Hamilton reports 89 new COVID-19 cases as city sees uptick in infections
City of Hamilton currently has seven active outbreaks but no new deaths
Hamilton saw 89 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend, says Hamilton's medical officer of health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson.
That puts the number of active cases in Hamilton at 178, with seven active outbreaks and a seven-day daily average of 22 cases. There were no new deaths or outbreaks on Monday.
"Our local activity now mirrors that scene in early to mid-October of 2020," she said at a press conference on Monday, adding that the cases are rising in particular in the 59-and-under age group where the vaccination rates are lower.
The end of the summer and the return to inside work will make it even more important to boost vaccination rates, Richardson added.
"We definitely have a clock ticking here with our vaccine coverage and wanting people to get vaccinated with a first and second dose as soon as possible," she said.
She said that Hamilton Public Health Services is currently seeing a "slow level of rise" but her team will be watching for the pattern of cases closely. While hospitalizations and deaths remain low, they often lag behind the number of cases, she said.
"The Delta variant changed things," she said, adding that the variant requires two full doses of the vaccine to be fully protected.
New cases mostly unvaccinated people
About 77.2 per cent of Hamilton residents have received their first dose and 67.8 per cent are fully vaccinated.
The vast majority of new cases are with people who are not vaccinated, according to Richardson. She said the city would provide more numbers at a later date.
Hamilton lags behind other cities in vaccination of young people, with 68.5 per cent of people between 18-25 having received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, compared to 96.3 per cent in Toronto.
Richard says part of the reason is because larger cities had "broad, wide" access to vaccines earlier than Hamilton did.
"They've had more vaccines for longer than we had," she said. "They had a significant amount of time before we had 18+ availability."
The press conference was the last for Paul Johnson, the head of Hamilton's pandemic response centre, who leaves his role Monday for a new one as deputy city manager, community and social services at the City of Toronto.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger, Johnson and Dr. Richardson have streamed regular COVID-19 updates since the pandemic began in March 2020.