Hamilton records 19 new COVID cases Wednesday as test positivity rate continues to fall

Hamilton public health is reporting 19 new COVID cases Wednesday as the city's test positivity rate continues to fall.

As of Wednesday, Hamilton's test positivity rate had dropped to 3.5 per cent, down from 5.3 per cent reported the day before. It's the lowest rate recorded by the public health unit since late March, according to The Spectator's data.

The rate is still higher than that of the province as a whole, which reported a daily positivity rate of 2.3 per cent on Monday.

Hamilton's seven-day case rate continues to drop, and now sits at 25 cases per 100,000 population per day, according to public health. The city's average daily new cases has also dwindled to 21.

There are a total of eight active outbreaks in the city - a number not seen since last fall, as per Spectator data.

One new suspected outbreak was declared at the Salvation Army Booth Centre on York Boulevard, where one resident has tested positive.

Half of the city's active outbreaks are in workplaces, while the others are in supportive housing facilities, a hospital, a long-term-care home and a shelter.

The largest ongoing outbreak is at Denholme Manor, a supportive housing facility in the city's Durand neighbourhood. Nine residents and three staff members have tested positive since the outbreak was declared on May 23.

Outbreaks at St. Leonard's Society of Hamilton's Clinton House and a Dairy Queen on Queenston Road were both declared over.

The city's hospitals were caring for 38 COVID patients Wednesday, 23 of which are in the ICU. There were two new hospitalizations, according to Spectator data. A total of 1,451 Hamiltonians have been hospitalized with the virus.

There have been a total of 21,066 cases of COVID in Hamilton, with 180 cases still considered active. More than 95 per cent of those infected have recovered, according to public health.

No new deaths were reported Wednesday.

Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com