Waterloo Region deems active COVID-19 cases resolved after 14 days; 136 in hospital

A man wears a face mask as he looks at a sign illustrating COVID-19 preventative measures in Montreal, April 24, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes

WATERLOO — As of Monday, the Region of Waterloo is considering all active COVID-19 cases resolved 14 days after being confirmed, unless the case is currently hospitalized.

Regional spokesperson Sharon Ord told CTV News the adjustment in data entry was made due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases and the change aligns with Public Health Ontario’s definition for active and resolved cases. As a result, Tuesday’s dashboard update currently shows 4,093 active infections, fewer than half of the 8,506 active cases reported the day before.

For the first time this year, there is no reported increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations. There are currently 136 people in hospital and 17 in an intensive care unit, the same as Monday’s update.

Officials reported 325 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, with 204 coming in the past 24 hours.

In total, the Region of Waterloo has logged 35,431 cases since the pandemic began, including 26,042 resolved infections and 324 deaths.

There were two new active outbreaks confirmed on Tuesday, one in a congregate setting and the other in Grand River Hospital. The region’s total currently sits at 76 active outbreaks.

Of the latest infections, five were identified as the Omicron variant.

The region’s variant of concern breakdown is as follows:

Health partners have administered 726,177 COVID-19 tests in Waterloo Region.

The region’s seven-day average positivity rate currently sits at 24.3 per cent, down from 28.6 per cent at this time last week.

A total of 1,192,039 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been given across the region since the start of the pandemic, including 248,767 third dose boosters.

Of eligible residents aged five and older, 81.63 per cent are fully vaccinated and 87.46 per cent have gotten one dose.

Officials report that 77.30 per cent of the region’s entire population is fully vaccinated, while 82.77 per cent has received one shot.

Ontario reported 296 new COVID-19 hospitalizations on Tuesday, including two new patients in intensive care. In total, there are 4,183 in hospital and 580 in an ICU.

Of the people currently in hospital with COVID-19, 53.5 per cent were admitted to be treated for a COVID-19-related illness and the rest tested positive after being admitted for another reason.

The province has logged 963,693 total COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began, including 861,554 resolved infections and 10,666 deaths.

With files from CTV Toronto