2 more COVID-related deaths reported in Waterloo Region, death toll rises to 280

Waterloo Public Health reported two more COVID-19 related deaths on Tuesday, raising the death toll in the area to 280.

“The individuals were a male in his 60s and a female in her 80s,” medical officer of wealth Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang stated. “I wish to express my deep sympathy to the family and loved ones of each individual.”

There have now been 15 deaths reported in the area over the first 13 days of July after there were only nine casualties reported over the entire month of June.

On a more positive note, Waterloo Public Health reported less than 30 new positive tests for the coronavirus for the fourth straight day as the agency says another 27 people have caught the virus. The case total now stands at 18,058.

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Despite the low number, the rolling seven-day average number of new cases climbs to 36.6 as there were only 12 cases reported last Tuesday.

Another 34 area residents have also been cleared of the virus, raising the total number of resolved cases to 17,493.

This leaves the area with 279 active COVID-19 cases, a slight drop from Monday’s total of 288.

There are also 25 patients in hospital suffering from COVID-19 including 15 who are in intensive care units.

The region is back up to 15 COVID-19 outbreaks after a new one was reported in an office setting involving three people.

At the other end of the spectrum, the region’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution task force reported there have now been 665,679 vaccinations done in Waterloo Region, 6,547 more than was announced 24 hours earlier.

In addition, another 6,972 residents are fully vaccinated, bringing the total number of vaccinated people in Waterloo Region to 265,055.

This means that 45.01 per cent of people who reside in Waterloo Region are now fully vaccinated, a number which climbs to 54.75 per cent when only including those over the age of 18.

A total of 80.89 per cent of the adult population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, a number which falls to 68.57 per cent when taking into account the entire population.

Elsewhere, Ontario reported 146 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the fifth straight day cases are below 200. The provincial case total now stands at 547,409.

According to Tuesday’s report, 43 cases were recorded in Toronto, 36 in Waterloo Region, 13 in Peel Region, 11 in Hamilton and 10 in Middlesex-London.

All other local public health units reported fewer than 10 new cases in the provincial report.

There is a discrepancy in provincial and local numbers as they collect the numbers at different points in time.

The death toll in the province has risen to 9,258 as seven more deaths were recorded.

*With files from Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues