Waterloo Region’s health department reported three new cases of the coronavirus on Friday morning.
There have now been 1,228 cases since the end of February.
1,037 cases are now considered resolved, meaning there are 76 active cases, which is ten fewer than Thursday.
115 local deaths have been linked to the virus, but no additional deaths have been reported since June 3.
Meantime, two new outbreaks have been declared at long-term care and retirement homes.
Sunnyside Home long-term care is dealing with its third, as a resident has tested positive – Parkwood Mennonite retirement home is also dealing with a case in a resident.
The outbreak at Forest Heights Revera long-term care also remains active (has been in place since April 1).
An outbreak at an unnamed retail workplace has also been declared over, meaning there are no active workplace outbreaks.
As well, there was a huge spike in testing, as over 2,200 new ones have been completed, putting the region’s total at over 25,000.
Regional officials are still not making masks mandatory, but do recommend residents wear them or a face covering in all indoor settings and on public transit.
They launched a social media campaign on Friday to reinforce the importance of wearing a mask when physical distancing is a challenge.
“We want to change the social norms in our community, so this becomes the new normal … Launching the social media campaign is one aspect of that … helping people understand and be aware of this, and generating a dialogue in our community, so that it does become the new norm.” Dr. Julie Emili, the region’s acting associate medical officer, told a news conference on Friday.
Protect each other. Wear a mask. When you are indoors or taking transit, wearing a mask helps protect those around you. We encourage you to share your face mask selfie or ‘maskie’. Tag us and use #FaceMaskFriday to show your support! pic.twitter.com/g3WLncVNbI
— Region of Waterloo Public Health (@ROWPublicHealth) June 19, 2020
Here’s the provincial breakdown of COVID-19 numbers for Friday:
- 33,095 total cases (178 new)
- 28,250 resolved
- 2,564 deaths (11 new)
