Middlesex-London drops out of double-digit daily COVID-19 case counts, barely

Middlesex Centre, Ont. — The Middlesex-London Health Unit is reporting nine new COVID-19 cases in the region Friday, after seven straight days of double-digit daily counts.

The new cases bring the region’s overall total to 1,323, including 1,119 resolved and 63 deaths, leaving 141 active cases.

Despite the drop, there speculation the area could move from the green (prevent) level of restrictions, to yellow (protect).

On Thursday, Dr. Alex Summers, MLHU associate medical officer of health, said people must take precautions or the area will move into an “escalated category.”

He added that the health unit will be monitoring the situation closely, but it’s unclear if and when the province might make a decision.

Three ongoing outbreaks continue, one at Henley Place LTC Residence and two in separate units at the London Health Sciences Centre’s University Hospital. There are none in school settings.

Here is where the cases stand in the region based on the most recent publicly available data:

Huron Perth Public Health continues to deal with an outbreak at Cedarcroft Place Retirement Residence in Stratford, which has seen four deaths and accounts for 40 of the active cases in the region.

There have also been three school cases reported this week in Perth East, two at Milverton Public School and one at Shakespeare Public School. Both schools remain open.

For the eighth day in a row, Ontario recorded more than 1,000 new cases, adding 1,396 new infections on Friday.