Hospitalizations growing as Hamilton reports nearly 1,000 new COVID cases

Hamilton nearly doubled its new COVID cases Thursday while hospitalizations are growing.

Public health reported 998 new cases, compared to 540 on Wednesday, bringing the active case count to 4,020. Actual case counts are likely much higher as PCR tests for COVID are hard to come by.

There may be additional processing occurring due to increased volume of lab reports and decreased staffing over the holidays," said spokesperson Jacqueline Durlov in an email about the sharp single-day jump.

The seven-day average rose to 537 compared to 374 on Monday, according to public health.

No new deaths were reported.

However, hospitalizations are rising sharply. The latest available numbers show Hamilton hospitals are caring for 140 patients with COVID. (St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton didn't update its numbers on Dec. 30, but reported 43 patients as of Dec. 29.) On Dec. 27, the latest numbers showed 78 patients with COVID across the two hospital systems.

ICU numbers are also growing. Available numbers show 17 patients in ICU with COVID-related illness in Hamilton's hospitals. There were eight or less according to available data on Dec. 27.

More to come ...

Maria Iqbal covers aging issues for The Spectator. miqbal@thespec.com