Elgin man marks 114th local COVID-19 death

Southwestern Public Health was reporting 169 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Tuesday, Jan. 4.

Over the Christmas holiday, new cases had averaged just under 134 daily.

The health unit is now tracking 1,379 ongoing confirmed cases in its region, up from 1,287 Monday.

The health unit on Tuesday also announced the COVID-19-related death of an Elgin man in his 70s. His was the 114th such death in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford since the pandemic began.

The number of local residents hospitalized with the virus stood at 15 on Tuesday, five of them in intensive care units, compared to 12, with seven in ICUs, on Monday.

Across the province, 1,290 Ontarians were hospitalized on Tuesday because of the virus, with 266 in intensive care units. That’s up from 1,230 hospitalized Monday, with 248 in ICUs.

Southwestern is monitoring 10 outbreaks, mostly small-scale, at long-term care and retirement homes across its region.

Local cases of the virus include St. Thomas and area with 385, Central Elgin with 75, Aylmer and area with 52, Dutton Dunwich with 34, West Elgin with 24, Bayham with 15, Malahide with 10 and Southwold with seven.

The rate of ongoing cases in the Southwestern area stood at 652 per 100,000 of population Tuesday, up from 608.5 on Monday.

Across Ontario, 11,352 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed Tuesday, down from 13,578 on Monday.