The number of people in London hospital with COVID-19 fell on Wednesday, while the local death toll rose by two.
The Middlesex London Health Unit confirmed two men in their 80s are the latest people in the region to succumb to the virus. The men were not associated with a long-term care or retirement home, the health unit said. The two latest deaths bring the death toll in London and Middlesex County up to 391, 15 of which occurred in May alone.
Another 57 COVID-19 cases were logged on Wednesday, up from 27 the previous day. The total case count since the pandemic began is now 37,967. Resolved cases increased to 37,203, leaving the number of known active cases locally at 373. 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 35 patients with COVID-19 in its care on Wednesday, down six from the previous day. A week ago, there were 33 inpatients with the virus. The number of people with COVID-19 in the intensive care unit went from zero to five or fewer over the past 24 hours. At Children’s Hospital there are no inpatients with the virus.
The LHSC specified that, of the 35 COVID-19 patients at its hospitals, 15 are being treated for COVID-19, while 20 were admitted for other reasons but also have the virus.
The hospital network reported on Wednesday that it currently has 77 employees who have tested positive for the virus. That is up two from Tuesday, but down 53 from a week ago.
Southwestern Public Health reported 41 more COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, increasing the local case count since the pandemic began to 13,853. There was one additional death recorded, increasing the death toll to 168. Resolved cases rose to 13,562 and there are now 123 known active cases in the two counties.
Ontario is reporting a rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
A total of 1,082 people infected with the virus are currently in hospitals across the province. That is an increase of 192 from Tuesday. At this time last week, there were 1,248 COVID-19 positive people in the hospital. Forty-one per cent of the people in hospital on Wednesday were admitted because of the virus, while 59 per cent were there for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.
Of those in hospital, 160 are in the ICU, up three from the previous day.
According to public health officials, there were 11 additional deaths related to the virus on Wednesday. Ten of those deaths occurred within the last month, while one occurred more than a month ago. The official death toll now stands at 13,175.
The province recorded 775 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 1,297,561.
Resolved cases across the province are up by 2,062 to 1,271,337.
In the last 24 hour period, 11,109 COVID-19 tests were processed. Ontario’s positivity rate is currently 8.4 per cent, down from 10.5 per cent a week ago.
The province has administered 33,262,945 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday night. Figures show 91.3 per cent of Ontarians 12 and older have received both doses of the vaccine. There are more than 7.3 million people in the province who have received their third shot.
