Hamilton health officials watch for an upward trend as 12 more people get COVID-19

Hamilton has 12 more confirmed cases of COVID-19 compared to Monday, which is a level of increase that is starting to make the city's medical officer of health a little bit uncomfortable.

Dr. Elizabeth Richardson says Hamilton has had days of fewer than 10 new cases of COVID-19. Twelve new cases is a rate where she starts watching for an upward trend.

"I wouldn't say [I'm] worried yet," she said Tuesday. "I'm just aware. Any day that we're starting to see 12 cases, and we've had a couple of those, [we start] to keep an eye on it and see which way it's going.

"We really would like to see those numbers come down, and it's a matter of watchful waiting at this point."

Richardson made the comments during a twice-weekly media briefing. Hamilton has logged 697 cases of COVID-19 so far (690 confirmed, seven probable). Of those, 38 people have died (six per cent of known cases), and 529 have recovered (76 per cent). That means 130 people in Hamilton are known to have COVID-19 right now.

Twenty per cent of people confirmed to have the virus have required hospitalization. Fifty-eight people are in hospital right now.

On Monday, there were 685 cases, of which 494 people had recovered and 57 were in hospital. There are also three institutional outbreaks: Desmond and Peggy Little Retirement Residences in Landsdale, Aberdeen Gardens Retirement Residence on Dundurn Street South, and Hamilton General Hospital's 8W COVID unit.

Province-wide, there are 446 new cases of COVID-19, and the legislature was poised to extend the state of emergency Tuesday. 

Some businesses and services around Hamilton have reopened with physical distancing measures in place. On Friday, the city will start reopening its escarpment stairs. Residents should still stay two metres away from each other on the stairs, the city says, and the railings aren't sanitized.

Brant

One more person has recovered from COVID-19 in Brant/Brantford. The area has seen 98 people recover, up from 97 on Monday. All told, the area still sits at 109 confirmed cases of COVID-19, although only seven are still active. One person is in hospital and four have died. 

Haldimand-Norfolk

The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit is reporting 382 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and 136 people have recovered, while 31 have died. Many of the people who currently have COVID-19 are from Scotlynn Group in Vittoria, where at least 164 migrant workers have tested positive.

Scotlynn is a major producer of sweet corn, watermelon, asparagus and pumpkins, and ships fruits and vegetables across North America.

Tuesday's total is a substantial increase from Monday, when only 338 people had tested positive for the virus.

Halton

Four more people are believed to have COVID-19 in Halton on Tuesday, or 723 people (649 confirmed, 74 probable), although 608 have recovered. Twenty-five have died, which means about 90 people are currently believed to have the virus. On Monday, only 591 people were listed as recovered.

In Burlington, 137 residents have had COVID-19 (122 confirmed, 15 probable), which is in line with Monday. Seven people have died and 118 have recovered, which means 12 people are suspected or confirmed to have the virus.

Niagara

The number of people confirmed to have COVID-19 in Niagara is the same as Monday.

Overall, 666 people are confirmed to have had COVID-19, although 561 have recovered. Fifty-nine have died. That means there are 46 people in Niagara known to have the virus right now.

There are three institutional outbreaks right now.