Two more hockey-related COVID-19 outbreaks were declared by Waterloo Public Health on Friday, including one connected to the Waterloo Minor Hockey Association and another which remains unnamed.
The WMHA outbreak is connected to five cases, while the other is related to two which explains why one went unnamed.
In all, there are now five hockey-related COVID-19 outbreaks in the area which have been connected to 56 COVID-19 cases.
A third outbreak was also declared at Tait Street Public School in Cambridge as there are now 23 active outbreaks in the area.
Waterloo Public Health reported another 88 new positive tests for the coronavirus on Friday, bringing the total number of cases in the area to 21,843.
The rolling seven-day average of new daily cases continues to rise at a rapid rate as it now stands at 74.4, having grown from 51.4 on Monday.
For the first time in four days, there were no new COVID-19-related deaths declared in the area, as the death toll stands at 312 including five victims so far this month.
Another 72 people were also cleared of the virus, pushing the total number of resolved cases in the area to 20,928.
This means the region now has 521 active COVID-19 cases, the most reported in six months.
There are now 17 patients in local hospitals being treated for COVID-19, including five people in intensive care.
On the far end of the spectrum, Waterloo Public Health reports that there have now been 978,050 vaccinations done in the region, 5,890 more than were reported on Thursday.
A large portion of the shots appeared to be people getting a third dose of vaccine as that total climbed by 5,442 to 54,331.
There were only 184 more area residents who were fully vaccinated – that number is now at 457,560 or 75.6 per cent of the overall population.
Elsewhere, Ontario reported 3,124 new COVID cases on Friday, as daily positive infections continue to rise rapidly in connection with the highly contagious Omicron variant. The provincial case total now stands at 642,465.
Patients with COVID in ICUs (intensive care units) have remained relatively stable but are overall on a slow rise. Experts have said it could take up to two weeks or more following a surge in new cases to see a sharper rise in hospitalizations.
Of the 3,124 new cases recorded Friday, data showed 788 were unvaccinated people, 96 were partially vaccinated people, 2,120 were fully vaccinated people and for 130 people the vaccination status was unknown.
According to Friday’s report, 759 cases were recorded in Toronto, 294 in Ottawa, 215 in York Region, 209 in Peel Region, 205 in the Kingston area, and 194 in Halton Region. All other local public health units reported fewer than 150 new cases in the provincial report.
The death toll in the province has risen to 10,107 as five more deaths were reported.
– with files from Global News’ Gabby Rodrigues
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