COVID-19: Record Incidents Rise in London-Middlesex Prompts Guidance for New Health Units-London

London-Middlesex health officials release urgent new guidance to crack down on the COVID-19 surge and continue to overwhelm local contact tracing efforts, setting a new day’s pandemic record on Wednesday. I am.

According to the Middlesex-London Health Unit, at least 228 new cases were reported to the health unit on Tuesday. This is most of the pandemic days so far. Aggregates will be reflected in MLHU’s COVID-19 dashboard when updated around noon on Wednesday.

According to health unit data, the new daily record is 52 cases more than the previous record set on April 13, 176. The third highest daily increase in the region was recorded at 169 last Tuesday.

The surge in cases has overwhelmed MLHU’s resources. As of Wednesday, more than 300 positive cases in the area had not yet been informed by the health department of their condition, officials said.

“The health unit is currently advising those who test positive for COVID-19 to immediately self-isolate and not wait for public health contact,” officials said late Wednesday morning. Said in the published media release.

“These individuals are also asked to instruct everyone who is part of the family to be quarantined.”

The health unit should treat people who develop respiratory symptoms as COVID-19, even if they are not positive, immediately self-isolate and notify their families to do the same. He says he is giving advice.

In a statement, Dr. Alex Summers, Deputy Medical Officer of Health in the region, said the number of cases in London-Middlesex has been high since the highly contagious variant of Omicron was first identified in the city. , Said it increased “at an unprecedented rate.” About 2 weeks ago.

According to health unit data, the average of 7-day mobile cases in the region more than doubled in a week from 56 on December 14 to 134 on Tuesday.

“We want everyone to take enhanced precautions when they want to get together with friends and family. We know that’s not what people want to hear, but. The situation is unprecedented and we all need to work together to prevent further expansion, “says Summers.

Ontario enforced social gathering restrictions and store and restaurant capacity restrictions on Sundays, currently limiting indoor gatherings to 10 and outdoor gatherings to 25.

The state’s top doctor, Dr. Keeran Moore, said Tuesday that the state is preparing to change its strategy for COVID-19 testing and case management in the light of Omicron.

The surge in cases has significantly increased the demand for COVID-19 testing and will be booked as soon as it becomes available.

Reservations at the Curling Heights COVID-19 Assessment Center in the city can only be made 5 days in advance and will be booked until December 27th.

The facility has tested an average of 560 people per day over the last 7 days. On December 16th, the Assessment Center exceeded 600 tests a day for the first time with a record of 635 times.

Improving testing capacity at the facility has been hampered by personnel restrictions. According to LHSC, a medical provider is also needed to get a third boost at a local vaccination site and work at two hospitals in the city.

Similarly, many medical staff have been working non-stop for months, and at least 36 LHSC staff are currently active in COVID-19.

The availability of local test choices is better than ever. As of late Wednesday morning, My Health With the test clinic at Wharncliffe Road North Dynacare The Dandas Street East facility was unplanned until at least January 4th.

Similarly, LifeLabs‘The Fanshawe Park Road site is open on Thursdays and Sundays and was booked until at least January 6th.

More than a dozen Pharmacies in the city also offer testsHowever, the content offered is inconsistent and varies from pharmacy to pharmacy.

As of Sunday, 6.7% of tests in the area had returned positive.

Vaccine reservations, such as a third booster dose, have also been in high demand since the state lowered the eligibility of all adults on Monday. As of Wednesday, slots for the Western Fair Agriplex Vaccination Clinic were reserved until mid-January.

A second dose of COVID-19 vaccine is only 35% effective against Omicron variants 3 months after administration, and a third dose increases efficacy by up to 75%, an Ontario scientific adviser said. increase.

The area recorded new case records on Wednesday, but hospitalizations for local COVID-19 were slightly reduced.

The London Health Sciences Center reported that 13 COVID-19 patients were being treated, a decrease of 2 from Tuesday. Less than 5 patients were in the intensive care unit and less than 5 were admitted to a children’s hospital. COVID-19 patients have not been reported in their pediatric critical care centers.

Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer, said on Tuesday that most people in Ontario for COVID-19 (including 165 intensive care patients as of Tuesday) were hospitalized in delta form. However, the state has the potential for Omicron to eventually hospitalize more people.

Early figures show that 15 out of 4,600 people in Ontario with laboratory-identified cases of Omicron were hospitalized, according to Moore. He said that most infected people are in their twenties and are usually in an age group that does not suffer from the worst COVID-19 consequences.

Moore said he was still reviewing evidence of Omicron’s pathogenicity before concluding on the severity of the disease caused by Omicron. A “much better understanding” may come next week.

— Using The Canadian Press files

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