67 new COVID-19 cases in Waterloo Region, active infections dip slightly
Health officials in Waterloo Region logged 67 new COVID-19 infections Wednesday, continuing a trend of spiking cases in the community.
Despite the double-digit jump in new infections on Wednesday, active cases in Waterloo Region declined slightly, down to 503.
There have been 17,206 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the region since the pandemic began, including 16,425 resolved infections and 260 deaths.
HOSPITALIZATIONS AND OUTBREAKS DIP
The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Waterloo Region dropped by five in the past day, now sitting at 57 people. Of those, 21 are receiving treatment in intensive care units.
Active outbreaks also dipped slightly, down from 18 on Tuesday to 16 on Wednesday. The majority of the outbreaks are in workplace or facility settings.
VARIANTS OF CONCERN
Health officials have confirmed the more infectious Delta variant is now the dominant virus strain in Waterloo Region.
Another seven COVID-19 cases were confirmed as variants on Wednesday, bringing the total number of lab-confirmed variant of concern cases to 3,574. Six of the new confirmed variant cases were linked to Delta.
The region's variant breakdown is as follows:
- 3,072 are the Alpha variant, first identified in the United Kingdom and originally known as B.1.1.7
- 11 are Beta variant, originally detected in South Africa and previously referred as B.1.315
- 61 are the Gamma variant, initially discovered in Brazil and labelled as P.1
- 121 are the Delta variant, first found in India and previous called B.1.617
- 309 cases have had a mutation detected, but have not yet had a variant strain confirmed
VACCINE UPDATE
Meanwhile, health partners across Waterloo Region administered another 8,337 COVID-19 vaccine doses on Tuesday.
That brings the total number of jabs in arms to 482,664.
More than 75.3 per cent of adults have now received at least one dose, with 21.73 per cent of residents 18 and older are now fully immunized.
As of Wednesday, anyone who received an mRNA vaccine as their first dose before May 30 is now eligible to book an earlier second dose appointment in Waterloo Region.
An updated booking system also launched Wednesday.
PROVINCE-WIDE SNAPSHOT
Across Ontario, health officials logged 255 new infections on Wednesday, a number not seen since Sept. 15.
The seven-day rolling average of daily COVID-19 cases now stands at about 316. A week ago that number was 443.
Another 11 deaths related to the disease were reported on Wednesday, bringing the death tally related to the virus to 9,093.
With files from CTV Toronto.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.