There has been another COVID-19 related death in the London region.
The Middlesex London Health Unit confirmed Thursday a man in his 90s is the latest person to succumb to the virus in the area. The man was not associated with a long-term care or retirement home, the health unit said. His death is the first in the region since four COVID deaths were confirmed at this time last week. The local death toll now stands at 420.
The health unit also said there have been 202 new cases confirmed in the area since Monday. The health unit now only updates its COVID-19 dashboard twice a week and daily case tallies are believed to be an underestimate of community spread since the provincial government limited eligibility for PCR testing at the end of December. The total number of confirmed cases locally since March 2020 is now 41,116, according to the health unit.
The number of resolved cases is up to 40,041. Currently, there are 655 known active cases in the region, up from 581 a week ago.
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) confirmed it currently has 44 inpatients with COVID-19 in its care, up five since Monday. At this time last week, there were 38 people with COVID admitted to the LHSC. Of those currently hospitalized, there are 17 being treated for COVID-19 and 27 being treated for other ailments but have also tested positive.
There are currently five or fewer COVID infected patients listed in the intensive care unit, unchanged from Monday. Children’s Hospital also has five or fewer inpatients with the virus, including five or fewer listed in paediatric critical care.
The number of hospital employees who have contracted COVID-19 also rose on Thursday. The LHSC said it has 120 infected staffers, an increase of 15 since Monday.
Southwestern Public Health, the health unit for Elgin and Oxford counties, reported 170 more COVID-19 cases this week, increasing the local case count since the pandemic began to 14,916. For the first time in nearly four weeks, a death related to the virus has been recorded in the region. There have now been 174 COVID-19 deaths confirmed locally since March 2020. Resolved cases rose to 14,537 and there are now 205 known active cases in the two counties.