Like much of the rest of the province, the active COVID-19 case count in the Oxford and Elgin counties region continued to surge, jumping from 328 to 397 in Thursday’s update.
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Like much of the rest of the province, the active COVID-19 case count in the Oxford and Elgin counties region continued to surge, jumping from 328 to 397 in Thursday’s update.
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Southwestern public health confirmed 89 new cases of the virus but only 18 recoveries in its region. There were also two cases that were removed from the local numbers
There have now been 6,113 cumulative cases in the region, 5,606 recoveries and 110 COVID-related deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020.
St. Thomas continued to have the most cases in the region, public health reported, with 112 active infections while Woodstock’s count grew to 91.
There were also high case counts in Central Elgin, with 22; Aylmer, with 15; Ingersoll, with 31; Tillsonburg, with 22; and Zorra Township, with 23.
Roughly 30 per cent of active cases in the region were reported in patients 19 and younger. In total, about 75 per cent of active cases were reported in residents younger than 50.
Because of changes in case and contact management due to the surging Omicron cases, information on how people were exposed to the virus was no longer available via public health, officials have said.
Twelve people in the region were hospitalized with the virus, including four people being treated in intensive care.
The region’s lone institutional outbreak – declared at Caressant Care Bonnie Place in St. Thomas in late November – remained active with 11 resident and nine staff infections and two deaths.
The number of school outbreaks in the region also grew, with 12 in the region – St. Mary’s Catholic elementary school in West Lorne, Hickson Central public school, Ingersoll District collegiate institute, King’s Academy in St. Thomas, St. Joseph high school in St. Thomas, St. Michael’s Catholic elementary school in Woodstock, Westfield public school in Tillsonburg, Mitchell Hepburn public school in St. Thomas, Dunwich Dutton public school, Oliver Stephens public school in Woodstock, Holy Family Catholic French Immersion school in Woodstock and Thamesford public school – currently active.
As of Dec. 21, 85.6 per cent of area residents 12 and older had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine while 83.5 per cent had been administered two doses. For residents five and older, the local vaccination coverage rates dropped to 80.8 per cent with one dose and 76 per cent with two.