Waterloo Region logs second COVID-19-related death in two days, 20 new cases

Waterloo -

Health officials in Waterloo Region logged 20 new COVID-19 cases and one death on Tuesday, marking the second straight day with a new death reported.

The latest death, a man in his 80s, brings Waterloo Region's total COVID-19 death toll to 285.

There have now been 18,565 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases logged in the region since the pandemic began, including 18,133 resolved infections and 143 active cases.

Eleven people are currently hospitalized with the disease and there are 12 people receiving treatment in area intensive care units.

The Region of Waterloo only counts active, infectious patients in hospitalization numbers, but counts both active and resolved cases in ICU figures. This means ICU numbers can sometimes be higher than hospitalizations.

One more COVID-19 outbreak was declared in the past 24 hours, with 11 outbreaks now active across the region.

Health officials have processed 551,012 COVID-19 tests since the pandemic began. As of Tuesday, the region's positivity rate sits at 2.5 per cent, while the reproductive rate of the virus is 1.0.

Another 28 infections were confirmed as variant of concern cases in Tuesday's update – all of which identified as the Delta variant.

Waterloo Region's variant breakdown is as follows:

• 3,122 are the Alpha variant, first identified in the United Kingdom and originally known as B.1.1.7
• 21 are the Beta variant, originally detected in South Africa and previously referred to as B.1.315
• 98 are the Gamma variant, initially discovered in Brazil and labelled as P.1
• 1,338 are the Delta variant, first found in India and previously called B.1.617
• 266 cases have had a mutation detected, but have not yet had a variant strain confirmed

Meanwhile, health partners across the region have now administered 787,335 vaccine doses, with 2,244 jabs put into arms on Monday.

Among the eligible population, 83.84 per cent have received at least one dose, while 73.91 per cent of residents 12 and older are fully vaccinated.

In order to reach 75 per cent of eligible residents fully vaccinated, another 5,514 people must receive both doses.

Across Ontario, more than 300 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed for the fifth straight day.

The province reported 321 new infections on Tuesday, bringing the rolling seven-day average to 306, up substantially from 198 at this time last week.

Ontario has now logged 553,125 COVID-19 cases and 9,409 deaths since the pandemic began.

With files from CTV Toronto.