Elgin woman 106th COVID-19 death

An Elgin woman in her 80s has become the 106th COVID-19 related death in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford since the pandemic began, Southwestern Public Health announced on Monday, Dec. 13.

The health unit also reported that the rate of ongoing cases of COVIDd-19 in its area had reached triple digits at 106.4 per 100,000 of population Monday, up from 94.1 on Friday,

SWPH recorded 74 new confirmed cases of the virus over the weekend, or just under 25 a day. The number of ongoing cases being tracked rose to 225 from 201.

Fourteen Southwestern-area residents are hospitalized with COVID-19, seven of them in intensive care units.

Local cases include 64 in St. Thomas and area, 26 in Aylmer and area, seven in Dutton Dunwich, five in Central Elgin, five in Malahide, four in Bayham and three in Southwold.

The count of confirmed cases in an outbreak at Caressant Care Bonnie Place long-term care home in St. Thomas increased after an additional resident tested positive for the virus, bringing the total so far to nine residents and eight staff members.

Across Ontario, 1,536 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed Monday, up from 1,476 on Sunday.