Hamilton and Niagara report over 200 new COVID-19 cases this weekend

Hamilton and Niagara saw over 200 new cases of COVID-19 this weekend in each of their regions, both of which move categories in the province's colour-coded framework on Monday, meaning tougher restrictions. 

Niagara will move from the orange zone to red, and Hamilton will go into grey, which is lockdown. Brant County is also moving into the "red-control" category. 

Ninety-two new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Niagara on Sunday. It follows Saturday's increase, which went into the triple digits with a high of 126 new cases reported in one day. 

The region has a total of 3,039 cases, including 597 that are active and 2,346 that are resolved.

Ninety-six people have died.

Building-wide outbreak at Oakwood Park Lodge

Twenty-one outbreaks are ongoing, including one at Oakwood Park Lodge, which declared a building-wide COVID-19 outbreak on Dec. 19. Universal testing on Dec. 15 revealed a significant number of residents and staff had tested positive for the virus. 

The Ontario government's database says that 88 residents and 30 staff have tested positive for the virus. Six people have died, it says. 

"We're doing everything possible to organize care for Oakwood Park Lodge residents and make sure that families are kept updated about their loved ones," said Stephen Moran, an administrator at Oakwood Park Lodge in a statement. 

"We're also working with staff to deploy additional personal protective equipment and other resources needed to safely care for residents and resolve the outbreak."

Oakwood Park Lodge says it's consulting with public health agencies on heightening infection prevention and control practices. 

Millennium Trail Manor also declared a facility-wide outbreak on Friday. 

Niagara health says there are 18 active cases in the home — 12 residents and six staff members.

Two residents have died, though Niagara health says "this does not mean COVID-19 was the cause of death."

A worker at Zehrs in Niagara Falls has tested positive for the virus as of Sunday. They last worked in the store, which is 6940 Morrison Street, on Dec. 13. 

Hamilton heads into lockdown

There are 979 active cases in Hamilton, with the city seeing 98 new cases on Sunday and 134 new cases on Saturday. 

There have been 4,885 people infected with the virus since the start of the pandemic, of which 3,726 are resolved. 

There were eight more deaths reported over the weekend, bringing the total to 136.

In an interview with CBC News' Natasha Fatah, Fred Eisenberger acknowledged that the additional local measures implemented by the city's medical officer of health did not have the desired effect of reducing case numbers.

He called the move to a lockdown "unfortunate, but necessary."

"The increased numbers are very concerning and equally concerning because more people are dying, more people are getting the virus and spreading it through others," he said. "But the healthcare system is getting significantly challenged and all of our healthcare providers have written to the premier saying, more action needs to be taken."

He said he generally hears support, with people concerned about the virus spiralling out of control. If the city didn't have the restrictions in place, it would have been worse, he added. 

"I don't claim for a minute that there isn't going to be harm, but I think the harm is going to be even greater if we don't take action now," Eisenberger said of the lockdown's effect on businesses. 

Growing outbreaks

One more patient and one more staff member at the Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre have COVID-19, bringing the total number of people affected in the outbreak to 83. 

Six more staff at the Shalom Village Nursing home have also tested positive, brining its total to 100 people. 

One more staff member at Chartwell Willowgrove, another resident at The Village at Wentworth Heights, and another staff member at Heritage Green Nursing Home have tested positive for the virus in connection with their outbreaks. 

The outbreak at the Rygiel Supports for Community Living has been declared as over. 

The city says eight workers at Franco's NoFrills, located at 640 Queenston Road, have tested positive, and an outbreak has been declared. 

A worker at a Shoppers Drug Mart in the city also tested positive. They were last in the store, which is at 75 Centennial Parkway North, on Dec. 13. 

An employee at Fortinos, which is located at 1579 Main Street, also has the virus. They were last in the store on Dec. 15. 

Brant

Eleven new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Brant and Brantford on Sunday.

The county moves into the red category at 12:01 a.m. on Monday. 

It has seen 740 confirmed cases throughout the pandemic, including 103 that are active and 632 that are resolved.

Two people with the virus are currently hospitalized and five have died.

Telfer Place Retirement Home in Paris, Ont. is suffering a third outbreak. The Brant County Health Unit says one staff member has the virus. 

The outbreak at the Walmart on King George Road in Brantford has been declared as over. 

Halton

Eighty-seven more cases were tallied in Halton on Sunday, for a total of 5,013. 

Of those, 458 are active and 4,462 resolved.

Also on Sunday, Halton Healthcare was listed as part of a joint statement asking the provincial government to implement stronger restrictions in the regions. Halton is currently in the red zone. 

Six of the new cases were in Burlington.

Ninety-three people in the region have died.

There are 20 active outbreaks across the area.

Haldimand-Norfolk

Haldimand and Norfolk have added 22 more cases of COVID-19 since Friday to total 784 positive cases since the pandemic started. 

Sixty-two of those cases are active, while 684 are recovered.

Thirty-three deaths are considered COVID-related.