A healthcare worker performs coronavirus swab on a patient. File photo courtesy of © Can Stock Photo /NoielA healthcare worker performs coronavirus swab on a patient. File photo courtesy of © Can Stock Photo /Noiel
London

Two more COVID-19 deaths, 27 new cases in London region

Two additional deaths were reported Monday in Middlesex London as the number of new cases of the virus in the region dropped to levels not seen since mid-December.

The Middlesex London Health Unit said the latest two deaths were a man in his 90s and a woman in her 70s. Both were associated with long-term care homes. There have now been 170 COVID-19 deaths in the area since the start of the pandemic, 68 of which occurred this month alone.

Public health officials logged another 27 new infections Monday, the fifth straight day daily COVID-19 cases have been trending downward. The region has not reported this low a number of new cases in a single day since 25 cases were recorded on December 15.

The total case count for Middlesex London now stands at 5,470. Recoveries are up by 33 since Sunday to 3,731. That leaves 1,569 cases active.

Outbreaks of the virus remain at 13 local long-term care and retirement homes.

The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) reported outbreaks on two units at Victoria Hospital were resolved over the weekend. That leaves just one unit at University hospital dealing with an outbreak. So far, nine staff members and zero patients have contracted the virus as a result of the outbreak. There are no deaths linked to the situation at University hospital. The LHSC said there are 15 inpatients in its care with COVID-19, six of whom are listed in intensive care.

An outbreak also continues at Strathroy Middlesex General Hospital.

Southwestern Public Health reported another COVID-19 death and nine new cases on Monday. The health unit for Elgin and Oxford counties said the latest numbers bring its death toll to 54 and total case count to 2,221. Maple Manor, a Tillsonburg long-term care home remains the hardest hit by COVID-19 in the region. There are 85 residents and 52 staff members at the home infected with the virus. Twenty deaths have been linked to the outbreak. Resolved cases in the region have increased to 1,918, leaving 249 cases active.

Provincially, the number of new COVID-19 cases slid under 2,000.

There were 1,958 infections logged across the province on Monday, down from 2,417 the previous day.

Toronto had the highest number of new infections of any city in the province with 727. Peel recorded 365, and York Region had 157.

Ontario’s total case count now sits at 256,960.

Forty-three deaths were reported over the past 24 hours, 27 of which were in long-term care homes. The province’s death toll is now 5,846.

At hospitals in Ontario, there are 1,398 patients with COVID-19. Of those, 397 are in intensive care and 283 are on ventilators.

The number of resolved cases rose to 227,494. There are currently 23,620 active cases of the virus in Ontario.

In the last 24 hour period, only 35,968 COVID-19 tests were processed. Ontario’s positivity rate is roughly 5.5 per cent.

The province has administered 286,110 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as of 8 p.m. Sunday.

It was one year ago Monday, Ontario confirmed its first case of what was then only known as the novel coronavirus. A 56-year-old man who had travelled to China was admitted to hospital in Toronto with mild pneumonia that was later confirmed to be COVID-19.

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