Aylmer second-highest cumulative cases in Southwestern region

Aylmer and area has so far experienced the second-highest number of total cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Southwestern Public Health region of Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford since the pandemic began early in 2020, with 454 to date.

Only the much-larger Woodstock and area is higher with 540 to date. In third place is St. Thomas and area with 436.

Those leaders are followed by: Tillsonburg and area, 339; Norwich, 205; Bayham, 162; Ingersoll and area, 117; East Zorra-Tavistock, 111; Zorra, 57; Blandford-Blenheim, 56; Central Elgin, 52; South-West Oxford, 47; Southwold, 25; Dutton-Dunwich, 23; West Elgin, 20; and Malahide, 8 (a large swath of Malahide is covered by the Aylmer and area total).

The Southwestern region as a whole has a cumulative total of 2,663 confirmed cases to date, with 2,513 recovered, 73 ongoing and 67 deaths.

The health unit reported four new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in its area on Wednesday, March 17, down from 14 on Tuesday.

The number of ongoing cases inched up to 73 from 72.

Aylmer and area had 15 ongoing cases on Wednesday, down from 18 on Tuesday, while Central Elgin increased to seven from five and St. Thomas and area to five from four.

In Oxford, Woodstock rose slightly to 33 from 32. East Zorra-Tavistock, Norwich and Tillsonburg and area stayed at three each, Ingersoll and area at two and Blandford-Blenheim and South-West Oxford at one apiece.

The infection rate for the Southwestern region stands at 34.5 cases per 100,000 of population, up from 34 on Tuesday.

Across Ontario, 1,508 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Wednesday, up from 1,074 the previous day.