Hamilton reports 92 new cases and two new outbreaks
Hamilton public health reported 92 new COVID-19 cases and two new outbreaks Sunday.
The city currently has 849 active cases of the virus as of April 3 at 3 p.m., down from 981 the previous day.
The city has 15 lab-confirmed and 1,081 suspected variant cases, up 11 from the previous report.
New outbreaks declared on April 3 include the Ancaster Foot Clinic at 352 Wilson St. E., which currently has four patient cases, and Timothy Christian School, which is north of Mohawk Road East, between Upper Wentworth Street and Upper Sherman Avenue, which has one staff case.
There are currently 42 outbreaks in the city.
Nine Hamilton schools - three public, four Catholic and two French - are currently in outbreak. About half of the outbreaks are linked to variants of concern.
Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Elementary School, which is listed as having two outbreaks and 13 cases is closed to in-person learning, according to a letter on its website. Students are expected to learn virtually until April 19.
Outbreaks were declared over at Greensville Elementary School, Westview Elementary School, St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Elementary School and St. James the Apostle Catholic Elementary School on April 3.
A variant-linked outbreak that shuttered downtown Hamilton's Dr. J.E. Davey Elementary School was also declared over on April 3. The school, which has been closed since March 22, is expected to reopen on Tuesday.
An outbreak declared March 12 at Juravinski Hospital's F3 unit was declared over on April 4. The outbreak had a total of 54 cases - 38 patients and 14 staff.
In total, Hamilton has had nearly 13,300 cases and 321 deaths. No new deaths were reported.
As of April 3, Hamilton's reproductive number is 1.2 and the city's per cent positivity is 3.8 per cent, both are the same as the previous report.
Saturday marked the first day of a provincewide shutdown announced on Wednesday by Ontario Premier Doug Ford. The shutdown is expected to last four weeks.
Kate McCullough is a Hamilton-based reporter covering education at The Spectator. Her work is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative. Reach her via email: kmccullough@thespec.com