour period, 38,063 COVID-19 tests were processed. Ontario’s current positivity rate is 3.4 per cent.
The province has administered 912,486 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since Sunday night. There are 273,676 people in Ontario who have received their second dose of the vaccine to be considered fully inoculated.
