The Middlesex London Health Unit has recorded its second COVID-19 related death of the week.
A man in his 70s is the latest person in the region to succumb to the virus, the health unit confirmed on Thursday. The man was not linked to a long-term care or retirement home. His death comes three days after the health unit reported the death of an infected woman in her 90s. The death toll for London and Middlesex County now stands at 409.
There were 139 new cases logged locally since Monday. The health unit now only updates its COVID-19 dashboard twice a week and daily case tallies are believed to be an underestimate of community spread since the provincial government limited eligibility for PCR testing at the end of December. The total number of cases locally since March of 2020 is now 39,268, according to the health unit.
The number of resolved cases is up to 38,473. Currently, there are 386 known active cases in the region, up from 353 a week ago.
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) saw a slight increase in hospitalizations. There are 17 inpatients with COVID-19 in the hospital network’s care, up from 15 on Monday, Of those hospitalized, there are nine being treated for COVID-19 and eight being treated for other ailments but have also tested positive.
There are currently five or fewer COVID infected patients listed in the intensive care unit, unchanged from Monday. For the first time in three weeks, Children’s Hospital has five or fewer inpatients with the virus. None of them are listed in paediatric critical care.
There was also a rise in the number of hospital employees who have contracted COVID-19. The LHSC said on Thursday 136 staffers are sick, an increase of 28 since Monday. At this time last week there were 107 hospital employees who had tested positive for the virus.
Online appointment bookings opened Thursday for Ontarians 18 and older who would like to get a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Eligibility to get the second booster was expanded to those 18 to 59 after being limited to those 60 plus, immunocompromised individuals, and Indigenous populations since April. People wanting to get the fourth dose must be five months removed from their third shot. Appointments can be made in London and Middlesex through the health unit’s online vaccine booking system at www.covidvaccinelm.ca.
Southwestern Public Health, the health unit for Elgin and Oxford counties, reported 130 more COVID-19 cases this week, increasing the local case count since the pandemic began to 14,289. There was one additional death recorded, increasing the death toll to 170. Resolved cases rose to 13,963 and there are now 156 known active cases in the two counties.
