Five additional COVID-19 deaths have been recorded in the London region since Monday.
Three women, one in her 70s, another in her 80s and the third in her 90s, along with two men, one his 70s, the other in his 90s, have succumbed to the virus, the Middlesex London Health Unit confirmed on Thursday. All but one of the five individuals were linked to a long-term care or retirement home. Their deaths increase the local death toll to 440.
The health unit also recorded 125 new cases in the area 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 confirmed cases locally since March 2020 is now 42,598, according to the health unit.
The number of resolved cases is up to 41,623. Currently, there are 535 known active cases in the region, down from 604 a week ago.
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) confirmed it currently has 53 inpatients with COVID-19 in its care, up 12 from Monday. At this time last week, there were 53 people with COVID admitted to the LHSC. Of those currently hospitalized, there are 15 being treated for COVID-19 and 38 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. Children’s Hospital has five or fewer inpatients with the virus, however, none are listed in paediatric critical care.
The number of hospital employees who have contracted COVID-19 went down slightly on Thursday. The LHSC said it has 100 infected staffers, a decrease of three since Monday.
The hospital network has now been outbreak free for one week.
Southwestern Public Health, the health unit for Elgin and Oxford counties, reported 201 more COVID-19 cases this week, increasing the local case count since the pandemic began to 15,588. Three additional COVID-19 deaths were recorded in the region, increasing the local death toll at 181. Resolved cases rose to 15,159 and there are now 248 known active cases in the two counties.
