COVID-19: MLHU adds 169 cases, SWPH reports 35 cases and 2 deaths | Globalnews.ca

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

The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported 169 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and no new deaths. Tuesday’s case count is seven away from the regional record of 176 cases on April 13.

The most recent death was reported Dec. 16 and involved a man in his 90s, not associated with a long-term care or retirement home. Based on the vaccination status of deaths reported in the last six weeks, he was unvaccinated.

In total, there have been 16,264 confirmed cases since the onset of the pandemic, including 971 active cases (an increase of 114), 15,036 recoveries (an increase of 48) and 257 deaths (unchanged).

The rate of active cases remains highest among those under 12, with 211 cases or 327.6 per 100,000 population, up from 129 cases or 200.3 cases per 100,000 population a week ago.

There are 95 active cases among those 12 to 17 at a rate of 287.6 cases per 100,000 population. The cohort with the third-highest rate of cases is the 25-to-39 age group, with 249 cases or 222.2 cases per 100,000 population.

Information on local variants of concern can be found by visiting the health unit’s summary of COVID-19 cases on the Middlesex-London page and clicking on the “Case Status” tab.

Hospitalizations

As of Tuesday, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) was caring for 14 inpatients with COVID-19, with six patients in adult critical care or the intensive care unit.

There were five or fewer inpatients with COVID-19 in LHSC’s Children’s Hospital, with zero in pediatric critical care.

Thirty-one staff members had tested positive for COVID-19, up from 28 on Monday, when an LHSC spokesperson said the cases were not having an operational impact on the hospital network and that there were no outbreaks within LHSC.

St. Joseph’s Health Care London reported three cases involving health-care workers.

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Outbreaks

The MLHU has reported an outbreak at Chartwell London’s Magnolia area, declared Dec. 18. There is also an ongoing outbreak at McCormick Home’s Memory Lane, declared Dec. 14.

There are also outbreaks at the following schools:

• Blessed Sacrament Catholic School, declared Dec. 18
• Byron Northview Public School, declared Dec. 9
• Caradoc Public School, declared Dec. 19
• Clara Brenton Public School, declared Dec. 17
• École élémentaire catholique Frère-André, declared Dec. 15
• École élémentaire catholique Saint-Jean-de-Brébeuf, declared Dec. 10
• École élémentaire catholique St-Jeanne-d’Arc, declared Dec. 12
• École élémentaire La Pommeraie, declared Dec. 16
• Emily Carr Public School, declared Dec. 20
• London Christian Academy, declared Dec. 16
• Notre Dame Catholic School, declared Dec. 20
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, declared Dec. 6
• Princess Elizabeth Public School, declared Dec. 9
• Riverside Public School, declared Dec. 6
• Sir Arthur Carty Catholic School, declared Dec. 10
• Sir Arthur Currie Public School, declared Dec. 14
• St. Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School, declared Dec. 17
• St. André Bessette Secondary School, declared Dec. 9
• Strathroy Community Christian School, declared Dec. 13

There is one active outbreak in a child-care setting, at YMCA: St. Patrick Catholic School Before and After School, declared Dec. 19.

The following post-secondary institutions have outbreaks:

• Fanshawe College – Merlin House Residence, declared Nov. 28
• Western University – Delaware Hall Residence, declared Dec. 10
• Western University – Saugeen-Maitland Hall Residence, declared Nov. 27

Acting medical officer of health Dr. Alex Summers said Dec. 16 that the outbreaks at Western and Fanshawe were “fairly stable.”

Schools

The following schools have active cases associated with them, according to the MLHU:

• A. B. Lucas Secondary School (five cases)
• Ashley Oaks Public School (one case)
• Blessed Sacrament Catholic School (one case)
• Byron Somerset Public School (two cases)
• C. C. Carrothers Public School (one case)
• Caradoc Public School (one case)
• Clara Brenton Public School (one case)
• Clarke Road Secondary School (one case)
• École élémentaire catholique Frère André (three cases)
• École élémentaire catholique Saint-Jean-de-Brébeuf (10 cases)
• École élémentaire catholique Saint-Jeanne-d’Arc (five cases)
• École élémentaire La Pommeraie (two cases)
• Emily Carr Public School (four cases)
• Glen Cairn Public School (one case)
• J. S. Buchanan French Immersion Public School (one case)
• John Dearness Public School (four cases)
• Kensal Park French Immersion Public School (one case)
• London Christian Academy (one case)
• Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School (one case)
• North Meadows Elementary School (one case)
• Northridge Public School (one case)
• Notre Dame Catholic School (four cases)
• Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School (one case)
• Princess Elizabeth Public School (one case)
• Regina Mundi College (one case)
• Ryerson Public School (one case)
• Saunders Secondary School (two cases)
• Sir Arthur Carty Catholic School (three cases)
• Sir Arthur Currie Public School (seven cases)
• Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School (six cases)
• St. Andre Bessette Secondary School (12 cases)
• St. Anthony Catholic French Immersion School (one case)
• St. Catherine of Siena Elementary School (one case)
• St. Francis Catholic School (one case)
• St. Jude Catholic School (one case)
• St. Kateri Catholic School (two cases)
• St. Marguerite d’Youville School (one case)
• St. Mary Choir and Orchestra Catholic School (one case)
• St. Patrick Catholic School (three cases)
• St. Paul Catholic School (two cases)
• St. Theresa Catholic School (two cases)
• St. Thomas More Catholic School (two cases)
• Stoney Creek Public School (three cases)
• Strathroy Community Christian School (three cases)
• Tweedsmuir Public School (one case)
• West Nissouri Public School (one case)
• West Oaks French Immersion Public School (two cases)
• Westmount Public School (one case)
• Wilberforce Public School (five cases)
• Woodland Heights Public School (one case)

Child-care and early-years centres:

• Acorn Christian Day Care (one case)
• London Children’s Connection: John Dearness Before and After School (four cases)
• London Children’s Connection: Westmount Before and After School (one case)
• Pond Mills Children’s Centre (one case)
• Springbank Early Childhood Learning Centre (one case)
• YMCA: North Meadows Elementary School – Before and After School (one case)
• YMCA: St. Patrick Catholic School – Before and After School (two cases)
• YMCA: St. Theresa Catholic School – Before and After School (one case)

The health unit says at least 577 cases have been reported since the start of the school year involving elementary and secondary schools, as well as child-care and early-years centres.

Vaccinations and testing

The MLHU released updated vaccination data on Tuesday, covering up until the end of day Dec. 18.

Among residents five and older, 81.7 per cent are fully vaccinated while 87.1 per cent have had at least one dose, up from 81.5 per cent and 86.3 per cent the week prior.

When looking specifically at those five to 11, who’ve only been able to get vaccinated locally since Nov. 26, 40.5 per cent have had their first dose, up from 34.5 per cent the week before.

Third dose coverage is also growing with 46.3 per cent of those 80 and older having had their booster shot, 42.6 per cent of those 75 to 79 and 41.1 per cent of those 70 to 74.

Those 18 and older can now book their third COVID-19 vaccine dose at the MLHU’s mass vaccination clinics. However, Summers previously noted that appointments may be hard to come by.

Some pharmacies and family doctors are also offering vaccine shots.

The MLHU and LHSC have announced holiday hours for the Carling COVID-19 Assessment Centre. The centre will operate from 9:20 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 24 and from 10:20 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 25 before resuming regular hours on Sunday, Dec. 26 (9:20 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.).

Telephone booking will be unavailable from Dec. 24 to 27 as well as on Jan. 3, 2022 but appointments can still be booked online any time.

The Thames Valley Family Health Team announced Tuesday that it would open a new rapid testing site for school-aged children and health-care workers in the primary and community care sectors. The site, at 460 Springbank Dr., Suite 105, in London, will open Jan. 5, 2022.

As for the vaccination status of cases, the MLHU says unvaccinated individuals have accounted for 30.29 per cent of all cases (498 of 1,644) and 40.74 per cent of hospitalizations (11 of 27) since Nov. 9. Note that those who are unvaccinated account for only 12.9 per cent of the population aged five and older.

Of the 11 COVID-19-related deaths reported in the last six weeks, six individuals were unvaccinated, four were fully vaccinated and one was 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 the locations of testing sites on the health unit’s website.

The latest COVID-19 test positivity rate in the region was 3.7 per cent for the week of Dec. 5, up from 3.1 per cent for the week of Nov. 28.

Ontario

Ontario reported 3,453 cases Tuesday, up from 1,429 a week ago and 928 the Tuesday before that.

The Ontario COVID-19 Science Table, a panel of doctors who advise the provincial government, noted on its dashboard that the Omicron variant now accounts for at least 88 per cent of all positive cases, up from Friday when it was around 50 per cent.

While patients with COVID in ICUs have remained stable, on an overall slow rise, experts have said it could take two weeks after a surge in cases to see impacts on hospitalizations/ICUs.

Of the 3,453 new cases recorded, the data showed 673 were unvaccinated people, 132 were partially vaccinated people, 2,500 were fully vaccinated people and for 148 people the vaccination status was unknown.

According to Tuesday’s report, 901 cases were recorded in Toronto, 359 in Ottawa, 345 in York Region, 280 in Peel Region, 245 in Halton Region, 168 in Waterloo and 160 in Durham Region. All other local public health units reported fewer than 160 new cases. Data reported by the province does not necessarily match up with daily counts provided by local health units.

Ten deaths were reported on Tuesday.

Elgin and Oxford

Southwestern Public Health says as of Dec. 16, all cases “will be automatically closed after 10 days of a positive result,” regardless of their outcome.

On Tuesday, Southwestern Public Health reported:

• 5,997 total cases (an increase of 35, with one case removed due to data cleanup)
• 318 active cases (an increase of five)
• 5,569 resolved cases (an increase of 27)
• 110 deaths to date (an increase of two)

The deaths reported Tuesday involved a woman in her 100s from St. Thomas and a woman in her 80s from Oxford County.

Further details can be found on SWPH’s COVID-19 dashboard.

Of the 318 active cases in the region, 138 were in Elgin County (including 80 in St. Thomas, 16 in Central Elgin and 13in Aylmer) and 180 were in Oxford County (including 73 in Woodstock, 25 in Ingersoll and 20 in Tillsonburg).

Eight people were hospitalized with COVID-19, with three in the ICU as of Tuesday.

An outbreak at Caressant Care Bonnie Place in St. Thomas declared Nov. 28 is ongoing. It involves 11 resident cases and nine staff cases. One death is associated with the outbreak.

SWPH is reporting outbreaks at the following schools:

• St. Mary’s Catholic Elementary School in West Lorne, declared Dec. 10
• Hickson Central Public School in Hickson, declared Dec. 15
• Ingersoll District Collegiate Institute in Ingersoll, declared Dec. 15
• King’s Academy Private School in St. Thomas, declared Dec. 16
• St. Joseph High School in St. Thomas, declared Dec. 17
• St. Michael’s Catholic Elementary School, declared Dec. 19
• Westfield Public School in Tillsonburg, declared Dec. 19
• Mitchell Hepburn Public School, declared Dec. 20
• Dunwich Dutton Public School in Dutton, declared Dec. 21

A previous outbreak at Immanuel Christian School in Aylmer, declared Dec. 2, is now listed as over.

Information on school cases can be found on the websites of the Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board.

The region’s test positivity rate was 4.7 per cent for the week of Dec. 5, down from 5.3 per cent for the week of Nov. 28.

As of Dec. 19, 75.9 per cent of those aged five and older in the region were fully vaccinated while 80.6 per cent have had at least one dose.

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

Huron and Perth

On Tuesday, Huron Perth Public Health reported:

• 2,833 total cases (an increase of 12)
• 88 active cases (a decrease of 24)
• 2,675 recoveries (an increase of 36)
• 70 deaths to date (unchanged)

The most recent death was reported Nov. 29 and involved a community member connected to a workplace outbreak, according to a spokesperson for the health unit.

Among the 88 active cases, 23 were in North Perth, 115 were in North Perth, 14 in Stratford and 12 in St. Marys. Full case counts by the municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

There were four people hospitalized with COVID-19 and one active case involving a health-care worker as of Tuesday.

HPPH has nine active outbreaks involving eight schools and one workplace:

• Clinton Public School in Central Huron, declared Dec. 13 and involving one staff member and two students
• Elma Township Public School in North Perth, declared Nov. 23 and involving 26 students
• Howick Central Public School in Howick, declared Dec. 15 and involving three student cases
• Listowel District Secondary School in North Perth, declared Dec. 16 and involving two staff and three student cases
• Little Falls Public School in St. Marys, declared Dec. 14 and involving four students
• Milverton Public School in Perth East, declared Dec. 9 and involving four students
• North Perth Westfield ES in North Perth, declared Nov. 30 and involving one staff member and 11 students
• St. Josephs Catholic Elementary Public School in Stratford, declared Dec. 13 and involving two students

No further information was provided about the workplace outbreak.

Data on school cases can be found on the websites of the Avon-Maitland District School Board and the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board.

As of Dec. 19, 82.1 per cent of residents aged five and older have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose while 77.4 per cent are fully vaccinated.

The region’s test positivity rate was 4.5 per cent for the week of Dec. 5, up from 2.9 per cent for the week of Nov. 28.

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

On Tuesday, Lambton Public Health (LPH) reported:

• 4,703 total cases (an increase of 20)
• 149 active cases (a decrease of 11)
• 4,475 resolved cases (an increase of 30)
• 79 deaths to date (an increase of one)

No information was immediately available about the death reported Tuesday.

As of Tuesday, there were 14 COVID-19 patients in the care of Bluewater Health.

LPH is reporting nine active outbreaks, seven of which are at unidentified workplaces.

• Bright’s Grove Public School, declared Dec. 10 and involving 10 cases
• John Knox Christian School, declared Dec. 10 and involving five cases
• an unidentified workplace declared Dec. 15, involving four cases
• four unidentified workplaces, all declared Dec. 16 and involving two cases each
• an unidentified workplace, declared Dec. 17 and involving two cases
• an unidentified workplace, declared Dec. 17 and involving three cases

All active cases at schools within the Lambton Kent District School Board can be found online, as can cases at schools within the St. Clair Catholic District School Board.

The test positivity rate was 3.6 per cent for the week of Dec. 5, up from 3.9 per cent the week prior.

Among area residents aged five and older, 80 per cent have had at least one dose while 76 per cent have had two doses. Thirteen per cent have had 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 Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues