Coronavirus: Hamilton reports 64 new COVID-19 cases, 5 new institutional outbreaks

Hamilton reported 64 new COVID-19 cases on Friday and five new outbreaks: at two long-term care homes (LTCH), two schools and a seniors’ home.

Public health says the schools –  St. Michael Catholic Elementary and Hillfield Strathallan College – are reporting two cases each among students while the Queen’s Garden LTCH, AbleLiving Services York Supportive Housing and Carlisle retirement residence each have just single cases among staffers.

Hamilton is reporting more than 260 cases at 27 facilities in outbreaks including seven city shelters, seven seniors homes, three hospitals and three schools.

The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) is also recording another outbreak at Cathy Wever Elementary involving a student and staff member as of Friday.

There have now been 88 positive screenings for a coronavirus variant after seven more cases were identified by public health in the last few days.

Of those, only four variant cases have actually been confirmed, all of which were the B.1.1.7 variant that first emerged in the U.K. There are no confirmed cases for any of the other subtypes of the coronavirus.

Active cases dropped for the fifth day in a row to 402 as of Friday. Public health says 41 per cent (187) of the city’s new cases in the last 10 days are from people under the age of 29.

More than 41,000 people have been vaccinated as of Thursday with 28,000 getting shots through the Hamilton Health Science (HHS) fixed site, around 1,200 through the St. Joe’s site, and close to 12,000 with the mobile clinic.

Halton Region reported 27 new COVID-19 cases on Friday and closed outbreaks at long-term care homes (LTCH) in Milton and Burlington.

The outbreak at the Allendale LTCH was closed on Wednesday after 54 days. The facility had seven deaths during the surge and recorded 34 total cases among 19 residents, three staff and 12 other people tied to the home.

On Thursday, public health ended a small outbreak at the Rivera Burloak LTCH in Burlington after just 14 days. The home accounted for just a pair of cases during the surge.

Halton has 17 active outbreaks which include a total of 133 cases from three long-term care homes and 98 cases from three retirement homes.

Public health has identified 102 total suspected variant cases as of March 5 with 19 confirmed.

Active cases are down by three day over day to 261 as of March 5.

The region reported no new deaths on Friday and has had 9,655 total COVID-19 cases amid the pandemic along with 198 virus-related deaths.

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Halton residents 80 years or older can now book online or call 311 to schedule an appointment to be vaccinated at a regional vaccination centre.

The clinics for 80 and over are expected to run during March and April. All appointments are contingent on the availability of vaccine supply.

So far, public health has administered 33,255 COVID-19 vaccines as of Thursday. Close to 10,000 doses have been given out by mobile teams and just over 23,000 from fixed clinics as of March 4.

Niagara public health reported 21 new COVID-19 cases on Friday and saw its variant caseload expand by 13.

There are now 54 detected variant cases with two confirmed as the B.1.1.7 variant.

The region is down to just one institutional outbreak as of Friday with the surge at the Tufford Manor Retirement Home declared over on Thursday.

Niagara has 17 community outbreaks with just one at a seniors’ home – Garden City Manor.

Active cases went up by four day over day to 171 as of March 5. The region has had 8,690 cases and 369 deaths since the pandemic began.

Public health administered another 246 COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday. More than 11,000 doses have been given out in the region as of March 5.

Haldimand Norfolk reported just nine new coronavirus cases on Friday and an increase in active cases day over day by eight for a total of 37 as of March 5.

The region has now had 1,449 total COVID-19 cases amid the pandemic and 39 deaths.

There is just one outbreak at a health-care facility involving one staff case the Cedar Crossing retirement home in Simcoe.

Close to 6,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered with about 1,600 people having completed their series of shots.