Hamilton is 'in the middle of a 3rd resurgence of COVID-19,' health official says

An uptick in the number of daily new COVID-19 cases in Hamilton is being closely monitored by health authorities.

At a news conference Monday afternoon, city officials appealed to residents not to let their guard down even as the vaccine rollout picks up pace.

"We're very much in the middle of a third resurgence of COVID-19 and this is something we're all quite concerned about," Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, Hamilton's medical officer of health, said.

"We do know that we've seen this before where what happens is that our hospitals become more overwhelmed and we can see that in our hospital numbers.

"As well, whatever happens in the community happens in our health-care system and it happens in our schools," Richardson said.

Richardson said there are "a number of outbreaks in hospitals" and this is a reflection of what is happening in the community.

"It's not, overall as a community, where we'd want to be in terms of our case numbers here in Hamilton and it is absolutely critical as we go forward … it's vital that we continue to follow the measures as we go through this particular resurgence and as we get those vaccine numbers up," Richardson said.

While hospitalizations are currently manageable, Richardson said "there are some particular challenges when it comes to having outbreaks in the hospitals. So as HSS deals with the outbreaks that they have onsite that puts extra strain on their staff. It is something that needs to be closely managed."

Police officer tests positive for COVID-19

A member of the Hamilton Police Service, who is based at the East End Station, has tested positive for COVID-19, police say.

In a tweet on Monday, police said the member was last at work on March 19.

"HPS is working with public health on contact tracing," police said in the tweet.

"All close contacts have been notified."

93 new COVID-19 cases in Hamilton

Hamilton Public Health Services is reporting 93 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday.

There are 716 active cases of COVID-19 in the city with no new deaths linked to the virus in the last 24 hours.

Since March 2020, a total of 300 people have died after contracting COVID-19.

There have been 11,932 confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the course of the pandemic. The total number of resolved cases now stands at 10,736.

Hamilton's weekly rate of new cases per 100,000 people is at 102.

Meanwhile, HPHS is reporting 32 COVID-19 outbreaks in the city as follows:

• 13 current institution outbreaks.

• 11 current community outbreaks.

• Four current workplace outbreaks.

• Four current school/daycare outbreaks.

Status of vaccine distribution in Hamilton

A total of 69,251 doses of vaccines have been administered as of the end of day March 21, according to Hamilton Public Health Services.

Of this amount, 18,275 doses were administered at mobile clinics and 40,825 at the fixed clinic at Hamilton Health Sciences.

The remaining 10,151 doses were administered at St. Joseph's Healthcare Clinic.

"Our teams continue to make great progress in vaccinating residents per the provincial rollout plan," Mayor Fred Eisenberger said.

"I'm pleased to share that over 10 per cent of Hamilton residents have initiated or completed their COVID-19 vaccine series."

Brant

The county of Brant has 73 active cases according to data online. There were 13 new cases in the last 24 hours.

There have been 1,691 cases since March 2020 and 13 deaths. There are two people currently hospitalized with COVID-19.

A total of 1,605 cases have been marked as resolved. 

There have been 18,972 doses of the vaccine administered.

Haldimand-Norfolk

Haldimand and Norfolk Counties are reporting a total of 49 active cases of COVID-19. 

There have been 1,542 cases throughout the pandemic. Of those 1,449 have recovered.

The local public health unit has linked the virus to 39 deaths.

There have been 15,578 doses of the vaccine administered. 

Halton

The number of COVID-19 cases in Halton rose by 42, for a total of 10,396 so far.

Data indicates 309 of those cases are active.

Five of the new cases were in Burlington, which has seen 2,619 cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. There are 79 active cases in the city.

A total of 200 people across the region have died after being infected with the virus, 49 of them in Burlington.

The region is reporting a total of 364 variant cases, 26 of which have been confirmed as variants of concern. The remaining 338 have been screened positive. These are individuals for whom a mutation was identified in the case's SARS-CoV-2 positive specimen, suggestive of a possible variant of concern.

There have been 59,954 doses of the vaccine administered in Halton. 

Niagara

Niagara is reporting 27 new cases of COVID-19. The region has seen 9,210 cases over the course of the pandemic, including 342 that are active.

A total of 373 deaths have been linked to the virus over the course of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, 8,492 cases are now marked as resolved.

There have been 16,897 doses of the vaccine administered in Niagara. 

Six Nations

Six Nations of the Grand River currently recorded 18 active cases of COVID-19. There have been 434 total cases, and 408 are resolved. Eight people have died. 

One individual is currently hospitalized as a result of COVID-19.

A total of 851 people have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 128 people have received both doses.

Ontario sees 1,699 new cases of COVID-19

Ontario reported 1,699 more cases of COVID-19 on Monday, as the province's vaccination rollout expands.

The province is reporting three new deaths of people with COVID-19, as well as 1,175 cases that have been marked as resolved. The death toll for the pandemic now stands at 7,244.

As of 8 p.m. Sunday, the province had administered just over 1.5 million vaccine doses, Elliott said. There were 31,335 vaccines administered Sunday, with 299,297 now fully vaccinated.

At a press conference Monday afternoon, Premier Doug Ford said the province is making "tremendous progress" on its vaccine plans, and lauded the work of front-line health-care workers.

"We're so grateful to them for the vital role they've been playing in the fight against this virus," he said.