Four COVID-19 deaths in last 24 hours

Southwestern Public Health on Wednesday, Jan. 12, announced the deaths related to COVID-19 of four area residents, including a man in his 50s from Elgin, an Oxford man in his 60s, an Oxford woman in her 80s and a man in his 70s who was a resident at Secord Trails Care Community, a nursing home in Ingersoll.

Those deaths follow three fatalities announced Tuesday and two on Monday.

Southwestern also reported that 24 residents of Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, with eight of them in intensive care units, compared to 23 hospitalized and eight in ICUs Tuesday.

Across the province, 3,448 Ontarians were hospitalized in COVID-related cases Wednesday, 505 of them in ICUs, compared to 3,220 and 465 respectively the previous day.

As of Wednesday, outbreaks are being tracked at 15 out of 34 long-term care and retirement homes in the Southwestern area.

Southwestern also announced that 106 new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in its region on Wednesday, versus 78 on Tuesday. The health unit is tracking 1,312 such cases, down from 1,382 the previous day.

Local confirmed cases include 354 in St. Thomas and area, 79 in Aylmer and Malahide, 56 in Central Elgin, 29 in West Elgin, 23 in Dutton Dunwich, 16 in Bayham and 11 in Southwold.