COVID-19: LHSC reports pandemic-high 107 hospitalizations, MLHU adds 260 cases

Jump to: Hospitalizations – Cases and testing – Outbreaks – Vaccinations – Ontario – Elgin and Oxford – Huron and Perth – Sarnia and Lambton

The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations and intensive care admissions is still climbing in Middlesex-London as the Omicron wave continues, reaching a pandemic-high 107 COVID-19 inpatients at London Health Sciences Centre on Tuesday.

The previous record was 99 COVID-19 inpatients on May 5, 2021.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit reported 260 cases on Tuesday and no new deaths.

The MLHU released new vaccination data on Tuesday, dating to the end of day Jan. 8. According to the data, nearly a third of those aged five and older have had their third dose (note that only those 18 and older are eligible for a third dose). In particular, over 68 per cent of those 12 and older have received a third dose.

Hospitalizations

LHSC is caring for a record-high 107 inpatients with COVID-19, up from 89 on Monday and 59 a week ago.

Of those, 21 are in adult critical care, unchanged from Monday and up from 10 a week ago.

Five or fewer are in Children’s Hospital and five or fewer in pediatric critical care, unchanged from Monday. Last Tuesday, there were five or fewer inpatients with COVID-19 in Children’s Hospital and zero in pediatric critical care.

Of the 107 patients, 71 are being treated for COVID-19 while 36 are being treated with COVID-19, up from 68 and 21, respectively, the day before. This data was not available last week.

Among staff, there are 468 cases of COVID-19, up from 434 on Monday and 210 a week ago.

There are currently active outbreaks at University Hospital in 7IP clinical neurosciences and at Victoria Hospital’s B7-200 adult psychiatric intensive care unit (PICU).

The outbreak at UH involves 12 patient cases and five or fewer confirmed cases among staff with another 17 potential staff cases. The outbreak at Victoria Hospital involves seven patient cases and five or fewer confirmed cases among staff with another eight potential staff cases.

St. Joseph’s Health Care London is reporting a total of 124 cases among health-care workers. Of those, 109 are not outbreak-related, up from 70 on Monday, which was unchanged from a week prior. There are also now 15 outbreak-related cases among staff, up from zero the day before.

Among patients or residents, there are a total of 58 cases. Of those, 45 are outbreak-related cases at Parkwood Institute Main Building and nine are outbreak-related cases at Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care, up from 19 and six, respectively, on Monday (which was also unchanged from a week ago).

In addition, there are now four non-outbreak cases among patients or residents: two at Mount Hope Centre for Long-Term Care and one each at Parkwood Institute Main Building and Parkwood Institute Mental Health Care Building. There were no non-outbreak patient or resident cases reported on Monday.

St. Joseph’s is currently reporting outbreaks in SM1, MV5 and MV1 at Mount Hope and in 3AE, 3KE, 4BE, 4AE, 4AN, 2Perth, GRU and MSK at Parkwood Institute Main Building.

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Cases and testing

The MLHU reported 260 cases on Tuesday and no new deaths.

Four deaths were reported over the weekend involving a woman in her 90s, a woman in her 70s and a man in his 90s who were all associated with long-term care and had received three doses of vaccine, as well as the death of a woman in her 70s with no association to long-term care and who had not been vaccinated.

Note that due to changes in eligibility for PCR testing, daily case counts are no longer considered a fully reliable reflection of COVID-19 activity in the region.

In total, there have been 24,566 confirmed cases since the onset of the pandemic, including 4,280 active cases (a decrease of 216), 20,023 resolved cases (an increase of 482) and 263 deaths (unchanged from Monday).

The test positivity rate for the week of Dec. 26, 2021, the most recent data available, reached 28.3 per cent in Middlesex-London, up from 15.5 per cent the week of Dec. 19 and 6.9 per cent the week of Dec. 12.

Outbreaks

As of Tuesday, outbreaks are active at the following long-term care homes, retirement homes or hospitals:

• Arbor Trace Alzheimer’s Special Care Centre, facility-wide, declared Jan. 4
• Babcock Community Care Centre, facility-wide, declared Dec. 31
• Chartwell London, Magnolia and Pinebrook areas, declared Dec. 18
• Chartwell Parkhill, Countryside Unit, declared Jan. 1
• Country Terrace, Nottinghill Unit, declared Dec. 28
• Dearness Home, in 5E, 5W, 4E, Oakdale and 2W, declared Dec. 29
• Dorchester Terrace, facility-wide, declared Jan. 6
• Earls Court Village, first and third floors, declared Jan. 2
• Elmwood Place, facility-wide, declared Dec. 27
• Extendicare, second and third floors, declared Dec. 24
• Henley Place LTC Residence, facility-wide, declared Dec. 29
• Highview Residence – Chapin House, facility-wide, declared Jan. 7
• Kensington Village, first and second floors, declared Jan. 4
• Kensington Village Retirement, Highbury area, declared Jan. 4
• LHSC – University Hospital, 7IP Neurosciences, declared Jan. 1
• LHSC – Victoria Hospital, PICU, declared Dec. 31
• Manor Village at London, 4 West and 4 Centre, declared Jan. 10
• McCormick Home, Evergreen unit, declared Dec. 14
• McGarrell Place, facility-wide, declared Jan. 1
• Meadow Park Care Centre, facility-wide, declared Jan. 1
• Middlesex Terrace, third floor, declared Dec. 26
• Mount Hope Centre for Long Term Care, SM1, MV5 and MV1, declared Dec. 25
• Oakcrossing Retirement Living, facility-wide, declared Jan. 4
• Parkwood Institute Main Building, 2 Perth, declared Jan. 5
• Parkwood Institute Main Building, 3 Kent/Essex, declared Dec. 31
• Parkwood Institute Main Building, 3A-East, declared Dec. 23
• Parkwood Institute Main Building, 4 Bruce Elgin, declared Jan. 3
• Parkwood Institute Main Building, 4AE/4AN, declared Jan. 9
• Parkwood Institute Main Building, 5AN and 5AE, declared Jan. 9
• Strathmere Lodge, facility-wide, declared Jan. 6
• Village of Glendale Crossing, facility-wide, Lambeth, declared Dec. 25
• Westmount Gardens, Daisy Unit, declared Jan. 3

There is also an outbreak at Peoplecare Oak Crossing, in White Pine and Red Oak, declared Dec. 31, but the illness is only described as “respiratory unknown.”

A previous outbreak at Sisters of St. Joseph, care centre, declared Dec. 24, was listed as over as of Jan. 10.

There are no active outbreaks at elementary or secondary schools, child-care or early years centres or post-secondary institutions in the MLHU’s jurisdiction as of Friday.

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Vaccinations

The MLHU released updated vaccination data on Tuesday, showing a large increase in the number of third doses administered.

As of Jan. 8, 88.6 per cent of those aged five and older have had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, up from 88 per cent a week prior, while 82.7 per cent have had two doses, up from 82.1 per cent a week prior.

The percentage of those aged five and older who’ve received third doses climbed to 31.8 per cent as of Jan. 8 from 25.4 per cent as of Jan. 1. Note that those under 18 are not currently eligible for a third dose.

Additionally, more than 68 per cent of those aged 70 and older have had a third dose.

The Middlesex-London Health Unit says individuals with COVID-19 symptoms should consider themselves to be positive for COVID-19 and self-isolate.

The health unit has provided information on what to do if you develop symptoms, test positive on a rapid test or PCR test or have been exposed to someone who has tested positive.

Health unit data shows that since Nov. 30, 40.46 per cent of hospitalized cases have involved people who were unvaccinated and 56.49 per cent involved fully vaccinated individuals in that same timeframe. The rest involve those who were partially vaccinated. Note that unvaccinated residents make up only 11.4 per cent of the region’s five-and-older population as of Jan. 8.

On the health unit’s website, residents can find information on pop-up clinics, mass vaccination clinics and pharmacies, as well as guidance for anyone vaccinated outside of the province or country, transportation support for those in need and more.

Ontario

The province indicated that there are currently 3,220 people in hospital with COVID-19 (an increase of 753 from Monday). Around 54 per cent of them were admitted because of the virus, while about 46 per cent were admitted for other reasons but tested positive for COVID-19.

Of those hospitalized, the province said 477 are in ICUs, which is up by 39. Around 83 per cent of those in intensive care were admitted because of COVID-19, while around 17 per cent were admitted for other reasons.

The province also reported 7,951 COVID-19 cases Tuesday, though that is an underestimate due to testing restrictions recently put in place.

The province also reported 21 deaths Tuesday.

Elgin and Oxford

Southwestern Public Health reported three deaths on Tuesday, all tied to long-term care homes. The deaths involve a woman in her 80s at Caressant Care Bonnie Place, a man in his 80s at Secord Trails and a woman in her 90s a Terrace Lodge.

SWPH said 13 of its 34 long-term care or retirement homes are in outbreak as of Tuesday.

The deaths follow two reported between Saturday and Monday, involving a woman in her 70 and a woman in her 60s, both from Woodstock.

SWPH reported 23 hospitalizations on Tuesday, up from 22 on Monday and 15 a week ago. There were eight cases in the ICU, up from seven on Monday and five a week ago.

The test positivity rate was 24.8 per cent during the week of Dec. 26, the most recent data available, up from 11.3 per cent the week of Dec. 19 and 6.8 per cent the week of Dec. 12.

As for cases, SWPH is reporting:

• 8,616 cases (an increase of 78, with six cases removed due to data cleanup)
• 1,382 active cases (a decrease of 77)
• 7,112 resolved cases (an increase of 146; note that SWPH clears all cases after 10 days regardless of outcome)
• 122 deaths (an increase of three)
  

There are active outbreaks at the following long-term homes, retirement homes and hospitals:

• Valleyview Nursing Home, St. Thomas, declared Dec. 23 and involving 15 resident cases and 19 staff cases
• Woodingford Lodge, Woodstock, declared Dec. 28 and involving nine resident cases and 14 staff cases
• Tillsonburg Retirement Residence – Tillsonburg, declared Dec. 29 and involving one resident case
• Chartwell Oxford Gardens, Woodstock, declared Dec. 30 and involving 12 resident cases and three staff cases
• Caressant Care Bonnie Place Retirement Home, St. Thomas, declared Dec. 30 and involving 13 resident cases, six staff cases, one death and one case under investigation
• Caressant Care Bonnie Place Nursing Home, St. Thomas, declared Dec. 30 and involving four resident cases and six staff cases
• Elgin Manor, St. Thomas, declared Dec. 31 and involving four resident cases and two staff cases
• Beattie Manor Retirement Residence, Wardsville, declared Dec. 31 and involving two resident cases
• Extendicare, Port Stanley, declared Jan. 2 and involving seven resident cases and seven staff cases
• Secord Trails, Ingersoll, declared Jan. 2 and involving 29 resident cases, nine staff cases and one death
• Chartwell Aylmer, Aylmer, declared Jan. 2 and involving three resident cases and six staff cases
• Alexandra Hospital, Ingersoll, declared Jan. 3 and involving nine resident cases and two staff cases
• Caressant Care Nursing Home – Woodstock, declared Jan. 3 and involving one resident case and nine staff cases
• Maples Nursing Home – Tavistock, declared Jan. 7, involving one resident case and five staff cases
• St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital – St. Thomas, declared Jan. 7, involving two resident cases and three staff cases

There are currently no active outbreaks at local schools. More information on school cases can be found on the websites of the Thames Valley District School Board and the London District Catholic School Board.

As of Jan. 10, 76.6 per cent of those aged five and older in the region had received two doses of the vaccine, while 81.6 per cent have had at least one dose.

A walk-in vaccination clinic will be held on Jan. 13 in Straffordville from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Straffordville Community Centre at 56169 Heritage Line.

Further information on where and how to get vaccinated can be found on the health unit’s website.

The health unit encouraged people to join its Same-Day Vaccination List, which offers any leftover doses due to cancellations or no-shows.

Huron and Perth

On Tuesday, Huron Perth Public Health reported five people were in hospital with COVID-19, up from four on Monday and down from eight a week ago.

Of those, three are considered to be active cases.

The number of health-care workers with active COVID-19 infections climbed to 87, up from 59 on Monday and 13 a week ago.

For the week of Dec. 26, the test positivity rate was 21.2 per cent, up from 9.6 per cent the week of Dec. 19 and 3.8 per cent the week of Dec. 12.

In total, HPPH reported on Friday that there were:

• 4,276 total cases (an increase of 28)
• 1,176 active cases (an increase of 11)
• 3,007 recoveries (an increase of 15)
• 78 deaths to date (an increase of two)

No details were provided about the two deaths.

There are 19 active outbreaks reported by HPPH, including nine at long-term care or retirement homes:

• Hillside Manor, Perth East, declared Dec. 31 and involving three staff cases
• Kingsway Lodge, St. Marys, declared Jan. 3 and involving three resident cases and 12 staff cases
• Queensway Nursing home, Bluewater, declared Dec. 31 and involving one resident case and one staff case
• Wildwood Care Centre, St. Marys, declared Dec. 27 and involving seven staff cases
• Caressant Care Retirement Home, North Perth, declared Jan. 2 and involving one resident case and two staff cases
• Exeter Villa, South Huron, declared Jan. 2 and involving six resident cases and 12 staff cases
• Goderich Place, Goderich, declared Jan. 8 and involving three staff cases
• Maplewood Manor Retirement Home, Huron East, declared Dec. 30 and involving one resident case and three staff cases
• Seaforth Manor Retirement Home, Huron East, declared Jan. 2 and involving two resident cases and four staff cases

HPPH is also reporting an outbreak at Stratford General Hospital, declared Jan. 7, involving one patient and four staff members.

HPPH is reporting nine outbreaks at congregate living settings but no further details were provided.

Data on school cases can be found on the websites of the Avon-Maitland District School Board and the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board.

As of Jan. 10, 83.3 per cent of residents aged five and older have had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose while 78.4 per cent are fully vaccinated. Third-dose coverage stands at 38.6 per cent of those five and older, though those under the age of 18 are not eligible for a third dose.

Information on how and where to get a vaccine can be found on the health unit’s website.

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Sarnia and Lambton

Bluewater Health reported 34 patients in hospital with confirmed COVID-19, down from 41 on Monday but up from 27 a week ago. Lambton Public Health is reporting the average ICU occupancy was at 80 per cent for the week of Dec. 26, the most recent data available.

The test positivity rate was 31.2 per cent for the week of Dec. 26, up from 6.8 per cent for the week of Dec. 12. LPH did not provide data for the week of Dec. 19.

On Monday, Lambton Public Health reported:

• 7,233 total cases (an increase of 104)
• 1,315 active cases (a decrease of 178)
• 5,829 resolved cases (an increase of 282)
• 89 deaths to date (unchanged)
  

LPH reported 16 active outbreaks as of Monday.

There are outbreaks at the following congregate living facilities:

• Christian Horizons in Sarnia, declared Jan. 10 and involving fewer than five resident cases and fewer than five staff/caregiver cases
• Lambton County Developmental Services in Wyoming, declared Jan. 9 and involving fewer than five resident cases and fewer than five staff/caregiver cases
• Huron House Boys Home in Brights Grove, declared Jan. 8 and involving fewer than five residents and fewer than five staff/caregivers
• Community Living Sarnia-Lambton in Sarnia, declared Jan. 7 and involving fewer than five residents and fewer than five staff/caregivers
• St. Francis Advocates in Petrolia, declared Jan. 7 and involving fewer than five residents and fewer than five staff/caregivers
• Community Living Sarnia-Lambton in Sarnia, declared Jan. 6 and involving fewer than five residents and fewer than five staff/caregivers

There are outbreaks at the following long-term care and retirement homes:

• Watford Quality Care in Watford, declared Jan. 5 and involving fewer than five resident cases and fewer than five staff cases
• Trillium Villa in Sarnia, declared Jan. 3 and involving 17 residents and 19 staff/caregivers
• Marshall Gowland Manor in Sarnia, declared Jan. 1 and involving fewer than five residents and 12 staff/caregivers
• Afton Park Place in Sarnia, declared Dec. 31 and involving fewer than five residents and nine staff/caregivers
• Sumac Lodge in Sarnia, declared Dec. 31 and involving 12 resident cases and 10 cases among staff/caregivers
• Fiddick’s Nursing Home in Petrolia, declared Dec. 30 and involving six residents and 12 staff/caregivers
• Vision Nursing Home in Sarnia, declared Dec. 29 and involving fewer than five residents and eight staff/caregivers
• Rosewood Retirement Village in Sarnia, declared Dec. 26 and involving fewer than five residents and fewer than five staff/caregivers

Outbreaks have also been reported at a jail and hospital. The outbreak at Sarnia Jail in Sarnia was declared Jan. 8 and involves fewer than five inmates and fewer than five staff members. The outbreak at Bluewater Health in Sarnia was declared Jan. 7 and involves fewer than five patients and fewer than five staff members.

All active cases at schools within the Lambton Kent District School Board can be found online, as can cases at schools within the St. Clair Catholic District School Board.

Eighty-one per cent of area residents age five and older have had at least one dose of vaccine while 76 per cent have had two doses. Twenty-seven per cent have had a third dose, health unit data shows. Note that those under 18 are not currently eligible for a third dose.

Residents can book and re-book COVID-19 vaccine appointments or find information on vaccine availability at pharmacies using the health unit’s registration page. People can also contact the vaccine call centre at 226-254-8222.

Those who are able to get vaccinated on short notice are encouraged to sign up for Lambton Public Health’s daily Vaccine Standby List.

— with files from Ryan Rocca