The Middlesex London Health Unit is reporting fewer than 20 new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row.
Just 17 new infections were logged on Tuesday, one less than the previous day. It is also the ninth consecutive day the region has seen daily case counts below 50.
The latest daily figures bring the area’s total case load since the pandemic began to 12,247.
There has not been a COVID-19 related death reported in the region since Saturday. That leaves the death toll unchanged at 219.
Another 14 cases have been identified as variants of concern for a total of 3,044. There are 2,992 variants of concern that have been confirmed as the B.1.1.7 strain, which originated in the U.K. and 49 have tested positive as the P.1. variant from Brazil. The region has also had two cases of the B.1.617 variant which originated in India and one case of the B.1.351 strain from South Africa. There are 375 cases that have tested positive for a mutation.
There were 42 recoveries logged over the last 24 hours to bring the total number of resolved cases to 11, 794. Currently, there are 234 active cases in the city and county.
There are just two ongoing outbreaks at local seniors’ facilities – Kensington Village and Kensington Village Retirement.
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) has 31 patients with COVID-19 in its care, nine of whom are listed in intensive care. COVID-19 patients transferred into the LHSC from harder hit regions of the province include fewer than five acute care patients and fewer than five ICU patients.
As of Saturday, there have been 282,178 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered in the region, which works out to 60.6 percent of all area residents aged 18 and older having received at least one dose. Mayor Ed Holder called the figures "very encouraging." He urged all those who are eligible to receive the vaccine to book their appointment. Vaccine appointments can be booked online at www.covidvaccinelm.ca or by phone at 226-289-3560 between 8 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. daily.
In Elgin and Oxford counties, there were four new cases reported Tuesday. Southwestern Public Health said that brings the total caseload since last spring to 3,795. There has not been a COVID-19 related death in the region in a week, leaving the death toll at 80. Resolved cases rose to 3,666 with 49 known active cases in the two counties remaining. Roughly 48 per cent of area residents have had one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 2.5 per cent have received both doses. There are no active outbreaks locally.
Ontario’s daily case count fell to its lowest level in nearly eight months.
Public health officials logged 699 new infections across the province on Tuesday. Daily case counts have not been this low since October 18, 2020 when 658 infections were confirmed. This is also the province's second straight day with a new single-day case count below 1,000. There were 916 new cases reported on Monday.
The downward trend comes one day before the province's stay-at-home order is due to expire.
Toronto had the province’s highest daily number of cases over the past 24 hours with 207, followed by Peel with 144, York Region with 52, and Durham with 50.
Ontario’s total case count since the start of the pandemic now stands at 532,158.
The province has confirmed 762 more cases of the variant first discovered in the U.K., known as B.1.1.7, for a total of 126,707. The number of cases of the variant first associated with South Africa, known as B.1.351. is up by one to 949. There are 45 more cases involving the variant first found in Brazil, known as P.1. for a total of 2,867. The epidemiologic summary does not list data surrounding the B.1.617 variant, originally found in India.
There were nine additional deaths reported over the past two days. The provincial death toll is now 8,766.
There are currently 804 people with COVID-19 being treated at Ontario hospitals, an increase of 73 since Monday. COVID-19 related admissions to the intensive care unit are down by 34 to 583 and there are 387 patients on ventilators.
The number of resolved cases rose to 511,703. There are currently 11,689 active cases of the virus in Ontario.
In the last 24 hour period, 20,262 COVID -19 tests were processed. That is up from 18,226 the previous day and brings the province’s positivity rate to 3.6 per cent.
To date, the province has administered 9,202,220 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 739,722 people having received both shots required to be fully inoculated.
