Three deaths in three days; hospitalizations in double digits

Southwestern Public Health announced on Wednesday, Nov. 3, that an Elgin woman in her 70s who was confirmed as having COVID-19 had died.

That’s the third death in three days in Elgin. An Aylmer man, 85, died Monday and an Elgin woman in her 80s Tuesday.

The death toll for Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford now stands at 94 since the pandemic began.

Hospitalizations related to COVID-19 continue to creep upward. SWPH reported 10 area residents were hospitalized as of Wednesday, up from nine on Tuesday. The number in intensive car units dropped to two from three.

SWPH reported 15 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in its region on Wednesday, up from seven on Tuesday. The health unit is tracking 85 ongoing cases, down from 88 the previous day.

Locally, Aylmer and area is still Southwestern’s hot spot for COVID-19, with 27 ongoing cases, followed by Bayham with 12, St. Thomas and area with six and Central Elgin and Malahide at two each.

The positivity rate for COVID-19 tests dropped to 3.6 percent on Wednesday from 3.9 percent as of Oct. 17.

The infection rate for the Southwestern area stands at 40.2 confirmed ongoing cases per 100,000 of population, down from 41.6 on Tuesday.

Across Ontario, 378 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed Wednesday, up from 337 on Tuesday.