Hospitalizations lagging case numbers

dozen. And sometimes, one outbreak leads to several hundred. The number of cases that come up every day is only the tip of the iceberg because it is associated with many times more contacts and settings that are at risk, which exponentially increases the number of investigations and follow-up that we have to do.”

Making note of the numbers, regional Chair Karen Redman said the whole story takes in not just the cases, but how the community has come together to deal with the crisis.

“I’d like us all to start seeing this pandemic as more than just numbers. I know it’s easy to focus on the daily numbers, rising cases today and dropping cases tomorrow: It makes for easy conversation and makes for easy headlines. But the reality is the true story of this pandemic is not told to the numbers alone. I’m confident that history will show the story of this pandemic in our community and how it responded... and most importantly how we work together to move through these difficult times,” she said.

In neighbouring Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph, there were 145 active cases at midweek, down slightly from 150 a week earlier. That catchment area’s cumulative total was 1,401, of which 1,216 (86.8 per cent) have been resolved. There have been a total of 40 fatalities since the pandemic began, including one in the past week.

The province is still dealing with a spike as the total number jumped to 118,199, an increase of more than 10,000 in the past week.

There have been 3,663 deaths attributed to the virus, representing a falling mortality rate of 3.1 per cent. The ministry reports 100,012 cases (84.6 per cent) have been resolved.

The latest numbers from Health Canada show 66,037 active cases, up from 57,435 a week ago. That brings the total to 378,139 confirmed cases of COVID-19 nationwide since the pandemic began, with 12,130 related deaths, a mortality rate of 3.2 per cent.