Close to a third (33.06 per cent) of all area residents have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to Waterloo Region’s COVID-19 task force.
It says there have now been 211,204 doses of vaccine given in the area, 3,916 more than what it reported on Tuesday.
That is also almost double the increase reported on Tuesday, when the total number advanced by less than 2,000.
There were only 400 doses provided by local pharmacies as the supply of AstraZeneca continues to dwindle.
A spokesperson for the task force told Global News on Tuesday that the Pfizer supply is also limited which has necessitated the closure of clinics on differing days.
She said the province told the task force to expect more supply in the coming weeks.
Waterloo Public Health reported 47 new COVID-19 cases for the second straight day, pushing the total number of cases in the area to 14,506.
This drops the rolling seven-day average number of new cases to 62.4, well below the 80.9 number it stood at a week earlier.
Another 84 people were also cleared of the virus, lifting the total number of resolved cases to 13,372.
Waterloo Public Health reported a new COVID-19-related death for the first time in May 2021, lifting the death toll in the area to 253.
“Today we are reporting one death in our community where COVID-19 was a contributing factor. The individual was a male in his 70s,” Waterloo’s medical officer of health stated.
“I wish to express my deep sympathy to the family and loved ones of the individual.”
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This pushes the total number of active cases in the area down to 501, the lowest number reported since April 11, when there were 475 active cases.
There are currently 52 people in area hospitals as a result of COVID-19, including 36 who are in need of intensive care.
This is the highest number of patients who have been reported to be in the three hospital’s intensive care units.
A portion of those people who be from out of area, as the hospitals have been taking patients from the GTA to ease the burden on hospitals there.
The region is down to 18 active COVID-19 outbreaks after one was declared over in a construction setting.
Elsewhere, Ontario reported 2,941 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday. The provincial total now stands at 479,633.
Wednesday’s case count is slightly higher than Tuesday’s, which saw 2,791 new infections. It is the second day in a row that cases have been below 3,000.According to Wednesday’s report, 924 cases were recorded in Toronto, 565 in Peel Region, 254 in York Region, 171 in Durham Region and 149 in Hamilton.
All other local public health units reported fewer than 125 new cases in the provincial report.
The death toll in the province has risen to 8,187 as 44 more deaths were recorded.
—With files from Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues
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