A weekend leap of positive coronavirus cases in Waterloo Region was a byproduct of extended testing, but Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang, the region’s acting medical officer of health, said those numbers only tell half the story.
The increase of 104 reported cases, from 399 to 503, between Friday and Monday, was expected due to extensive testing within priority groups, specifically long-term care homes and retirement homes, Wang said. And there’s more to come.
“We expect to continue to see significant increases in the number of confirmed cases in the coming days,” she noted.
Transmission of COVID-19 within long-term-care facilities and retirement homes has reached 266 cases, or 53 per cent of all transmissions in the region. Of the now 27 deaths in the region, 19 have come in long-term care homes.
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The other side of the coin, however, is community transmission “has really slowed down,” Wang said.
In fact, in 24 hours, community transmission cases have dropped to 120, or to 24 per cent of the total cases from 25 per cent.
Wang went on to say the curve will likely start to go up on confirmed cases, reflecting numbers in all prioritized groups — expanded to include vulnerable people and those who care for them, as well as essential workers — but people seem to be listening in the community and following recommendations to curb new cases of COVID-19.
“That’s really, I think, a function of the measures that we put in place, closure of businesses, physical distancing of people, people staying at home.”
However, long-term care homes continue to be ravaged by the virus.
Two more cases have been reported in 24 hours, both at Forest Heights Revera, one of 14 long-term care and retirement homes that have declared an outbreak. An outbreak, as defined by public health, is one or more resident or staff cases. Public health has now begun including staff members who may live outside the region in their staff count.
