Eighteen new COVID-19 cases on March 13

Southwestern Public Health is reporting 18 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Saturday, March 13, up from 16 on Friday.

However, the number of ongoing cases being tracked by the health unit increased by only seven, to 56 from 49.

Aylmer and area cases decreased to 18 from 19, while St. Thomas and area increased to three from two and Central Elgin remained at one.

In Oxford, Woodstock and area rose sharply to 25 from 13, and East Zorra-Tavistock dropped to one from two. Norwich stayed at four, Ingersoll and area at two and Blandford-Blenheim and South-West Oxford at one each.

The infection rate for the Southwestern region stands at 26.5 cases per 100,000 of population, up from 23.2.

Across Ontario, 1,468 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Saturday, up from 1,371 on Friday.