A microbiologist performs a manual extraction of the coronavirus. (Photo by Tom Wolf from Flickr)A microbiologist performs a manual extraction of the coronavirus. (Photo by Tom Wolf from Flickr)
London

Daily COVID-19 cases fall back to single-digits in London region

The number of new cases in London and Middlesex County has once again slipped into single-digits.

The Middlesex London Health Unit reported just five new infections on Monday, down from ten the previous day. This is the first time since last Wednesday when nine infections were recorded that daily cases have been below ten. It is also only the forth time this month the region's daily cases haven't been in the double-digits.

There has not been a COVID-19 related death in the area in nine straight days. The death toll is unchanged at 181.

Resolved cases stand at 5,814, which leaves just 103 known active cases in the region.

Six seniors facilities continue to deal with outbreaks of COVID-19. A previous outbreak at Westmount Gardens was resolved over the weekend.

Outbreaks remain at three local schools - St. Anne’s Catholic school, Clara Brenton public school, and Caradoc North public school. The Thames Valley District School Board has confirmed a new case of COVID-19 at Northbrae Public School. The school will remain open and only those identified as close contacts of the affected individual will be contacted with further testing and quarantine advice.

The number of patients with COVID-19 in the care of the London Health Sciences Centre has decreased to 13, with fewer than five of them listed in intensive care.

There are currently six active cases within the school board, more information on positive cases can be found here.

For the first time this year, there have been no new cases of COVID-19 reported in Elgin and Oxford counties. Southwestern Public Health, the health unit for the region, has not had a zero case day since last October. The region's total caseload since March of last year is unchanged at 2,457. There were also no additional deaths linked to the virus recorded over the past 24 hours. That leaves the death toll at 67. There are three area long-term care or retirement homes dealing with cases of the virus - Aylmer Retirement Residence, Valleyview Nursing Home in St. Thomas, and Caressant Care Retirement Home Woodstock. Four deaths are associated with the three outbreaks. Resolved cases have increased to 2,350. There are now 40 known active cases in the two counties.

Ontario’s daily case count was back above 1,000 for the fifth consecutive day.

Public health officials logged 1,058 new infections across the province on Monday. That is down from 1,087 cases on Sunday and 1,228 on Saturday.

Toronto had the province’s highest daily number of cases over the past 24 hours with 325, that was followed by Peel with 215, and York Region with 87.

Ontario has found 390 cases of the variant first discovered in the U.K., known as B.1.1.7, and nine of the variant found in South Africa, known as B.1.351. The province has only recorded a single case of the variant first found in Brazil, known as P.1.

Ontario’s total case count since the start of the pandemic now stands at 294,144.

There were 11 additional deaths reported over the past 24 hours, four of which were in long-term care homes. The province’s death toll is now 6,872.

At hospitals in Ontario, there are 646 patients with COVID-19. Of those, 280 are in intensive care and 189 are on ventilators.

The number of resolved cases rose to 276,937. There are currently 10,335 active cases of the virus in Ontario.

In the last 24 hour period, 31,163 COVID-19 tests were processed. The province’s positivity rate is 3.3 per cent.

To date, the province has administered 569,455 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 240,669 people having received both shots required to be fully inoculated.

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