KFL&A Public is reporting a massive uptick in COVID-19 cases in the region, with 65 new ones added to the local case count over the weekend.
This brings the region to 121 active cases of COVID-19, numbers not seen since the third wave of the pandemic. Nov. 6 alone saw 30 cases, the region’s highest single-day increase ever seen over the course of the pandemic.
According to a tweet from the health unit, the majority of cases were found among those in the 18 to 29 age group and those in their 30s, with 17 cases for each age bracket.
There are also now two people in hospital, with one person in an intensive care unit.
One new outbreak has been declared at a food service establishment that KFL&A Public Health has yet to name. There are two cases associated with this outbreak, but one has already resolved.
School outbreaks do not seem to be growing, but the Limestone District School Board’s COVID-19 dashboard says there are 28 active cases among local schools as of Monday.
An outbreak linked to Kingston’s Integrated Care Hub has grown to 19, according to the health unit’s outbreak dashboard.
Cases are also rising in nearby health unit regions, but not nearly by as much. Nine more people have tested positive in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark region, where a total of 20 people now have the virus.
Hastings and Prince Edward is also seeing a spike of new cases, with 13 new cases since Friday, and a total of 26 active infections.
Global News reached out to Kingston’s new medical officer of health, Dr. Piotr Oglaza, to ask about case counts in the region, but he was not available to comment Monday.
“Early investigations have revealed transmission is occurring during close, unprotected contact between individuals in social settings where physical distancing is limited, and face coverings are not being worn,” the health unit said in a statement Monday.
“It’s not surprising because we still have a segment of the population that’s under-vaccinated” said Dr. Gerald Evans, an infectious diseases specialist with Kingston Health Sciences Centre.
“Obviously children under the age of 12, the other group that’s got low vaccination rate at this point are people between the ages of 25 and 35 here in KFL & A.” “And so those people are at risk for getting infections if they’re out there. Delta is certainly more transmissible.”
Evans says he’s worried about people starting to back out on all those measures that are really important to prevent transmission like wearing masks and washing hands.
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