COVID-19 keeps spreading across long-term care, retirement homes

COVID-19 has continued to spread in long-term care and retirement homes in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford over the last week.

Southwestern Public Health reported on Tuesday, Jan. 18, that outbreaks of at least two or more confirmed cases were being tracked at 18 out of 34 such homes in its area, up by five from the previous week.

SWPH also stated that as of Tuesday, 27 local residents were hospitalized with COVID-19, four of them in intensive care units.

That compares to 23 hospitalizations, with eight in ICUs, the previous week.

Across the province, 4,138 Ontarians with COVID-19 were hospitalized on Tuesday, with 580 in ICUs, compared to 3,220 and 266 respectively a week earlier.

The health unit on Tuesday announced that, even with the number of tests conducted being restricted, 90 new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in its area, about the same as the average daily counts over the weekend.

After 11 COVID-19-related deaths last week in the Southwestern area, no deaths were reported on Monday, Jan. 17, but on Tuesday, Jan. 18, the health unit announced that an Oxford man in his 80s was the most recent COVID-19 fatality. That brings the total number of deaths related to the virus in this area since the pandemic began to 129.

Southwestern was tracking 911 ongoing cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, down from 974 the previous day. The health unit is automatically dropping ongoing cases from its count after 10 days, regardless of outcome.

Local cases Tuesday included 245 in St. Thomas and area, 64 in Aylmer and Malahide, 42 in Central Elgin, 24 in West Elgin, 16 in Dutton Dunwich, 13 in Bayham and seven in Southwold.