Waterloo Region continues to be among province’s worst areas for COVID-19 spread

Waterloo Region continues to be among Ontario’s worst areas for the spread of COVID-19.

On Wednesday, the province reported its lowest total number of new cases — 255 — since mid-September, with Toronto, 57, and Waterloo, 53, accounting for around two-fifths of total cases.

The news did not get better in the afternoon, when Waterloo Public Health reported 67 new positive tests for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the area to 17,206.

The region and province collect their numbers at different points in the day, creating the disparity in the total number of new cases.

On the bright side, the rolling seven-day average number of new cases in the area has dropped to 59.9, down from 64.1 a week earlier.

Another 94 people were also cleared of the virus, lifting the total number of resolved cases to 16,425.

1:02 Canada surpasses COVID-19 vaccine targets with over 75% having received 1 shot, over 20% fully vaccinated

No new COVID-19-related deaths were reported for the third straight day, leaving the death toll in the area at 260, including four victims this month.

This leaves the number of active cases at 503, above the 494 reported last Wednesday.

Area hospitals continue to deal with an excess number of COVID-19 patients as that number stands at 52 with 21 in need of intensive care.

The number of COVID-19 outbreaks dropped to 16 after one was declared over in at a medical services clinic.

The number of vaccinations continues to climb at a rapid pace as Waterloo Region’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution task force reported there have been 482,664 doses administered in the area, 8,350 more than a day earlier.

Those getting a second dose appear to account for most of the jabs, however, as that total sits at 101,630, 7379 more than what was reported on Tuesday.

A total of 17.26 per cent of the population is now fully vaccinated while 63.59 per cent of eligible residents have received one dose. The latter number barely moved from where things stood the day before as it was reported to be 63.43 per cent on Tuesday.