70 more COVID-19 cases reported in Waterloo Region as total rises to 14,201

Waterloo Public Health reported another 70 positive COVID-19 tests on Friday, lifting the total number of cases in the area to 14,201.

This drops the rolling seven-day average number of new cases down to 75.7.

This is the fifth straight day that 70 or fewer cases have been added to the overall total.

Another 69 people have also been cleared of the virus, pushing the total number of resolved coronavirus cases in the area to 13,343.

For the second straight day, no new COVID-19-related deaths were reported by Waterloo Public Health, leaving the death toll in the area at 252.

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There were nine new deaths reported in April, after nine were reported over the first nine days of March.

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There are currently 65 people in area hospitals as a result of the virus including 32 who are in need of intensive care. At least a third of those have come from out of region over the past week according to a release from area hospitals on Thursday.

There are also still 588 active COVID-19 cases in Waterloo Region and 26 active outbreaks.

Three outbreaks have been declared over, including one at a manufacturing plant, one in auto sales and one in trades.

There are now 20 cases (up by five) connected to an outbreak at an unnamed manufacturing plant and 25 (up by one) to an unnamed food processing plant.

Although both now have surpassed the 15-case threshold Waterloo Public Health said it would use to name active outbreaks, they have not been named as they do not meet at least one of the other marks, which include having at least 20 employees or customers or a 15 per cent transmission rate.

The region’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution task force says there have now been 198,636 vaccinations given since Dec. 22, an increase of 5,268 from what was reported Thursday.

It says that 30.97 per cent of area residents have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The region expects to surpass the 200,000 vaccination mark sometime Friday.

According to Friday’s report, 1,331 cases were recorded in Toronto, 871 in Peel Region, 267 in York Region, 208 in Durham and 204 in Hamilton.

All other local public health units reported fewer than 200 new cases in the provincial report.

The death toll in the province has risen to 8,050 as 21 more deaths were recorded.

–With files from Global News’ Jess Patton