Death toll linked to COVID-19 now at 45

Southwestern Public Health recorded three more deaths linked to COVID-19 on Monday, Jan. 18.

The dead included an Oxford woman, 94, a resident of Maple Manor Nursing Home in Tillsonburg, the site of a large-scale outbreak that has to date claimed 17 deaths.

Two Oxford men, one 73 and one 75, also died.

That brings the total number of deaths linked to COVID-19 in the Southwestern region to 45.

Southwestern reported 28 confirmed new cases of COVID-19 in the Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford region on Monday, down from 49 the previous day. Southwestern has 382 ongoing confirmed cases, up from 370.

St. Thomas and area increased to 69 cases Monday from 68 Sunday and Central Elgin to 12 from 11. Southwold decreased to eight cases from nine and West Elgin to four from five. Aylmer and area remained steady at 37, Bayham at 13 and Malahide at two.

In Oxford, Tillsonburg and area rose to 89 cases from 86, Norwich to 41 from 38, East Zorra-Tavistock to 21 from 17, Ingersoll and area to 20 from 17 and Zorra to 11 from 10. South-West Oxford topped to nine from 11. Woodstock and area remained steady at 45 and Blandford-Blenheim at one.

Across the Southwestern region, the infection rate stands at 180.6 per 100,000 of population, up from 174.9.

Ontario recorded 2,578 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday, down from 3,422 on Sunday.