MIDDLESEX CENTRE, ONT. -- With 95 new COVID-19 cases added Thursday, the Middlesex-London region now has 4,038 cumulative cases. Two new deaths were also reported, bringing that total to 116.

Of the total, the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) is reporting 2,916 cases have been resolved, leaving 1,006 active cases across the region.

Thursday’s total is just over half of the record high daily case count of 161 reported on Tuesday.

The two new deaths are both men, one in his 60s and the other in his 70s, and both are associated with a long-term care home.

MLHU Associate Medical Officer of Health Dr. Alex Summers painted a stark picture of how quickly cases are now rising.

He says it took 262 days for the region to see its first thousand cases, another 60 days to get to 2,000, then 18 days for the third thousand, and now just nine days to exceed 4,000.

“This highlights the severity of the situation, and the rapid escalation in cases that we have seen since the beginning of December…We’re fatigued, we are tired, this has been a relentless experience for all of us, and yet there is hope on the horizon, but we have to finish this leg of the race.”

There are ongoing outbreaks at eight seniors’ facilities in the region, while a new outbreak was declared in a unit at the London Health Sciences Centre’s (LHSC) Victoria Hospital.

The outbreak is in the B41 Antenatal unit, and bring the total number of ongoing outbreaks at the hospital to three. Fewer than five resident or five staff cases are associated with each outbreak and there are no associated deaths.

As of Thursday, LHSC says they are caring for 41 patient cases and 31 staff cases, with 12 inpatients in critical care.

Southwestern Public Health continues to deal with nine outbreaks at seniors’ facilities, including a devastating outbreak at Maple Manor Nursing Home in Tillsonburg.

As of Thursday, the home has 57 resident and 41 staff cases, and has been associated with seven deaths. That’s three new deaths in the last 24 hours.

An outbreak at PeopleCare Tavistock has also claimed an additional life, bringing the total number of deaths there to five, with 34 resident and 29 staff cases.

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

  • Elgin-Oxford – 21 new, 356 active, 1,610 total, 1,226 resolved, 28 deaths (five new deaths)
  • Haldimand-Norfolk – 13 new, 158 active, 1,041 total, 843 resolved, 35 deaths
  • Grey-Bruce – 17 new, 52 active, 551 total, 499 resolved, no deaths
  • Sarnia-Lambton – five new, 231 active, 1,090 total, 831 resolved, 28 deaths
  • Huron-Perth – 12 new, 96 active, 793 total, 674 resolved, 23 deaths (one new death)

Huron Perth Public Health is dealing with a significant outbreak at Exeter Villa in South Huron where 31 residents and eight staff have tested positive for COVID-19.

The province broke two COVID-19 records Thursday, with more than 3,500 new cases and 89 more deaths.