First school outbreak of new year declared as MLHU reports 26 new COVID-19 cases
The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) is reporting 26 new COVID-19 cases Friday, but no new deaths, and the first school-associated outbreak of the new academic year.
Friday's total follows two days of case counts above 30, a high that hasn't been reported in the region in nearly a month.
The region now has a total of 13,759 cases and 237 deaths, with 13,325 cases resolved leaving 197 active. There are 4,141 cases with a variant of concern.
Of the cases occurring since Aug. 5, 83.2 per cent are among the unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. The same group accounts for 96.9 per cent of hospitalizations and 66.7 per cent of deaths.
The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) reports it is has eight inpatients with COVID-19 with fewer than five either in adult critical care or in Children's Hospital.
At London-area schools, at least 16 cases have been confirmed at 10 schools. Two of the most recent cases were reported at Cedar Hollow Public School and Westfield Public School, according to the Thames Valley District School Board.
On Friday afternoon, the health unit declared an outbreak at École élémentaire La Pommeraie in southwest London, after a fourth case at the school.
It is the first school outbreak to be declared in the Middlesex-London region since the start of the new school year.
Health officials say the most recent case was a close contact of a previous case and had been in isolation, not attending school while contagious.
The school remains open, with staff and students in close-contact classrooms having already been asked to stay home.
An outbreak was also declared Thursday on the first and second floors at Earls Court Village nursing home. An outbreak is declared if there is one or more cases in residents or staff.
REGIONAL COVID-19 COUNTS
Here are the most recently available numbers from other local public health authorities:
- Elgin-Oxford – 18 new, 85 active, 4,207 total, 4,037 resolved, 85 deaths
- Grey-Bruce – two new, 26 active, 2,300 total, 2,248 resolved, 22 deaths
- Haldimand-Norfolk – one new, 31 active, 2,881 total, 2,796 resolved, 48 deaths
- Huron-Perth – four new, 37 active, 2,106 total, 2,004 resolved, 65 deaths
- Sarnia-Lambton – eight new, 42 active, 3,748 total, 3,637 resolved, 69 deaths
Across the province, Ontario health officials reported 795 new COVID-19 cases and five deaths on Friday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
12 students and teacher killed in Columbine school shooting remembered at 25th anniversary vigil
Thirteen victims of the Columbine High School shooting were remembered during a vigil Friday on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the shooting that was the worst the nation had seen at the time.
Man who set himself on fire outside Trump trial dies of injuries, police say
A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former U.S. President Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Israeli airstrike in southern Gaza city of Rafah kills at least 9 Palestinians, including 6 children
An Israeli airstrike on a house in Gaza's southernmost city killed at least nine people, six of them children, hospital authorities said Saturday, as Israel pursued its nearly seven-month offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
Iraq investigates a blast at a base of Iran-allied militias that killed 1. U.S. denies involvement
Iraqi authorities said Saturday that they were investigating an explosion that struck a base belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, a coalition of Iran-allied militias, killing one person and injuring eight.
The House is on the brink of approving aid for Ukraine and Israel after months of struggle
The House is preparing in a rare Saturday session to approve US$95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. allies.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.