UPDATE: City declares outbreak in central Hamilton apartment building after 55 residents test positive
Hamilton public health has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at a central Hamilton apartment building.
In a press release Tuesday afternoon, the city said there have been at least 55 cases and one death reported in residents of the Rebecca Towers apartment complex at 235 Rebecca St. since mid-March.
Nearly 30 of those cases are still active, according to the release.
The infections are widespread in the 164 unit, 17-storey apartment building with cases spread across 17 different units on 10 separate floors.
We appreciate how concerning this is for the residents of this building and the impact COVID-19 is having on their tight-knit community," stated the city in a release.
More to come ...
By the numbers
Hamilton public health reported 133 new COVID-19 cases and three new deaths Tuesday as cases continue to surge in the city.
Two of the deaths were residents in their 60s, while the other was a person in their 70s, as per The Spectator's records.
The latest deaths brings Hamilton's total number of people who have died with the virus to 363.
The city reported one new outbreak on Monday at 3TEC Computer Services in Stoney Creek, where two staff members have tested positive. The outbreak is connected to the B.1.1.7 variant, which originated in the United Kingdom.
One new worker at National Steel Car has tested positive for the virus, bringing the total case count to 32.
Outbreaks at Mabuhay Lodge, Harbour Home, Kushies Baby, within the F3 unit at Juravinski Hospital and on the tube slitter line at ArcelorMittal Dofasco have all been declared over.
As of Tuesday, there were 36 active outbreaks in the city. More than half have been linked to a variant of concern.
Hamilton recorded 133 new cases Tuesday, marking a total of 17,814 COVID cases since the pandemic was declared last March.
Of those, 1,660 are currently active and nearly 87 per cent are considered recovered.
The number of tests coming back positive for the virus dipped slightly Tuesday, hitting 11.8 per cent, just down from the city's record high of 12.2 per cent, which was set Monday.
But the city's pandemic situation may be worse than it appears, according to Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton's medical officer of health.
Richardson told reporters Monday that COVID numbers have been under-reported in Hamilton for a week because of delays in lab results uploaded to the provincial system.
The reporting issues have made it difficult to determine if Hamilton is cresting the peak of the third wave as provincial modelling suggested last week. Due to the lab issues, Richardson said it's important to look instead at other key metrics such as the daily average and the weekly rate per 100,000.
The seven-day rolling average for new cases was 154 as of May 2, while the weekly rate per 100,000 sits at 180.
Hamilton's hospitals were caring for 150 patients as of Tuesday.
Of the 102 at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), 48 are in the ICU. St. Joseph's Healthcare has 48 COVID patients and 26 are in the ICU. Nearly 1,250 Hamiltonians have been hospitalized in total.
Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com