Region sees 50 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend

WATERLOO REGION — The region recorded 50 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend.

The update covers all new cases since Friday, since public health is no longer providing caseload updates on weekends. The new cases reported in the Monday update bring the total in the region to 20,020 since the pandemic began.

The region has a total of 107 active cases, an increase of 14.

The percentage of positive COVID tests is relatively low at 1.5 per cent. Virus reproduction has fallen to a level that points to a virus that is under control.

Vaccine rates are slowing somewhat, as more of the population becomes fully vaccinated.

Just 426 residents were vaccinated on Oct. 24.

By Sunday, 74.99 per cent of all the people in Waterloo Regional — including children — was fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Among residents aged 12 and over — the population currently eligible for a shot — 87.09 per cent are fully vaccinated, and 90.72 per cent have had at least one shot.

Interestingly, the age group with the highest vaccination rate is young people: 94.69 per cent of people aged 18 to 29 are fully vaccinated. Among youths 12 to 17, who have not been eligible for the vaccine as long as older age groups, 81.69 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Waterloo Region has a sevenday moving average of 2.2 cases of COVID per 100,000 population, slightly below the provincial average of 2.3.

Variants-of-concern cases went up by 24 to 6,674, including 3,167 Delta variant cases.

One more person with COVID is in hospital, for a total of 10, including one person in intensive care.

Outbreaks went up from one to two over the weekend. The new outbreak is at Breslau Public School, which has a total of three cases. The other outbreak involves two cases at a construction workplace.

The total number of people in the region who have died of COVID remains unchanged at 302.