Waterloo Region reports 38 new COVID-19 cases, 2 more deaths

Waterloo Region’s public health unit reported 38 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, raising its case count to 10,220.

Another two fatal cases were also reported as the region’s death toll reached 220.

One of the fatalities is connected to a lengthy outbreak at Chartwell Westmount Long-Term Care Residence. The outbreak was declared on Dec. 27 and since then, 144 cases have been confirmed, including 18 fatal cases.

There are 333 active cases of COVID-19, which is 17 more than the previous day. That includes 24 people in the hospital being treated for the novel coronavirus with eight currently in intensive care.

Another 19 people in the region have been cleared of the virus, pushing the total number of resolved cases to 9,661.

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The number of active outbreaks fell by three from the previous day to 25.

The latest COVID-19 vaccination numbers show 12,820 people have now received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, while 26,270 doses have been administered overall.

That equates to 2.18 per cent of the region’s population who have been fully vaccinated against the disease.