With only a single digit increase in the number of new COVID-19 cases in London and Middlesex County on Friday, the region's active caseload has slid back under 100.
The Middlesex London Health Unit logged just three new infections over the past 24 hours. This is the second time this month daily case numbers have been below five. Three new cases were also reported on June 7, the first time since the fall London's single-day case count had been that low. Thirteen cases were recorded on Thursday and 26 were reported on Wednesday.
The region’s total case count since the pandemic began is now 12,490.
There were no additional COVID-19 deaths reported locally on Friday. That leaves the death toll at 223.
The number of resolved cases rose by 17 since Thursday for a total of 12,172. There are currently 95 known active cases in the region, the third time this month active infections were out of the triple-digits.
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) has a total of 15 COVID-19 inpatients. Of those, nine are listed in intensive care. There were fewer than five out of region patients in acute care and intensive care. An outbreak continues but has not expanded on University Hospital's 8TU transplant unit. There are fewer than five patients and staff members connected to the outbreak who have contracted the virus.
The number of cases involving variants of concern identified in the area has risen by six to 3,417. There have been 3,328 cases involving the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) variant that originated in the U.K., 83 cases of the P.1 (Gamma) variant from Brazil, including one sublineage, two cases of the B.1.351 (Beta) variant from South Africa, and four cases of the B.1.617 (Delta) variant, originally found in India.
As the acceleration of second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine continues, the health unit is making it easier for people to cancel their original second shot appointments. People can now email covidcancel@mlhu.on.ca and provide their first and last name, email or cell number the appointment was booked under and the date, time and location of the appointment that needs to be cancelled. This method of cancellation is especially ideal for people who need to delete multiple appointments booked with a common email or phone number. As of Monday, unwanted appointments can also be cancelled by calling 519-963-4136. Prior to this anyone wanting to cancel an appointment had to do so through Gate 6 of the health unit's online booking portal or by calling the same phone line used to book. Cancelling unwanted appointments is important because it returns the timeslot to the vaccination appointment inventory where it can be booked by someone else in need of a shot, the health unit said.
In Elgin and Oxford counties, the number of new cases fell slightly. Southwestern Public Health, the health unit for the region, said there were three new COVID-19 infections recorded Friday. That is down from four on Thursday. The region’s total number of cases is now 3,850 with 3,739 resolved. The death toll was unchanged at 83. Currently, there are 28 active cases in the two counties. As of last Saturday, 60.1 per cent of local residents have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 10 per cent have been given both doses.
The number of new COVID-19 cases across the province is back under 350.
Public health officials confirmed 345 new infections across the province on Friday. That is down from 370 on Thursday and 384 on Wednesday. Prior to that, Ontario had 296 cases on Tuesday, a nine-month record low.
Waterloo had the province’s highest daily number of cases over the past 24 hours with 85, followed by Toronto with 50, Peel with 50, and Hamilton with 29.
Ontario’s total case count since the start of the pandemic now stands at 541,525.
There have been another 228 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, now known as “Alpha,” to 141,700. Cases of the B.1.351 (Beta) variant are up two with 1,146 total and P.1 (Gamma) variants are up by 13 for a total of 4,200. The number of new cases involving the B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant is up by 71 for a total of 657.
There was one additional death reported over the past 24 hours. The provincial death toll is now 8,994.
Hospitalizations in Ontario are down by 19 with 378 COVID-19 positive patients admitted. Of those, 352 are in intensive care and 221 are on ventilators.
The number of resolved cases rose to 528,421. There are currently 4,110 active cases of the virus in Ontario.
In the last 24 hour period, 26,643 COVID-19 tests were processed, down from 30,454 the previous day. Ontario’s current positivity rate remains low at 1.4 per cent.
To date, the province has administered 12,153,663 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with more than 2.5 million people having received both shots required to be fully inoculated. That works out to more than 20 per cent of all adults over the age of 18 in Ontario now fully vaccinated.