Two new COVID deaths in Hamilton as Canada Bread outbreak reaches 38 cases

Hamilton has two new COVID deaths and 46 new COVID cases.

The two deaths, reported Friday, involve people 80 or older. Nothing more is known about their deaths, as public health no longer shares that information. A total of 263 people have died with COVID in Hamilton throughout the pandemic.

Public health reported one new death connected to an outbreak at Juravinski Hospital's F4 unit, also Friday. The hospital death may be one of the two new deaths, but The Spectator is not able to confirm this. The health unit reports outbreak-related deaths and death numbers separately. Deaths are considered COVID deaths" if the person died with COVID, not necessarily because of it.

Meanwhile, Hamilton has 33 active outbreaks.

An active outbreak at Canada Bread, a bakery on Nebo Road that employes 550 people, has 38 cases, up from 34 on Thursday. The outbreak was declared Jan. 28. A spokesperson for the company said all 550 staff were tested on Saturday and all but 38 tests came back negative. The bakery remains open.

Five outbreaks are now over. They include: Fan-Tastic Scholars Child Learning Centre, St. Joseph's Healthcare's Charlton Campus general surgery and surgery oncology unit, Good Shepherd Women's Services, Sisters of the Precious Blood monastic community and Harster Greenhouses. No outbreak involved more than five COVID cases and none had any deaths.

Mohawk College has confirmed one new positive COVID-19 case connected with its Stoney Creek Campus. The college says the case involves a student who last attended classes on Feb. 2. All entry and safety protocols were followed while on campus," read a statement. Public health is conducting contact tracing.

Hamilton has recorded a total of 9,407 cases of COVID since the pandemic began. Of those, 488 are active cases, meaning the person tested positive and has not passed the 14-day symptom onset mark, or that they have but still showing symptoms, and 8,522 cases, or 91 per cent of all cases, are considered resolved.

There are 98 people in hospital with COVID. Our weekly rate of new cases per 100,000 population continues to drop, hitting 66 Friday, down from 71 Thursday. That is still well above the 40 cases per 100,000 population threshold that prompted the city to be moved into lockdown in December.

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com