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One person has died and 38 others have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit reported on Wednesday.
The update brings the region’s pandemic case tally to 5,760, of which 3,831 have recovered, an increase of just four from the previous day.
At least 176 people have died during the pandemic.
The death reported on Wednesday involved a man in his 80s who was associated with a long-term care home. The death is the first to be reported so far this month.
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Of the 38 new cases Wednesday, 34 are from London, health unit figures show. Two are from Middlesex Centre, one is from Lucan Biddulph, and one is from North Middlesex.
Those infected skew younger for the most part, with 42 per cent of cases involving people under 40.
Seven are aged 19 or younger, eight are in their 20s, six are in their 30s, four are in their 40s, five are in their 50s, four are in their 60s, and two each are in their 70s and 80s or older.
While exposure source data isn’t available for 16 cases, at least 12 are listed as being due to close contact, while six have no known link, and four are outbreak-related.
Health officials continue to warn that despite the recent downward trend in new cases, cases could spike again if people fail to follow pandemic measures, especially as concerns mount over more contagious variants.
According to the province, the London and Middlesex region has seen at least four cases involving the B.1.1.7 variant, first discovered in the U.K.
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The region’s seven-day case average stood at 33.14 on Wednesday while the 14-day average was 36.57.
At least 4,999 cases have been reported in London during the pandemic, followed by 241 in Middlesex Centre.
Elsewhere, Strathroy-Caradoc has reported 192 cases; Thames Centre, 95; Lucan Biddulph, 49; Southwest Middlesex, 36; North Middlesex, 28; Adelaide Metcalfe, 13; and Newbury, two. At least 105 cases are pending location data.
People under the age of 40 have accounted for roughly 54 per cent of the region’s overall caseload. People in their 20s account for 23 per cent.
Hospitalizations
The number of COVID-19 patients in the care of London Health Sciences Centre stood at 17 as of Wednesday, a decline of two from the day before.
The number in critical or intensive care, however, remained unchanged at nine.
Active staff cases within the organization also remain unchanged at 13. An outbreak at University Hospital’s emergency department has been tied to 10 staff cases, unchanged since last week.
No COVID-19 patients were listed as being in the care of St. Joseph’s Hospital.
St. Joseph’s Health Care London reported three active staff cases, all linked to an outbreak at Mount Hope, and one active case involving a patient of Parkwood’s Mental Health Care Building.
At least 340 people have been hospitalized during the pandemic, the health unit says. Of those, at least 66 have been placed in intensive care.
Institutional outbreaks
Three institutional outbreaks have been resolved in London and Middlesex, the health unit says.
The outbreaks were declared on Dec. 8 at Country Terrace, Dec. 22 at Mount Hope Centre for Long-Term Care, and on Jan. 5 at Oneida Long-Term Care Home.
All three were deemed over as of late Tuesday.
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The deadly Country Terrace outbreak was responsible for the deaths of at least 25 residents at the 120-bed facility, provincial data shows.
The home saw a peak of 28 active resident cases at the facility on Jan. 10 and 11, along with as many as 19 active staff cases days earlier.
As the provincial data only lists the number of active resident and staff cases at the facility on a given day, it’s unclear how many cases cumulatively were reported.
At Mount Hope, five resident deaths were reported, and a peak of 15 active resident cases and 23 staff cases were reported on Jan. 15, according to the provincial data.
At Oneida Long-Term Care, the provincial data says fewer than five resident and staff cases were reported, along with no deaths.
Since March 2020, the region has seen at least 94 institutional outbreaks in London and Middlesex, including 68 at local seniors’ facilities.
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As of Wednesday, seven institutional outbreaks remain active in the region, including six at seniors’ facilities and one at University Hospital.
Active outbreaks (as of Feb. 3) at seniors' facilities, as declared on:
- Jan. 30 at Henley Place LTC Residence (Victoria unit)
- Jan. 27 at Kensington Village Retirement (5th, 6th, and 7th Avenue)
- Jan. 8 at Chelsey Park Retirement Community (third and fifth floors)
- Jan. 2 at Chelsey Park (long-term care – facility-wide)
- Dec. 26 at Extendicare (facility-wide)
- Dec. 23 at Middlesex Terrace (facility-wide)
According to LHSC, the outbreak at University Hospital’s emergency department is tied to 10 staff cases, unchanged from the day before.
An outbreak is also still active at Elgin-Middlesex Detention Centre, linked to as many as 42 cases involving 25 staff and 17 inmates, as of Monday.
No cases had been found to be linked to coronavirus variants, Dr. Chris Mackie said Monday.
Schools
The number of confirmed school cases in London and Middlesex has risen by two, after the Thames Valley District School Board reported both a new case and a since-resolved case that was not previously identified as a school case.
The most recent case was reported late Tuesday at Kensal Park French Immersion Public School, the board said. It’s the only active case in London and Middlesex under both the Thames Valley and London District Catholic school boards.
The older case, reported on Jan. 22, was not initially determined to be a school case, but has since been listed as being linked to Montcalm Secondary School.
At the time, the board said the health unit’s investigation “found no close contacts in the school and no evidence that the individual contracted the virus while at school.”
However, on Wednesday, school board officials said the health unit had since acknowledged the person with the case should have been classified a school case, “given the individual was at school while communicable.”
The health unit says the person was at school “briefly,” adding that “staff noted the illness and ensured isolation protocols were implemented immediately. Because of the staff’s diligence, there were no close contacts.”
Health officials say that moving forward, any person who is at school while communicable will be classified as a case, will be reported to the school community, staff, parents, and guardians, and will be listed on the health unit’s list of active school cases.
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Locally, elementary students were allowed to return to class on Monday, with high schools opening on Thursday. It comes with a stricter mask mandate, more stringent screening protocols, and expanded access to asymptomatic testing, details of which are still limited.
The province was set to announce later Wednesday whether schools in regions hardest hit by COVID-19 can reopen next week for in-person learning.
The decision will follow a recommendation from the province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams.
The province has previously said that schools in five COVID-19 hot spots, as well as several other regions, would reopen for in-person learning by Feb. 10.
Earlier this week, Dr. Chris Mackie, the region’s medical officer of health, said it wouldn’t be surprising if cases were confirmed this week involving school staff and students, noting a policy that sees those with symptoms tested for the virus.
“That doesn’t mean they’re acquired in school. … Anything that tests positive this week, for example, almost certainly was acquired prior to the opening of schools,” he said.
Vaccinations and Testing
London’s Western Fair District Agriplex vaccination clinic will reopen Monday after being closed since Jan. 22.
The clinic was temporarily closed due to supply issues with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and concerns over dwindling local stock.
In a statement Wednesday, the health unit said the clinic was able to reopen thanks to the renewed delivery of the Pfizer vaccine to the facility.
Health officials add that in keeping with provincial direction, health-care workers who have been waiting for their follow-up dose will begin to receive them.
“All those whose second dose appointments were cancelled will be contacted directly to reschedule,” a health unit release said.
The news comes days after Dr. Chris Mackie, the region’s medical officer of health, announced that health unit teams had begun attending long-term care and high-risk retirement homes to give residents their second doses. All residents received their first shots by Jan. 29.
According to the health unit, some 10,477 shots were administered at the Agriplex clinic between Dec. 23 and Jan. 22, while another 3,850 were doled out at long-term care and retirement homes between Jan. 11 and 29.
On Tuesday, the province said it expected to receive about 80 per cent fewer doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine over the first two weeks of this month, with shipments set to return nearly to previously expected levels beginning Feb. 15.
Ontario also expects to receive approximately 20 per cent fewer Moderna shots this week.
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In addition to the Agriplex clinic, the health unit is still aiming to open three more clinics later this month, according to a draft vaccination plan released late last month.
The goal, the plan says, is for as many as 3,000 people to be vaccinated per day through the clinics, which will operate seven days a week.
The health unit says mobile clinics will also allow vaccines to be moved out to those unable to get to the clinics, such as long-term care and retirement home residents, those living in shelters and group homes, and those who are housebound.
In the third phase of the province’s three-phase vaccine rollout, officials say primary care settings and pharmacies will play critical roles in the broader distribution of the vaccine.
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Both of the city’s COVID-19 assessment centres, which are still operating on an appointment model, continue to see steady, albeit lower turnout compared to early January.
Carling Heights reported an average of 289 visits per day between Jan. 25 and 29, while Oakridge Arena reported an average of 264.
Between Jan. 11 and 15, Carling Heights reported an average of 462, while Oakridge saw 331.
Officials with the Thames Valley Family Health Team have attributed the slump to several factors, including the province’s stay-at-home order and the ceasing of testing for travel.
Ontario
Ontario reported 1,172 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday but officials note that updates to the provincial case-management system are causing data fluctuations.
Public health officials say migration of the City of Toronto’s data to the provincial database is leading to data cleanup that’s affecting daily tallies.
Health Minister Christine Elliott said Wednesday that there are 444 new cases in Toronto, 199 in Peel Region and 110 in York Region.
Ontario is also reporting 67 more deaths linked to the virus.
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More than 52,400 tests were completed since Tuesday’s daily report.
Another 3,716 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered since the province’s last daily report.
A total of 348,331 doses of a vaccine have been administered in Ontario so far.
There have been 272,097 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ontario since the pandemic began, and 6,305 deaths.
— This story will be updated.
— With files from The Canadian Press