Hamilton’s COVID-19 numbers continue upward spiral

The number of new COVID-19 cases in Hamilton has soared to another record high.

There are 494 new cases reported by Hamilton Public Health on Friday, almost doubling Thursday’s previous record of 268.

The city has not confirmed any additional deaths related to the virus this week, and the number of hospitalizations is steady at 52.

Twenty-four cases are linked to a Grey Cup-related event at the Corktown Pub on Dec. 10, making it the largest of Hamilton’s 37 active outbreaks.

Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger urges residents to keep adhering to public health measures during the holidays.

“That feeling of anxiety that I think we all feel,” says Eisenberger, “needs to quickly transform into actions that keep you safe, and keep others safe.”

He adds that the city is doing its best to ramp up the availability of booster doses, having closed recreation centres and museums, and reallocating more than 150 staff to assist with vaccination clinics.

Effective Thursday, Hamilton Public Health also says it is “prioritizing” staffing resources to manage outbreaks in high-risk settings, to protect community members who are most vulnerable to severe outcomes of COVID-19.

It says the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant has led to the large surge in the number of community members testing positive, which has overwhelmed staff’s ability to provide outbreak management in all settings.

High-risk settings in Hamilton include hospitals and complex continuing care or acute care facilities, such as long-term care homes, retirement homes, shelters, supportive housing, correctional institutions, child care centres and schools.

The change means that Hamilton Public Health Services will no longer be declaring new outbreaks associated with workplaces or community settings.