Despite improving numbers, the province has left Waterloo Region in the red-control level of the province’s colour-coded COVID-19 pandemic response system for at least another week.
Three other locales were shifted on Friday as Lambton was placed into the grey-lockdown zone, the area covered by the Northwestern Public Health Unit moved into the red-control zone and Leeds, Grenville and Lanark are moving into the yellow-protect zone.
The government uses several epidemiological factors to decide where to place a public health unit as well as the number of outbreaks and level of community transmission.
A week ago, Waterloo Region’s weekly incidence rate was around 56 per 100,000 with a per cent positivity rate of around 3.0, setting the area in the red category while the effective reproduction number remains at 1.1.
As of Friday, the area’s weekly incidence rate stood around 50 per 100,000 with a per cent positivity rate of around 2.5, setting the area in the red category while the effective reproduction number has fallen to 0.9.
In addition, there are now 22 active COVID-19 outbreaks in the region, a dramatic drop from the 29 reported a week earlier.
“We continue to monitor the indicators closely, but at this time we remain in the red control zone of the province’s framework,” Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the region’s medical officer of health told reporters Friday morning.
Remaining in the red zone leaves movie theatres, performing arts venues, oxygen bars, steam rooms, saunas, bathhouses and other adult venues all closed.
In addition, sports teams are allowed to practice but games with other teams remain off-limits.
Restaurants, casinos, bingo halls, event spaces, and fitness facilities, will still only be allowed to seat 10 people inside at once.
Limits on public events and social gatherings are still just five people indoors and 25 people outdoors although this excludes weddings and funerals, which are limited to 30 per cent of capacity indoors or 100 people outdoors.
Supermarkets are limited to 75 per cent of capacity, with a 50 per cent capacity limit for all other retailers. Stores are required to post those capacity limits in addition to having signs outside noting mandatory masks.