Number of active COVID-19 cases on the rise as Hamilton enters Phase 3 of municipal reopening plan

Hamilton has now officially entered the third and final stage of its local reopening plan.

The city is announcing that it is now in Phase 3 of ‘Hamilton Reopens‘, which is separate from the provincial reopening plan and focuses on municipal services and programs, as well as recreational facilities.

Speaking to media on Tuesday, Mayor Fred Eisenberger said this phase is the city’s “new reality” while the risk of COVID-19 infection remains in the community.

“We know that Phase 3 will be lengthy,” said Eisenberger. “It will continue until a COVID-19 vaccine or treatment is available, or is in widespread use. And that is likely to take some time.”

The latest development involves reopening and restarting city-run services and facilities like recreation centres and swimming programs.

Twelve more rec centres are expected to open in September, with more swimming programs — including open swims for families and seniors — restarting on Sept. 14.

On Oct. 5, programs that will restart in a modified way include swimming lessons, sports and fitness programs, general interest and preschool programs, and select rentals of recreation spaces.

It’s also been a little more than a month since Hamilton made masks mandatory indoors — and no fines have been issued under that bylaw since it took effect on July 20.

Paul Johnson, the director of the city’s emergency operations centre, said he’s “extremely pleased” that Hamiltonians have complied with the bylaw.

“We’re seeing people fully comply, and that’s been a lot of the anecdotal evidence that I’ve been receiving back,” said Johnson.

“My own personal experiences, our staff experiences, and the anecdotal pieces are that people really did pick up the mantle.”

Despite the mask compliance, it’s not all good news when it comes to COVID-19 in Hamilton.

The number of active cases in the city has risen over the past month — there are 63 active cases as of Aug. 25 at 9 a.m., compared to just 14 active cases at one point at the end of July.

Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton’s medical officer of health, said there are a couple of reasons for that uptick.

“Cases are coming in clusters amongst close contacts,” said Richardson. “In some cases, these are people who live together — in families, or in roommate situations.

“However, unfortunately, in many instances, it is amongst people who have gathered together in close proximity for at least several hours, and sometimes doing that with the same group on multiple occasions.”

She also said there are recent reports of people going out with friends, even once they’ve developed symptoms of COVID-19.

“This virus transmits the best when you’re in close and prolonged contact with one another, and that’s why it’s really important that as things continue to open up, that people continue to follow public health measures.”

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The rise in active cases also comes as students prepare to return to classes in September, and Richardson said public health officials are keeping a close eye on case numbers as that date approaches.

“If that number really does go up, then we would have to think about, what are the implications for how we’re doing things? Do we need to make some more adjustments as we go forward?”

She added that she remains optimistic, based on Hamilton’s success in flattening the curve thus far.

As of Tuesday, there have been 974 total cases of COVID-19 in Hamilton, with 866 (89%) of those having resolved.

There have been 45 deaths related to the virus in the city, although there have been no new deaths and no new outbreaks reported since July.