Hamilton bar charged for violating COVID-19 regulations as city reports 87 new cases

A Hamilton bar, Cause and Effect, has been charged with four counts of violating COVID-19 regulations under the Reopening Ontario Act, including masking violations and failing to record customers' contact information.

That comes as Hamilton Public Health Services reported 87 new cases of COVID-19 and one additional death on Wednesday.

During a city council meeting, Paul Johnson, director of the city's emergency operations centre, said he was disappointed to review the charges laid over the weekend. 

Johnson said the public need look no further than the example of Oliver's Steakhouse in Oakville to understand why adhering to public health guidelines and taking down contact information is important.

More than 200 people were recently potentially exposed to COVID-19 variants at Oliver's, according to a release from Halton Public Health.

"There is a sense that somehow everything's just peeling back ... and the answer to that is no," Johnson said. "There's only been one change, and that is around indoor dining capacity."

There are now 746 active cases in the city. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been a total of 12,099 confirmed infections. 

Around 90 percent of those cases have been resolved. 

HPHS has identified two new outbreaks — one at St. Peter's Hospital and another at Gino's Pizza in Waterdown. That brings the total number of outbreaks in the region to 33.

Outbreaks at HHS Hamilton General Hospital Unit 5 West, St. Lawrence Catholic Elementary School, and Community Church Millgrove/Waterdown were declared over Tuesday.

There have been 74,709 vaccine doses administered in Hamilton so far. That's just over 11 percent of the total eligible population in the region.

Brant

Brant County Health Unit reported seven new cases of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours. The death total stands at 13.

The county currently has a total of 54 active cases. Two of those people are being cared for in hospitals.

There have been a total of 1,702 cases in Brant, with 1,635 of those being considered resolved.

Haldimand-Norfolk

Haldimand and Norfolk Counties reported two new cases in the past day, bringing the total of active cases in the region to 68.

There have been a total of 1,567 recorded cases of COVID-19 in the area, and 39 people have died since the start of the pandemic.

Health authorities in Haldimand-Norfolk have administered roughly 70 percent of all vaccine doses they've so far received. There are a total of 16,557 residents who have received a vaccine dose.

Halton

Halton Public Health reported 44 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. The death toll stands at 200.

The region currently has 313 active cases.

As of Friday, the region has administered a total of 51,954 vaccine doses to residents.

Niagara

There are 53 new cases of the coronavirus in Niagara Region as of Wednesday, bringing the total of active cases to 380.

Niagara has seen a total of 9,305 cases since the start of the pandemic and 8,550 of those have been declared resolved.

The region declared one new outbreak Wednesday. The tally of active outbreaks stands at 18.

Just over 800 people were received a vaccine dose in the last 24 hours. 18,182 Niagara residents have so far received a dose.

Six Nations

Six Nations of the Grand River currently has 11 active cases of COVID-19. One person is in hospital and 58 residents are self-isolating.

The region has seen a total of 435 cases in all and has recorded eight deaths.

The number of partially vaccinated residents, having so far received one jab, stands at 1,133. There are 128 people who have been fully vaccinated, or received two doses.