Public health officials in London and Middlesex County are reporting another COVID-19 related death, the third day in a row the virus has claimed a life in the region.
The Middlesex London Health Unit said on Thursday a man in his 80s who lived in a long-term care home is the latest to die as a result of the coronavirus. His death brings the area's death toll to 56. On Tuesday and Wednesday, a woman in her 80s and a man in his 80s, both of whom lived in retirement facilities, also died from the virus. Thirty-six of the region's total COVID-19 related deaths have been among residents of long-term care and retirement homes.
An outbreak of the virus at Henley Place Long-Term Care Residence has now been declared over. That leaves six facilities in the region still battling outbreaks - Chelsey Park, Chelsey Park Retirement Community, Country Terrace, Kensington Village, Sisters of St. Joseph, and Waverley Mansion.
There were two newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in London on Thursday. That brings the area's total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 548.
Two people previously diagnosed with the virus have recovered, increase the number of resolved cases to 397.
In Oxford and Elgin counties, there were no new cases or deaths reported over the past 24 hours. The two counties, covered by Southwestern Public Health, have seen a total of 75 confirmed cases and four deaths. Sixty-five of the case have been resolved.
The number of new cases confirmed in Ontario remained under 400 for the second straight day.
According to public health officials, there were 356 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Ontario on Thursday. The province's total number of confirmed cases is now 29,403.
Of those infected, 776 are being treated in hospital, with 121 listed in intensive care.
The number of people to die from the virus has risen by 45 in Ontario to 2,357. More than half of the deaths have been tied to the province's long-term care homes, with 1,679 resident deaths and seven staff deaths. There have been 308 outbreaks reported inside those facilities across Ontario.
The province was able to hit and surpass its daily testing goal. A record 20,822 tests were completed over the past 24 hours. The Ford government has long said it planned on testing 20,000 people daily, a number it has consistently fallen short of. Since the start of the outbreak, 786,323 tests have been completed in Ontario.
The number of people to recover from the virus has risen to 23,208.