COVID-19 outbreak linked to Hamilton nightclub hits 45 cases

A COVID-19 outbreak at a Hamilton nightclub has grown to 45 cases, and public health officials say interviews with people who contracted the virus there revealed some patrons weren't wearing masks or physically distancing.

The outbreak at Sizzle Nightclub in Hess Village was declared on August 19.

Public health officials issued a media release the next day calling for anyone who may have been there on August 7, 13 or 14 to get tested for COVID-19 and watch for symptoms after nine cases were linked to the club.

It has continued to grow since the first cases were discovered, hitting 45 on Thursday, according to data on public health's website. All of the infections are among customers, not staff, the data shows.

Public health said the circumstances of the outbreak continue to be investigated, noting it can be difficult to determine how exactly the virus passes from one person to another in a particular setting.

However, "through case interviews it appears a number of patrons were not masking, even when not eating/drinking, nor maintaining physical distancing, which likely contributed to transmission," wrote spokesperson James Berry in a statement to CBC.

Representatives of Sizzle did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A post on the bar's Instagram page Thursday afternoon said it was open, with limited capacity, Friday and Saturday night.

"Masks mandatory for entry and on dance floor," it read. "See you this weekend!"

Health officials are continuing to carry out contact tracing.

Asked whether or not the outbreak had prompted public health to consider a vaccination policy for restaurants and nightclubs, Berry said the province should be leading municipalities with such an approach. 

"City of Hamilton Public Health Services is exploring measures locally and regionally to increase vaccine rates and reduce the spread of COVID-19 and the delta variant to protect community members," he wrote.

"Though a provincial policy for proof-of-vaccine would be best for consistency within our communities similar to B.C. and Quebec, we will continue look at ways to protect Hamiltonians."

City sees 78 more cases

The outbreak at Sizzle is currently the largest in the city. Eleven others are ongoing, including 12 cases connected to Carol Anne's Place, a women's drop-in centre run by the YWCA and 10 at West Highland Summer Day Camp.

Seventy-eight new cases were reported in Hamilton on Thursday, increasing the total number the city has seen during the pandemic to 22,740.

Of those, 489 are active and 93.6 per cent resolved. The number of deaths remains unchanged at 404.

The seven-day average for new cases is 66.

Just under seven per cent of Hamilton's cases so far have been hospitalized.

Hamilton Health Sciences was caring for 36 people with COVID-19 on Thursday, eight of whom were in the ICU.

St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton has 18 patients with the virus and also has eight of them in the ICU.