A man in his 50s and a woman in her 30s are the latest in the London region to succumb to COVID-19.
The Middlesex London Health Unit reported the man’s death in its noon hour data release on Thursday, while the death of a woman was reported by Medical Officer of Health Dr. Chris Mackie during Thursday afternoon's COVID-19 media briefing.
According to Dr. Mackie, neither the man or the woman were fully vaccinated.
The local death toll now stands at 235.
Twenty-seven new COVID-19 cases were logged on Thursday. That is down slightly from Wednesday's 30 new cases, but is up from Tuesday's 22 cases, and Monday's 13 cases. Double-digit daily case counts have been the norm in the area since August 12.
The total number of cases locally since the pandemic began is now 13,430, according to the health unit.
Hospitalizations in the area are down by three with ten COVID-19 patients admitted to the London Health Sciences Centre. There are currently five or fewer COVID-19 patients listed in intensive care and five staffers who have tested positive for the virus.
No additional COVID-19 cases have been linked to an outbreak at the Total Package Hockey Day Camp in London. That outbreak was first declared on August 20 after three individuals tested positive. All other day camps and child care settings in the region are outbreak free.
The number of resolved cases is up by 45 to 12,970. Currently, there are 226 active cases in the region, down 19 from the previous day.
The number of cases involving variants of concern in London and Middlesex County has gone up by 2 to 3,923. Both new cases were identified as the Delta variant for a total of 408 locally. The number of cases of the Alpha variant, Gamma variant, and Beta variant were unchanged leaving those totals at 3,385, 124, and two.
Of the 685 new COVID-19 cases to be reported in the region over the past six weeks, 84 per cent were among people who were not yet fully vaccinated against the virus or had not reached full immunity. As of August 28, 82.8 per cent of all local residents 12 and older have received one dose of the vaccine and 75.8 per cent have been given both shots.
Ahead of the long weekend, the health unit has shared tips on social media on how to celebrate safely. They include participating in activities with only members of your own household such as walking, biking, hiking, gardening, and going to splash pads or playgrounds. Unsafe long weekend activities include indoor gatherings with people outside of your household - especially with those who aren't vaccinated.
Get outside this #LabourDay ? long weekend! It’s the best way to celebrate the end of summer with friends and family, while protecting yourself and loved ones from the Delta variant. Here are some tips to stay safe. ⬇️ #LdnOnt #Middlesex
— MLHealthUnit (@MLHealthUnit) September 1, 2021
Eight new COVID-19 cases were logged Thursday in Elgin and Oxford counties, up from four new infections recorded on Wednesday. Southwestern Public Health’s total caseload has now increased to 4,090. Two cases were removed from the region's total case count and shifted to another health unit during a data cleanup. The death toll remained at 85, with no additional COVID-19 deaths reported. The total number of resolved cases stands at 3,977 and there are 28 known active cases locally.
Provincially, the daily number of COVID-19 cases has hit a high not seen since early June.
Public health officials said there were 865 new cases on Thursday. That is up from the 656 infections logged on Wednesday, 525 cases recorded on Tuesday, and 694 cases on Monday. Thursday's case count is the highest recorded in the province in a single-day since June 4 when 914 cases were logged.
Of the 865 new cases identified on Thursday, 540 were among unvaccinated individuals and 88 were people who were partially vaccinated, 173 were fully vaccinated individuals, and 64 had an unknown vaccination status.
Regions with the most new cases over the past 24 hours were Toronto with 175, Peel Region with 104, York Region with 91, and Hamilton with 89.
The province’s total case count since the start of the pandemic now sits at 567,071.
According to the province’s daily epidemiologic summary, Ontario identified 84 new cases of the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) variant over the past 24 hours for a total of 146,425. Cases of the P.1 (Gamma) variant and B.1.351 (Beta) variant were unchanged at 5,222 and 1,501. There were 451 new cases involving the B.1.617 (Delta) variant for a total of 10,994.
Fourteen additional deaths related to the virus were reported on Thursday. Four of those deaths occurred in the last week, while the remaining ten occurred more than a week ago, the Ministry of Health said. The province’s death toll is currently 9,530.
At hospitals in Ontario, there are 320 people with COVID-19 on general wards, a decrease of 19 from the previous day. The number of people in the intensive care unit went down by one to 162 and there are 137 people on ventilators – an increase of two from Wednesday.
Of those on general hospital wards with COVID-19, 292 are not fully vaccinated or their vaccination status is unknown and 28 have received both doses.
The number of resolved cases rose by 681 to 551,510. There are currently 6,031 known active cases of the virus in Ontario.
In the last 24 hour period, 27,293 COVID-19 tests were processed. Ontario’s positivity rate is now 3 per cent.
The province has administered more than 20.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, as of Wednesday night. There are more than 9.9 million people in Ontario who have now received the second dose of the vaccine to be considered fully inoculated.
