Six people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials with the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported Monday.
The new cases bring the region’s total case count to 756, of which 678 people have recovered. Fifty-seven people have died, most recently on June 12.
There are at least 21 known active cases in the region. The last time six new cases were reported in London and Middlesex was on Aug. 18.
All six are in their 20s and from London, health unit figures show. Four are men and two are women.
The health unit reported five cases on Sunday, including four people in their 20s. Two cases were reported on Saturday, both involving people in their 20s, along with one recovery.
Read more:
Coronavirus outbreak declared as 5 Western University students test positive
At least two of Monday’s cases involve Western students. They’re among five students of the university who tested positive for the virus over the weekend, including three on Saturday.
As a result, the health unit declared a community COVID-19 outbreak on Sunday, saying it was anticipating additional cases as health officials continued contact tracing.
According to the health unit, the students have not attended class or on-campus activities and “live in the community,” however, they did have “a number of interactions” at bars and restaurants in the city’s downtown, as well as interactions with other students in neighbouring housing units.
It’s not clear what establishments the students visited and when. The health unit says it’s advising anyone who may have frequented clubs, bars and restaurants in the downtown to monitor themselves for symptoms.
People in their 20s make up the region’s largest age group of cases, accounting for 170, or just over 22 per cent of the region’s case total. People in their 50s make up 113 cases, while people 80 and above make up 108.
Read more:
Patron of London, Ont., nightclub tests positive for coronavirus
The student-linked cases are the latest in the city to be tied in some way to downtown bars and eateries.
Over the weekend, Lost Love Social House, a nightclub located near Richmond and Carling streets, announced on Facebook that it would close for a deep clean after a patron who attended the venue on Wednesday notified management that they had tested positive for the virus.
It wasn’t clear when the nightclub planned to reopen, but the Facebook post stated that staff would undergo COVID-19 testing and would self-isolate until their results came back. Other patrons who visited the club on Sept. 9 were also being encouraged to get tested.
Just a day earlier, the health unit announced a patron of El Furniture Warehouse, a bar and restaurant on Richmond Row, had tested positive.
The individual had attended the establishment between midnight and 2 a.m. on Labour Day Monday. While the risk to other customers was assessed as low, other patrons who were there within that timeframe were being advised to monitor for symptoms.
More than 100 students lined up at the on-site #COVID19 testing centre at @WesternU this morning following the declaration of a community outbreak. 5 cases among Western students have been reported so far #LdnOnt pic.twitter.com/eDhlaymPmQ
— Andrew Graham (@andrewjwgraham) September 14, 2020
News of the confirmed Western cases, along with the cases at Lost Love and El Furniture Warehouse, prompted long lines at the university’s on-campus testing trailer on Monday.
The trailer opened last week and runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Lines were also long at the health unit’s COVID-19 assessment centres. More than 100 vehicles could be seen lined up around the block waiting to get into the Oakridge Arena assessment centre Monday morning.
Similar lines were also reported at the Carling Heights location, both on Monday and over the weekend. The facility is the only assessment centre open on weekends.
Monday also marked the return to school of many students with the region’s public school board.
At 11:35 a.m., the health unit tweeted that wait times at the two assessment centres were between three and four hours.
NOTICE: We’re experiencing a high volume of people seeking testing at London’s COVID-19 Assessment Centres at Oakridge Arena and Carling Heights. #LdnOnt #Middlesex
If you’re a #WesternU student, please consider visiting the @WesternU COVID-19 testing trailer. /1 https://t.co/BcBrQf2F1U
— MLHealthUnit (@MLHealthUnit) September 14, 2020
Read more:
Canadians must remain vigilant against coronavirus to avoid another lockdown, Trudeau says
At least 700 of the region’s cases have been reported in London, while 26 have been in Strathroy-Caradoc and 12 in Middlesex Centre.
Seven cases have been in Thames Centre, six in North Middlesex, four in Lucan Biddulph and one in Southwest Middlesex.
As of Monday, the region’s seven-day average for new cases stands at 2.7, up from 1.28 on Friday. Looking back 14 days to Aug. 31, the average is 1.71.
The region’s cases per 100,000 rate stands at 149.0 as of Monday, while Ontario’s is 299.4.
Read more:
Ontario ‘losing ground’ in the fight against COVID-19, hospital association warns
One institutional outbreak remains active in the region as of Monday. The outbreak, on the fourth floor of Chelsey Park Retirement Community, was declared active Sept. 9.
There have been at least 28 outbreaks declared during the pandemic, including 22 at local seniors’ facilities. Outbreaks are tied to 191 of the region’s cases and 35 of its deaths.
Outbreaks, including those not involving seniors’ homes, are the largest transmission source, linked to 259 cases.
At least 115 people have had to be hospitalized during the pandemic, including 32 who have needed to be admitted to intensive care, according to the health unit.
It’s not clear how many, if any, hospitalized cases are currently active as health officials have not made that information readily available. London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) only says the number of hospitalized cases currently is “five or less.”
Ontario
Provincially, Ontario reported 313 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday and one death.
There were also 133 cases newly marked as resolved over the past 24 hours.
The total number of cases in Ontario now stands at 44,817, which includes 2,816 deaths and 39,974 cases classified as resolved.
Health Minister Christine Elliott says nearly 80 per cent of Ontario’s cases are from three regions.
Read more:
Ontario reports 313 new coronavirus cases marking largest increase since early June
She says Toronto is reporting 112 cases, while 71 are in Peel and 60 are in Ottawa.
Elliott says almost 70 per cent of Monday’s cases are in people under the age of 40.
The province says Monday that one student and one staff member have also tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to 15 school-related cases.
The head of the Ontario Hospital Association is warning that increasing COVID-19 case rates could lead to another provincial lockdown.
OHA president Anthony Dale says the province’s accelerating infection rates in Toronto, Peel and Ottawa could spread to the rest of Ontario if people don’t respect public health guidelines.
Elgin and Oxford
Two people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, officials with Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) reported on Monday.
The update brings the region’s total confirmed case count to 258, of which 248 people have recovered. Five people have also died, a tally that has not changed since July 3.
At least five cases are known to be active in the region, according to the health unit. Four of the cases are in Woodstock while one is in Bayham.
Three cases involve people in their 20s, while one involves a person in their 50s and one a person in their 60s. Health unit figures show the active cases involve four men and one woman.
It’s not clear how all of the individuals became infected. The health unit says at least one case is linked to workplace exposure.
Read more:
Next pandemic will be ‘more damaging’ if lessons aren’t learned from COVID-19, panel says
Health officials reported no change on Sunday, one case on Saturday, and one case and one recovery on Friday.
By municipality, Aylmer has reported the largest number of cases with 82 — an incident rate equivalent to 1,094 cases per 100,000 people, compared to St. Thomas which has reported 37 cases and has an incident rate of 95.1 per 100,000.
Bayham has reported 38 cases, Woodstock 26, Tillsonburg 25, Dutton/Dunwich 10 and Norwich eight.
Testing figures were not immediately available.
The health unit says the region’s test per cent positivity rate was zero as of the week of Aug. 30.
Huron and Perth
Updated figures from Huron Perth Public Health were not yet available as of publishing time.
The health unit does not issue updates on the weekend. On Friday, the region’s total case count stood at 124, with 117 recoveries. Five people have died.
There were at least two known active cases in the region.
Read more:
Trudeau cabinet to discuss economic recovery as coronavirus cases spike across Canada
At least 45 cases have been reported in Perth County, including 16 in North Perth and 15 in Perth East.
Elsewhere, at least 44 cases have been reported in Huron County, including 13 in Central Huron, 12 in Bluewater and 10 in South Huron.
In Stratford, 29 cases have been reported, along with four deaths, while in St. Marys, six cases and one death have been reported.
People in their 20s remain the largest group of cases by age with 26, followed by people in their 50s and 60s with 22 each.
Sarnia and Lambton
No new cases, deaths or recoveries were reported late Sunday by health officials with Lambton Public Health.
The total number of confirmed cases reported in the region remains at 343, of which 314 people have recovered. Twenty-five people have also died, most recently in early June.
There are at least four known active cases in the region. It’s unclear where the cases are located in the county, as the health unit has refused to release such information, including about past cases.
One new case was reported late Saturday, and no change was reported late Friday.
Read more:
Trump holds indoor campaign rally in Nevada despite coronavirus threat
There are no active outbreaks in the region. At least 10 have been reported during the pandemic, including eight at seniors’ homes, one at Bluewater Health and one at an unspecified workplace.
The outbreaks are linked to 109 of the region’s cases and 16 of its deaths. A majority of those cases, and all 16 deaths, occurred at Landmark Village and Vision Nursing Home.
The health unit says at least 24,948 tests have been received as of late Sunday and at least 1.4 per cent of tests are coming back positive.
— With files from Kelly Wang and The Canadian Press