COVID-19 hospitalizations, outbreaks rise again in Waterloo region

COVID-19 hospitalizations and outbreaks have risen in Waterloo region this week as some experts warn a sixth wave of the virus could be on its way.

There were 31 people with the virus in Waterloo region's three hospitals as of Thursday. That was up from 27 on Monday and up from 12 a week earlier.

It's a trend being seen across the province. Ontario reported 807 people hospitalized with COVID-19 on Thursday. The number of hospitalizations was up from 778 on Wednesday and 661 one week ago.

For now, the increase is manageable in local hospitals, St. Mary's General Hospital president Lee Fairclough said. But they are seeing staff members impacted by this latest surge in cases.

"Many of them have household contacts and so that has also doubled to tripled the number of staff that are either developing COVID or being impacted by COVID again," Fairclough said.

"We've been working very hard, of course, to really try to resume as much service as we can. And in fact, many of the hospitals now are up over 78 per cent in terms of the surgical resumption," Fairclough said. "We're not in the position where we're cancelling services again yet, but we're we're monitoring it very closely."

As of Thursday, there were four people in Waterloo region's intensive care units either with COVID-19 or recovering from it.

There were 14 active outbreaks in the region, double the number since Monday. Of those, six were in long-term care and retirement homes.

The region also saw new COVID-19 cases top 100 on Wednesday and Thursday, and that number is considered to be very low because not everyone with symptoms is eligible to be tested for the virus.

Fairclough said she hopes people will take precautions to curb spread.

"We know what works here," she said, saying people should wear masks, get their booster dose of the vaccine if needed and keep a physical distance from people.

"If we can try to curtail the wave a little bit, it's certainly going to help."

Sixth wave?

Dr. Peter Jüni, the outgoing head of the COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, says an increase in cases is expected after the province eased public health measures, such as mask mandates and gathering limits.

"We are in the middle of it, however we call it. It's either the resurgence expected after the reopening of the last wave or you can call it the sixth wave," Jüni told CBC News Wednesday morning.

Dr. Nicola Mercer, CEO and medical officer of health for Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, said people should expect to see the infection come in waves over the coming weeks and months.

"What we know is that public health measures and vaccines do work. The most import thing you can do to protect yourself and those you are caring for is to ensure your vaccines are up to date," she said.

She noted for people who do get COVID-19, there are treatments but they must be given within five days of symptoms.

She also said it's important people "remain mask friendly."

"Masks can protect you while allowing you to see the people and enjoy the spaces that matter most to you," she said.

More chance to bump into virus

As indicators show COVID-19 infections are on the rise again, it means people's chances of "bumping into the virus is now increasing every single day," Dr. Peter Lin, medical columnist for CBC Radio, told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition.

"If you were a vulnerable person — a kid without vaccine, elderly, immuno-compromised — you need to increase your level of protection," he said. 

"Even though the mandates are being removed — it sounds like freedom — you're actually being more surrounded by virus so you need to increase your protection."

He said people should think of COVID-19 like a weather forecast.

"We say, 'Hey, sewage virus is high today. Health care workers sickness is high. Teachers are reporting they're sick. That's high. So the forecast is: high risk of exposure to COVID.' So therefore, take precautions. Mask and distance. It's no different than when we talk about freezing rain tonight," he said.

"Notice this is not [about] your comfort level. I didn't say, are you comfortable with virus exposure?" Lin added.

Various indicators can tell people what their exposure risk is to COVID-19 and if they know that, they can take precautions to protect themselves and the people around them, he said.

Vaccination update

The region's vaccination dashboard was updated Thursday. It noted:

• 84.2 per cent of all residents in the region have one dose of the vaccine. That's an increase from 84.1 per cent from the previous update on March 24.
• 81.2 per cent of all residents have two doses. That is up from 81.1 per cent last week.
• 47.9 per cent of all residents have the third or booster dose. That's up from 47.7 per cent last week.