There has been another double-digit jump in new COVID-19 cases reported in London and Middlesex County.
The Middlesex London Health Unit said on Wednesday 13 more people tested positive for the virus. That is up from eight Tuesday and is the first time daily cases have climbed above ten since last Thursday when 16 infections were logged. Since the start of the pandemic, the region has recorded a total of 1,167 COVID-19 cases.
Two additional people have recovered from the virus, increasing the area's number of resolved cases to 1,047. Currently, there are 59 active cases in the city and county.
There were no new COVID-19 linked deaths over the last 24 hours, leaving the death toll at 61. The last death connected to the virus in London-Middlesex was reported on Monday.
Outbreaks continue to be reported at three local seniors' facilities - Chartwell Royalcliffe Retirement Residence, Henley Place LTC Residence, and Strathmere Lodge.
Under the province's new five-tiered system for COVID-19 shutdowns, the London region is in the prevent or green category. That means it has an infection rate of fewer than ten cases per 100,000 people with only highest risk settings remaining closed.
Elgin and Oxford saw a drop in new cases on Wednesday. Southwestern Public Health, the health unit for the two counties, reported just five new infections. That is down from 20 on Tuesday, many of which were connected to a farm in Bayham. The total case count now stands at 362, with 308 cases resolved and five deaths. There has not been a COVID-19 related death in the region since July. Forty-nine cases remain active.
Ontario logged close to 1,000 additional cases Wednesday.
Public health officials said there were 987 new infections, a slight decrease from Tuesday's record high 1,050 cases. The average number of cases over the past seven days has grown to 972.
Four regions of the province continue to account for the bulk of new infections. They include Toronto with 319 more cases, Peel with 299, York with 85, and Durham with 62. Total cases in Ontario stand at 79,692.
There were 16 additional COVID-19 linked deaths reported Wednesday, increasing the death toll to 3,182. Resolved cases rose to 68,189, with 945 recoveries confirmed since Tuesday.
The number of infected Ontarians in hospital has risen to 367. Of those, 75 are in the intensive care unit and 45 are relying on ventilators to breathe.
In the last 24 hour period, nearly 28,600 more COVID-19 tests were processed across the province.
