The London area marks a somber anniversary, March 27 being one year since the first COVID related death. It occurred about two weeks after the World Health Organization declared the virus a pandemic.
74-year-old Strathroy resident Martin Postma was the first death in the area after returning from a trip to Portugal. Since then, 184 other individuals in London and Middlesex county have died as a result of the virus.
London Mayor Ed Holder is asking residents to turn a light on their porches on as a way of honoring those lost to the virus. On top of this, flags at City Hall will be flown at half mast. The tribute comes as London finds itself battling the third wave of the pandemic sparked from the highly contagious variants. Middlesex-London reported 54 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, including 18 new “variants of concern.” This comes as two more Western residences declare outbreaks with nearly a dozen students testing positive.
Despite the surge in cases, the Middlesex-London region will be remaining in the orange-restriction zone for the time being.
Since the initial lockdown, the majority of cases in the region were reported in people in their 30s or younger, though this group has only seen three deaths as a result of COVID-19. We know this to be a result of the virus being significantly more dangerous to the elderly population.
Middlesex-London has not seen a death since March 8, health officials stating this is because of the vaccine now being available to seniors.
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