COVID cases growing in Hamilton amid concerns over Omicron spread

Hamilton logged its 424th COVID death Monday, amid growing case counts and rising concerns about Omicron.

Since Friday, 172 new cases were reported in the city, bringing the active case count to 346.

A more reliable metric of new cases is the seven-day rolling average, which is also growing. Hamilton's average was 48 as of Dec. 11, compared to 30 a week prior and 21 two weeks ago. That means the seven-day average has more than doubled over the past two weeks.

Booster shots opened up to those 50 years and older in Hamilton and across Ontario Monday morning after the province accelerated its rollout in the face of concerns about the spread of Omicron.

The variant represents about 21 per cent of Ontario cases, according to an estimate by the province's science advisory group on Monday.

More to come ...

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