Southwestern Public Health to Announce New COVID-19 Restrictions in One Week – London | The Canadian News

The restrictions are expected to end next week for Elgin, Oxford and St. Thomas as the region battles a rising tide of COVID-19 cases in the community.

Areas within Southwestern Public Health’s jurisdiction have some of the highest case counts per population in Ontario, as well as some of the lowest vaccination rates.

SWPH Medical Director of Health Dr. Joyce Lock made the announcement Tuesday, though she did not provide details on upcoming restrictions.

“The high number of (cases) means illness for people, as well as disruptions to our business, education and service delivery,” he said.

“In partnership with our epidemiologist and senior leaders, I am implementing a plan for new measures designed to address the growing count in our SWPH region.”

Public Health Ontario reports that SWPH has the third highest rate of recent cases (in the last two weeks) of all health units in the province as of November 15 with 127.5 cases per 100,000 residents.

Only the Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit, which is close to SWPH, and the Sudbury Districts and Public Health have higher case rates, 128.3 per 100,000 and 202.7 per 100,000 population, respectively.

However, when looking specifically at Aylmer, SWPH reports an active case rate of 547.3 per 100,000 residents as of Tuesday.

According to Ontario research organization ICES, the zip code with the lowest vaccination rate was N5H, which covers Aylmer, Ontario. Only 52.58 percent of the entire population, which includes those under 12 who are not yet eligible for vaccination, have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The second lowest vaccination rate was in the N0J zip code, which covers an area that falls under the jurisdiction of more than one health unit, but includes Tillsonburg, Woodstock, and Ingersoll, which are all under SWPH.

Within the N0J zip code, according to ICES, only 59.5 percent of the entire population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

By comparison, Public Health Ontario reports that across the province, 78.3 percent of the entire population has received at least one dose of vaccine.

Last Friday, St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital announced that it was capable of treating critically ill patients while the general hospital was operating beyond capacity.

As of Monday, LHSC had accepted fewer than five critical care patient transfers from St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital. LHSC Clinical Director Carol Young-Ritchie said the hospital network is ready to receive more patients if needed.

Until restrictions are in place, SWPH encourages residents to avoid large gatherings and follow public health guidelines.

As of Tuesday, 161 cases were active in the region, the highest number since May.

– with files from Sawyer Bogdan of Global News

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