Sixteen new cases in Southwestern region

Southwestern Public Health reported 16 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Thursday, April 8, up from nine the previous day.

The health unit is now tracking 115 ongoing cases in the region, up from 112.

Dutton Dunwich increased to six cases Thursday from two Wednesday and Bayham to two from one, while two new cases were discovered in Central Elgin.

St. Thomas and area stayed at 24, Aylmer at 11, Southwold at one and West Elgin at one. Malahide dropped to one from two.

In Oxford, South-West Oxford rose to four from three and Zorra from four to three, while Ingersoll and area decreased to seven from eight and Tillsonburg and area to seven from 11.

Woodstock and area remained at 39, East Zorra-Tavistock at three, Norwich at two and Blandford-Blenheim at one.

So far, 113 cases involving variants of concern have been identified. Of those, 76 have been resolved and 37 are ongoing.

The infection rate for the Southwestern region stands at 54.4 cases per 100,000 of population, up from 53 on Wednesday.

Across Ontario, 3,295 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Thursday, up from 3,215 on Wednesday.