After taking a break for the Christmas holiday, the Waterloo Public Health COVID-19 tracker was updated on Sunday afternoon.
Over three days, the area added 208 new COVID-19 cases (69.3 per day) which lifted the total number of cases to 5,595.
At the same time, 228 people were cleared of the virus (76 per day) to bring the region’s total number of resolved cases to 4,824.
There were no new COVID-19-related deaths reported leaving the death toll at 158 in Waterloo Region.
That leaves the area’s number of active cases at 611 including 37 people who are in hospital with 12 of those being in intensive care.
Waterloo Public Health reported that there are currently 28 active outbreaks in the area including a host of new ones at long-term-care homes.
The new outbreaks at the homes were spread throughout the region and include the Pinehaven Nursing Home in Waterloo, Nithview Home in New Hamburg, Forest Heights Long term Care in Kitchener, Fairview Mennonite in Cambridge and Barnswallow Place in Elmira.
Other new outbreaks also included a retail setting, a dental office, a food and beverage setting and Franklin Public School in Kitchener.
A number of outbreaks also came to an end including ones at Chartwell Queens Square Retirement Residence in Cambridge, Columbia Forest Long Term Care in Waterloo, Sunnyside Long Term Care in Kitchener and Hillcrest Public School in Cambridge.
Two outbreaks were also declared over at area hospitals including one on the fifth floor of St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener and one in the Medicine A Unit of Cambridge Memorial Hospital.
There are still two active outbreaks in area hospitals including one in the sixth-floor chest unit at SMGH and another in Kitchener’s Grand River Hospital in the Medicine Unit 5N.