COVID-19: MLHU adds 3 cases, says over half of residents 12+ fully vaccinated | Globalnews.ca

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The Middlesex-London Health Unit reported three new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, though the total number of cases increased by four, likely due to data clean-up.

The region’s total case count stands at 12,701.

The number of recoveries increased by nine for a total of 12,418.

Fifty-four cases are active and the number of deaths remains at 229, with the most recent involving a partially vaccinated woman in her 80s reported last Thursday.

The total number of cases involving a variant of concern sits at 3,554, an increase of 21 from Monday:

The breakdown of known variant cases is as follows:

• 3,370 cases of the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7), first identified in the U.K.
• 99 cases of the Gamma (P.1) variant, first identified in Brazil
• 58 cases of the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant, first identified in India
• two cases of the Beta (B.1.351) variant, first identified in South Africa
• one case of the Kappa (B.1.617.1) variant, first identified in India
• one case of the Zeta (P.2) variant, first identified in Brazil

There is also one case listed only as B.1.617 and one case listed as B.1.617.3.

Associate medical officer of health Dr. Alex Summers said Monday that the Delta variant is now the dominant strain in the region.

A total of 11,480 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in London since the pandemic began, while 372 have been in Middlesex Centre and 334 in Strathroy-Caradoc.

Further information can be found on the health unit’s Summary of COVID-19 Cases in Middlesex-London page.

Hospitalizations

The London Health Sciences Centre says it is caring for five or fewer inpatients with COVID-19, with five or fewer of those patients in the intensive care unit, as of Tuesday.

In an effort to protect the privacy of patients, LHSC only provides specific numbers when there are more than five.

LHSC is not reporting any patients from outside of the region.

There are currently zero LHSC employees who have tested positive for COVID-19.

At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, the organization reports one case involving a health-care worker and no cases among patients or residents.

Institutional outbreaks

The MLHU is not reporting any institutional outbreaks, however, there is an outbreak tied to indoor gatherings at Christ Embassy Church at 1472 Dundas St. in London.

As of last Thursday, six cases have been associated with the outbreak.

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Vaccinations and testing

The MLHU provided updated vaccination data on Tuesday, showing that as of end of day July 17, 79.0 per cent of residents 12 and older have had at least one dose while 56.6 per cent are fully vaccinated.

The health unit is also now accepting walk-ins for first and second doses of COVID-19 vaccine at its mass vaccination clinics from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.

Pfizer vaccine is available at all MLHU-operated clinics while Moderna will be available at its Western Fair Agriplex and North London Optimist Community Centre mass vaccination clinics in London, at its Caradoc Community Centre mass vaccination clinic in Mount Brydges, as well as at pop-up clinics operated by Middlesex-London Paramedic Services.

When asked if people will have the choice of vaccine, Summers said “to the best of our ability, when the inventory is available — and we anticipate that it will be — there will be an opportunity for Pfizer or Moderna.”

Information on how to book and cancel appointments can be found on the health unit’s website.

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

Several pop-up walk-in clinics are scheduled throughout the region. A full list can be found on the health unit’s website.

Anyone looking to test to see if they have COVID-19 can find information about locations of testing sites on the health unit’s website.

The test positivity rate in the region was 1.0 per cent for the week of July 4, down from 1.3 per cent for the week of June 27.

Ontario

The Ontario government reported 127 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths on Tuesday, for a total of 537,824 cases and 9,296 deaths.

According to the latest provincial data, 34 new cases were recorded in Toronto, 17 in Waterloo Region, 14 in York Region, 10 in Peel Region, 10 in Grey Bruce and 10 in Halton Region.

The rest of the public health units had below 10 new cases each.

Elgin and Oxford

Southwestern Public Health reported one additional COVID-19 case and four more recoveries on Tuesday.

The total case count stands at 3,929 with 17 active cases, 3,828 recoveries, and 84 deaths.

Per-municipality case counts can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

One person is currently hospitalized with COVID-19, according to SWPH.

The number of variant of concern cases increased by two to 861, with 763 of those listed as the Alpha variant, 51 the Beta variant and 47 the Delta variant.

There were no active institutional outbreaks reported in the region.

The region’s test positivity rate was 1.2 per cent for the week of July 4, up from 0.6 per cent for the week of June 27.

As of July 18, SWPH says 76.9 per cent of its residents aged 12 and older have received at least one dose and 52.6 per cent have had two doses.

All individuals aged 12 and up are eligible to re-book their second appointment through the online booking portal or by phone at 1-800-922-0096 ext. 9.

The health unit is also still encouraging people to add their names to a same-day vaccination list.

Several pharmacies in the region are also continuing to offer COVID-19 vaccine.

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Huron and Perth

Global News is awaiting Huron Perth Public Health’s COVID-19 case data for Tuesday.

On Monday, HPPH Health reported seven new cases and six recoveries over the weekend, bringing the total case count to 1,929 with 1,860 recoveries, 57 deaths and 12 active cases.

The number of confirmed variant cases was unchanged from Friday at 335.

HPPH reports that one person was hospitalized with COVID-19.

Case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.

There were no active institutional outbreaks reported in the region.

The region’s test positivity rate was 0.6 per cent for the week of July 4, down from 0.9 per cent for the week of June 27.

HPPH’s vaccine dashboard reported that 75.5 per cent of those age 12 and older have had at least one dose, while 53.9 per cent are fully vaccinated, as of Monday.

Information on vaccine eligibility and booking an appointment can be found on HPPH’s website. Specific information on booking a second dose of vaccine can also be found on the health unit’s website.

Sarnia and Lambton

Lambton Public Health reported two new cases and one death on Tuesday, bringing the total to 3,632 with five active cases, 3,561 recoveries and 66 total deaths.

Officials tell Global News the death involved someone in their 90s.

Four more variant of concern cases were confirmed for a total of 673.

According to Bluewater Health, one patient in their care is confirmed to have COVID-19. There are no active institutional outbreaks reported in the region.

The region’s test positivity rate was 0.95 per cent for the week of July 4, up from 0.8 per cent for the week of June 27.

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.

Some pharmacies are also continuing to offer Pfizer or Moderna shots.

Lambton Public Health says 74.8 per cent of adults have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 59.7 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated.

—With files from Global News’ Nick Westoll.