Public health says Hamilton’s recent wave of COVID-19 cases has seen an average of up to five cases a day since the slowest period of the pandemic during the month of June.
Dr. Stephanie Hughes, an epidemiologist, told the city’s board of health on Monday that the latest wave began in August.
“Case activity has started to increase and it’s increased in waves so varying between an average of one to five new cases reported per day,” Hughes told the board.
In recent months, coronavirus cases have also shifted away from older people to the young, according to public health. The largest proportion of cases in Hamilton are now among 20- to 29-year-olds.
“The least activity has been seen among those under 10 years of age,” said Hughes. “These trends have shifted over time, though. So a larger proportion in the older age groups in the first few months and younger individuals more recently.”
Hughes said the higher numbers early on in the pandemic were the result of outbreaks at retirement homes and long-term care facilities, like the Rosslyn, which reported 61 cases on May 15.
Another shift the city in pandemic activity is a move away from a large number of cases tied to travel. Hughes says that has now been overtaken by cases being acquired through close contact with a relation. The city estimates that 38 per cent of the city’s 1,000-plus cases came from an identified contact.
“Many of our contact-related cases have been associated with cluster activity, which much of it has been spread among friends and family and within households,” according to Hughes.
Retirement homes operating again following outbreaks
Of Hamilton’s 45 total deaths, 34 (76 per cent) have been connected with an outbreak at a facility.
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Hughes said so far during the pandemic, 13 of 34 of the city’s outbreaks have occurred in long-term care homes, with the first at the Heritage Green in mid-March.
The two largest outbreaks were at the Cardinal retirement home with a total of 64 cases and the Rosslyn retirement home with a total of 86 cases.
Director of epidemiology and communicable disease Michelle Baird, who works with a committee addressing congregate settings, said all homes except the Rosslyn are operating again.
“There is surveillance underway within these homes and they have a very low threshold where if they even see a resident with one symptom, they are notifying us and testing very quickly,” said Baird.
Hamilton reports nine new COVID-19 cases
Hamilton public health reported nine new COVID-19 cases since Friday.
The city says 41 per cent of the city’s 42 new coronavirus cases in the last 10 days have come from people under the age of 30.
The city has 59 active cases as of Sept. 21.
Since the pandemic began, Hamilton has had a total of 1,070 confirmed cases.
The city has no current institutional outbreaks.
Halton Region reports nine new COVID-19 cases
Public Health Halton reported nine new COVID-19 cases on Monday, with five of those recorded in Oakville.
The region has had 1,145 cases since the pandemic began. Public health says 57 new cases have been added to the region’s total since Friday when it reported 1,088 in total.
There are 124 active cases and 25 deaths tied to COVID-19 as of Sept. 21.
The region has no current institutional outbreaks.
The agency says 41.8 per cent (51) of its 122 most recent cases in the last 10 days came from residents aged 20 to 39.
Haldimand-Norfolk reports one new COVID-19 case
The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit (HNHU) reported one new COVID-19 case on Monday. The region has an overall total of 489 lab-confirmed positive cases.
Officials say there are 15 active cases as of Sept. 21.
Public health says about one-third (34.3 per cent) of all cases in the region involve people between the ages of 20 and 39.
Thirty-two people have died as a result of COVID-19, with the bulk of the deaths (27) tied to residents at Anson Place Care Centre in Hagersville.
Brant County reports two new COVID-19 cases
Brant County’s health unit says it recorded two new COVID-19 cases on Monday. The region is up seven since Friday and has a total of 176 confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
The region has no current outbreaks, with the latest at John Noble Home nursing home in Brantford being declared over on Friday.
Public health says over one-third (35.8 per cent) of all cases in the county involve people between the ages of 20 and 39.
Five people in the County have died with COVID-19.
Niagara Region reports three new COVID-19 cases
Niagara public health reported three new COVID-19 cases on Monday.
The region now has 995 cases since the pandemic began and 41 current active cases.
Public health is dealing with one confirmed current COVID-19 outbreak at the Deer Park Villa nursing home in Grimsby.
Since the pandemic, 324 of the region’s 995 cases have occurred in people between the ages of 20 and 39.
Sixty-four people with COVID-19 have died in Niagara.
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