COVID-linked deaths in Elgin, Oxford

Southwestern Public Health reported two deaths related to COVID-19 on Wednesday, Feb. 3, a man in his 70s from Elgin County and a woman in her 90s from Oxford, the latter a resident at PeopleCare long-term care home in Tavistock.

The two latest fatalities bring the local death toll in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford connected to COVID-19 to 59.

Southwestern recorded seven new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, down from 13 on Tuesday. The health unit is tracking 142 ongoing cases, down from 152 Tuesday.

St. Thomas and area dropped to 14 cases Wednesday from 18 Tuesday and West Elgin to two from three. Aylmer and area remained steady at four, Bayham at three, Dutton-Dunwich at three and Malahide at one.

In Oxford, Woodstock and area decreased slightly to 60 from 61, East Zorra-Tavistock to three from five and South-West Oxford to two from three.

Ingersoll and area increased to 11 from 10, while Norwich remained steady at 18, Tillsonburg and area at 15, Blandford-Blenheim at three and Zorra at three.

The infection rate for the Southwestern region stood at 67.1 per 100,000 of population as of Wednesday, down from 71.9 Tuesday.