Hamilton COVID numbers dropping but still long way to go
COVID numbers have fallen for seven straight days but still have a long way to go before the city can open up again.
Hamilton is seeing the same trends as the province that prompted Premier Doug Ford to extend the stay-at-home order until June 2.
We need to do everything in our power to protect this summer," Ford said Thursday. My goal is to have the most normal July and August possible. Obviously that won't mean large sporting events or concerts but ... I believe we can have things in a very good place this summer."
Outdoor spaces won't open as called for by the NDP, the Ontario Medical Association and Dr. Peter Juni of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table. They will open first when the order is lifted June 2 with other restrictions easing in the following days and weeks.
Schools are the big unknown with no answers on when in-person learning will resume.
In the meantime, vaccination will open to children aged 12 to 17 on May 31.
Those age 18-plus will be eligible the week of May 24 and age 30-plus on the week of May 17. Adults age 18-plus who live in hot spot" postal codes L8W, L9C, L8N, L8L and L9K can get vaccinated now.
We just want to make sure over the next couple weeks that we get as many people vaccinated as possible," said Ford. We want to see the numbers go down even further ... We just can't open up too quickly."
Ontario's chief medical officer of health said daily case counts need to drop well under" 1,000.
Ontario had 2,759 new cases Thursday, including 124 in Hamilton. However, the city's daily counts have been under-reported for about two weeks.
A temporary solution has been implemented which has minimized the reporting delays," Hamilton public health said in a statement May 13, adding it awaits a permanent fix by Ontario Health."
Public health also revealed that record high per cent positivity for nearly two weeks has been an error. The number of COVID tests coming back positive dropped to 8.8 per cent, although it's still above Ontario's 5.7 per cent.
Public health services is aware of an issue with respect to the overcounting of lab specimen tests that has recently been inflating the per cent positivity reporting," it said.
A more reliable marker is the average number of new cases per day, which was 125 on May 11. The rolling seven-day average has been falling since May 5 when it was 155. The record was 181 on April 20.
The weekly rate per 100,000 has also gone down during the same period to 146 from 181. The record was 211 on April 20.
Active cases are down to 1,002 on Thursday and have dropped steadily from 1,219 reported on May 7. The high was 1,988 reported April 24.
The reproduction number went back down to 0.82 on Thursday after jumping up to 1.12 the week before.
The situation is slowly trending in a better direction," said Ford. We are not out of the woods yet. Our hospitals are still under immense pressure, the spread of variants remains a major concern."
Roughly three-quarters of Hamilton's COVID cases have been variants since April. The vast majority are B.1.17 which originated in the United Kingdom. However, the city has 21 confirmed cases of P.1., first identified in Brazil, and 11 infections of B.1.351, first found in South Africa.
The variants spread faster and cause more severe illness, doubling the rate for those needing intensive care.
Hamilton's intensive care units were caring for 61 COVID patients Thursday out of 129 hospitalized.
Provincewide, 775 COVID patients are in the ICU, which the Ontario Hospital Association calls a historic crisis."
The president of the Ontario Nurses' Association used the words exhausted," despair" and burnt out" to illustrate what the third wave has been like for health-care workers.
They're hitting a wall," said Vicki McKenna, describing crazy" amounts of overtime.
They were short-staffed before the pandemic," she said. Now so many beds have been added."
McKenna said she expected the stay-at-home order to be extended for four weeks instead of two.
I just hope two is enough," she said.
The city reported the death of a senior in their 80s on Thursday. Of Hamilton's 373 pandemic deaths, two-thirds have been this age.
It's unknown whether the latest COVID death was linked to an outbreak. Although, Juravinski Hospital's F4 unit has reported its third death. Cases also went up to 17.
Infections increased to 34 at the Village apartment building at 151 Queen St. N.
Sampaguita Lodging and Rest Home on Bay Street South also had cases go up to nine.
Hamilton has 40 ongoing outbreaks, including three more declared Wednesday. Three staff have tested positive at each ArcelorMittal Dofasco at its batch anneal, Adler's Main Tile and Carpet in east Hamilton and Image Honda on Centennial Parkway North.
Outbreaks were declared over at Stack Pole International and the Himalya Restaurant.
Joanna Frketich is a Hamilton-based reporter covering health for The Spectator. Reach her via email: jfrketich@thespec.com