Two men, one in his 50s and the other in his 80s, are the latest two people to succumb to COVID-19 in the London region.
The Middlesex London Health Unit confirmed the two deaths on Tuesday. It is the first time since November 22 there has been a death linked to the virus locally. The man in his 80s was associated with a retirement home, while the man in his 50s was not linked to any seniors' facilities. The health unit did not release the vaccination status of either man.
The region's death toll now stands at 254.
Thirty-three new infections were reported by the health unit on Tuesday, down from 36 the previous day. London and Middlesex County have now recorded over 30 cases each day for the past five days.
The area’s total case count since the pandemic began stands at 15,124.
Resolved cases are up by 14 to 14,595. There are currently 275 active cases locally, up 20 from Monday.
Three London Catholic elementary schools have been closed and the students shifted to online learning due to confirmed or likely Omicron variant COVID-19 cases. The London District Catholic school board confirmed the temporary closures late Monday at St. Marguerite, St. Nicholas, and St. Mary Choir and Orchestra. The schools are expected to reopen on Monday. The Thames Valley District school board is investigating the possible presence of the Omicron variant at Princess Elizabeth Public in London and Delaware Public in Delaware. Both of those schools remain open. There are ongoing outbreaks at seven area schools, the latest of which were declared at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic and Riverside Public. Kidzone Day Care Centre also has an active outbreak.
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) currently has 14 inpatients with COVID-19 in its care, up two since Monday. Five or fewer of those patients are listed in intensive care and five or fewer are in the care of Children’s Hospital. There are currently five or fewer hospital employees who have tested positive for the virus.
As of Saturday, there have been 832,797 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered in the region, which works out to 90.5 per cent of all area residents aged 12 and older having received at least one dose. The percentage of the local population to receive both doses is currently 87.9. Since eligibility for the shot opened up to kids aged 5 to 11 late last month, 23.5 per cent of children in that age group have received their first dose.
Of the 648 people who have contracted the virus locally since October 26, approximately 43.5 per cent were not vaccinated, 2.7 per cent were partially vaccinated, and 52.9 per cent were fully vaccinated. Another 0.8 per cent had the shot but it had not yet begun offering protection. Of those who were hospitalized with the virus over the past six weeks, half were either unvaccinated or had received one dose.
In Elgin and Oxford counties, there were 36 more infections confirmed on Tuesday. That brings Southwestern Public Health’s total number of confirmed infections since the start of the pandemic to 5,559. There were two additional COVID-19 related deaths, to bring the death toll up to 103. Resolved cases rose to 5,253 with 203 known active cases remaining in the area.
Ontario saw its daily COVID-19 case numbers climb back above 900 on Tuesday.
Public health officials recorded 928 new infections over the past 24 hours. That is up from 887 Monday, but down from 1,1184 Sunday, and 1,053 Saturday.
Of the 928 new cases, 424 of the infections reported were among those who had not had a single shot. The partially vaccinated makeup 26 of the new cases, and there were 401 cases involving the fully vaccinated. Another 77 of the cases involved individuals whose vaccination status is unknown.
Ontario’s total case count since the start of the pandemic now stands at 625,312.
There were nine additional deaths reported, bringing the provincial death toll from the virus to 10,036.
There are currently 340 people with COVID-19 being treated at Ontario hospitals, up 203 from Monday. COVID-19 related admissions to intensive care units are down by three to 165 and there are 144 people breathing with the assistance of a ventilator, down five from the previous day. Of those on general hospital wards with the virus, 132 are unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated. Seventy-five are fully vaccinated.
The number of resolved cases rose by 879 to 606,797. There are currently 8,479 active cases of the virus in Ontario.
In the last 24 hour period, 26,136 COVID-19 tests were processed. The province’s positivity rate is now 3.8 per cent, its highest level since late May.
To date, the province has administered 24,076,464 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with more than 11.3 million people having received both shots required to be fully inoculated.
