An Oxford County man in his 80s is the latest COVID-related death in the region, public health officials confirmed Tuesday morning.
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An Oxford County man in his 80s is the latest COVID-related death in the region, public health officials confirmed Tuesday morning.
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The latest death was the 129th since the pandemic began almost two years ago and the 16th since the beginning of this year.
The active COVID-19 case count in the Oxford and Elgin counties region, though, continued its decline Tuesday after peaking earlier in the new year.
There were 90 new cases confirmed by Southwestern public health officials but, with 152 reported recoveries, the active total fell from 974 to 911.
This active case count, however, was rendered largely meaningless during the recent Omicron-driven surge, public health officials have said. With testing and contact-tracing capacity overwhelmed by the growing number of cases, officials across the province have warned that counts are likely a sharp underestimate of the actual number of active infections.
There have now been 9,298 confirmed cumulative cases and 8,258 total recoveries in the Southwestern public health region since the pandemic began.
Despite the dip in active cases, 17 long-term care and retirement homes in the region remained in some degree of outbreak.
The outbreak at Secord Trails in Ingersoll – the region’s worst – grew to 40 resident and 23 staff cases and two deaths. The outbreak at Valleyview Nursing Home in St. Thomas had also grown, increasing to 17 resident and 31 staff cases and one death. There were also high case counts at Woodstock’s Woodingford Lodge site, Chartwell Oxford Gardens in Woodstock, Extendicare in Port Stanley, Terrace Lodge in Aylmer and Caressant Care Bonnie Place in St. Thomas.
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The number of area residents in hospital with the virus also increased slightly from Monday’s update, growing to 27 patients, including four in intensive care.
Outbreaks at Ingersoll’s Alexandra Hospital, with nine patient and three staff cases, and the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital, with three staff and five patient cases, remained active.
The region’s two largest urban communities – Woodstock and St. Thomas – continued to have the most cases in the region, with 279 and 245 respectively.
As of Jan. 17, 86.3 per cent of area residents 12 and older had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine while 84.3 per cent had been administered two doses. For residents five and older, the local vaccination coverage rates dropped to 82.1 per cent with one dose and 77 per cent with two.