By Scott Kitching
May 5, 2020 12:38pm

Local health officials reported two new deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total in London and Middlesex County since the pandemic began to 42.

But in an encouraging sign, the Middlesex London Health Unit reported just one newly confirmed case, for a total of 424. Of those, 272 have recovered. The health unit said one of the latest fatalities, a woman in her 80s, was associated with a long term care home. The other, a woman in her 50s, was not.

The London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) has 23 people diagnosed with the virus in its care, eight of whom are listed in intensive care. To date, 39 LHSC employees have tested positive for COVID-19. However, not all of those cases can be linked back to the hospital.

Southwestern Public Health, the health unit for Elgin and Oxford counties, reported no new cases on Tuesday. Its total number of confirmed cases remains at 60, with four deaths.

Provincially, 387 new cases were reported Tuesday, marking the second straight day in which fewer than 400 new cases were reported. The total number of cases in Ontario now sits at 18,310. Another 61 deaths were confirmed by provincial health officials on Tuesday. The Ontario death toll has reached 1,361.