Hamilton, Ont., reported just two new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, putting the city’s total number of cases up to 747 since the pandemic began.
There are now 740 confirmed novel coronavirus cases with another seven probable infections.
There was a new death according to public health — a 68-year-old man who passed in hospital on Monday.
The death was another tied with the Rosslyn retirement home on King Street East. The home accounts for 14 of the city’s 42 total COVID-19 connected deaths.
The city has just one institutional outbreak as of Wednesday at the COVID-19 unit at Hamilton General Hospital, where 10 staff members came down with the infection.
Hamilton hospitals say, in all, they have 37 COVID-19 patients in care units — Hamilton Health Sciences has 18 while St. Joseph’s hospitals say they also have 19.
To date, 591 of the city’s 747 known COVID-19 cases — or 79 per cent — have been resolved.
Public health says cases among people aged 20 to 29 are still a concern, with 43 per cent of cases over the last 10 days being from that demographic.
Of the city’s total number of cases, 19 per cent (145) are from the 20 to 29 age group.
Dr. Todd Coleman, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Department of Health Sciences Wilfrid Laurier University, concurs with the city’s assessment that it’s likely the group is relaxing after 14 weeks of the pandemic, thinking they may not get it if they haven’t already.
“It does speak to a few possibilities that we are seeing such as relaxed social distancing among this group based on various reasons,” Coleman said, “It also maybe because they think they’re not at high risk.”
However, Coleman says while it’s not heavily affecting people in their 20s, catching the virus and COVID-19 could have severe detrimental side effects such as lung damage or fibrosis.
“And we still don’t know what the long term effects of being infected with this virus are,” said Coleman.
Hamilton’s medical officer of health says a new social media campaign is expected to be launched by the city soon to target the younger demographics in the hopes of slowing down new cases.
Coleman believes reaching out in such a campaign is crucial as it appears current practices are not reaching younger generations.
“I’m not very, for lack of a better word, impressed with the consistency and the communication that seems to be happening,” said Coleman, “especially with something like this, because we know that cases are spread through asymptomatic transmission.”
Niagara Region reports no new COVID-19 cases
Niagara public health reported no new coronavirus cases on Wednesday. The region still has 719 total cases of COVID-19 with 84 of them active.
The region reported no new deaths as of June 10. There are 61 deaths connected to COVID-19 with 50 tied to a long-term care home or retirement residence.
The region has two institutional outbreaks at one long-term-care home (Garden City Manor in St. Catharines), and one retirement home (Albright Manor in Lincoln).
Five hundred-seventy-four — 79 per cent — of Niagara’s cases have been resolved, says public health.
Haldimand-Norfolk reports no new COVID-19 cases
Haldimand-Norfolk reported no new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, keeping the region’s overall total number of cases at 397 since the pandemic began.
Haldimand Norfolk health unit (HNHU) says 140 people have recovered since the pandemic started while 31 have died.
Halton region reports 4 new COVID-19 cases
Halton Region reported seven new cases of novel coronavirus on Wednesday. The region now has 754 total cases, including 684 confirmed positive cases and 70 probable.
The region has 25 deaths tied to COVID-19 with 11 from a confirmed outbreak at an institution.
Public health says more than 84 per cent (640) of its cases have now been resolved.
The region is reporting no institutional outbreaks as of June 10.
Of the cases in the region, 78 are connected to residents or patients in an institution.
Brant County reports one new COVID-19 case
Brant County’s health unit (BCHU) reported one new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. The region has 116 total confirmed cases.
The county still has four deaths and 104 total resolved cases.
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.
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