The London-area hit a grim milestone on Monday as the number of COVID-19 related deaths in the region reached 50.
The Middlesex London Health Unit reported the latest death involved a man in his 80s in a retirement home. There have been 30 deaths associated with local long-term care homes or retirement facilities - 21 in long-term care and nine in retirement homes.
The latest death comes as the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the area surpassed 500. There were two new cases recorded over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number since the start of the outbreak to 501.
There are 16 people diagnosed with the virus under the care of the London Health Sciences Centre. The hospital announced on Monday it will no longer specify how many of the cases are at each of its sites or the number of patients in the intensive care unit. The change in reporting is aimed at protecting patient privacy as the number of cases decreases, the hospital said.
A total of 366 people who previously tested positive for the virus have since recovered.
In Elgin and Oxford counties, there were no new cases or deaths reported on Monday. The total number of cases in that region sits at 72, with four deaths. The total number of recoveries is 57.
Provincially, the number of COVID-19 cases reported over the last 24 hours is 404. This is the fifth day in a row that the single-day numbers have been above the 400 mark.
Since the start of the outbreak there have been 25,904 cases confirmed throughout Ontario. Another 29 people have died as a result of the virus, bringing the death toll in the province to 2,102. More than half of the deaths (1,323) have been among residents in long-term care homes.
According to the epidemiologic summary, outbreaks of the virus remain at 295 long-term care facilities in Ontario. That is an increase of three since Sunday. There are also 123 outbreaks at retirement homes and 82 outbreaks at hospitals around the province.
Health-care workers in Ontario account for 4,415 of the total number of cases of COVID-19.
Hospitalization among those with COVID-19 sits at 12.6 per cent with 859 people currently in hospital. Of those, 148 are listed in the intensive care unit, 114 with a ventilator helping them to breathe.
Public health officials have said 19,698 of the cases have been resolved.
