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The London area has recorded an average of around nine new cases of COVID-19 per day over the three-day period from Saturday to Monday, according to statistics just released.

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There were seven new cases on Monday, 11 Sunday and eight Saturday for a total of 26 over three days. The Middlesex-London Health Unit no longer provides daily updates on weekends.

The latter number of cases brings the pandemic total to 12,862 in London and Middlesex County. There are currently 62 active cases, with the daily workload having increased slightly over the past week.

There have been 231 deaths in the London area linked to COVID-19, the most recent at the end of July. About 80 percent of local residents aged 12 and over have received at least one vaccine and about 67 percent have received the two recommended vaccines.

Monday marked the day Canada reopened its land border with the United States for the first time since March 2020. Ontario officials reported 325 new cases of COVID-19 across the province. Toronto, with 90 new cases, Peel, with 47, and Hamilton and York, with 29 each, were the most affected areas in the province.

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The new figures bring the total number of COVID cases in Ontario since the start of the pandemic to 552,804 and its death toll to 9,407. There are 11,782 active cases in the province.

In addition, 29,949 doses of vaccine were administered in the province during the 24-hour period ending Sunday evening, for a provincial total of 19,902,159. A total of 9,343,260 Ontarians were fully immunized.

Meanwhile, Canada eased restrictions for U.S. travelers on Monday, allowing non-essential U.S. travelers who have received a full course of a Health Canada-approved COVID-19 vaccine to enter the country, provided 14 days have passed since their last dose and they have evidence of a negative COVID-19 molecular test within the past 72 hours.

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The reopening is a welcome change in Ontario’s border communities, although the mayor of Niagara Falls says he doesn’t expect a “mad rush” of American tourists anytime soon.

Mayor Jim Diodati said he believes those who would want to cross the border immediately are those hoping to reunite with relatives and friends they haven’t seen for nearly two years, as well as those who wish to check on the properties they own in Canada. .

“I think it will be a priority when the border opens. . . but I don’t expect it to be fast and furious, ”he said in an interview.

“I think it will be gradual, like a dimmer, because for day trippers, it’s a lot of work and obstacles to overcome in order to be able to cross this border. I therefore do not immediately anticipate an influx of American tourists.

– With files from The Canadian Press