Two COVID deaths at Maple Manor

Southwestern Public Health on Wednesday, Jan. 13, announced that two additional deaths linked to COVID-19 had occurred at Maple Manor Nursing Home in Tillsonburg.

Two Oxford men, 82 and 96, had died, bringing the total number of fatalities involving residents there to 13.

The health unit reports 80 residents and 48 staff members remain infected with the virus.

At PeopleCare long-term care home in Tavistock, the other major institutional outbreak within the Southwestern region of Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford, 40 residents were infected as of Wednesday, up from 39 the previous day, and 33 staff members, up from 32. Five residents have died.

Across the region, Southwestern said 40 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Wednesday, down from 64 on Tuesday. The health unit is tracking a total of 362 confirmed cases, down from 365. So far, 37 deaths have been linked to the virus.

St. Thomas and area increased on Wednesday to 67 cases from 63 the previous day and Aylmer and area to 38 from 37. Bayham dropped to six cases from nine and Central Elgin to six from seven. West Elgin remained steady at four, Southwold at two, Dutton Dunwich at one and Malahide at one.

In Oxford, Tillsonburg and area decreased to 117 from 123, Norwich to 34 from 35, South-West Oxford to eight from nine and Zorra to six from seven. Woodstock and area increased to 42 from 37 while East Zorra-Tavistock remained steady at 16, Ingersoll and area at 13 and Blandford-Blenheim at one.

The infection rate for the Southwestern region stands at 171.2 cases per 100,000 of population, down from 172.6 the previous day.

Across Ontario, 2,961 new cases were confirmed Wednesday, up from 1,934 on Tuesday.