COVID-19 ICU admissions hit zero for first time in six months in Waterloo region

On Mar. 11 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic.

 

Three years later and some experts say the virus could become endemic.

"There are people now that say 'well now it’s an endemic’, so I think there needs to be some sort of standardization around how to declare COVID-19 endemic," said epidemiologist Zahid Butt.

Waterloo region saw its first reported case on Mar. 3, 2020 and the first confirmed COVID-19 death on Mar. 31, 2020.

For the first time in months, hospitals in Waterloo region don’t have COVID-19 patients in their Intensive Care Units.

The latest pandemic update from local public health shows over the last week that figure has hit zero, a six-month low.

It also shows that there are no patients in intensive care for COVID-19 for the first time since Oct. 12 of last year.

Courtesy Region of Waterloo.

There are still 33 people hospitalized for the disease.

Butt says that, while hospitalizations for COVID-19 remain high, it is reassuring to see a plateau.

"I think definitely in terms of if it’s stable over time, it provides some sort of relief to the healthcare system that you’re not seeing those surges which overwhelmed our healthcare system and hospitals," said Butt.

Associate Medical Officer of Health for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Dr. Matthew Tenenbaum says the pandemic continues to evolve as people take advantage of protections like vaccines.

"We are really moving out of the phase of the pandemic where it was an emergency response," said Tenenbaum. "Now we're thinking about what makes sense to grapple with COVID-19 as one of the viruses that we deal with that cause disease, given the fact that it’s gonna be with us for years to come."

While WHO maintains its pandemic and emergency declarations, Butt says the data shows a more stable future living with COVID-19.

"We're looking at ICU admissions, looking at the effective reproductive number of the virus and also the transient cases," he said. "So, have a combination of indicators to define COVID-19 as an endemic now."

Region of Waterloo Public Health also underscores the importance of vaccination against COVID-19, noting between Dec. 14, 2020 and Mar. 26, 2023, the rates of hospitalization were higher among those who are unvaccinated, compared to those who have received one or more boosters.