More than a dozen new COVID-19 cases in London region, hospitals face mask shortage

Health officials in the London region are still seeing more COVID-19 cases as hospitals are just days away from running out of masks needed to protect health care workers.

On Friday, the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) confirmed 13 more cases, bringing the total here to 92.

There were no new deaths reported, with the number of deaths in the London region sitting at three.

At London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), 19 patients with COVID-19 have been admitted to its two hospitals. Six of them are in critical care at Victoria Hospital and five at University Hospital.

Earlier this week, workers at the London Health Sciences Centre were told to wear surgical masks at all times while in the hospital, but were also told they'd only get two masks per shift, unless the masks got soiled. 

In a letter to nurses sent by the Ontario Nurses Association and obtained by CBC News, the situation with N95 respirators, which protect against small particles and are worn during surgery and around patients suspected of or diagnosed with having COVID-19, is even more dire.

There is just a seven-day supply of N95 1870 masks, an 11-day supply of N95 8210 masks and just over a month supply of N95 1860 masks. 

Region sees more cases

A health-care worker at Maple View long-term care home in Owen Sound has tested positive for COVID-19, the Grey Bruce Health Unit confirmed Friday.

The worker is a woman in her 50s, and has since been placed in self-isolation following her diagnosis. Health officials said they're not sure if she worked at the home when she first had symptoms.

Health officials also confirmed a second woman in her 50s was also diagnosed with the virus in Grey Bruce.

Further south, two new cases were reported by Southwestern Public Health: a St. Thomas man in his 50s and an Oxford County woman in her 60s.

Huron Perth Public Health also added one new case in Perth County, but officials did not release further information about the individual.

Provincial health experts warned they expect COVID-19 to kill as many as 15,000 people in Ontario over the course of the pandemic, according to modelling projections released Friday.

"Had we done nothing, Ontario may have suffered 100,000 deaths," said Dr. Peter Donnelly, the CEO of Public Health Ontario, referencing the province's physical distancing measures. "Thankfully, that is not the position we are in."

He added that the province sees about 1,350 people die each year from the seasonal flu. In a bad year, 1,500 people die.

Donnelly said the time frame of 18 months to two years is in line with other credible models about the pandemic, which account for the possibility of secondary or tertiary waves.

The projections came as Ontario reported 462 new cases and 14 new deaths Friday, with 3,255 confirmed cases across the province.