News Headlines

Southwestern Public Health announced on Friday, January 28, that an Oxford man in his 90s had died with COVID-19, a case connected to an outbreak in a long-term care or retirement home. His was the 138th death related to COVID-19 in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford since the pandemic began in March of 2020, and…

Southwestern Public Health announced on Tuesday, Jan. 25, that four persons had died during the previous 24 hours in COVID-19 related cases. They include an Elgin woman in her 80s and an Elgin man in his 90s. Their deaths were linked to outbreaks at long-term care or retirement homes. In addition, an Oxford man in…

Southwestern Public Health was reporting Wednesday, Jan. 19, that 48 residents of Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford were hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase from 27 the previous day. The number of patients reported to be in intensive care units doubled to eight from four. SWPH Communications Manager Megan Cornwell said the higher numbers reflected a…

COVID-19 has continued to spread in long-term care and retirement homes in Elgin, St. Thomas and Oxford over the last week. Southwestern Public Health reported on Tuesday, Jan. 18, that outbreaks of at least two or more confirmed cases were being tracked at 18 out of 34 such homes in its area, up by five…

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…

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…

Southwestern Public Health announced three COVID-19 related deaths on Tuesday, Jan. 11, all residents of long-term care or retirement homes, including a woman in her 90s at Terrace Lodge in Malahide, a woman in her 80s at Caressant Care on Bonnie Place in St. Thomas and a man in his 80s at Secord Trails in…

St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital on Friday night, Jan. 7, reported an outbreak of COVID-19 in its fifth floor Acute Medicine Unit, with three patients testing positive for the virus. “The unit is currently closed to essential caregivers,” the hospital said in a statement. “STEGH is working closely with Southwestern Public Health Unit and its…

St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital reported late Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 5, that it is running at 120 percent over its in-patient capacity of 65 beds. Those hospital wards are supposed to house just 65 patients. As of Thursday morning, the hospital has 14 COVID-19 patients in beds, with five of them, all unvaccinated, in STEGH’s…

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Health Minister Christine Elliott, in a news conference on Monday morning, Jan. 3, announced that, given just how contagious the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was, schools would be shut down for at least two weeks in favour of remote learning, non-urgent procedures at all hospitals would be postponed, indoor sports…