90% of people need to be vaccinated as COVID-19 case rates expected to rise: Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang

COVID-19 case rates "will likely rise again" in Waterloo region as people resume regular activities and stop taking precautions, medical officer of health Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang warns.

Case rates have gone up over the past few days, from single digits on Monday to 28 on Friday. As well, Wang has said previously that case rates tend to rise after every long weekend.

But Wang says public health is also seeing the virus spread through people who are unvaccinated and who do not take COVID-19 seriously. She says people who do not take precautions can get the virus and then one case quickly becomes 10 as they spread it to other close contacts. It's a trend public health has seen in following up with new cases.

Wang says the goal now should be to get 90 per cent of people in Waterloo region vaccinated to protect those who cannot get the vaccine, including children aged 11 and under.

"Every day that someone delays their vaccination is a day lost against a fourth wave," Wang said Friday during a weekly COVID-19 media briefing.

"We need to aim for the highest first and second dose coverage rates possible," she added, noting previous targets of 75 per cent were created when the alpha variant, also known as the B117 variant first detected in the U.K., was the dominant strain. 

Now, the delta variant, also known as B1617 first detected in India, is the main variant and it's far more transmissible, she said.

"Now that delta is here, we need to aim higher," Wang said.

28 new cases

Region of Waterloo Public Health reported 28 new cases of COVID-19. There were no new deaths reported.

There were 133 active cases in the region.

There were 15 people in the region's three hospitals who were infectious with COVID-19, a rise of two from Thursday. As well, there were 11 people in the intensive care unit, although that number includes both cases that are infectious and cases that are resolved where people require ongoing specialized care.

Outbreak at summer camp

Wang addressed an outbreak at the Adventure4Change day camp in Waterloo that involved multiple cohorts. The region's dashboard reported seven cases related to that outbreak on Friday.

Wang said the camp has voluntarily closed and is working with public health officials.

She added there were a number of high-risk contacts between people outside of the camp, as well.

"We are encouraging anyone with symptoms or who has attended the camp to seek testing. Through this testing, we expect more cases to be identified," Wang said.

There were a total of six active outbreaks:

• Workplaces: Three.
• Hospitals: Two.
• Child care/summer camp: One.
• Congregate Setting: One.