61 new cases of COVID-19 in Waterloo region Monday, people urged to keep vaccine appointments

There were 61 new cases of COVID-19 reported by Region of Waterloo Public Health on Monday.

As case numbers remain high in the community, public health officials are urging people not to cancel vaccine appointments. That comes after it was announced over the weekend that there's a delay in Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to Canada. The region said people should anticipate getting Moderna at regionally run clinics.

Waterloo region had 530 active cases on Monday.

There were no new deaths reported Monday. The number of deaths in the region sits at 260.

Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted that the province had 270 new cases of the virus. In her tweet, she reported Waterloo region had 44 cases behind Toronto's 47, meaning the region makes up 16 per cent of all cases in Ontario.

Elliott also said there were 42 cases in Peel region, 22 in York region, 12 in Ottawa and 12 in Niagara region.

The numbers reported by Region of Waterloo Public Health differ from the provincial numbers because they're taken at different times. The province reports numbers from the evening before while the region reports numbers as of 12 a.m. the same day.

Variants of concern

Public health officials have pointed to the highly transmissible delta variant for the reason behind the high cases in Waterloo region. The delta variant is also called B1617 and is the variant first detected in India.

As of Monday, the region reported 115 confirmed delta cases in the community, although the region's medical officer of health, Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, has said there is believed to be wide circulation of the variant in the community and it takes weeks to confirm through lab testing.

The region reported on Monday that there had been 3,565 cases confirmed to have a variant or mutation. Of those:

• 3,069 were the alpha variant, or B117, first detected in the U.K.
• 115 were the delta variant, or B1617, first detected in India.
• 61 were the P1 variant first detected in Brazil.
• 11 were the B1351 variant first detected in South Africa.
• 309 cases were confirmed to have a mutation, but require further testing to determine which one.

Hospitalizations remain high

There were 57 people in the region's hospitals, a rise of three from Sunday, with 22 people in the intensive care unit.

During a media briefing Monday, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer Dr. David Williams said there were 261 people with COVID-19 reported as being in hospitals, although he noted not all hospitals in the province have reported their COVID-19 numbers.

That means Waterloo region's hospitalizations make up 22 per cent of all reported cases in the province's hospitals.

Williams said across the province, hospitalizations and ICU admissions have approved in recent weeks. He noted some patients are staying longer in the ICU because they tend to be younger and "they have much better endurance during this time of, in a way, fighting for their lives in the intensive care units."

Pfizer delayed, expect Moderna

As case numbers spike, the region is anticipating receiving additional help this week from the province, including more doses of COVID-19 vaccine and two mobile vaccination teams who will set up in areas of the community for two weeks.

The region announced over the weekend that people attending vaccination clinics should expect to receive the Moderna vaccine as there's been a delay in the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

Wang asked people who have an appointment booked to get a first or second dose of the vaccine in the coming days to "please keep it."

"These mRNA vaccines are from different manufacturers but they are essentially identical twins," Wang said in a release. "We want everyone to be protected from COVID-19 as soon as possible and we need to halt the spread of the delta variant in Waterloo region."

The remaining Pfizer doses will be given to children between the ages of 12 and 17.

11 active outbreaks

The region reported 11 active outbreaks.

There were eight workplace outbreaks:

• Two at retail stores: One with four cases, one with two cases.
• Two at trades and related services workplaces: One with three cases, one with two cases.
• One in an office with eight cases
• One at a food and beverage service business with four cases.
• One at an automobile sales and service business with two cases.
• One at a chiropody office with two cases.

The other outbreaks were:

• One at a congregate setting for people who are homeless. There were 103 cases over multiple locations.
• One at The Village At Winston Park long-term care home in Kitchener with nine cases: five in residents, four in staff. As well, one person's death is linked to this outbreak.
• One at a home childcare with three cases.