The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) reported eight new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday.
The health unit also provided updated vaccination data showing that, in just two days, 4.8 per cent of those aged five to 11 in the region received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
In total, there have been 14,883 cases, including 152 active cases (a decrease of three), 14,479 recoveries (an increase of 11) and 252 deaths (unchanged).
The most recent deaths were reported Nov. 22 and involved an unvaccinated man in his 60s and a fully vaccinated woman in her 80s.
The rate of active cases among those aged 25 to 39 is higher than the rate among those 11 and under, a cohort that includes those aged four and under who are ineligible for vaccination and those five to 11 who have only been eligible for vaccination since Nov. 26.
There are 43 active cases among people in the 25-to-39 age group at a rate of 38.4 cases per 100,000. The age group with the next highest rate of active cases based on population size is those age 18-24 with 18 cases at a rate of 34.1 per 100,000.
For those under the age of 11, there are 18 active cases at a rate of 27.9 cases per 100,000.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is caring for 19 inpatients with COVID-19, with nine in adult critical care or the intensive care unit, as of Tuesday.
On Nov. 29, LHSC chief medical officer Dr. Adam Dukelow reiterated that, over the previous four weeks, roughly two-thirds of LHSC’s COVID-19 admissions came from outside of London-Middlesex.
There were five or fewer inpatients with COVID-19 in LHSC’s Children’s Hospital, with five or fewer in pediatric critical care as of Monday.
Five or fewer staff members had tested positive for COVID-19.
St. Joseph’s Health Care London is reporting zero cases involving health-care workers.
Outbreaks
The MLHU is reporting an outbreak at Fanshawe College’s Merlin House residence, declared Nov. 28 and at Western University’s Saugeen-Maitland Hall residence, declared Nov. 27.
As of Monday, the outbreak at Western involved eight students. Three cases were associated with the Fanshawe outbreak as of Monday.
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Canada may need to do more to combat Omicron COVID-19 variant, Trudeau says
Schools
The following schools have active cases associated with them, according to the MLHU:
Glen Cairn Public School (one case)
Lord Dorchester Secondary School (one case)
Lord Nelson Public School (one case)
Mountsfield Public School (one case)
St. Andre Bessette Secondary School (one case)
Strathroy District Collegiate Institute (one case)
The following child-care and early years centres have active cases associated with them, says the MLHU:
London Bridge: Huron Heights Early Childhood Learning Centre (one case)
The health unit says at least 271 cases have been reported since the start of the school year involving elementary and secondary schools, as well as child-care and early years centres.
As mentioned above, there are active outbreaks at Western University’s Saugeen-Maitland Hall residence and Fanshawe College’s Merlin House residence.
Vaccinations and testing
The MLHU released updated vaccination data on Tuesday, covering up to the end of day Nov. 27.
According to the MLHU, 90.2 per cent of residents aged 12 and older have had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of Nov. 27 while 87.5 per cent are fully vaccinated.
The MLHU is providing additional data now that vaccinations have opened up for those aged five to 11. Among the entire population age five and over, 83.3 per cent of the population has had at least one dose while 80.8 per cent are fully vaccinated.
When looking specifically at those aged five to 11, 4.8 per cent of that cohort have had their first dose as of end of day Nov. 27. Vaccination for that cohort only began Nov. 26.
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COVID-19: Doctors encourage vaccination as Omicron variant emerges
The MLHU is also now providing data on third doses. Among those 80 and older, 22 per cent have had a third dose. That drops to 11.3 per cent among those age 75-79.
A pop-up vaccination clinic will open Wednesday at CF Masonville Place in a bid to get shots into the arms of Londoners out doing their holiday shopping.
As for the vaccination status of cases, the MLHU says unvaccinated individuals have accounted for 46.85 per cent of all cases (238 of 508) and 50.0 per cent of hospitalizations (nine of 18) since Oct. 19.
Of the nine COVID-19-related deaths reported in the last six weeks, five involved individuals who were unvaccinated, one involved someone partially vaccinated and three involved people who were fully vaccinated.
According to Tuesday’s report, 94 cases were recorded in Toronto, 71 in Windsor-Essex, 60 in Peel Region, 57 in Simcoe Muskoka, and 47 in Halton Region. All other health units reported fewer than 45 new cases.
The province also reported three more deaths on Tuesday as the number of fatalities in the province hit the grim milestone of 10,000 since the start of the pandemic.
5,370 total cases (an increase of 27 cases with one case removed due to data cleanup)
204 active cases (a decrease of seven)
5,068 resolved cases (an increase of 33)
98 deaths to date (unchanged)
The most recent death was reported Monday and involved a woman in her 80s from Elgin County. Further details can be found on SWPH’s COVID-19 dashboard.
On Monday, SWPH announced capacity restrictions for Aylmer, Bayham, Blandford-Blenheim, Malahide, Norwich, South-West Oxford, Tillsonburg, and West Elgin, effective Dec. 2. The eight municipalities were chosen due to weekly incidence rates of 80+ cases per 100,000 people, and/or full vaccination rates of fewer than 80 per cent for residents aged 12 and older.
Of the 204 active cases in the region, 98 were in Elgin County (including 46 in St. Thomas, 29 in Aylmer and 18 in Bayham) and 106 were in Oxford County (including 33 in Tillsonburg and 32 in Woodstock).
SWPH does not disclose the vaccination status of individuals but told Global News on Nov. 9 that roughly 78 per cent of active cases at the time involved individuals who were not fully vaccinated.
Twelve people were hospitalized with COVID-19, with three in the ICU as of Tuesday.
SWPH declared an outbreak at Caressant Care Bonnie Place in St. Thomas on Nov. 28, involving one resident and two staff cases.
An outbreak at Aylmer Retirement Residence, declared Nov. 18, involving eight resident cases and two staff cases, is ongoing.
The most recent death was reported Nov. 29 and involved a community member and was connected to a workplace outbreak, according to a spokesperson for the health unit.
Among the 60 active cases, 36 were reported in North Perth and seven in Perth East. Full case counts by municipality can be found on the health unit’s dashboard.
There were five people hospitalized with COVID-19 and there was one active case involving a health-care worker as of Tuesday.
The region’s test positivity rate was 2.9 per cent for the week of Nov. 14, down from 3.2 per cent for the week of Nov. 7.
HPPH’s vaccine dashboard showed that as of Nov. 28, 83.4 per cent of those aged 12 and older were fully vaccinated while 85.9 per cent have had at least one dose.
The test positivity rate for the week of Nov. 14 was 2.7 per cent, up from 2.2 per cent the week before.
Among area residents aged 12 and older, 82.0 per cent are fully vaccinated and 84.6 per cent have had at least one dose.
Residents can book and re-book COVID-19 vaccine appointments or find information on vaccine availability at pharmacies using the health unit’s registration page. People can also contact the vaccine call centre at 226-254-8222.
Those who are able to get vaccinated on short notice are encouraged to sign up for Lambton Public Health’s daily Vaccine Standby List.
— with files from Global News’ Matthew Trevithick and Gabby Rodrigues
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
