Hamilton records 100-plus COVID cases for third straight day
Hamilton reported 277 new novel coronavirus cases and one new death over the weekend.
The 152 cases reported Saturday and 125 reported Sunday marked the fifth time in the last seven days the city recorded 100 or more daily COVID-19 cases.
The 811 cases reported over the past week pushed Hamilton's case total since the beginning of the pandemic to 14,104 on Sunday.
Five of the seven new outbreaks listed over the weekend are in workplace settings.
An outbreak was declared Friday at ArcelorMittal's iron maintenance department after two staff members tested positive for COVID-19.
The infections at the Hamilton steelmaker came just one day after public health declared a variant-linked outbreak at its Dofasco plant, where two workers have tested positive.
Other new workplace-related outbreaks reported include G.L. Tiley and Associates Ltd. in Dundas with two cases, Michaels on Stone Church Road East with four cases, Turtle Jack's in Stoney Creek with three cases and a TD Canada Trust branch in the east-end with four cases.
All of the cases are listed as staff members.
The biggest increase in infections among the city's 48 active outbreaks over the weekend was Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Elementary School, where 12 students have tested positive for coronavirus, up from the seven reported Friday.
The Mountain school closed Tuesday to curb the spread of the outbreak and is expected to return to in-person learning April 19.
Nearly half of all Hamilton schools have at least one case of COVID-19 as students and staff head into the April break.
Meanwhile, active case counts and hospitalizations in Hamilton continue to climb.
The city reported 938 active COVID cases Sunday, a slight drop from the 948 listed Saturday but a jump from the 929 listed Friday. The last time there were more than 1,000 active cases was Jan. 13.
Twenty-two people with COVID-19 have been hospitalized since Friday.
About 75 per cent of the city's total COVID hospitalizations - 674 out of 1,050 - have come since Dec. 26.
In Ontario, there are currently 1,513 people hospitalized and 605 people in ICUs due to coronavirus-related illness.
The province's 4,456 cases reported Sunday marked the largest singe-day increase in new cases since the outset of the pandemic.
Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com