Region of Waterloo Public Health reported 39 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday as public health officials as the province announced it would move into the red restriction tier.
The region is not the only one to have its restrictions escalated. Toronto and Peel will be moving into lockdown, a measure that comes with even more restrictions than the red zone.
Friday’s update brings the total number of cases in the region to 2,911, with more than 328—over 10 per cent—reported in the last week alone.
The total includes 2,456 resolved cases and 122 deaths, which leaves 333 active cases. Of those, 22 people are in hospital.
St. Mary’s General Hospital President Lee Fairclough spoke during the media briefing on Friday, warning that some services could be impacted as the number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations go up.
“Our goal as a health system continues to be to maintain services as much as possible, however this is and certainly will be further tested with further rise in cases,” she said.
Fairclough said that last weekend, between Friday and Sunday, her hospital saw 11 admissions for COVID-19.
In his update on Friday afternoon, Premier Doug Ford said that hospital admissions had risen 22 per cent in the last two weeks, while ICU admissions had jumped by almost 50 per cent.
The number of outbreaks in Waterloo Region remained steady on Friday as two were declared and two ended. Public health officials reported new outbreaks in the “trades and related services” category and at a food and beverage service.
