For the first time in 10 days, London-Middlesex has seen a case of the novel coronavirus at a seniors’ home.
The region had three new cases of COVID-19 reported on Sunday, along with five recoveries.
The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) say there were no reports of any new deaths.
This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases in the region to 579, and the number of recoveries to 440.
The death toll stands at 57.
Health officials say all new cases are from London, and one case is a resident at a long-term care home.
A chart from MLHU breaking down the number of cases that have been reported in local seniors’ homes and those reported in the community, Jan. 24 to June 11, 2020.
MLHU
At least 541 cases have been reported in London, followed by 20 cases in Strathroy-Caradoc, seven in Middlesex Centre, five in North Middlesex, four in Thames Centre and one each in Lucan Biddulph and Southwest Middlesex.
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Health-care workers make up nearly a quarter of all cases.
The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in London remains under five, according to London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC).
The organization had announced it would no longer provide an exact figure of patients being treated at University and Victoria hospitals unless the tally is five or greater.
Hospitalizations account for around 19 per cent of all cases in London and Middlesex. About a quarter of those patients have needed to be admitted to intensive care.
Updated staff infection rates at LHSC are also not being released unless the tally rises by five or more, the organization said last week. The last count, released early last week, reported 42 had tested positive during the pandemic.
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The health unit says outbreaks at two seniors’ facilities remain active — one at Chelsey Park Retirement Community, the other at Kensington Village.
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The outbreak at Chelsey Park, declared May 30, is the most recent outbreak to be reported in the region. The Kensington Village outbreak has been active since April 3, according to the health unit.
Outbreaks at long-term care and retirement homes make up 170 of the region’s cases and 37 of its deaths. They also account for at least 19 of the 24 outbreaks that have been reported since the pandemic began.
Long-term care homes have seen 103 cases involving 61 residents and 42 staff, as well as 24 deaths, while retirement homes have seen 67 cases involving 44 residents and 23 staff, and 13 deaths.
Health officials with Southwestern Public Health (SWPH) did not immediately release an update Sunday.
As of Saturday, the total number of cases remains at 80, with 70 recoveries and four deaths.
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SWPH said Saturday six cases remain active in the region, including four in Oxford County — three in East Zorra-Tavistock and one in Tillsonburg — and two in Elgin County, both in St. Thomas.
No new outbreaks have been reported, keeping that figure at three.
The number of tests conducted by the health unit stood at 6,742 as of Saturday, with 582 tests awaiting results.
The test per cent positivity rate for Elgin and Oxford remains at 1.3 per cent.
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Huron and Perth
Health officials with Huron Perth Public Health (HPPH) say one more person has recovered from COVID-19, and no new cases or deaths were reported Sunday.
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The region is seeing 56 cases, five deaths and 48 recoveries.
In total, 26 cases have been reported in Stratford, while 14 cases have been reported in Huron County and 12 in Perth County.
Four deaths have also been reported in Stratford, linked to an outbreak that ended more than a month ago at Greenwood Court that saw six residents and 10 staff test positive.
A total of seven outbreaks have been declared, all of which have been resolved.
The health unit said 4,609 tests had been administered in Huron and Perth as of Sunday. Of those, 85 were awaiting test results.
Sarnia and Lambton
One more person has tested positive for the new coronavirus, according to officials with Lambton Public Health (LPH).
The number of deaths and recoveries remain unchanged.
The total number of confirmed cases now sits at 275, with 233 recoveries, and 25 deaths. Sixteen cases remain active.
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One outbreak remains active — at Vision Nursing Home, a long-term care facility in Sarnia. It has had an ongoing outbreak since April 23.
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Twenty-eight staff members and 26 residents at the home have tested positive during the outbreak. Ten residents have since died. It’s not clear how many cases are active.
Forty per cent of the county’s cases are outbreak-related, LPH says.
At Bluewater Health, which has taken in active resident cases from Vision, two COVID-19 patients were being treated on Sunday, along with 24 who were suspected positive or who were awaiting tests — an increase of three from Saturday.
As of late Saturday, LPH said 9,150 test results had been received by health officials so far. The percentage of tests that come back positive stands at 3.0 per cent.
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— With files from Global News’ Ryan Rocca and Matthew Trevithick
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.
