While the risk of contracting COVID-19 remains significantly high, Middlesex London’s top doctor has indicated there are signs the sixth wave is beginning to plateau.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Alex Summers said during a weekly media briefing on Tuesday that he will have a better sense of whether the region has gotten over the hump by next week.
“There are some early encouraging signs that transmission is plateauing,” said Summers. “However, the risk of transmission still remains significantly higher than at any point in time before this Omicron wave of December 2021 onwards.”
The Ontario Science Table released wastewater data from across the province late last week that appeared to show the sixth wave has reached its peak.
“That data is consistent with what we are seeing from our case counts from the last week in the Middlesex London region,” said Summer. “But I will again express caution in getting too far ahead of ourselves. We have learned that we need to go slow when it comes to backing off on our urgency around responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. So mask up, get vaccinated, if you’re sick stay home, and for now limit your social circle.”
The Middlesex London Health Unit logged 412 new COVID-19 infections between last Friday and Tuesday. One death, an unvaccinated person in their 70s, was also recorded over the weekend. However, that death actually occurred in the fall and was just added to the count as part of a data clean up. Hospitalizations from the virus at the London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) hit a high not seen since mid-February on Tuesday with 56 COVID positive people admitted. The Ontario Science Table indicated last week hospital occupancy is likely to continue to rise for some time, despite the possible plateauing of community spread.
LHSC Chief Nursing Executive Carol Young-Ritchie said the hospital network has been adjusting staffing to mitigate patient care disruptions as it deals with a large number of staff infections.
“Last week we did need to cancel a limited number of surgeries based on the number of staff that we had off with COVID,” said Young-Ritchie. “This week, we are running our surgical grid at around 90 per cent, our occupancy is around 94 per cent…. We are watching it very closely, we are watching it day-to-day. At this time, we have no plans to cancel any surgical procedures.”
The latest vaccination figures released by the health unit show 93.7 per cent of area residents aged 12 and older have received one dose of the vaccine, while 91.7 per cent in the same age bracket have had two doses. Third doses have been administered to 56 per cent of area residents.
Summers urged residents to ensure they are up to date on all recommended doses of the vaccine. Earlier this month, all Ontarians over the age of 60 became eligible for a fourth dose, as did First Nations, Metis, and Inuit individuals and their non-Indigenous household members aged 18 and older.
“We are likely going to start to see a decline in our cases. Not because people are not socializing anymore, but because there are not so many people left to get COVID or to get protected by vaccines,” said Summers. “I believe that is what we are starting, hopefully, to see, is a decline because there are less people who still are vulnerable to COVID-19.”
