The Middlesex London Health Unit has recorded five additional COVID-19 deaths since Tuesday.
A man in his 80s and four women, three in their 90s and one in her 100s, have succumbed to the virus, the health unit said on Thursday. Two of the women in their 90s were linked to a long-term care home, while the three others were associated with a retirement home. Their deaths increase the local death toll to 446.
The health unit also recorded 100 new cases in the area since Tuesday. 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 42,871, according to the health unit.
The number of resolved cases is up to 41,959. Currently, there are 466 known active cases in the region, down from 535 a week ago.
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) confirmed it currently has 65 inpatients with COVID-19 in its care, up seven from Tuesday. At this time last week, there were 53 people with COVID admitted to the LHSC. Of those currently hospitalized, there are 22 being treated for COVID-19 and 43 being treated for other ailments but have also tested positive.
There are currently eight COVID infected patients listed in the intensive care unit, up from six on Tuesday. Children’s Hospital has five or fewer inpatients with the virus, however, none are listed in paediatric critical care.
The number of hospital employees who have contracted COVID-19 went up on Thursday. The LHSC said it has 92 infected staffers, an increase of 16 since Tuesday.
There are currently two level two COVID-19 outbreaks at University Hospital - U4 Medicine unit and U6 CVT Inpatient unit.
Southwestern Public Health, the health unit for Elgin and Oxford counties, reported 216 more COVID-19 cases this week, increasing the local case count since the pandemic began to 15,800. Two additional COVID-19 deaths were recorded in the region, increasing the local death toll at 183. Resolved cases rose to 15,332 and there are now 285 known active cases in the two counties.