Over 100 presumed cases of COVID-19 variants in Hamilton
Hamilton reported more than 100 presumed cases of fast-spreading COVID-19 variants for the first time Saturday as a growing outbreak at the Barton Jail continued to worsen.
The city now has 105 presumed cases of the variants, which are more contagious and believed to cause more severe illness.
That's up 17 from the 88 presumed cases reported Friday and nearly triple the 37 presumed cases reported Feb. 26.
All coronavirus cases in Ontario are screened for the variants that were first identified in the U.K., South Africa and Brazil. Cases that screen positive for a variant are then sent to a lab for confirmation. Nearly all of those cases end up being confirmed, according to Hamilton's medical officer of health.
To date, Hamilton has had four confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 strain first seen in the U.K.
Public health reported 35 new coronavirus cases and one new death of a person in their 60s Saturday.
Active case counts - presently at 378 - dropped for the fifth consecutive day.
Ten people with COVID-19 were hospitalized Saturday. A total of 798 cases have been hospitalized since the outset of the pandemic.
The city has 27 active outbreaks, the same number as Friday, after two new outbreaks were declared and two were declared over by public health.
One student and one staff member tested positive at Cathy Wever Elementary School.
One staff member at The Meadows Long Term Care Home in Ancaster tested positive for novel coronavirus.
Outbreaks at I.H. Mission Services and at Aug. 8 on Wilson Street were declared over.
Two more cases were also reported at the Salvation Army Booth Centre at 94 York Blvd, the site of the city's worst shelter outbreak. There have now been 56 cases at the site, of which 44 are patrons and 12 are staff.
An outbreak at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre grew by three cases Saturday. Seventy people - 51 inmates and 19 staff - have tested positive at the Barton Street jail. It is the city's worst ongoing outbreak.
About 92 per cent of COVID cases in Hamilton - 9,887 - have been resolved.
Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com