10 new COVID-19 cases in London area Wednesday as Ontario enters Step 2 of reopening
CBC News | Posted: June 30, 2021 5:16 PM | Last Updated: June 30, 2021
Here's the latest on coronavirus for Middlesex-London
Recent developments:
- Ontario has officially moved into Step 2 of the reopening plan.
- The province is reporting 184 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, along with 14 additional deaths.
- There are nine patients with COVID-19 at local hospitals, including fewer than five in critical care.
What's the latest situation for the London area?
The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) is reporting 10 additional cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and no deaths. The latest case count comes after 242 people were tested for the virus at London assessment centres.
The health unit announced they will no longer be updating their COVID-19 dashboard on the weekends. Information from Saturday and Sunday will be shared on the following Monday. There will also be no update on Thursday because of the Canada Day holiday.
There were two recoveries posted Wednesday, with 48 active cases in the region.
The seven-day rolling average for daily cases is at six, according to data from the MLHU.
London Health Sciences Centre says they are currently caring for nine patients with COVID-19, including fewer than five in critical care. There are no patients being cared for from outside the health region and no staff have tested positive for the virus.
Moving into Step 2 of reopening
Ontario is now in Step 2 of the province's plan to reopen the economy on Wednesday. That means gathering limits are being increased, personal care services like hair salons can open, and retail capacity limits are expanded.
The following are now in effect under Step 2:
- Indoor masked gatherings are allowed with up to five people.
- Outdoor gathering limits will increase to 25 people.
- Six people will be allowed to dine together on a patio.
- Personal care services, such as hair and nail salons, will be able to open.
- Essential retail occupancy will increase to 50 per cent capacity.
- Non-essential retail will move to 25 per cent capacity.
- Overnight camps will be permitted to reopen.
The province will likely remain in Step 2 for 21 days before moving to Step 3.
COVID-19 across the region and beyond
Southwestern Public Health posted no new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday and no deaths. There are 11 ongoing cases in Elgin-Oxford.
Huron Perth Public Health reported one new case in Stratford and no additional deaths. The region has nine active cases.
Meanwhile, there were 184 new COVID-19 cases across Ontario, the lowest daily count since mid-September.
There were over 268,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered across the province Tuesday, a new high for the second day. The Ministry of Health also reported an additional 14 deaths in Ontario, bringing the total to 9,168 since the pandemic began.