Single-day COVID-19 death toll hits record high in London-area

The number of COVID-19 deaths reported in a single day in the London region hit an all time high on Wednesday.

The Middlesex London Health Unit recorded eight deaths over the past 24 hours. The deaths are among one man in his 40s, four men in their 60s, one man in his 70s, and a man and woman in their 90s. Only two of the eight latest deaths are linked to a long-term care home. Until Wednesday, the highest number of COVID-19 deaths to be reported locally in a single day was seven, first recorded on January 17, 2021 and then matched on February 10, 2022.

This month is now the second deadliest of the pandemic with 49 deaths recorded. The only other month that has been deadlier in London and Middlesex County is January 2021 when 71 people succumbed to the virus. The local death toll since the pandemic began currently stands at 349.

The health unit also confirmed 37 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, up from 29 the previous day. Resolved cases increased to 30,270, which helped lower the number of active cases locally to 798. However, public health officials have said current case numbers are likely an underestimation of the true number of people with the virus due to eligibility changes for lab-based PCR testing.

The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) reported on Wednesday that it has 13 fewer patients with COVID-19 in its care than the previous day, for a total of 51 inpatients with the virus. The number of people with COVID-19 in the intensive care unit was down one to eight and at Children’s Hospital there were six patients with COVID-19, down one from Tuesday.

The LHSC specified that, of the 51 COVID-19 patients at its hospitals, 22 are being treated for COVID-19, while 29 were admitted for other reasons but also have the virus.

The number of hospital workers who have tested positive for the virus jumped by nine from 151 on Tuesday to 160 on Wednesday. That is up from 134 from the same day a week ago.

Southwestern Public Health reported 107 more COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, increasing the local case count since the pandemic began to 11,071. The death toll increased to 148, with three additional deaths recorded since last Friday. Resolved cases rose to 10,696. There are now 227 known active cases in the two counties.

The number of hospitalizations at Ontario hospitals rose on Wednesday.

A total of 1,106 people infected with the virus are currently in hospitals across the province. That is up 68 from Tuesday. Forty-nine per cent of the 1,106 people in hospital on Wednesday were admitted because of the virus, while 51 per cent were there for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.

Of those in hospital, 319 are in the ICU, unchanged from the previous day. Roughly 77.5 per cent of those in the ICU were admitted because of COVID-19, while the remaining 22.5 per cent are there for other reasons but also have the virus.

The province recorded 1,425 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, which is considered an underestimate of community spread. Daily case numbers are no longer thought to be a true reflection of spread of the virus in the province as the government has limited who is eligible for a free PCR test.

Ontario’s total case count since the start of the pandemic now sits at 1,091,526.

According to public health officials, there were 19 additional deaths related to the virus recorded Wednesday. The latest deaths occurred over the past 24 days. One death was removed from the official total based on a data cleanup. The official death toll now stands at 12,306.

Resolved cases across the province are up by 2,701 to 1,060,530.

In the last 24 hour period, 15,692 COVID-19 tests were processed. Ontario’s positivity rate is now 10.8 per cent, up slightly from 10.2 per cent a week ago.

The province has administered 31,360,818 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday night. About 90.4 per cent of Ontarians 12 and older have received both doses of the vaccine. There are more than 6.9 million people in the province who have now received the booster shot.

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