Southwestern Public Health Confirms 47 New Cases of COVID-19 This Morning

Wednesday, 23 December 2020 10:53

The region's top doctor is pleading with residents to limit their contact with others immediately after the largest single day spike for our region. The outbreak at Maple Manor in Tillsonburg now includes 10 residents and 8 staff members.

OXFORD/ST.THOMAS/ELGIN - Southwestern Public Health is urging residents to hunker down and follow all of the public health guidelines.

This comes after the Health Unit confirmed 47 new cases of COVID-19 this morning. It is the largest single day spike in our region. Medical Officer of Health Dr. Joyce Lock says this is an urgent matter.

"While the provincial shutdown officially starts on December 26, I urge everyone to limit their contact with others effective immediately. We have cases in every community and in people of every age.
Transmission happens at social events, in workplaces, through travel, and within institutions. What is most worrisome is that we have many cases we cannot trace to a source. This evidence of community
spread means urgent action is required from each of us."

The health unit asks community members to check for their own test results online at https://covid19results.ehealthontario.ca:4443/agree. Dr. Lock says if the result is positive, the individual must stay
isolated at home and follow the instructions of public health.

"Our case management and contact tracing teams are working at maximum capacity due to the large number of cases in our region. It may take them longer to reach out to positive cases and to begin the contact tracing process. You can assist by informing family, friends, coworkers, or teammates you have been in close contact with of your results and asking them to get tested and self-isolate."

The Health Unit confirmed 47 new cases this morning and 25 recoveries. We currently have 182 active cases with most of them in Tillsonburg, Norwich Township, Aylmer and St. Thomas. Here is the breakdown of the locations according to Southwestern Public Health:

Tillsonburg - 28

Norwich Township - 17

Woodstock - 15

East Zorra-Tavistock - 14

Blandford-Blenheim - 12

Ingersoll - 7

Zorra Township - 3

South-West Oxford - 1

Aylmer - 37

St. Thomas - 30

Bayham - 8

West Elgin - 4

Central Elgin - 3

Southwold - 3

We currently have 3 people in the hospital with the virus including 2 in the ICU. The Health Unit is also reporting 6 active outbreaks at long term care homes. The outbreak at the Maple Manor Nursing Home in Tillsonburg has 10 residents who have tested positive for the virus and 8 staff members.

You can check out the new database from Southwestern Public Health online here.