Two COVID-19-related deaths recorded

A St. Thomas woman in her 90s and a woman, also in her 90s, residing at Caressant Care Bonnie Place long-term care home in St. Thomas, died in COVID-19 related cases, Southwestern Public Health reported on Friday, Feb. 4.

Bonnie Place is one of 12 long-term care and retirement homes in Elgin, St. Thomas and Woodstock currently undergoing a confirmed outbreak of two or more cases of the virus. That’s down from 15 on Wednesday, Feb. 2.

Their deaths bring to 142 the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the Southwestern area since the pandemic began.

SWPH also reported Friday that 27 local residents were hospitalized with COVID-19, seven of them in intensive care units, up from 25 and six respectively on Wednesday.

(The health unit now updates its COVID-19 statistics Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.)

Southwestern also on Friday reported 146 new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed over the last two days, an average of 73 a day, compared to an average of just under 50 a day over the previous two days.

The health unit is currently tracking 605 ongoing confirmed cases in its region, up from 570 Wednesday.