Extended, more stringent lockdown likely
Record COVID-19 cases reported in Niagara with holiday get-togethers receiving much of the blame
Dr. Mustafa Hirji said holiday gatherings are likely to blame for the 196 new COVID-19 cases reported Friday — “by far” the most Niagara has seen since the pandemic began.
“Definitely when we’re following up with our cases, we’re finding people who visited family … and that sort of thing. We’re definitely seeing some of that impact here,” said Hirji, Niagara’s acting medical officer of health.
The total number of active cases within Niagara also rose above 1,000 for the second time this week, with 1,013 residents who have either been hospitalized or are isolating after being diagnosed with the virus.
Another 18 deaths were also reported within the region Friday, bringing the total death toll to at least 189 since the
pandemic began.
Meanwhile, across Ontario 4,249 new COVID-19 cases were reported, setting a record for the second consecutive day.
Although the record numbers could be a statistical blip and health officials would need to see a few more days of data to determine if it was a trend, Hirji said the numbers might have been higher yet if the provincial lockdown hadn’t been implemented on Dec. 26.
And based on some of the data that Hirji has been reviewing, he said it appears that Niagara residents have taken the lockdown seriously.
The health department has been reviewing data that shows the location of cellphones that Niagara residents carry with them.
Hirji said that data clearly indicates that those phones travelled far less than they typically would have during the initial lockdown in the spring, and are travelling far less now in the weeks since the second lockdown began.
Hirji called the decrease in movement of the phones encouraging, although it only includes the first week of the current lockdown.
“I think the real proof in the pudding will be once the data for this week is available,” he said. “When Christmas holidays were over, did things nor
malize or did they stay where they were with most people staying home?”
But if people aren’t following public health measures and cases continue to climb, the lockdown will likely continue past Jan. 23.
Hirji expected cases to increase in the weeks since the lockdown began, but unless there’s a strong downward trend in the number of new cases being reported by the end of the month he said “the province will have no choice but to continue and extend the shutdown or even make it more intensive.”
During an update on the virus Friday morning, Premier Doug Ford repeated pleas for people to follow public health measures and “hunker down right now and stay home.”
“If these basic measures continue to be ignored the consequences will be more dire,” said Ford. “The shutdown won’t end at the end of January and we will have to look at more extreme measures. In the meantime, more people will get sick our hospitals will become overwhelmed.
“So please, I’m asking all Ontarians, please stay home and save lives.”
Hirji, too, is continuing to urge people to stay home.
“I think right now we’re in a state where we want to minimize any venturing outside of the homes for anything but an essential reason — and really trying to keep people home.”