COVID cases more prevalent in Oxford

Southwestern Public Health was reporting 19 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Friday, Oct. 22, up from 17 new cases on Thursday.

The number of ongoing cases being tracked by the health unit stood at 82 Friday, up from 79 Thursday, and two-thirds were in Oxford.

Four Southwestern region residents are hospitalized with COVID-19, two of them in intensive care units.

Local ongoing case counts were 10 for Aylmer and area, seven for West Elgin, five for St. Thomas and area and four for Bayham.

The infection rate for the Southwestern area stands at 38.8 ongoing cases per 100,000 of population.

Across Ontario, 492 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed Friday, up from 413 Thursday.