While today’s new case count for COVID province wide was down from Friday’s record total, the new cases are creeping westward from the GTA hotspots. Hamilton Public Health is reporting 31 new cases yesterday bringing the number of active cases to 140—which is more than 10 percent of Hamilton’s total cases since the pandemic began. So far the surge in new cases has not translated into hospitalizations with St. Joe’s reporting no COVID patients and HHSC reporting “less than five.”
Halton Region reported 46 new cases — 24 are in Burlington, 10 are in Oakville, five are in Halton Hills and four are in Milton. Dr. Hamidah Meghani, Halton Region’s medical officer of health, in an online video warned there has been a “changing COVID-19 situation” and, while the collective efforts of residents in the spring and early summer have reduced the spread of COVID-19, Halton has recently “seen a large increase in cases” as both the region and Ontario as a whole are “firmly in the second wave of the pandemic.”
“This is a time to renew our efforts and keep non-essential activities to a minimum,” she said in an update to the community Oct. 9, adding it’s ideal to only have close contact with people in the same household and maintain a two-metre distance from everyone else
Regarding Thanksgiving get-togethers, the MOH was blunt. “I urge you to re-consider and plan for virtual visits,” she said. Yesterday, in answer to a question from a CHCH reporter, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Williams warned that officials are watching Halton and Hamilton closely and if the situation worsens, these regions could ne next on the list for a stage two lockdown.
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