Hamilton now has over 465 COVID-19 cases for the first time since early June as public health reported another 177 cases over the weekend.
Cases tied to a Hamilton nightclub outbreak, revealed on Friday, more than doubled over the weekend with health officials adding another 15 to the initial reported nine.
All 24 cases have been confirmed to be among patrons of Sizzle night club on Hess Street in the city centre.
The spread is connected with three settings at the venue on Aug. 7, 13 or 14, according to public health. Those who may have been at the club on those nights are being advised to get tested and self-monitor for symptoms.
Sizzle co-owner Ken Collet told Global News the club had been meeting public health guidelines including capping capacity at a maximum of 250, requiring masking, distancing and screening protocols with customers and staff.
The club is cooperating with the investigation and is providing contact tracing information as per requested.
There are nine ongoing outbreaks across the city as of Aug. 23 involving a combined 58 cases.
The scientific director for Ontario’s COVID-19 science table told Global News that despite Ontario’s two-dose vaccination rate being more than 74.9 per cent 12-plus and Hamilton’s at 71 per cent, high risk settings, like large crowds, still pose a problem with the spreading of the virus.
Dr. Peter Juni says as much as people “don’t want to hear it” he suggests implementing a vaccine certificate, like in Quebec, may provide some safety from COVID-19 for those not vaccinated.
Of the 639 new cases recorded on Monday in Ontario, data showed 411 were unvaccinated people, 65 partially vaccinated, 124 fully vaccinated and 39 with an unknown vaccination status.
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Hamilton officials estimates that 95 per cent of 17,479 infected with COVID-19 in the city between December and August 7 were not-vaccinated.
“I continue to believe, and we see in other places in the world including Quebec, that having vaccine certificates that say you need to be fully vaccinated if you enter a gym, for example, that could make a difference,” Juni said.
Hamilton city councillors are pushing for just that following a 10-0 vote during a board health meeting in early August demanding the implementation of a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine policy and passport program.
Juni’s says current provincial modelling projects that the Delta Variant will be able to infect 9 out of 10 people who are not vaccinated in the the next six to 12 months.
“It depends on the behavior of people, but this virus is eventually finding everybody,” said Juni.
“Therefore, it’s so important to get vaccinated. You break the problems of the virus by getting vaccinated.”
In recent days, Hamilton public health partnered with a number of high profile city agencies, like the Ticats and Restoration House, to offer incentives in an attempt to boost shots in arms.
The city continues to have an issue getting doses in a number of areas in Central Hamilton which have also been the catalyst for a significant number of COVID tests returning positive from Ontario labs.
As of the second week of August, Hamilton had the second highest weekly percent positivity number among all 34 Ontario health units behind Windsor-Essesx, according to IC/ES data.
The report revealed five Hamilton areas – L8M, L8K, L8L, L8R, and L8J – not only had high percent positivity rates between 6 and 11 per cent, but low vaccination uptake averaging between 48 and 56 per cent of residents with two shots.
On Monday, the city’s medical officer of health said the struggle with vaccination uptake is “gonna continue to be this way for the next many months.”
Through dialogue with city partners, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson says it appears the issues are residents that “aren’t interested in getting vaccinated,” others “waiting to see what’s going on,” and those busy doing the “essential parts of life” like working and looking after children.
“So we’re trying to make it as simple as it possibly can be for those that are struggling to find the time or place in their lives to get vaccinated to make sure they have an opportunity to do that,” Richardson said in a pandemic update.
Michelle Baird, director of epidemiology, wellness and communicable disease control for the city’s public health department, says vaccination uptake among youth have also been an issue and that the city plans to target those 12 to 17 through school clinics this week and more event based clinics on weekends and late night.
“We have heard from some of those younger groups that daytime clinics don’t work for everyone depending on work schedules, so hopefully this allows a bit more flexibility,” Baird told Global News.
Baird suggests that few hospitalizations in young people and the absence of the Delta variant during the first couple of waves of the pandemic may be contributing to the thought process of delaying their shots.
“They tend to be busy in their lives, so and in some cases, I think just slower to to see what’s happening,” Baird said.
“We are saying now that the COVID cases we are seeing for the most part are in the unvaccinated group. Certainly this group is is part of that.”
Hospital admissions went up again in Hamilton by six cases over the weekend with two having to be admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU).
Combined Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) and St. Joe’s are reporting 57 total cases with about a third, 19, in ICUs as of Monday.
Public health says there have been an average of about four hospitalizations per day since the start of August.
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