City records 14 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend

Hamilton reported 14 new cases and no new deaths of the novel coronavirus over the weekend.

The small uptick in cases comes after nearly a week of registering just four to five cases a day. It’s unknown how it will affect the province’s decision on Monday regarding whether Hamilton can head into Phase 2 this Friday.

In the city’s June12 COVID-19 update, Dr. Elizabeth Richardson said city staff had their “fingers crossed,” ahead of the review, as businesses and the public await the next step in restarting the local economy.

If the region gets the goahead, residents could get a haircut, a beer on a patio and go shopping in a mall — services which have been halted since mid-March.

As of 9 a.m. Sunday, there were 769 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19 in Hamilton.

Twentysomethings are also still driving the case numbers in the city, with 39 per cent of new cases in the last 10 days being found in those aged 20 to 29.

Only 11 per cent of new cases have been in those aged 60 and older, with 14 per cent of cases found in those under the age of 20.

Hamilton has also seen two travel-related cases found within the last 10 days, despite the borders still being closed to non-essential travel. Those cases could be connected to ongoing essential travel as well as some family reunification.

To date, 79 per cent of Hamiltonians — 616 people — have recovered from the virus.

Halton saw 15 new cases of the virus and no deaths, while Haldimand-Norfolk saw just one additional case and no deaths. Provincewide, COVID-19 cases crept past the 32,000 mark over the weekend with just 463 cases reported between Saturday and Sunday. The 197 cases reported Sunday was the lowest single-day jump for the province, according to the Toronto Star’s latest count.

The virus has also contributed to the death of 2,519 people, with 1,625 — nearly 65 per cent — being in long-term-care facilities.

More than 430 Ontarians remain in hospital, with 103 of them in the ICU and 77 on a ventilator. The province also passed the one million mark on completed tests, in which more than 25,000 are currently under investigation.