KITCHENER

Waterloo Region reports record-high 78 new COVID-19 cases, another death

Chase Banger CTVNewsKitchener.ca Digital Content Producer

Published Wednesday, November 25, 2020 1:46PM EST Last Updated Wednesday, November 25, 2020 3:17PM EST

Specimens to be tested for COVID-19 are seen at LifeLabs after being logged upon receipt at the company's lab, in Surrey, B.C., on Thursday, March 26, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

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KITCHENER -- Region of Waterloo Public Health reported 78 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the highest number ever reported in a single day.

That number surpasses the previous record of 71, set back on April 17 after the province opened testing up to include those in long-term care and retirement homes who were asymptomatic.

The update brings the total number of cases in the region to 3,217, including 2,688 resolved cases. The death toll in Waterloo Region also rose by one on Wednesday to 124.

There are currently 404 active cases in the region. Of those, 22 people are in hospital, including 11 people who are in the ICU.

Public health officials also declared five new COVID-19 outbreaks:

Manufacturing/industrial workplace 6: two cases
Manufacturing/industrial workplace 7: three cases
General office setting: two cases
Food and beverage service 6: two cases
Food and beverage service 7: four cases

One outbreak at a trade or related service was declared over on Wednesday, leaving 20 active outbreaks in Waterloo Region.

SITUATION HAS WORSENED SINCE START OF NOVEMBER

More than 1,000 of the region's cases--almost a third--have been reported since the start of November.

At that time, there were just 116 active cases in the region and the death toll stood at 121.

Earlier this month, the province introduced a new tiered framework for keeping Ontario open through the pandemic. The first draft had Waterloo Region in the green "prevent" category based on a couple of key COVID-19 growth indicators.

Since, Waterloo Region has been escalated three times, with the most recent change putting it in the red "control" zone. That's the second-most restrictive tier in the system, just behind "lockdown," which is in effect in Toronto and Peel Region.

Based on the region's numbers mid-month, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang said that we could see "significantly higher" than 260 new cases of COVID-19 per day by mid-December.

Correction:

This is a corrected story. A previous version stated that there had been two more deaths, when in fact the region's dashboard stated that one more person had died.