London and Middlesex County are heading into the Thanksgiving long weekend with a surge of new COVID-19 cases not seen since mid-April.
The Middlesex London Health Unit reported 19 new infections Friday, the highest number of cases recorded in a single day since April 16 when 24 people tested positive. This is also the fourth consecutive day of double-digit increases.
Among the new cases is a person at Sir Arthur Currie Public School in the northwest end of London. The health unit determined that individual was at the school while infectious. As this is London's fourth confirmed case within a school this week, public health officials anticipate more infections will be reported "in the coming days.”
Three staff members at local long-term care/retirement facilities are also included in Friday's new cases. A new outbreak has been declared at Extendicare, an area long-term care home. That brings the number of nursing homes dealing with outbreaks in London-Middlesex up to six. The other outbreaks are reported at Peoplecare Oak Crossing, Earls Court Village, Mount Hope Centre for Long-Term Care, Meadow Park Care Centre, and Country Terrace.
The region's case count has now risen to 951 since the start of the pandemic.
Eight more people previously diagnosed with the virus recovered over the last 24 hours, bringing the number of resolved cases up to 819.
The London-area has not recorded a COVID-19 linked death in nearly four months.
Currently, there are 75 active cases in the region.
Southwestern Public Health, the health unit for Oxford and Elgin counties, is reporting zero new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row. The region has not seen a case since Wednesday when one infection was confirmed. The area's total number of cases remains at 273. With resolved cases up one to 267 and deaths unchanged at five, the two counties are currently only dealing with a single active case.
Ontario reported its highest daily number of new cases on Friday, the second straight day its reached a record high.
The province exceeded 900 new cases with 939 infections confirmed over the last 24 hours. That smashes the previous record of 797 cases set on Thursday.
"There are 336 new cases in Toronto, 150 in Peel and 126 in Ottawa," Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted.
Ontario’s total case count since January has grown to 57,681.
Five additional COVID-19 linked deaths were reported over the last 24 hours, leaving the death toll at 2,997. Resolved cases rose to 49,032, with 724 recoveries confirmed since Thursday.
The number of infected Ontarians in hospital has gone up by 19 to 225. Of those, 47 are in the intensive care unit and 29 are relying on ventilators to breathe.
In the last 24 hours, nearly 45,000 additional COVID-19 tests were conducted in Ontario.
Premier Doug Ford is expected to announced Friday afternoon new measures aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 in hot spots across the province.