Health officials concerned over increased rate of COVID-19 spread, as region sees 20 new cases

The MLHU logged 87 new infections within the last week

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Caption: Those needing to get tested for COVID-19 on Thanksgiving Monday can visit the assessment centre at Carling Heights from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. or at Oakridge Arena from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. (Colin Butler/CBC)

The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) logged 20 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, marking the largest single-day increase in the region since April when the pandemic's first wave had reached its peak.
But more than the number of cases, it's the overall trend of rapid increases that is causing concern among local public health officials.
Over the past few weeks the region has seen a steady rise in cases, with multiple days of double-digit increases.
"The trends have suggested that community transmission is increasing," Dr. Alex Summers, associate medical officer of health with the MLHU, told CBC News.
"We know the absolute case number is looking similar to what was happening in the spring, but most critically we see the rate of increase in cases changing rapidly."

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Since last Sunday, the MLHU has reported 87 new infections. That's a little more than half of the number of cases reported in the region during the entire month of September and well above the 56 cases reported during the month of August.
"Transmission is going up, case numbers are going up and they're going up very, very quickly," Summers said.
Data from the health unit shows that eight of Sunday's new cases are among people in their 20s, while five involve people under the age of 19. Three other cases are people in their 40s, while the rest include people in their 50s, 60s and 70s.
Even though, the region saw a dip in cases on Saturday, with just three cases compared to Friday's 19-case spike, Summers said the increase in the average number of cases is of concern.
"At this point in time, we need to prepare for the possibility of more cases this upcoming week," he explained.
"We know that we did so much as a community to limit transmission back in the spring and, unfortunately, we're going to have to do similar things again."
Summers said that unless people start to limit their close contacts to people in their household, the virus will make its way to the most vulnerable sectors of the population.

Limit Thanksgiving to your household: officials

With the Thanksgiving weekend well underway, the MLHU is still urging people to limit their family gatherings to people in their immediate households and to avoid travelling to hotspots in and out of the province, including Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City.
"It's been a really long year and we have so much to give thanks for, but we need to do things differently," said Summers.
"We need to postpone our Thanksgiving until next year, particularly if it's with extended family. We need to keep things as small as we can this year and even though that's really tough, it's really important, especially now when we look at the number of cases being reported."
Meanwhile, those needing to get tested for COVID-19 on Thanksgiving Monday will be able to do so.
The assessment centre at Carling Heights will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., while the one at Oakridge Arena will be open from 9 a.m to 5 p.m.