COVID cases skyrocket in Hamilton and Ontario
Hamilton's COVID case count is skyrocketing, with a record case count far exceeding anything the city the has seen previously in the pandemic.
Public health reported 494 cases Friday, nearly doubling a record high set the day before with 268 cases.
The province also set another record, with Ontario reporting 9,571 new cases, also nearly doubling the previous day's record-setting case count of 5,790 new cases.
In Hamilton, the seven-day average of new cases has climbed to 200, up from 166 the day before.
The city said Friday that one million doses of the COVID vaccine have been administered in Hamilton - a milestone that occured on the one-year anniversary of vaccines first being given in the city. Demand for the shots remains high, however, with appointments in short supply. The city's top doctor has previously said it will take until at least the end of January for all eligible Hamiltonians to receive a booster shot.
Meanwhile, city staff off sick or isolating due to COVID has jumped to 137 from 73 earlier this week.
On Thursday, the city announced its overwhelmed" public health staff will no longer be tracking outbreaks in workplace or community settings, instead putting resources toward higher-risk settings including hospitals, schools, shelters and long-term care homes.
There is a new outbreak at Hamilton Health Sciences in the C4 unit, hematology, with two patient cases. Also new is an outbreak at St. Eugene Catholic Elementary School with one case in a student and one case in a staff member.
A Friday media release from the province stated cases are likely to continue to rise.
Due to the highly-transmissible nature of the Omicron variant, it was expected that case numbers would increase in the winter months," said Alexandra Hilkene, spokesperson for the Minister of Health. We expect they will continue to increase over the coming days and weeks, as other jurisdictions are seeing similar case rate increases per capita."
The province's ICUs continue to remain stable" but the province expects admissions will rise in the coming weeks particularly among the unvaccinated."
The coming days and weeks will require ongoing vigilance," Hilkene said. This holiday season, please celebrate safely, get vaccinated and follow the public health measures that we know work and have protected us over the last 20 months."
The Chief Medical Officer of Health will continue to review the data and evidence and our government will act as necessary to protect our health care system and the health and safety of Ontarians."
The city does not release COVID statistics over the weekend. New numbers are expected sometime Monday.
Katrina Clarke is a reporter at The Spectator. katrinaclarke@thespec.com