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London

UPDATE: London-area records youngest COVID-19 fatality to date

A male in his teenage years is the latest person to pass away from COVID-19 in the London-area.

The death was reported on Saturday by the Middlesex-London Health Unit and listed as being associated with a long-term care home in the region.

Mary Raithby, CEO of APANS Health Services, confirmed that Yassin Dabeh worked at Middlesex Terrace long-term care in Delaware.

"We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Yassin," said Raithby.

Out of respect, Raithby added that the company will not be providing any additional statements at this time.

This marks the youngest person to pass away from the virus in the region to date. The local health unit has not specified Dabeh's age.

Two other fatalities were also reported on Saturday- a man in his 60s and a woman in her 80s. Both deaths were also associated with long-term care homes. Cases and deaths that occur in association with a long-term care or retirement home can include residents, health care workers or other staff that live or work in the institution.

So far, 167 people have died from the virus in the region since the pandemic began. Seventy-eight deaths have been related to long-term care homes while 13 deaths were from retirement homes.

In addition to the deaths, there were 50 new cases of COVID-19 recorded in the region on Saturday.

The newest cases bring the total regional case count to 5,395. Of the total cases, 2,026 have been reported this month.

When divided by age group, the largest number of cases, 24.2 per cent, have been in individuals 20 to 29 years old. Those aged 0 to 19 have accounted for 15.3 per cent of cases so far, followed by 14.5 per cent in those aged 30-39 and 12.8 per cent in the 50 to 59 age group. Individuals aged 70 to 79 have accounted for the smallest number of cases in Middlesex-London at five per cent.

There are currently 19 active institutional outbreaks in the region. The latest one to be declared is a facility-wide outbreak at Dorchester Terrace, which was declared on Friday.

Twenty additional recoveries were also reported on Saturday. So far, 3,668 individuals in the London-area have recovered from the virus.

Southwestern Public Health, the health unit covering St. Thomas, Woodstock and Elgin and Oxford counties, reported 21 new cases on Saturday with the total case count now sitting at 2,172.

Elsewhere, provincial health officials reported 2,359 new cases on Saturday as well as 3,025 new recoveries and 52 deaths.

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