Guelph reports 13 new COVID-19 cases, active cases rise to 107

Guelph’s public health unit reported 13 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, raising its total case count to 2,738 during the pandemic.

Active cases increased by four from the previous day to 107 with another nine people recovering from the novel coronavirus.

Total resolved cases in the city reached 2,594.

Guelph’s COVID-19 death toll of 37 remained unchanged with the last fatal case being reported on Feb. 24.

The case rate appears to be on its way up with Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (WDG) Public Health reporting 46.8 cases per 100,000, which puts the region in the red level of the province’s framework.

There are also three cases being treated in an intensive care unit somewhere in WDG Public Health’s jurisdiction, but it wouldn’t reveal which hospitals they are being treated at.

Wellington County

There were three new cases of COVID-19 reported in Wellington County on Thursday as its case count reached 979.

Active cases remained at 18, while three more people have recovered, raising the county’s resolved cases to 928.

The death toll of 33 remained unchanged.

Public health’s online portal shows most cases involve seniors over the age of 80 who have been connected to an outbreak.

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COVID-19 outbreaks

A COVID-19 outbreak was declared at Westwood Public School on Wednesday after two students tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

There are four COVID-19 outbreaks among Guelph and Wellington County’s long-term care and retirement homes.

No new outbreaks have been declared in March so far at those facilities.

COVID-19 vaccines

Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health has administered 18,586 vaccines since its rollout began on Jan. 6.

That’s 622 more vaccinations than what was reported the previous day.

The number of fully vaccinated individuals — those who have received two doses — has only grown by seven to 6,452.

That means 2.5 per cent of the eligible population in the jurisdiction has been fully vaccinated. Public health has set a goal of having 75 per cent vaccinated by the end of August.

Most long-term care and retirement home residents have had two shots as vaccinations have begun for other eligible individuals in Phase 1 of the province’s rollout.