The London region reported another 80 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, as vaccine eligibility was expanded to include an additional age group.
The number of new infections confirmed by the Middlesex London Health Unit over the past 24 hours nearly matches the 81 cases recorded on Wednesday.
The region's total case count since the pandemic began is now 11,426.
The death toll was unchanged at 210. There has not been a COVID-19 related death in the region since Sunday when two deaths were reported.
Hospitalizations in the area continue to decline with 63 COVID-19 patients admitted to the London Health Sciences Centre. That is down from 71 on Wednesday. There are 33 COVID-19 patients listed in intensive care at the LHSC. Of the 63 in hospital with the virus, 30 were transferred to London from overwhelmed hospitals in other regions of the province – seven in acute care and 23 in intensive care.
There were 125 more cases involving variants of concern in London and Middlesex County, for a total of 2,323. Of those, 2,302 have been identified as the B.1.1.7 from the U.K., 20 are the P.1. variant from Brazil, and one is the new B.1.617 strain from India. The health unit also noted 296 cases have tested positive for a mutation.
Active outbreaks remain at four area seniors’ facilities and two child care centres.
There were 90 more recoveries reported over the past 24 hours to bring the number of resolved cases to 10,410. Currently, there are 806 active cases in the region, 100 fewer than this time last week.
As of Thursday, vaccine eligibility in the city and county expanded to include those aged 40 and older. It was the second time this week eligibility was opened up to more Ontarians. On Tuesday, people with health issues deemed "at risk" and essential workers from group two of Ontario’s phase two vaccine rollout plan were allowed to begin booking appointments to get the shot. Anyone eligible for the vaccine can book their appointment online at www.covidvaccinelm.ca or by calling 226-289-3560 daily between 8 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
The number of new cases in Elgin and Oxford counties decreased on Thursday to 16. Southwestern Public Health said the latest cases bring the two counties total caseload to 3,608. There was one additional COVID-19 related death in the region to bring the death toll to 78. The total number of resolved cases stands at 3,398, leaving 132 known active cases in the two counties. An outbreak at Caressant Care Nursing Home in Woodstock now has one death associated with it. Four residents and six staff members there have contracted the virus. The only other active outbreak in the area is at Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital, where 14 patients and five workers have tested positive. There is one death linked to the hospital outbreak.
Provincially, another unfortunate milestone was hit as Ontario's total case count surpassed 500,000.
Public health officials said there were 2,759 new cases on Thursday. That is an increase from the 2,320 logged on Wednesday and the 2,073 recorded on Tuesday.
Regions with the most new cases were Toronto with 774, Peel with 602, York Region with 258, Durham with 147, and Hamilton with 133.
The province’s total case count since the start of the pandemic now sits at 502,171.
According to the province’s daily epidemiologic summary, Ontario identified 2,737 cases of the B.1.1.7. variant over the past 24 hours for a total of 101,232. Forty-four more cases of the P.1 variant were found for a total of 1,727, while the number of new cases of the B.1.351 variant went up by six for a total of 574. The daily epidemiologic summary does not currently list the B.1.617 variant, originally found in India.
Thirty-one deaths were reported on Thursday, to increase the province’s death toll to 8,405.
At hospitals in Ontario, there are 1,632 patients with COVID-19, a decrease of 44. Of those in hospital, 776 are in intensive care and 568 are on ventilators.
The number of resolved cases rose to 464,531. There are currently 29,235 known active cases of the virus in Ontario.
In the last 24 hour period, 47,638 COVID-19 tests were processed. Ontario’s current positivity rate is down to 5.7 per cent from 6.4 per cent on Wednesday.
The province has administered 6,629,363 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, as of Wednesday night. There have been 407,600 people in Ontario who have received their second dose of the vaccine to be considered fully inoculated.
Ontario's stay-at-home order was extended for an additional two weeks. Premier Doug Ford announced on Thursday the order would remain in place until at least June 2. It had been set to expire next week.
