KITCHENER -- Region of Waterloo Public Health officials reported just three new cases of COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, a notable drop compared to the number of cases reported in the last week.
The region reported 48 cases of the disease in the last week, including 19 on Sept. 9. That was the highest single-day increase the region had seen since May.
In a media briefing on Tuesday, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang said that most of the cases identified in the past week were in the age ranges of 10 to 19, 20 to 29 and 40 to 49.
"We have seen in our case investigations a trend of cases having notably more high risk contacts than before," she was quoted in the briefing.
"This means people are socializing and gathering in close contact with people significantly more than before, without precautions such as physical distancing or wearing face coverings."
There have now been a total of 1,531 cases of COVID-19 in the region, including 1,343 resolved cases and 120 deaths. That leaves 68 known active cases, of which zero are in hospital.
The region's online dashboard shows that 251 people have been hospitalized at some point with the disease. Of that number, 60 people have needed care in the ICU.
There is still one active outbreak in the region, at a long-term care home. Village at University Gates first declared its outbreak on Sept. 5 after a staff member there tested positive for COVID-19. No other cases have been reported since.
On Tuesday, the region also reported that another 3,161 tests had been done since Friday. That works out to about 790 new tests per day.
Across the province, Ontario's public health officials reported 251 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. That's a drop compared to the 14-week high single-day increase reported the day before, when officials record 313 new cases.
Of the 251 new cases, 73 were reported in Toronto, while Peel Region accounted for another 42.
Premier Doug Ford addressed the numbers on Monday, and said his government has not ruled out the possibility of another shutdown if numbers get too high.
He has said that mayors of cities that are considered hotspots should feel free to roll back public health measures as necessary.
The province's website shows that there have been 45,068 cases of COVID-19 in Ontario since January. That number includes 40,091 resolved cases and 2,820 deaths.
