Despite reporting 37 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, Hamilton’s medical officer of health says the city is still maintaining an average of about 20 cases per day after a steady rise in September.
In a media briefing on Monday, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said some recent increases in cases may have been connected to potential get-togethers at Thanksgiving, but suggested the numbers have actually been steady over the last two weeks.
“It might have been that some of that uptick was related to Thanksgiving, but we’ve now had a steadying, which is really good news,” Richardson said.
“I would say we do continue to see that socializing really as being part of the challenge.”
Richardson says the “levelling off” the city has been seeing recently could potentially ward off targeted restrictions from the province.
“We’re just holding our own. We need to continue to see that stay level,” Richardson said.
“Or better yet, as I said earlier, bring those numbers down even further.”
Three outbreaks were declared over on Monday at Sacred Heart of Jesus Elementary School, Inasmuch House and Footlocker at Lime Ridge Mall.
- Life in the forest: How Stanley Park’s longest resident survived a changing landscape
- ‘Love at first sight’: Snow leopard at Toronto Zoo pregnant for 1st time
- Buzz kill? Gen Z less interested in coffee than older Canadians, survey shows
- Carbon rebate labelling in bank deposits fuelling confusion, minister says
Each reported at least one coronavirus case among staff members in Mid-October.
Three other outbreaks were declared over on the weekend at Radius restaurant, builder Flynn Canada Ltd. and steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal Hamilton East.
The city is now dealing with 10 active outbreaks involving 76 people as of Monday at:
- five long-term care homes (Dundurn Place Care Centre, Macassa Lodge, Parkview Nursing Centre, Wentworth Lodge, Chartwell Willowgrove)
- two retirement homes (Cardinal residences, Amica Dundas)
- one gym (SPINCO)
- one sports team (Hamilton-based basketball club
- one church (Restoration Full Gospel Church)
The 85 cases at SPINCO involve 52 members, two staff, and 31 secondary cases connected with people who had contact with someone who went to the gym.
Hamilton has 162 active cases as of Oct. 26 with five people receiving hospital care.
The city’s total number of confirmed cases since the pandemic began 1,698.
Hamilton has 162 active cases as of Oct. 26 with five people receiving hospital care.
Forty-three percent (91) of the city’s 211 new coronavirus cases in the last 10 days have been among people under the age of 30.
Hamilton has had 48 COVID-19-related deaths since the pandemic began.
Halton Region reports 18 new COVID-19 cases
Despite averaging around 28 cases per day over the last 10 days, Ontario will not be rolling Halton back to a modified Stage 2 as part of the province’s pandemic recovery plan.
During a COVID-19 briefing on Monday, Health Minister Christine Elliot said the province checks a “consistent set of issues” when it comes to moving an area to a modified Stage 2.
Elliot said the number of new cases is at the top of the list, however, health officials also consider the ability of a region to provide adequate testing, contact tracing, and number of available hospital beds.
She went on to suggest that a recent spike of cases in a number of regions is likely tied to activities during Thanksgiving.
‘We’ve got that adding to the increase in community transmission, but we are also seeing numbers in some of the modified areas go down,” Elliot said.
Public Health Halton reported 18 new COVID-19 cases on Monday. The region has had 1,948 cases since the pandemic began.
Halton now has 31 COVID-19-related deaths since the pandemic began, after a death on the weekend connected to the outbreak at the Village of Tansley Woods retirement home.
Halton has six outbreaks at four long-term care homes involving 90 people (Village of Tansley Woods LTC, Post Inn Village, Wyndham Manor and Chartwell Waterford in Oakville) and two retirement homes (Village of Tansley Woods and Amica Georgetown).
Tansley Woods now has four deaths related to an outbreak involving 32 resident cases, seven staff members and three cases under investigation that have not yet been connected with residents or staff in the home.
Chartwell Waterford has 27 cases tied to 22 residents, three staff members and two others connected to the home. The facility has one death connected to the outbreak which began on Oct.13.
The outbreak at Amica in Georgetown involves 15 people with 12 residents with the virus and three others who have a connection to the home.
The region has 247 active cases as of Oct. 26 with Oakville accounting for 104 and Burlington accounting for 81 cases.
Public Health Halton says 38.9 per cent (111) of its 285 cases in the last 10 days were among residents under the age of 39. Burlington accounts for 105 of the total new cases in the last 10 days with 39 (32 per cent) under the age of 39.
Niagara Region reports four new COVID-19 cases
Niagara public health reported another four new COVID-19 cases on Monday.
There are currently 107 active cases as of Oct. 26 and the region’s total number of cases is 1,351 since the pandemic began.
Niagara has 68 virus-related deaths since March.
There are five outbreaks connected with the coronavirus at two retirement homes (Pioneer Elder Care in St. Catharines, the Meadows of Dorchester in Niagara Falls) and three nursing homes (Millennium Trail Manor in Niagara Falls, Rapelje Lodge in Welland, and Gilmore Lodge in Fort Erie).
Since the pandemic was declared, 43.9 per cent (593) of the region’s 1,351 cases have occurred in people under the age of 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 526 lab-confirmed positive cases since the pandemic began.
Officials say there are 26 active cases as of Oct. 26.
Public health says 34.6 per cent (182) of all cases in the region involve people between the ages of 20 and 39.
The region has no current outbreaks.
Haldimand-Norfolk has 32 COVID-19-connected deaths with 27 tied to residents at Anson Place Care Centre, a nursing home in Hagersville.
Brant County reports five new COVID-19 cases, new outbreak
Brant County’s health unit reported five new COVID-19 cases on Monday. The region has a total of 238 confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
There are 24 active cases as of Oct. 26 and two people receiving hospital care.
The region now has three institutional outbreaks adding two retirement homes (Riverview Terrace in Brantford and Penmarvian Retirement in Paris) to the list with cases involving a single staff member. The remaining outbreak is at Hardy Terrace long-term care home in Brantford involving one staff member.
Public health says 38.2 per cent (88) of all cases in the county involve people between the ages of 20 and 39.
The region has five deaths tied to COVID-19 infections.
Comments