COVID-19: MLHU reports 3 deaths, LHSC caring for 138 COVID-19 patients, 26 in ICU | Globalnews.ca

Jump to: Hospitalizations – Cases and testing – Outbreaks – Vaccinations – Ontario – Elgin and Oxford – Huron and Perth – Sarnia and Lambton

The Middlesex-London Health Unit reported three deaths and 122 COVID-19 cases on Friday, compared with two deaths and 217 cases last Friday.

All three deaths involved men. One was in his 50s and not associated with a long-term care or retirement home. The other two involved men in their 80s and 90s associated with a long-term care home.

Meanwhile, the London Health Sciences Centre reported 138 COVID-19 inpatients on Friday, with 26 in critical care.

Hospitalizations

As noted, LHSC is caring for 138 COVID-19 inpatients, with 26 inpatients in adult critical care, compared with 145 inpatients with 22 in intensive care units last Friday.

Of the 138, there are five or fewer in Children’s Hospital with five or fewer in pediatric critical care. Last Friday, there were no COVID-19 patients in Children’s Hospital.

Of the 138 patients, 86 are being treated for COVID-19 while 52 others in hospital have incidental COVID-19 infections (meaning they were admitted for another reason).

Among staff, there are 169 cases, down from 189 a week ago.

There are several outbreaks at LHSC. Further information can be found in the Outbreaks section below.

St. Joseph’s Health Care London reported six cases among patients or residents in its care as of Friday and 69 health-care workers with COVID-19. Last Friday, SJHC reported 12 patient/resident cases and 87 cases among health-care workers.

Among the six patient/resident cases, one is at Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care, four are at Parkwood Institute Main Building and one is at Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care.

Cases and testing

As mentioned, the MLHU reported three deaths: a man in his 50s not associated with long-term care or a retirement home, a man in his 80s associated with a long-term care home and a man in his 90s associated with long-term care. Vaccination status was not immediately available.

Friday’s deaths bring the total for February to 13. There have been 16 deaths reported this week.

The MLHU also reported 122 cases Friday. Note that due to changes in eligibility for PCR testing, daily case counts are not considered a fully reliable reflection of COVID-19 activity in the region.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit says individuals who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should consider themselves to be positive for COVID-19 and self-isolate.

The health unit has provided information on what to do if you develop symptoms, test positive on a rapid test or PCR test or have been exposed to someone who has tested positive.

In total, there have been 29,792 confirmed cases since the onset of the pandemic, including 1,670 active cases (a decrease of 65), 27,809 resolved cases (an increase of 177) and 313 deaths (an increase of three).

The test positivity rate for the week of Jan. 23 was 18.9 per cent, down from 21.3 per cent the week before.

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Outbreaks

LHSC is reporting the following outbreaks:

• University Hospital
  • U4 North East and East Corridors, General Medicine, declared Jan. 25, 13 patient cases and nine staff cases
    
  • U10 Subacute Medicine and Palliative Care, declared Jan. 16, involving nine patient cases and five or fewer staff cases
  • A9 Inpatients 100 and 200 Corridors, declared Jan. 11, involving 35 patient cases and 11 staff cases
• Victoria Hospital
  • D6-200 – Nephrology Inpatients, declared Jan. 25, eight patient cases and five or fewer staff cases
  • D6-100 – Acute Medicine, declared Jan. 25, five or fewer patient cases and five or fewer staff cases
    

An outbreak at St. Joseph’s Health Care London’s Parkwood Institute Mental Health Care Building in G3 is no longer listed as active.

The MLHU has declared an outbreak at Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital in 1S, as of Feb. 2.

The hospital said in a statement on Thursday that this was the first time in over a year that it’s experienced an outbreak. Two patients tested positive on the 1 South (Medicine) inpatient unit.

The unit is closed to admissions until further notice and visitors and essential care providers are no longer allowed, except in cases of palliative care patients.

Additionally, the MLHU is reporting the following institutional outbreaks:

• Babcock Community Care Centre, facility-wide, declared Jan. 31
• Chartwell Riverside Retirement Residence, facility-wide, declared Jan. 21
• Chelsey Park, third floor-A Wing, second and fourth floor, declared Jan. 18
• Dearness Home, 3E, declared Feb. 3
• Elmwood Place, Victoria Unit, declared Dec. 27
• Extendicare, first floor and third floor, declared Dec. 24
• Henley Place LTC Residence, Gibbons, Springbank and Harris, declared Dec. 29
• Manor Village at London, 4E, declared Jan. 31
• Meadow Park Care Centre, Blue Unit, declared Jan. 1
• Oneida Long Term Care Home, facility-wide, declared Jan. 28
  
• Queens Village, lower level and second floor, declared Jan. 25; facility-wide declared Jan. 28
• Village of Glendale Crossing, facility-wide, declared Dec. 25
• Waverley Mansion, basement floor, declared Feb. 3

Previously reported outbreaks at Arbor Trace Alzheimer’s Special Care Centre (facility-wide) and Dearness Home (Oakdale) were both declared over on Feb. 3.

Vaccinations

As of the end of day Jan. 29, 89.9 per cent of those aged five and older have had at least one dose, up from 89.6 per cent as of Jan. 22. Two-dose coverage for that cohort sits at 84.9 per cent, up from 83.7 per cent a week prior.

The percentage of people aged five and older who’ve received third doses climbed to 46.1 per cent, up from 43.2 per cent a week prior. Note that those under 18 are not currently eligible for a third dose.

First-dose coverage for those aged five to 11 stands at 57.3 per cent, up from 56.3 per cent.

On Friday, the MLHU’s vaccination status tab of its COVID-19 dashboard stated that “due to the high number of reported cases, the assessment of vaccination status is delayed.”

The MLHU provided data showing the distribution of cases, hospitalizations and ICU admissions since Dec. 10, 2021 by age based on vaccine status from no doses to three doses.

Based on previous data, from Dec. 23 to Feb. 3, 31.15 per cent of hospitalized cases have involved people who were unvaccinated. Note that unvaccinated residents make up only 10.1 per cent of the region’s five-and-older population as of Jan. 29.

In that same timeframe, the MLHU reported 52 COVID-19-related deaths. Of those, 36 involved fully vaccinated individuals and 16 involved unvaccinated individuals.

On the health unit’s website, residents can find information on pop-up clinics, mass vaccination clinics and pharmacies, as well as guidance for anyone vaccinated outside of the province or country, transportation support for those in need and more.

Ontario

Ontario reported 2,634 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Friday, with 517 in ICUs — a decrease of 163 hospitalizations and 24 in ICUs from Thursday. Last Friday, there were 3,535 hospitalizations with 607 in ICUs.

Of the 2,634 in hospital, 54 per cent were admitted due to the virus while the rest were admitted for another reason but tested positive in hospital. In ICUs, 83 per cent were admitted because of the virus.

Ontario also reported 4,047 cases Friday but, as a result of testing restrictions, that is an underestimate.

Sixty more virus-related deaths were reported, bringing the total number of deaths since the pandemic began to 11,711.

Elgin and Oxford

Starting this week, Southwestern Public Health’s COVID-19 cases dashboard is only updated Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, barring holidays.

On Friday, SWPH reported two deaths, both involving women in their 90s. One was from St. Thomas. The other was linked to the outbreak at Caressant Care Bonnie Place Nursing Home.

SWPH reported 27 hospitalizations, up from 25 a week ago. Of the 27, seven are in the ICU. Last Friday, there were eight COVID-19 patients in the ICU.

The test positivity rate for the week of Jan. 23 was 15.9 per cent, down from 17.7 per cent the week prior.

As for cases, SWPH is reporting:

• 10,444 cases (an increase of 146 from Wednesday with 28 cases removed due to data cleanup)
• 605 active cases (a decrease of 35 from Wednesday)
• 9,425 resolved cases (an increase of 272 from Wednesday; note that SWPH clears all cases after 10 days regardless of outcome)
• 142 total deaths to date (an increase of two from Wednesday)
  

There are active outbreaks at the following long-term homes, retirement homes and hospitals:

• Aylmer Retirement Residence, Aylmer, declared Jan. 24, involving one resident case and two staff cases
• Valleyview Nursing Home, St. Thomas, declared Dec. 23, 2021, involving 17 resident cases, 34 staff cases and one death
• Woodingford Lodge, Woodstock, declared Jan. 27, involving three resident cases and three staff cases
• Caressant Care Bonnie Place Nursing Home, St. Thomas, declared Dec. 30 and involving 31 resident cases, 25 staff cases and one death
  
• Seasons Retirement Home, St. Thomas, declared Jan. 25 and involving two resident cases and two staff cases
• Chartwell Aylmer, Aylmer, declared Jan. 2 and involving seven resident cases and 16 staff cases
• Arches Transitional Bed Program, Woodstock, declared Jan. 10 and involving 18 resident cases, 16 staff cases and one death
• Cedarview Living Retirement, Woodstock, declared Jan. 13 and involving 75 resident cases and nine staff cases
• Metcalfe Gardens Retirement Home, St. Thomas, declared Jan. 13 and involving 26 resident cases, nine staff cases and one death
• Beattie Manor Retirement Residency, Wardsville, declared Jan. 17 and involving 16 resident cases and two staff cases
  
• Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital, Tillsonburg, declared Jan. 18 and involving 11 patient cases, two staff cases, one death and one case under investigation
• Maple Manor Nursing Home, Tillsonburg, declared Jan. 18 and involving 34 resident cases and 17 staff cases
• Elgin Manor, St. Thomas, declared Jan. 20 and involving 22 resident cases and 15 staff cases

Previously reported outbreaks at Tillsonburg Retirement Residence in Tillsonburg, Chartwell Oxford Gardens in Woodstock, Secord Trails in Ingersoll and Caressant Care Nursing Home in Woodstock are no longer listed as active.

As of Feb. 2, 79.2 per cent of those aged five and older in the region had received two doses of the vaccine, while 83.1 per cent have had at least one dose.

Further information on where and how to get vaccinated can be found on the health unit’s website.

The health unit encouraged people to join its Same-Day Vaccination List, which offers any leftover doses due to cancellations or no-shows.

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Huron and Perth

Global News is awaiting Friday’s data from Huron Perth Public Health.

On Thursday, Huron Perth Public Health reported seven people were in hospital with COVID-19. Of those, four were considered to be active cases. Last Thursday, HPPH reported eight people in hospital, seven with active cases.

For the week of Jan. 23, the test positivity rate was 11.5 per cent, down from 11.7 per cent the week before.

In total, HPPH reported 5,190 total cases (an increase of 63) and 86 deaths to date (unchanged). The most recent death was reported Feb. 2.

HPPH reported 565 total cases among health-care workers since March 2020, an increase of 13 from Wednesday.

There are seven active outbreaks reported by HPPH, including at the following long-term care or retirement homes:

• Braemar Nursing Home, North Huron, declared Jan. 12 and involving 41 residents and 17 staff cases
• Huronview, Huron East, declared Jan. 21 and involving five resident cases and eight staff cases
• Kingsway Lodge, St. Marys, declared Jan. 3 and involving 19 resident cases and 17 staff cases
• Queensway Nursing Home, Bluewater, declared Jan. 27 and involving 18 resident cases and 12 staff cases

HPPH is also reporting two hospital outbreaks: Clinton Public Hospital in Central Huron, declared Feb. 3, involving two patients; and South Huron Hospital in South Huron, declared Jan. 27, involving 14 patients and four staff members.

There is also one congregate living outbreak reported but no further details were provided.

As of Jan. 31, 84.1 per cent of residents aged five and older have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose while 79.8 per cent are fully vaccinated. Third-dose coverage stands at 49.6 per cent of those five and older, though those under the age of 18 are not eligible for a third dose.

Information on how and where to get a vaccine can be found on the health unit’s website.

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Sarnia and Lambton

Bluewater Health reported 26 patients in hospital with confirmed COVID-19, compared with 41 a week ago. Of those 26, three are in the ICU, compared with five a week ago.

Lambton Public Health is reporting the average ICU occupancy was at 67 per cent the week of Jan. 23, down from 83 per cent for the week of Jan. 16.

The test positivity rate for the week of Jan. 23 was 21.9 per cent, down from 30.8 per cent the week before.

On Friday, Lambton Public Health reported:

• 9,031 total cases (an increase of 69)
• 291 active cases (an increase of three)
• 8,629 resolved cases (an increase of 65)
• 111 deaths to date (an increase of one)

No further details were provided about the death reported Feb. 4.

LPH reported five active outbreaks:

• Fiddick’s Nursing Home long-term care home in Petrolia, declared Feb. 3 and involving fewer than five residents and fewer than five staff members
• Afton Park Place long-term care home in Sarnia, declared Jan. 23 and involving fewer than five resident cases and fewer than five staff cases
• Watford Quality Care long-term care home in Watford, declared Jan. 5 and involving 19 resident cases and 15 staff cases
• Trillium Villa long-term care home in Sarnia, declared Jan. 3 and involving 60 residents and 41 staff/caregivers
• unidentified workplace, declared Jan. 26 and involving nine cases

A previous outbreak at the congregate living setting of Lambton County Developmental Services in Oil Springs, declared Jan. 19 and involving fewer than five residents and fewer than five staff cases, was resolved as of Feb. 3.

An outbreak at Sarnia Jail in Sarnia, declared Jan. 8 and involving 41 inmates and nine staff members, was listed as over as of Feb. 3.

Among area residents aged five and older, 82 per cent have had at least one dose of vaccine, 78 per cent have had two doses and 46 per cent have had a third dose. Note that those under 18 are not currently eligible for a third dose.

Residents can book and re-book COVID-19 vaccine appointments or find information on vaccine availability at pharmacies using the health unit’s registration page. People can also contact the vaccine call centre at 226-254-8222.

Those who are able to get vaccinated on short notice are encouraged to sign up for Lambton Public Health’s daily Vaccine Standby List.

— with files from Gabby Rodrigues