Twelve people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in London and Middlesex and two people have recovered, officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported Wednesday.
It’s the third time in the last seven days health officials have reported a single-day case jump in the double digits. Fourteen cases were reported on Sept. 17 while 11 were announced on Sept. 16.
It brings the region’s total case count to 824, of which 687 have recovered. Fifty-seven have also died, a tally unchanged since June 12.
All 12 cases Wednesday are from London, Ont. Three cases involve people 19 and under, three are in their 20s, one is in their 30s, three are in their 40s, ones in their 60s, and one is in their 70s.
People in their 20s have been tied to at least 38 of the 92 cases reported this month in London and Middlesex. People 19 and under account for at least 29 cases.
No new cases were reported Wednesday involving elementary or secondary schools in the region. One case has been reported in London and Middlesex involving a student at H.B. Beal Secondary School.
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It’s not clear how many, if any, of the 12 cases involve post-secondary students.
On Tuesday, health officials announced one case involving a Fanshawe College student — two in total have been reported — as well as two involving Western University students.
At least 49 cases have been reported over the last week and a half involving students from the university, linked in large part to gatherings at bars and private residences, according to the health unit.
Health officials have declared at least two community outbreaks since Sept. 13 that have been associated with Western students.
One is linked to a large house party held last weekend, while the other, dubbed “Western Student Outbreak Alpha” by the health unit, has been largely traced back to three households, with gatherings at a downtown nightclub and off-campus residences serving as main infection points.
Both of those outbreaks have infected at least 17 people each.
A third community outbreak was also declared at a northwest London Walmart after three staff members tested positive.
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The city’s two dedicated COVID-19 assessment centres have been swamped daily since Western Student Outbreak Alpha was declared, reaching capacity early on several occasions.
On Wednesday, Oakridge Arena hit capacity by 11:30 a.m. and afterward switched to serving clients with designated time cards for the remainder of the day.
On Tuesday, the arena hit capacity around 1 p.m., while Carling Heights followed suit two hours later.
Both facilities have been seeing hours-long wait times this week. Carling Heights has reported wait times of about four hours every day since Saturday, including on Wednesday.
The health unit says the two centres saw a total of 777 clients on Tuesday and 805 on Monday. Carling Heights, the only one open on weekends, saw nearly 800 people over Saturday and Sunday.
Dr. Chris Mackie, the region’s medical officer of health, said Monday it was hoped that pending government announcements regarding Ontario’s plan to fight the virus this fall will see another assessment centre added in London or Middlesex to ease congestion.
The long game, he says, is making testing available to those asymptomatic and those who have not had close contact with a confirmed case through primary care clinics, family doctors’ offices or even pharmacies.
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The number of active outbreaks remained unchanged at two. One outbreak was declared on Monday at Ashwood Manor Retirement Home involving the whole facility.
A separate outbreak, declared Sept. 9, also remained active as of Wednesday on the fourth floor of Chelsey Park Retirement Community.
It’s unclear how many cases are tied to each outbreak, however, seniors’ home outbreaks only account for three of the at least 92 cases reported in the region this month.
At least 29 institutional outbreaks have been declared, including 23 at seniors’ facilities, and have been tied to 193 cases involving residents and staff and 35 deaths.
At least 764 of the region’s cases have been reported in London, while 29 have been in Strathroy-Caradoc and 13 in Middlesex Centre. Seven cases have been in Thames Centre, six in North Middlesex, four in Lucan Biddulph and one in Southwest Middlesex.
The region’s seven-day average for new cases stood at 8.41 on Wednesday. Looking back to Sept. 9, the 14-day average is 6.0.
People in their 20s make up 191 of the region’s cases, or about 23.2 per cent. The age group has accounted for at least 38 of the 92 cases reported this month.
At least 29 of the cases reported this month have involved people 19 and under, an age group that only accounts for 68 of the region’s overall cases.
People in their 50s make up 116 of the regions cases, or about 14 per cent, while those in their 30s and those 80 and above make up 13 per cent of cases with 111 and 109, respectively.
It’s not clear how many, if any, cases in the region are currently hospitalized, as real-time data is not released by the health unit or the city’s largest hospital system.
A total of 115 have been hospitalized, including 32 who have needed intensive care.
Ontario
Provincially, Ontario reported 335 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and three new deaths.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 102 cases reported in Toronto, 79 in Peel Region and 65 in Ottawa.
She says 69 per cent of the new cases are in people under the age of 40.
The province is also reporting 42 new COVID-19 cases related to schools, including at least 21 among students.
Those bring the number of schools with a reported case to 153 out of Ontario’s 4,828 publicly-funded schools.
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The total number of cases in Ontario now stands at 48,087, which includes 2,835 deaths and 41,600 cases classified as resolved.
The latest figures come as the Progressive Conservative government is expected to reveal another part of its fall pandemic preparedness plan Wednesday.
Yesterday Premier Doug Ford announced that the first part of the strategy involved spending $70 million to purchase millions of seasonal flu shots, which he encouraged all residents to get.
Opposition critics slammed the message, saying it wasn’t nearly enough to address rising COVID-19 case numbers across the province.
Meanwhile, the government says it will hire 98 new labour inspectors this fall as part of efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in workplaces at a cost of $11.9 million.
–With files from The Canadian Press