Eleven COVID-19 deaths in one week

A woman in her 80s residing at Valleyview Home, a long-term care facility in St. Thomas, on Friday, Jan. 14, became the 11th fatality related to COVID-19 in five days in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford.

Hers was the 128th such death in the Southwestern Public Health area since the pandemic began. Two deaths were recorded Monday, three Tuesday, four Wednesday and one each on Thursday and Friday.

The health unit also announced that 27 local residents were in hospital with COVID-19 on Friday, with seven in intensive care units, compared to 25 in hospital and eight in ICUs on Thursday.

Across the province, 3,814 Ontarians were hospitalized Friday with the virus, with 527 adults in ICUs and eight children in paediatric ICUs.

Outbreaks of two or more confirmed cases are reported in 17 out of 34 long-term care and retirement homes in the Southwestern area .

Valleyview Home has the largest such outbreak at the moment, with 16 residents and 24 staff confirmed as having the virus, plus the woman who died Friday.

Southwestern recorded 118 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday, up from 1112 the previous day. It’s now tracking 1,129 ongoing cases across its area, down from 1,173 Thursday.

Local ongoing cases include 304 in St. Thomas, 76 in Aylmer and Malahide, 43 in Central Elgin, 27 in West Elgin, 22 in Dutton Dunwich, 16 in Bayham and six in Southwold.