Middlesex-London daily COVID-19 case count lowest in two months

A nurse holds a vial containing a patients test swab during a demonstrates of the drive-thru Covid-19 testing centre at the National Arts Centre Wednesday November 18, 2020 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Middlesex Centre, Ont. — The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) is reporting 11 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths Tuesday.

The last time the count was this low was March 15 when 10 cases were reported, however there was also the usual dip in testing numbers over the weekend.

Still, MLHU Medical Officer of Health Dr. Chris Mackie says, "Just 11 cases announced today, clearly part of that is lower testing volume over the longer weekend, but we wouldn't be at 11 if we hadn't seen also a major decline in cases in the community over the past few weeks."

No count was reported on the holiday Monday, but 34 cases were reported on Sunday and 63 on Saturday. There have been no deaths reported since Friday.

The region now has a total of 12,031 cases and 217 deaths, with 11,345 cases resolved leaving 469 active. There are now 2,881 cases with a variant of concern – almost all the B.1.1.7 variant that originated in the U.K.

The London Health Sciences Centre is currently dealing with 41 inpatients with COVID-19, of those 16 are in the Intensive Care Unit. Out-of-region transfers accounts for fewer than five patients in acute care and six in the ICU.

As of Saturday, 251,287 vaccine doses had been administered in the region – with nearly 54 per cent of adults having received at least one dose. And as of Sunday youth between the ages of 12 and 17 became eligible to book their vaccine appointment.

Mackie says a record number of vaccinations – 3,700 – were given on Sunday of the long weekend.

"Huge thanks to all of the staff that were working on that day and to all of the people who came out and got their vaccination."

There are three ongoing outbreaks at London-area seniors' homes, while the ongoing outbreak at Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital continues, with 19 cases and two deaths to date.

Here are the most recently available numbers from other local public health authorities:

Across Ontario, 1,039 new infections were reported Tuesday, the lowest number of daily reported infection since the beginning of March.