LONDON, ONT -- The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) is reporting 128 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday and two new deaths.

The additions bring the total number of cases in the London region to 4,254, with 2,999 resolved and 121 deaths.

Out of the two deaths, one is associated with a long-term care home, a woman in her 90s.

The other a man in his 50s.

The London region has now seen at least one death every single day in 2021.

During a virtual media briefing on Thursday, MLHU Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Alex Summers said following health guidelines is more critical than ever.

“…Lock it down, stay at home. The virus is transmitting rapidly in our community, and it is really essential that we continue to find that resolve that we have found before, to make sure that we can flatten this curve, now more than ever.”

There are ongoing outbreaks at eight London-area seniors’ facilities and two schools, as well as in three units at the London Health Sciences Centre’s (LHSC) Victoria Hospital.

In Elgin and Oxford counties, outbreaks continue at seven seniors’ facilities, with the most serious at Maple Manor Nursing Home in Tillsonburg.

Here is where the cases stand in the region based on the most recent publicly available data:

• Elgin-Oxford – 41 new, 340 active, 1,688 total, 1,318 resolved, 30 deaths

• Haldimand-Norfolk – 42 new, 178 active, 1,091 total, 873 resolved, 35 deaths

• Grey-Bruce – 13 new, 56 active, 582 total, 493 resolved, no deaths

• Sarnia-Lambton – 221 active, 1,138 total, 889 resolved, 28 deaths

• Huron-Perth – 22 new, 107 active, 825 total, 716 resolved, 24 deaths

Across Ontario, a data backlog is being blamed for pushing the provincial total to more than 4,200 new cases.

A new report has confirmed that Ontario now has 400 patients battling COVID-19 in its intensive care units, which comes as the province logged more than 3,000 new cases for the fifth straight day.