Thursday brings 17 new COVID-19 cases

Southwestern Public Health was reporting 17 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford on Thursday, Oct. 21, up from 14 on Wednesday.

The number of ongoing cases being tracked by the health unit dropped slightly, to 79 from 80.

On Thursday, 45.6 percent of all ongoing cases involved area residents 29 and younger.

Four residents are hospitalized with COVID-19, two in intensive care units.

Ongoing cases Thursday included 10 in Aylmer and area, nine in West Elgin, seven in St. Thomas and area, five in Bayham and one in Malahide.

The infection rate for the Southwestern region stands at 37.4 cases per 100,000 of population.

Across Ontario, 413 new cases of COVID were confirmed Thursday, up from 304 on Wednesday.