COVID-19: MLHU reports 69 more cases, no deaths from Friday to Monday | Globalnews.ca

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

The Middlesex-London Health Unit reported 13 COVID-19 cases on Monday, 25 on Sunday and 31 on Saturday.

The local case count rose by 68 from Friday to 13,350 on Monday, though 69 total cases were reported in that timeframe.

The health unit says there are currently 251 active cases (an increase of 18), 12,866 resolved (an increase of 50) and 233 total deaths, the most recent reported Aug. 24.

The number of cases involving a variant of concern climbed by 44, all of them Delta, to 3,882.

The breakdown of known variant cases is as follows:

• 3,385 cases of the Alpha variant
• 367 cases of the Delta variant
• 124 cases of the Gamma variant
• two cases of the Beta variant
• one case of the Kappa variant
• one case of the Zeta variant

There are also two cases listed using the old code numbers, one described as B.1.617 and another listed as B.1.617.3.

Further information can be found on the health unit’s summary of COVID-19 cases in Middlesex-London.

The test positivity rate in the region was 3.5 per cent for the week of Aug. 15, up from 1.8 per cent for the week of Aug. 8.

Hospitalizations

Eleven COVID-19 patients are listed as being in the care of London Health Sciences Centre on Monday, the same as Friday. Of those, five or fewer are in intensive care.

Five or fewer staff are currently positive with COVID-19, the organization reported.

St. Joseph’s Health Care London (SJHCL) is reporting one non-outbreak case involving a health-care worker.

Outbreaks

An outbreak tied to Lost Love Social House in downtown London reported Aug. 18 was tied to 16 cases as of last Thursday.

Meanwhile, a separate outbreak tied to Delilah’s, also in the downtown, was linked to at least 27 cases as of last Thursday. The outbreak was declared Aug. 15 and is now over.

Elsewhere, the health unit says one outbreak is active involving Total Package Hockey Day Camp, declared Aug. 20.

Camps and child care

The MLHU is reporting one case each at the London Devilettes Girls Hockey Association Junior Summer Camp, London Minor Football Association Day Camp – Red Storm Atom, and YMCA – Fanshawe Conservation Area Summer Day Camp.

According to the health unit, their figures count London-Middlesex residents only.

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Vaccinations and testing

As of end of day Aug. 21, 74.6 per cent of residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated, while 82.5 per cent have had at least one dose.

The MLHU says 74.3 per cent of residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated and 82.2 per cent have had at least one dose, as of Aug. 21.

Those figures are down slightly from the previously reported 74.6 per cent and 82.5 per cent due to a change in how the MLHU calculates the population.

Previously, the MLHU calculated the population using the 2020 population projections in accordance with the province. The province has recently switched to using the 2020 population estimates and the MLHU is now following suit.

The estimates, which the MLHU says are more accurate, are larger than the projections, which results in a slight change to the percentage of residents vaccinated.

“Although the number of people vaccinated won’t have changed, the total population will have changed and the (percentage vaccinated) therefore will get slightly smaller,” associate medical officer of health Dr. Alex Summers said last Thursday.

According to the health unit, all deaths reported in the last six weeks in the region were among people who were unvaccinated.

Only two hospitalizations, or 9.09 per cent of hospitalizations, involved individuals who were fully vaccinated.

When looking at all cases, 15.36 per cent (or 96 of 625 cases) involved people who were fully vaccinated and 17.28 per cent (or 108 cases) were partially vaccinated.

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

Anyone looking to be tested for COVID-19 can find information about locations of testing sites on the health unit’s website.

Ontario

Ontario reported 694 COVID-19 cases Monday, 740 on Sunday and 835 on Saturday.

Of the 694 cases reported Monday, 454 are among those unvaccinated or with an unknown vaccination status, 73 are partially vaccinated and 167 are among fully vaccinated individuals.

According to Monday’s report, 121 cases were recorded in Toronto, 104 in Peel Region, 98 in York Region, 74 in Windsor-Essex, 74 in Hamilton and 44 in Ottawa. All other local public health units reported fewer than 40 cases.

When looking at the eligible population, 76.1 per cent are fully vaccinated, while 82.8 per cent have had at least one dose.

Elgin and Oxford

Southwestern Public Health reported nine additional cases from Saturday to Monday for a total of 4,075 with 24 active, 3,967 recoveries (an increase of 13) and 84 deaths.

Of the 24 active cases, eight are in St. Thomas and seven in Ingersoll. Per-municipality case counts for the pandemic can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

There is currently one individual hospitalized with COVID-19, with no one in the ICU, down from three in hospital including one person in the ICU on Friday.

The number of variant cases climbed by 11 to 990. Of those, 769 involve the Alpha variant, 166 the Delta (an increase of 11) and 55 the Beta or Gamma variant.

There are no active institutional outbreaks, the health unit says.

The region’s test positive rate was 1.5 per cent for the week of Aug. 15, down from an updated 1.8 per cent for the week of Aug. 8.

As of Aug. 29, SWPH says 81.8 per cent of its residents aged 12 and older have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 75.1 per cent have had two doses.

Information on where to get vaccinated, vaccine eligibility and booking and cancelling appointments can be found on the health unit’s website.

Health officials say the mass immunization clinic in St. Thomas will administer its final doses at Memorial Arena on Sept. 10 before reopening on Sept. 13 at a new location at 1230 Talbot St.

People can add their names on a weekly basis to the health unit’s same-day vaccination list, also known as the Cancellation List. Select pharmacies in the region are also continuing to offer COVID-19 vaccine shots.

Huron and Perth

Global News is awaiting Huron Perth Public Health’s COVID-19 case count data from Saturday through Monday, though vaccination data has been updated.

On Friday, HPPH reported one new case and three recoveries for a total of 2,013 cases with 19 active, 1,937 recovered and 57 deaths.

The number of cases involving a variant of concern climbed by three to 394.

Of the 19 active cases, 10 were in Perth County, five were in Huron County, and four were in Stratford. Case counts by municipality during the pandemic can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

No one was listed as hospitalized with COVID-19.

An outbreak declared Aug. 20 involving Knollcrest Lodge in Perth East, a long-term care home, involved four residents and four staff members as of Friday.

There is one active community outbreak, but HPPH has not provided any details about it.

The region’s test positivity rate was 2.0 per cent for the week of Aug. 15, up from an updated 1.9 per cent for the week of Aug. 8.

HPPH’s vaccine dashboard showed that as of Aug. 30, 80.1 per cent of residents age 12 and older have had at least one dose while 73.6 per cent are fully vaccinated.

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

Information on pharmacies offering COVID-19 vaccines can be found on the province’s website.

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Sarnia and Lambton

Lambton Public Health’s COVID-19 case count climbed by seven from Friday to Monday, for a total of 3,689 cases with 18 active, 3,602 recoveries (an increase of nine) and 69 deaths.

Data from Lambton Public Health regarding variant cases in the region remains unavailable due to changes to the province’s case and contact management system. The health unit says the tally will be reported “as soon as provincial data remediation is complete.”

As of Aug. 18, the number of cases involving a variant of concern was 690.

Bluewater Health says it currently has zero patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

Lambton Public Health is not reporting any active outbreaks in the region.

The region’s test positivity rate was 1.41 for the week of Aug. 15, up from 1.29 per cent for the week of Aug. 8.

LPH says 71.6 per cent of residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated, while 77.3 per cent have had at least one dose.

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

Residents can book and re-book COVID-19 vaccine appointments using the health unit’s registration page. People can also call the vaccine call centre at 226-254-8222.

Information on pharmacies offering COVID-19 vaccines can be found on the province’s website.

–With files from Global News’ Jessica Patton and Sawyer Bogdan.

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