Hamilton reported 153 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday and has 1,139 active cases as of Dec. 24.
The city reported one new outbreak on Thursday involving a single staff case at the Villa Italia retirement residence on Upper Paradise Road.
Public health says there are 34 active outbreaks in Hamilton as of Dec. 24, including:
Five long-term care homes (LTCH) — Baywoods Place, Chartwell Willowgrove, Idlewyld Manor, The Meadows, and The Village at Wentworth Heights LTCH
Four nursing homes – Dundurn Place Care Centre, Heritage Green Nursing Home, Parkview Nursing Centre, and Shalom Village
Eight retirement homes — Alexander Place, Amica Dundas, Cathmar Manor, Grace Villa, Highgate Residence of Ancaster, St. Joseph’s Villa (south tower) Villa Italia, and the Village at Wentworth Heights
Three workplaces — Franco’s No Frills, Sterling Honda and Taco Bell
Six schools — Dr. J. E. Davey Elementary, Eastdale in Stoney Creek, Ecole Secondaire Academie Catholique Mere Teresa, Immaculate Heart of Mary Elementary, R. A. Riddell, and Redeemer University.
There are also outbreaks at eight other locations, including HWDSB office, Lynwood Charlton Centre, St. Peter’s Hospital and five units of the Juravinski Hospital.
Outbreaks at the Frank Panabaker North School, and the Ridgeview LTCH were declared over on Wednesday, according to public health.
There have been 978 new cases in the last 10 days with 3.9 per cent of all tests coming back positive in the last seven days.
The city has seen 5,311 total cases during the pandemic. There are now 57 people in hospital receiving treatment for COVID-19.
The city reported no deaths connected to the coronavirus on Thursday. The city has had 147 deaths since the pandemic began.
Halton Region reports 80 new COVID-19 cases, 3 deaths
Halton Region reported 80 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday plus three deaths connected to two retirement homes and a hospital.
The region has 477 active cases as of Dec. 24, with Burlington accounting for 97 cases, Milton with 168, and Oakville with 147.
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Halton now has 100 deaths tied to COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
The three latest deaths are tied to three outbreaks at the Delmanor Glen Abbey retirement home in Oakville, Martindale Gardens in Milton, and the Milton District Hospital.
3:22 Health Canada approves Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine
Halton has 41 outbreaks, including 20 institutional outbreaks at:
9 long-term care homes (Allendale in Milton; Bennett Health Care Centre in Georgetown; Billings Court Manor in Burlington; Burloak in Burlington; Chartwell Waterford in Oakville; Creek Way Village in Burlington; Extendicare Halton Hills in Georgetown; Maple Villa Long Term Care Centre in Burlington, and Wyndham Manor in Oakville)
10 retirement homes (Amica Georgetown; Chartwell Christopher Terrace in Burington; Chartwell Lakeshore in Burlington; Delmanor Glen Abbey in Oakville; The Kensington in Oakville, Martindale Gardens in Milton; Pearl and Pine in Burlington; Revera Birkdale Place in Milton; Village of Tansley Woods in Burlington; and Revera The Williamsburg in Burlington)
The region’s significant outbreaks include Wyndom Manor LTCH, which has 141 coronavirus cases with 14 deaths since the outbreak began on Oct. 21.
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The outbreak at Allendale involves 86 COVID-19 cases with 18 deaths since starting on Nov. 13.
Chartwell Waterford in Oakville has 72 cases and 11 deaths since the outbreak began on Oct.13.
Extendicare Halton Hills reported 15 news COVID-91 case on Thursday. The LTCH has counted three deaths since its outbreak started Dec. 4.
The region has three active school outbreaks involving a total of nine cases with four at Christ the King Catholic Secondary in Georgetown, three cases at Forest Trail Elementary in Oakville and two cases at St. Nicholas Catholic Elementary in Oakville.
Public health has recorded 5,304 total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began.
Overall, Niagara has had 3,291 total positive cases and 99 deaths during the coronavirus health crisis.
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The region has 18 active outbreaks with 11 of them institutional at:
3 retirement homes (Chapel Heights in Niagara Falls, Garden City Manor in St. Catharines and Lundy Manor in Niagara Falls)
5 long-term care homes (Bella Senior Care Residence in Niagara Falls; Extendicare Ltd. in St. Catharines; Millennium Trail Manor in Niagara Falls; and Oakwood Park Lodge in Niagara Falls.)
4 at two Niagara Health hospitals (Greater Niagara Falls General (x3) and Welland Country General).
Niagara Health has taken over management at the Oakwood Park Lodge LTCH after eight residents who tested positive for COVID-19 passed away. The home also has 91 staff cases. The outbreak managers are expected to assess the health of current residents and stabilize staffing at the 153-bed home owned by Conmed Health Care Group.
The second outbreak at Millennium Trail Manor has seen 35 total cases among 24 residents and 11 staff since being declared on Dec. 8. There have been four covid-19 related deaths.
The region’s daily rolling average number of cases in the past seven days is 9.29.
Haldimand-Norfolk is in the orange-restrict level of the province’s COVID-19 response framework as of Thursday.
Brant County reports 12 new COVID-19 cases
Brant County Health Unit (BCHU) reported 12 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday.
The region has now had 784 confirmed cases since the pandemic began.
There are 112 active cases as of Dec. 24 with six people receiving hospital care.
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The region has seven institutional outbreaks including six in Brantford at the John Noble LTCH, Fox Ridge LTCH, Lions McInnes House, St. Joseph’s Lifecare Centre, St. John’s College and W. Ross Macdonald School plus one other at Telfer Place Retirement home in Paris.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans can once again order COVID-19 tests, without being charged, sent straight to their homes.
The U.S. government reopened the program on Thursday, allowing any household to order up to four at-home COVID nasal swab kits through the website, covidtests.gov. The tests will begin shipping, via the United States Postal Service, as soon as next week.
The website has been reopened on the heels of a summer COVID-19 virus wave and heading into the fall and winter respiratory virus season, with health officials urging Americans to get an updated COVID-19 booster and their yearly flu shot.
“Before you visit with your family and friends this holiday season, take a quick test and help keep them safe from COVID-19,” U.S. Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Dawn O’Connell said in a statement.
U.S. regulators approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine that is designed to combat the recent virus strains and, they hope, forthcoming winter ones, too. Vaccine uptake is waning, however. Most Americans have some immunity from prior infections or vaccinations, but under a quarter of U.S. adults took last fall’s COVID-19 shot.
Using the swab, people can detect current virus strains ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus season and the holidays. Over-the-counter COVID-19 at-home tests typically cost around $11, as of last year. Insurers are no longer required to cover the cost of the tests.
Before using any existing at-home COVID-19 tests, you should check the expiration date. Many of the tests have been given an extended expiration from the date listed on the box. You can check on the Food and Drug Administration’s website to see if that’s the case for any of your remaining tests at home.
Since COVID-19 first began its spread in 2020, U.S. taxpayers have poured billions of dollars into developing and purchasing COVID-19 tests as well as vaccines. The Biden administration has given out 1.8 billion COVID-19 tests, including half distributed to households by mail. It’s unclear how many tests the government still has on hand.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans can once again order free COVID-19 tests sent straight to their homes.
The U.S. government reopened the program on Thursday, allowing any household to order up to four at-home COVID nasal swab kits through the website, covidtests.gov. The tests will begin shipping, via the United States Postal Service, as soon as next week.
The website has been reopened on the heels of a summer COVID-19 virus wave and heading into the fall and winter respiratory virus season, with health officials urging Americans to get an updated COVID-19 booster and their yearly flu shot.
U.S. regulators approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine that is designed to combat the recent virus strains and, they hope, forthcoming winter ones, too. Vaccine uptake is waning, however. Most Americans have some immunity from prior infections or vaccinations, but under a quarter of U.S. adults took last fall’s COVID-19 shot.
Using the swab, people can detect current virus strains ahead of the fall and winter respiratory virus season and the holidays. Over-the-counter COVID-19 at-home tests typically cost around $11, as of last year. Insurers are no longer required to cover the cost of the tests.
Since COVID-19 first began its spread in 2020, U.S. taxpayers have poured billions of dollars into developing and purchasing COVID-19 tests as well as vaccines. The Biden administration has given out 1.8 billion COVID-19 tests, including half distributed to households by mail. It’s unclear how many tests the government still has on hand.
TORONTO – A coalition of disability rights groups says it is launching a Charter challenge against a part of Canada’s law on medical assistance in dying.
The group, which also includes two individual plaintiffs, argues that what’s known as track two of the MAID law has resulted in premature deaths.
Under the law, patients whose natural deaths are not reasonably foreseeable but whose condition leads to intolerable suffering can apply for a track-two assisted death.
The coalition says track two of the MAID law has had a direct effect on the lives of people with disabilities and argues medically assisted death should only be available to those whose natural death is reasonably foreseeable.
The executive vice-president of Inclusion Canada – which is part of the coalition – says there has been an alarming trend where people with disabilities are seeking assisted death due to social deprivation, poverty and a lack of essential supports.
Krista Carr says those individuals should instead be supported in order to live better lives.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.
