COVID-19 cases climbing ‘significantly’ in region

Region sees 121 new cases on Tuesday; 30 people now in hospital, with 12 in intensive care

COVID-19 rates in Waterloo Region are starting to climb “quite significantly.”

“This just reinforces the importance for all of us to follow the stay-at-home orders and other provincial requirements,” medical officer of health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang told regional council on Tuesday.

COVID-19 cases surged by 121 in the Tuesday update by public health, pushing the total to 12,825.

Active cases increased by 65 to 592.

Hospitalizations increased by six to 30, including 12 people requiring intensive care.

Outbreaks remained at 16. Three new outbreaks were declared on Monday in an office, school and hospital. Two outbreaks in construction were declared over, along with the University of Waterloo outbreak, which was linked to 38 cases.

The number of variant cases reached 858, including 40 cases of the B.1.1.7, or the U.K. variant.

A total of 443,387 tests have been done in the region.

“We’ve started to increase in our local rates, like the large majority of other areas in Ontario,” Wang said. “This is what we had anticipated may happen.”

The region is seeing a shift in people who are becoming sick with COVID-19 because longterm-care residents who were most at risk were the first to be vaccinated.

“We are seeing more infection in the younger age groups, we are seeing more infection among those who are essential workers,” Wang said.

A total of 119,986 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. The percentage of the region’s residents who have received one dose is 22.5. However, those figures do not yet include vaccines given at pharmacies.