LONDON, ONT. -- The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) is reporting 74 new cases of COVID-19, the third straight day of double-digit increases.

The trend comes after 13 days of triple-digit case counts since the start of the month.

The health unit also reported a slight dip in active cases meaning recoveries outpaced new infections, a trend that was also seen across the region.

There were no new deaths reported in the Middlesex-London but there were two reported in other local areas (Sarnia-Lambton and Elgin-Oxford).

Tuesday’s cases bring the cumulative total to 9,381, with 1,064 active and 8,122 resolved.

The number of variant cases now sits at 1,169, with 1,068 of the B.1.1.7 variant, and two of the P.1 variant, while an additional 202 are cases mutation-positive.

As of Tuesday morning, 86 patients are in hospital at London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), with 38 in critical care. On Monday there were 39 patients in the ICU.

The hospital says they are dealing with the highest number of COVID-19 patients they have ever seen.

There are active outbreaks at one health-care facility, five area schools, two child-care centres and eight Western University residences.

Regionally there were two new deaths reported Tuesday, one in Elgin-Oxford and another in Sarnia-Lambton.

Like Middlesex-London each region has seen a slight decrease in active cases compared to Monday.

Here are the most recently available numbers from other local public health authorities:

  • Elgin-Oxford – 12 new, 182 active, 3,209 total, 2,954 resolved, 73 deaths (one new), 294 variants
  • Haldimand-Norfolk – 11 new, 277 active, 2,037 total, 1,715 resolved, 40 deaths
  • Huron-Perth – three new, 44 active, 1,531 total, 1,435 resolved, 52 deaths, 54 variants
  • Sarnia-Lambton – five new, 84 active, 3,125 total, 2,986 resolved, 55 deaths (one new), 281 variants
  • Grey-Bruce – 12 new, 151 active, 1,107 total, 951 resolved, five deaths

Ontario saw a drop in new daily cases reporting 3,469 new infections on Tuesday.

Tuesday’s report of 3,469 infections marks a significant decrease from Monday and follows four straight days of increases above 4,200.

However, the number of hospitalizations continues to climb with 2,360 patients across Ontario.

Of those cases, 773 are in intensive care units with 537 needing the assistance of a ventilator.

The provincial positivity rate remains at 10 per cent as of Tuesday.