The number of new cases of COVID-19 in the London-area jumped back into double-digits on Wednesday.
The Middlesex London Health Unit logged 13 new infections over the past 24 hours, up from six on Tuesday, seven on Monday, and six on Sunday. The three-day stretch of single-digit increases marked the first time since early August the region had seen that many days in a row with fewer than 10 new cases.
The total number of cases locally since the pandemic began sits at 14,240.
There were no additional COVID-19 related deaths in the region, leaving the death toll unchanged at 243.
Resolved cases are up by 24 to 13,849. There are currently 148 active cases locally, down from 158 the previous day.
Hospitalizations in the area are up slightly with 14 COVID-19 patients in the care of the London Health Sciences Centre. Of those, six are listed in intensive care and five or fewer are in Children’s Hospital. There are no hospital employees who have tested positive for the virus.
There are outbreaks at four London schools - Ryerson Public School, London Christian High, St. Catherine of Siena Elementary School, and St. Kateri Elementary School. All of the schools remain open with only close contacts of the infected being instructed to isolate at home.
There were no additional cases involving variants of concern in London and Middlesex County, leaving the total at 4,266. The B.1.617 (Delta) strain has been the only variant detected in the region over the past few weeks with 752 cases total. There have been a total of 3,384 cases of the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) strain, 124 cases of the P.1. (Gamma) variant, and two cases of the B.1.351 (Beta) strain in the region since the health unit began tracking variants of the virus.
Of the 754 new cases logged over the past six weeks, 75.6 per cent are among people who are either not vaccinated, not fully vaccinated or have not reached full immunity.
Southwestern Public Health reported 13 more COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, increasing the local case count since the pandemic began to 4,448. The death toll was unchanged at 87 with no additional deaths recorded since October 5. Resolved cases rose to 4,268. There are now 93 active cases in the two counties. Local Medical Officer of Health Dr. Joyce Lock confirmed most of the active cases are among unvaccinated people under the age of 40. She added that case numbers in the two counties are rising at a time when the seven day average across the province is dropping. The jump in case numbers has led Lock to once again urge residents to screen for COVID symptoms daily, get tested should symptoms arise, and get the shot if you have not already done so.
"I also ask you to get vaccinated with Pfizer or Moderna – two vaccines now used safely millions of times across our country. These vaccines have proven to be very effective at preventing hospitalization and death," said Lock.
Ontario recorded its lowest daily COVID-19 case increase since the start of August on Wednesday.
A total of 306 new infections were confirmed over the past 24 hours. That is down from 390 on Tuesday and 458 on Monday. The last time the province logged so few new cases in a single-day was on August 5 when 213 infections were reported.
Of the latest 306 new cases, 117 were among unvaccinated people, 14 involved partially vaccinated people, 104 were fully vaccinated individuals, and 11 had unknown vaccination status.
Regions with the highest number of new infections over the past 24 hours were Toronto with 68, Windsor-Essex with 32, York Region with 29, and Ottawa with 18.
Ontario’s total case count since the start of the pandemic now sits at 593,020.
According to public health officials, there were 12 additional deaths related to the virus recorded Wednesday. The official death toll now stands at 9,804.
The daily epidemiologic summary indicates there are five more cases believed to be the B.1.1.7. (Alpha) variant. There are now a total of 146,492 cases of that strain in the province. The number of cases of the P.1. (Gamma) variant and the B.1.351(Beta) variant was unchanged with totals of 5,229 and 1,503. Another 30 cases of the B.1.617 (Delta) variant were also identified for a total of 19,448.
Hospitalizations in the province have dropped to 242 COVID-19 positive patients. That’s up by 87 patients from the previous day. There are 153 people in intensive care, up four from Tuesday and the number of people on a ventilator is up by three to 124.
The latest figures from the Ministry of Health shows of the patients with COVID-19 on general hospital wards, 100 were unvaccinated, 11 have had one dose, and 33 were fully vaccinated. Of those in the ICU, 68 are not fully vaccinated and 14 have received both doses.
Resolved cases across the province are up 227 to 579,080. That leaves 4,136 known active cases of the virus in Ontario.
In the last 24 hour period, more than 23,200 COVID-19 tests were processed. Ontario’s positivity rate is now 1.7 per cent.
The province has administered 22,119,312 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday night. There are more than 10.7 million people in Ontario who have received both doses of the vaccine and are considered fully inoculated.