The number of new COVID-19 cases in the London region climbed back above 20 on Tuesday following a one day drop into the teens.
The Middlesex London Health Unit logged 22 new infections over the past 24 hours. That is up from 13 cases on Monday, but down from 25 cases on Sunday, and 31 cases on Saturday. This is the 20th straight day the region has recorded a double digit case increase. The last time fewer than ten infections were logged in the area was on August 11 when there were just five new cases. The local total number of cases since the pandemic began is now 13,373.
The area death toll is unchanged at 233, with no additional COVID-19 related deaths reported in a week.
Resolved cases are up to 12,891. There are currently 249 active cases locally.
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) currently has 12 inpatients with COVID-19 in its care, up one since Monday. Five or fewer of those patients are listed in intensive care and five or fewer hospital workers have become sick. The hospital announced on Tuesday it is making the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for all of its staff. Doctors, staff, volunteers, contractors, and cross-appointed personnel will be required to have both doses of the vaccine and have completed the 14-day waiting period no later than October 20.
Another 35 cases have been identified as variants of concern for a total of 3,917. There are 3,385 variants of concern that have been confirmed as the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) strain and 124 have tested positive as the P.1. (Gamma) variant. The region has also had 402 cases of the B.1.617 (Delta) variant and two cases of the B.1.351 (Beta) strain. There are 187 cases that have tested positive for a mutation.
As of Saturday, there have been 717,351 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered in the region, which works out to 82.8 per cent of all area residents aged 12 and older having received at least one dose. The percentage of the local population to receive both doses is currently 75.8.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Chris Mackie was quick to tweet about the region hitting the 75 per cent fully vaccinated milestone.
"This is a tremendous community accomplishment that deserves to be celebrated. This is akin to winning the #VaccineOlympics," Mackie wrote on the social media platform.
He went on to thank everyone who chose to get the shot in order to protect "themselves, their family, their neighbours, their customers and colleagues, and their community."
The numbers are in, and WE MADE IT TO 75!
75% of eligible people who live in #ldnont and Middlesex have had not one, but two COVID-19 vaccines!
This is a tremendous community accomplishment that deserves to be celebrated. This is akin to winning the #VaccineOlympics! pic.twitter.com/LJAAEb8E9k
— Dr. Chris Mackie (@Healthmac) August 31, 2021
Of the 640 people who have contracted the virus locally since July 20, approximately 65.3 per cent were not vaccinated, 16.9 per cent were partially vaccinated, and 15.3 per cent were fully vaccinated. Another 2.5 per cent had the shot but it had not yet begun offering protection. None of the people who died during that six-week period had received a single dose of the vaccine.
In Elgin and Oxford counties, there were five new cases reported Tuesday. That brings Southwestern Public Health’s total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 4,080. For the first time since July 14, the region has recorded a death related to the virus, bringing the death toll up to 85. Resolved cases rose to 3,970 with 25 known active cases in the two counties remaining. Roughly 81.8 per cent of area residents aged 12 and older have had one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 75.1 per cent have received both doses.
Ontario’s daily COVID-19 caseload dropped back below 600 for the first time in six days.
Public health officials logged 525 new infections on Tuesday. That is down significantly from 694 cases on Monday, 740 cases on Sunday, and 835 infections on Saturday.
The unvaccinated continue to account for more than half of the new cases across the province, with 326 of the infections reported Tuesday among those who have not had a single shot. The partially vaccinated make up 43 of the new cases, and there are 91 cases involving the fully vaccinated. There are 65 cases among individuals whose vaccination status is unknown.
Toronto had the province’s highest daily number of cases over the past 24 hours with 120, followed by Peel Region and Windsor-Essex with 60 each, and Hamilton and Niagara with 41 each.
Ontario’s total case count since the start of the pandemic now stands at 565,550.
The province has confirmed 12 more cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, known as Alpha, for a total of 146,341. The number of cases of the B.1.351 variant, known as Beta, is up one for a total at 1,501. There are no new cases involving the P.1. variant, known as Gamma, leaving the total at 5,222. The total number of cases identified as the B.1.617 variant, known as Delta, went up by 80 to 9,779.
There were five additional deaths reported Tuesday, however, three of those deaths occurred more than two months ago and were just added to the total as part of a data cleanup. The provincial death toll is now 9,503.
There are currently 336 people with COVID-19 being treated at Ontario hospitals, an increase of 110 since Monday. COVID-19 related admissions to the intensive care unit are down by two to 160 and there are 131 people breathing with the assistance of a ventilator. Of those in general hospital wards with the virus, 303 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status. Thirty-three are fully vaccinated.
The number of resolved cases rose by 680 to 550,179. There are currently 5,868 active cases of the virus in Ontario.
In the last 24 hour period, 19,643 COVID-19 tests were processed. The province's positivity rate is now 3.1 per cent.
To date, the province has administered over 20.7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, with more than 9.9 million people having received both shots required to be fully inoculated.
