Five additional COVID-19 deaths were reported in London and Middlesex County over the past week.
The Middlesex London Health Unit confirmed Tuesday a man in his 80s and four women (two in their 80s and two in their 90s) succumbed to the virus since this time last week. Only the two women in their 90s were linked to a long-term care home. So far this month, there have been 11 deaths related to COVID-19. The latest deaths increase the local death toll to 482.
Another 203 new cases were recorded in the area over the past seven days. The health unit only updates its COVID-19 dashboard once 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 last December. The total number of confirmed cases locally since March 2020 is now 45,643, according to the health unit.
Currently, there are 421 known active cases in the region, down 151 since last Tuesday.
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) confirmed it currently has 64 inpatients with COVID-19 in its care, unchanged since last week.
Of those currently hospitalized, there are 13 being treated for COVID-19 and 51 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. 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 has fallen significantly. The LHSC said it has 35 infected staffers, a decrease of 40 since last week.
There are two level two COVID-19 outbreaks at the LHSC’s two hospitals. One is at University Hospital on the U9 Orthopaedics unit, while the other is at Victoria Hospital’s B7-100 Mental Health unit.
With COVID-19, in addition to other respiratory illnesses such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), continuing to circulate at an increased rate, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Health, Dr. Kieran Moore on Monday said he “strongly” recommends people return to masking in all indoor public spaces. Moore stopped short of issuing a mask mandate.
