Another 105 new COVID-19 infections were reported Friday in Middlesex London to bring the region's total case count since the start of the pandemic above 9,000.
It is the third consecutive day this week and 12th day this month the Middlesex London Health Unit has logged daily triple digit increases. Friday's case numbers are down compared to Thursday's 151 and Wednesday's record 176.
The latest infections increase the city and county's total number of cases to 9,007.
The local death toll is unchanged at 193, with no additional deaths reported since Wednesday.
Resolved cases are up to 7,639 and there are 1,175 active cases.
Another 73 variant infections were identified for a total of 873. Of those, 871 are the B.1.1.7 strain that originated in the U.K. and two are the P.1 variant from Brazil. There are 192 cases confirmed as being positive for a mutation.
Outbreaks continue at one health care facility (Parkwood Institute Mental Health Care Building), two daycare centres, and eight university residences.
The Thames Valley District School Board reported new COVID-19 cases at just two schools on Friday. River Heights in Dorchester and Sir Wilfrid Laurier secondary in London were added to the list of schools with active cases.
Hospitalizations in the region have risen by eight since Thursday with 65 people with COVID-19 now in the care of the London Health Sciences Centre. Twenty-eight of those patients are listed in the intensive care unit. There are no hospital workers who have tested positive for the virus.
The effort to get the vaccine into the arms of residents continues. Neil Johnson, the LHSC's chief operating officer, tweeted the region will hit another milestone in the administration of the shot on Friday.
"We will break through the 120,000 COVID-19 vaccines given mark in London today," tweeted Johnson. "It's great news but it's not enough. We can double our numbers in a few days if we have more vaccines."
On Tuesday, the health unit expanded vaccine eligibility in London and Middlesex County to include people born in 1961. Vaccination appointments can be booked online at www.covidvaccinelm.ca or by phone at 226-289-3560.
In Elgin and Oxford counties, there was a slight rise in new cases. Southwestern Public Health, the health unit for the region, said there were 30 new COVID-19 infections recorded Friday, up from 23 on Thursday. The region’s total number of cases is now 3,140, with 2,870 resolved and 72 deaths. There were no additional COVID-19 related deaths reported over the past 24 hours. Currently, there are 198 active cases in the two counties and two outbreaks at seniors’ facilities in St. Thomas – Caressant Care Bonnie Place and Metcalfe Gardens.
For the second straight day, Ontario has recorded a record high number of new COVID-19 cases.
Public health officials confirmed 4,812 new infections across the province over the past 24 hours. That’s up from 4,736 on Thursday, which was also a record single-day high when it was reported.
Toronto had the province’s highest daily number of cases Friday with 1,469, followed by Peel with 851, York Region with 49, Ottawa with 366, and Durham with 268.
There have been another 2,897 new cases of the variant originating from the U.K. in Ontario. That brings the province’s total number of B.1.1.7,cases to 30,175. Cases of the B.1.351 and P.1 variants are up by four and 202 for a total of 99 and 202.
Ontario total case count since the start of the pandemic now stands at 408,383.
There were 25 additional deaths reported over the past 24 hours. The provincial death toll is now 7,664.
Hospitals in Ontario continue to see an all-time high number of patients with COVID-19. There are currently a record 1,955 people hospitalized with the virus. Of those, a record 701 are in intensive care and 480 are on ventilators.
The number of resolved cases rose to 360,742. There are currently 39,977active cases of the virus in Ontario, a rise of more than 10,000 compared to the same time last week.
In the last 24 hour period, 64,304 COVID-19 tests were processed, down from more than 65,500 the previous day. The province positivity rate is currently 8.2 per cent, up from 8 per cent on Thursday.
To date, the province has administered 3,644,038 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with 341,933 people having received both shots required to be fully inoculated.