There was just one new case of COVID-19 reported in London and Middlesex County on Friday, the second day in a row the total number of infections has gone up by one.
The Middlesex London Health Unit said one additional person tested positive over the last 24 hours and is only the third person in the region to contract the virus in the last five days. The region's total number of cases since the start of the pandemic now sits at 642.
One more local also recovered from COVID-19, increasing the total number of resolved cases to 571.
There has not been a death associated with the virus in London or Middlesex since June 12, leaving the death toll at 57.
In Elgin and Oxford counties, there have not been any new confirmed cases in nearly a week. Southwestern Public Health, the region’s health unit, said on Friday the total number of cases remains at 87. of those cases, 97 per cent are considered resolved.
The two counties' death toll is unchanged at five, with no deaths reported since July 3.
London-Middlesex, Elgin and Oxford were among the many municipalities in Ontario allowed to enter Stage 3 of reopening on Friday. The third phase of the province's economic recovery allows indoor dining at restaurants and bars to resume and people to workout at the gym, or take in a movie at the theatre. Playgrounds have also been permitted to open after being closed for nearly four months.
For the second straight day, Ontario is reporting 111 new cases of COVID-19.
The is the exact number of new infections confirmed across the province on Thursday, following a slight drop to 102 on Wednesday.
Twenty-eight of Ontario’s 34 public health units reported five or fewer cases on Friday, with 18 of them reporting no new cases at all.
Ontario's total case count is now 37,274.
The number of deaths related to the virus has gone up by nine to 2,746 since the start of the pandemic.
Recoveries across Ontario are also up again over the past 24 hours to 33,162.
When announcing the daily numbers, Health Minister Christine Elliott was quick to note people need to continue to protect themselves from the virus by wearing face masks.
"Most of Ontario enters Stage 3 today. As we do, please continue to practice physical distancing and wear a face covering when doing so is a challenge, such as safely visiting a favourite local store," Elliott tweeted.
