Niagara releases new COVID-19 case data
Public health department provides breakdown of numbers by municipality
All 12 of Niagara’s lower-tier municipalities have active cases of COVID-19, with Welland and Niagara Falls posting the highest numbers due to outbreaks at seniors homes and healthcare facilities.
For the first time, on Thursday, Niagara Region Public Health released a breakdown of total cases since the pandemic began and active cases in each municipality.
The numbers range from five cases in total in least populated Wainfleet to a total 206 in Welland, where there have been significant outbreaks at longterm-care facilities.
“What this shows is that people all across Niagara are, unfortunately, becoming infected with COVID-19 and so it reminds us that we all have some risk,” said Niagara’s acting medical officer of health, Dr. Mustafa Hirji.
“We all need to be taking those precautions to protect ourselves, but also doing our part to prevent the spread of infection more widely.”
That includes continuing to practise hand hygiene and coming forward to get tested for mild symptoms.
Half of all of Niagara’s cases — at 49.1 per cent — have been due to health-care facility outbreaks.
In Welland, those account for 74.8 per cent of total cases. The city had long outbreaks at Seasons Retirement Community, which was declared over this week, and at Royal Rose Place,
which has been ongoing since March 31.
Niagara Falls has the second highest number of total cases with 164, and about 60 per cent of them are due to seniors home outbreaks.
By contrast, St. Catharines, the most populous city in the region, has had 98 cases of COVID-19.
Eighty per cent were contracted in the general public rather than in facilities.
Hiriji said there are lots of limitations on what can be concluded from the data.
He said numbers show where people live, but not necessarily where they might have acquired the infection.
“If you live in municipality 1 and you stop off in municipality 2 for coffee on your way to municipality 3 for work and maybe pick up some shopping in municipality 4, who knows where you actually got infected from,” Hirji said.
He said that’s particularly important with health-care facility outbreaks because staff in seniors homes or patients in hospitals may have addresses in a different municipality than the facility.
“This is not showing you where infection is circulating — it’s telling you where people live who happen to become infected.”
Hirji said there is also a time delay between when people are in contact with the infection and when they become ill and are diagnosed.
The case numbers are looking at two weeks or longer back in time.
“It’s not telling you where the risk is now,” he said.
The numbers are also only showing cases known to public health.
“The risk in the community is really from the unknown cases that might still be out there and that, of course, we don’t know about,” Hirji said.
Niagara public health reported three new cases in the region on Thursday. Two were from community transmission and the third is being investigated for a source.
That brings Niagara’s total cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began to 623.
Of those, 103 cases remain active and 462 cases are patients who have recovered. Fifty-eight people have died.
Niagara Region councillors ordered public health to release a breakdown of the data by municipality on May 12 during a public health and social services committee meeting.
Hirji said the health department has been working on the data breakdown for a few weeks but wanted at least five cases in all municipalities before it released the results to ensure privacy could be maintained.
“We crossed that threshold yesterday, so we were able to go up with the data live today.” Karena.Walter@niagaradailies.com 905-225-1628 | @karena_standard