Hamilton offers more vaccine appointments for BIPOC residents, sees 243 new cases over weekend

People of colour who live in one of five Hamilton hot spots can now book COVID-19 vaccination appointments at the FirstOntario Centre.

The shots are available for people 18 and older who live in postal code zones L9C, L8W, L8L, L8N and L9K, from Friday to Sunday during the coming week.

The vaccinations are by appointment only and residents looking to get their shot are asked to call the Public Health Services COVID-19 Hotline at 905-974-9848, option 7. Anyone who arrives at the clinic will also be expected to have proof that they live in a hot spot, according to the city.

Public health officials released their plan to prioritize people of colour in its COVID-19 vaccine rollout on Friday, with a pop-up clinic at Restoration House, but those appointments were booked up within hours.

Nearly half of COVID-19 cases in Hamilton (47 per cent) identify as a member of a racialized community, while people of colour make up only 19 per cent of the population, according to a media release from the city on Friday.

One hundred new cases of the virus were reported in Hamilton on Sunday, along with two more deaths. That follows 143 more cases and another death, seen on Saturday.

The city has recorded 16,356 cases over the course of the pandemic.

Of those, 1,848 are active, nearly 85 per cent are resolved and 353 people who had COVID-19 have died.

Hamilton's seven-day average for new cases is 165. Nearly one in 10 tests for the virus (9.5 per cent) have come back positive.

National Steel Car shuts down

There are 41 active outbreaks in the city, including at National Steel Car where 21 staff members have tested positive and the presence of the B117 variant, which was first detected in the U.K., has been confirmed.

"We continue to monitor the local situation in Hamilton as it relates to COVID-19 and the presence of variants within the community," stated Dr. Elizabeth Richardson, the city's medical officer of health, in a media release on Friday.

"Locally, the COVID-19 situation is concerning with increased transmission, reduced hospital capacity and a rise in ICU admissions."

The company has voluntarily shut down for two weeks, the city, noting there were cases in "multiple areas of the facility, which is indicative of a facility-wide outbreak."

Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) was caring for 97 patients with COVID-19 as of Friday and St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton reported 41. HHS said it was at 90 per cent of its ICU capacity, including 40 patients infected with the virus.

Brant County

Brantford and Brant County recorded 34 new cases within the past 24 hours.

The area has confirmed 2,586 cases, of which 287 are active and 2,282 are considered resolved.

Fourteen people with the virus are currently hospitalized and 17 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died.

Brant County has administered a total of 46,831 vaccinations.

Haldimand-Norfolk

There are 272 active cases of COVID-19 in Haldimand-Norfolk as of Sunday.

The counties have reported 2,172 cases, including 1,854 that are resolved.

Forty-one deaths are considered COVID-related.

Haldimand-Norfolk has administered 36,066 doses of vaccine so far.

Six Nations

The most-recent update from Six Nations of the Grand River shows 28 active cases as of Friday.

The reserve has seen 476 cases so far, of which 438 are resolved. Ten people who had the virus have died.

There were seven new positive cases, one person in hospital and 157 people in self-isolation as of Friday.

Data shared by Six Nations showed 46 per cent of active cases screened positive for a variant of concern.

Six Nations has administered 2,211 doses of vaccine.

Niagara

The Niagara Region tallied 33 new cases Sunday, for a total of 13,059 so far during the pandemic.

Of those, 2,455 are active and 10,217 are resolved, while 387 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died.

The region has administered 159,929 doses of vaccine.

Halton

Halton reported 120 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, for a total of 14,372 cases (both confirmed and probable).

The region has recorded 13,288 resolved cases, 875 that are active, and 209 deaths.

As of Friday, Halton had administered 164,154 COVID-19 vaccine shots.