Oxford man in his 80s latest COVID-related fatality

Southwestern Public health announced on Monday, Feb. 7, that an Oxford man in his 80s with COVID-19 had died, bringing the total number of such fatalities so far since the pandemic begin in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford to 143.

The health unit also reported that 29 area residents were hospitalized Monday with confirmed cases of COVID-19, with five of them in intensive care units, compared to 27 and seven respectively last Friday.

Across the province, 2,155 Ontarians were in hospital Monday with COVID-19, 486 of them in ICUs, compared to 2,634 and 517 respectively on  Friday.

SWPH recorded 139 new confirmed cases of the virus on Monday, or an average of just over 46 a day over the weekend. The number of ongoing confirmed cases being tracked by the health unit stood at 521 Monday, down from 605 on Friday.

Local ongoing cases include 171 in St. Thomas and area, 39 in Aylmer and Malahide, 11 each in Central Elgin and West Elgin, nine in Dutton Dunwich, seven in Southwold and two in Bayham.