Two more deaths linked to COVID-19-updated

Southwestern Public Health was reporting two more deaths linked to COVID-19 on Monday, Jan. 4, bringing the total to date in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford to 16.

The health unit said both were related to a large outbreak at Maple Manor long-term care home in Tillsonburg. One of the fatalities was a man in his 70s and the other a man in his 80s.

The health unit stated 47 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Monday, January 4, up from 44 the previous day.

The health unit is now tracking 401 ongoing confirmed cases across its area, up from 371. The infection rate for Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford currently stands at 189.6 per 100,000 of population, up from 175.4 the previous day.

St. Thomas and area increased to 81 cases from 69, Aylmer and area to 53 from 50,  Southwold to six from five and West Elgin to five from three.

Bayham remained steady at 12 cases, Central Elgin at five and the portion of Malahide Township not included in the Aylmer and area total at three.

In Oxford, Tillsonburg rose to 94 cases from 91, Woodstock to 47 from 44, East Zorra-Tavistock to 36 from 35, Norwich to 22 from 20, South-West Oxford to 12 from seven and Blandford-Blenheim to six from five.

Zorra dropped to 11 cases from 12, while Ingersoll and area remained steady at seven.

Across Ontario, 3,270 new cases were confirmed on Monday, up from 2,964 on Sunday.