MIDDLESEX CENTRE, ONT. -- The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) is reporting 91 new cases of COVID-19 Friday and three new deaths.

The additions bring the total number of cases in the London region to 4,127, with 2,958 resolved and 119 deaths, leaving 1,050 active cases.

The three deaths include two associated with a long-term care home, a woman in her 90s and a man in his 80s. The third is a man in his 50s.

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

And for the first time, this week Middlesex-London exceeded the province’s seven-day incidence rate, or the number of new cases per 100,000 people.

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.

LHSC reports it is caring for 40 inpatients with COVID-19, 11 who are in Critical Care. An additional 32 staff are also infected as of Friday.

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

Southwestern Public Health is reporting 58 resident and 41 staff cases as well as nine deaths, that’s two new deaths in the last 24 hours.

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

  • Elgin-Oxford – 40 new, 352 active, 1,650 total, 1,268 resolved, 30 deaths (two new deaths)
  • Haldimand-Norfolk – one new, 156 active, 1,049 total, 853 resolved, 35 deaths
  • Grey-Bruce – 18 new, 59 active, 569 total, 510 resolved, no deaths
  • Sarnia-Lambton – 49 new, 221 active, 1,138 total, 889 resolved, 28 deaths
  • Huron-Perth – 32 new, 100 active, 825 total, 701 resolved, 24 deaths (one new death)

A significant outbreak at Exeter Villa Long-Term Care Home in South Huron, where Huron Perth Public Health is reporting 31 resident and eight staff cases, has prompted an outpouring of support from the community.

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