Hamilton hits new single day high Saturday with 95 new COVID cases
For the third day in a row, Hamilton has set a new COVID record for highest number of cases in a single day.
On Saturday, the city reported 95 new cases. On Friday, there were 87 new cases. On Thursday, there were 71.
Hamilton's total number of active cases also reached a new high Saturday: 473.
Public health reported one new death on Saturday. An 80-year-old man who lived at Hamilton Continuing Care long-term care home died Friday. The outbreak is Hamilton's second-largest active outbreak, with 46 cases. This is the seventh resident death at the home.
The city's total COVID death toll is now 83.
Meanwhile, an outbreak at Grace Villa long-term care home jumped from five cases Friday to 34 on Saturday. There are 31 cases in residents and three in staff.
The city is reporting one new outbreak at Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd. Three staff members have tested positive.
The Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board reported six new cases Friday, including three students at Gordon Price Elementary School located in the west Mountain. Public health has not declared an outbreak at the school. Outbreaks are typically declared when there transmission occurred in a school setting.
Other schools with cases include Ancaster High School, Saltfleet District High School and Pauline Johnson Elementary School.
The Catholic board reported one new case in a student at St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Elementary School Friday and one case in a staff member at Immaculate Conception Catholic Elementary School.
Hamilton surpassed the 3,000 mark for total number of confirmed and probable cases Saturday, reaching 3,050 cases. Of those, 82 per cent, or 2,485 cases, are considered resolved.
There are 25 people in hospital with COVID-19.
Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton's medical officer of heath, called the new daily highs concerning" on Friday but said they should be looked at in the larger context of COVID trends.
While it's important that the numbers be viewed over a seven-day average as opposed to a day-to-day tally in order to fully understand the current local status of cases and trends in the community, these sustained increases are concerning," Richardson said in a statement.
Hamilton's weekly rate of new cases per 100,000 population reported is 59.7 and the average number of daily cases based off a seven-day moving average is 48. Test positivity has risen to 3.7 per cent. The reproduction number - meaning the rough number of people someone with COVID may spread the virus to - is currently 1.19.
It's not clear how close Hamilton might be to moving into lockdown. Richardson said Friday the city was still firmly" in the red zone. The province makes the call on moving a region into lockdown. Toronto and Peel are the only regions in the grey-lockdown zone currently.
More to come ...
Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com