One new COVID death reported by MLHU, LHSC staff cases on the rise

A health-care worker tears off her mask at the end of shift at the Bluewater Health Hospital in Sarnia, Ont., on Wednesday, January 26, 2022. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young)

The Middlesex-London Health Unit is reporting one new death related to COVID-19 and 266 additional lab-confirmed cases over the past three days.

The latest death was a man in his 80s who was associated with a retirement home.

Of the new cases, 107 were from Saturday, 100 were from Sunday and 59 were reported Monday.

Majority of the active cases continue to be in the City of London, followed by Strathroy-Caradoc, Thames Centre, Middlesex Centre and North Middlesex.

London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is reporting 47 inpatients with COVID-19 with five or fewer in the adult critical care unit.

There are five or fewer inpatients in Children’s Hospital with zero in Paediatric Critical Care.

In a press conference Monday afternoon, Dr. Adam Dukelow, chief of the department of emergency medicine at LHSC, said that the LHSC is handling the current COVID-19 staffing situation as best as they can.

“We were not able to staff all of the beds in our emergency departments over the weekend, for a number of hours at a time. As a result we may find ourselves in a position of having to consolidate or reduce services as the week continues,” he says.

Dukelow adds that there are currently 288 staffing positions off with COVID-19 at LHSC, including people who are positive or have had close contact with someone who’s positive. St. Joseph’s Health Care is reporting 140 workers with the virus.

“We were not able to staff all of the beds in our emergency departments over the weekend, for a number of hours at a time. As a result we may find ourselves in a position of having to consolidate or reduce services as the week continues,” Dukelow adds.

— With files from CTV London’s Marek Sutherland