The Middlesex London Health Unit has recorded its first COVID-19 death this month as the number of active cases across the region rose to a level not seen since mid-June.
A woman in her 60s, who was not associated with a seniors' facility, became the area's 232 death associated with the virus over the weekend. She is the first person to die from COVID-19 locally since July 30, when two deaths were reported on the same day.
The woman's death comes as single-day case numbers continue to increase. Since Friday, there have been 58 new infections logged in the region - 17 on Monday, 21 on Sunday, and 20 on Saturday. Daily case counts have now been in the double-digits for five straight days. The health unit releases three days worth of data on Mondays as it no longer reports COVID-19 figures on weekends.
The area’s total case count now stands at 12,974 since the pandemic began.
Resolved cases in the city and county are up by 25 to 12,627. Currently, there are 115 active cases in the region. The last time active cases rose above 100 was on June 17 when there were 109.
There were 16 additional cases involving variants of concern identified in the region since Friday, increasing the total to 3,663. The Alpha B.1.1.7 variant, which originated in the U.K., accounts for 3,381 of the cases. There are 121 cases of the Gamma P.1. variant from Brazil, two cases identified as the Beta B.1.351 variant from South Africa, and 171 cases of the B.1.617 variant that originated in India. There are 190 cases that have tested positive for a mutation.
There is an outbreak at Grand Wood Park Retirement Residence in London after two fully vaccinated residents there contracted the virus. One was hospitalized, while the other was placed in isolation at the home. An outbreak was also declared over the weekend at a Richmond Row restaurant and bar. The health unit said it confirmed 15 infections linked to Delilah’s at 209 John St. as of Saturday. Anyone who visited the establishment between August 5 and 7 is advised to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19.
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is reporting an increase in the number of patients with COVID-19 in its care. Currently, there are eight COVID-positive patients admitted to the hospital, up from six on Friday. Five or fewer of those patients are listed in intensive care. The LHSC currently has fewer than five staffers who have tested positive for the virus.
Thirteen more walk-in, pop-up vaccination clinics are planned this week for people who still need either their first or second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The health unit run clinics are for anyone aged 12 or older. The first two will be held Monday at Ealing Public School at 840 Hamilton Rd. and Kensal Park Public School at 328 Springbank Dr. This week's pop-ups will also see the region's first 'Doses Till Dark on Richmond Row' clinics. It will be held in the parking lot at the corner of Richmond and Angel streets from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. To see the full list of pop-up vaccination clinics in London and Middlesex County click here.
Of the 364 people in the London region who have contracted the virus over the past six weeks, 64 per cent were not vaccinated, 22 per cent were partially vaccinated, 2.2 per cent had received the vaccine but it had not yet taken effect, and 11.8 per cent were vaccinated. The unvaccinated account for 84.6 percent of local hospitalizations and 100 percent of the virus related deaths.
The number of new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Elgin and Oxford counties was 12 on Monday. That number includes infections identified both Saturday and Sunday, as Southwestern Public Health does not update its COVID-19 dashboard on weekends. The latest cases bring the two counties total case count to 4,025. There were no additional deaths recorded over the past three days, leaving the death toll unchanged at 84. There are currently no active institutional outbreaks locally. The health unit said the total number of resolved cases in the area is 3,913, leaving 28 known active cases. As of Sunday, 80.4 per cent of all people in the two counties 12 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine, 70.7 per cent have been given both shots.
Provincially, daily cases remained above 500 for a fifth consecutive day.
Public health officials reported 525 new infections on Monday. That is up from 511 on Sunday, but down from 578 on Saturday. Last Friday and Thursday also saw single-day case counts of 510 and 513.
Of the 526 cases recorded on Monday, 353 were reportedly among unvaccinated people, 60 involved partially vaccinated people, and 113 were fully vaccinated people.
Regions with the most new cases over the past 24 hours were Toronto with 128, Peel Region with 83, and York Region with 66.
The province’s total case count since the start of the pandemic now sits at 556,087.
According to the province’s daily epidemiologic summary, Ontario identified four more cases of the B.1.1.7. variant, or Alpha as it is known, since the previous day for a total of 145,692. There was one additional case of the P.1 variant, Gamma, to bring the total to 5,178, and the number of new cases of the B.1.351 variant, Beta, was unchanged to leave the total at 1,493. There were 63 more cases identified as the B.1.617 (Delta) variant, originally found in India, increasing the total to 6,245.
No additional COVID-19 related deaths were reported over the past 24 hours. The province’s death toll remains at 9,418.
At hospitals in Ontario, there are 108 patients with COVID-19. That is up ten from the previous day. The total number of patients in the intensive care unit is up by three to 119 and the number of patients on ventilators is up by three to 92. ICU numbers include patients who previously tested positive for COVID-19 but have since recovered and remain due to other complications.
The number of resolved cases rose by 321 to 542,797. There are currently 3,872 known active cases of the virus in Ontario, up from 2,375 a week ago.
In the last 24 hour period, 15,784 COVID-19 tests were processed. Ontario’s current positivity rate sits at 2.7 per cent.
The province has administered 20,213,876 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, as of Sunday night, that includes 26,033 doses administered over the past 24 hours. There have been more than 9.5 million people in Ontario who have received their second dose of the vaccine to be considered fully inoculated.
