Hamilton sees ‘concerning’ uptick in COVID-19 cases
City hospitals have 11 outbreaks while struggling to care for high number of coronavirus patients
Hamilton is seeing a slight increase in COVID-19 cases that was mirrored in other parts of the province.
The city reported 94 new infections Thursday — the highest number in the last five days.
“The uptick in cases … is concerning and the new variants … give us less room to relax and less room for error,” Adalsteinn (Steini) Brown, dean of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, said while delivering provincial projections.
“Perhaps most worrisomely, the variants of concern … are clearly spreading in the community and will likely be the dominant version of the virus in March.”
Thursday’s count is still well below Hamilton’s single-day record of 209 set on Jan. 5 — only once in the last 10 days has the number of new cases been above double digits.
“We’re doing better now than we were two weeks ago,” said Brown. “Cases are down, hospitalizations are down and the mobility — we’re moving less — is down. I know this reflects sacrifices and many hard choices … but it is starting to work against COVID-19.”
The health system is still severely strained with Juravinski Hospital and Hamilton General listed among the hospitals in the province with no free beds in their intensive-care unit (ICU) as of Jan. 24. The Charlton Campus of St. Joseph’s Healthcare had only two free ICU beds.
Hamilton’s hospitals were caring for 124 COVID patients as of Thursday.
“At no point during the previous bad flu seasons did the number of beds occupied by patients come anywhere close to the peaks we’ve seen with COVID-19,” said Brown.
“The mortality from COVID-19 is about three-and-ahalf times that of flu, a much higher demand on ICU care and a much longer length of stay.”
At the same time there are 11 ongoing outbreaks at HHS and St. Joseph’s, with the worst of them being at Juravinski as well as the Satellite Health Facility at 150 King St. E. in Effort Square.
Juravinski has four separate outbreaks on units E2, E3, E4 and F4 that total 79 cases, including 50 patients. Seven have died on E3. The outbreaks at the Mountain brow hospital have gone up by 22 cases in the last two days.
The temporary hospital has three ongoing outbreaks on the second and third floor run by HHS and the sixth floor managed by St. Joseph’s. It has 98 cases, including 53 patients and one death.
The number of infections have gone up by 13 in the last two days at the site, which cares for those ready to be discharged — primarily seniors waiting for long-term care.
Hamilton General and the Charlton Campus each have two ongoing outbreaks.
The outbreaks have contributed to HHS having 166 staff and doctors isolating. Of those, 59 have COVID.
Hamilton reported one COVID death Thursday — a senior aged 80 or older — bringing the pandemic toll to 244.
Alexander Place long-termcare home in Waterdown reported its first COVID death in its outbreak that was declared Jan. 13 and has seen nine infected.
The number of outbreaks remains high at 48, including 20 seniors’ homes. In addition to the 11 hospital outbreaks, there are four workplaces, two daycares, four shelters and seven community organizations, which are mostly vulnerable congregate living settings.
A new workplace outbreak was declared Jan. 26 at Pipeflo Contracting Corporation at 111 Frid St. in west Hamilton, where three staff have tested positive.
Outbreaks were declared over Jan. 27 at daycare Families 1st in Hamilton, Carlisle Retirement Residence and Chartwell Willowgrove Long-Term Care Home in Ancaster.