Waterloo region COVID-19 infections soar after Christmas, 517 new reported Wednesday

Waterloo region public health reported 517 new infectionsWednesdaysetting a new record by far in the community.

The previous record was set just the day before, with 387 cases. Public health did not release day-by-day numbers for Dec. 25, 26 and 27 but the total for the three days was 917 cases.

The rolling seven-day average, which smooths out single-day spikes in cases, is now 379 cases per day.

It was also a record-setting day provincially. Ontario reported a new pandemic-high of 10,436 cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, slightly topping the previous record set on Christmas Day.

Region's active cases

The public health unit reported 274 new active cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of active cases in Waterloo region to2,496. There were no new deaths reported Wednesday and the number of people in hospital rose by one, to 24.

The number of outbreaks decreased by one, according to public health.

The others include:

• One at a congregate setting, with three cases.
• One at Grand River Hospital, Freeport campus. The number of cases wasn't reported.
• One at Trinity Village Long-Term Care Home, with four cases.
• One at Chartwell Elora Long-Term Care Home, with four cases.
• One at Lanark Heights Long-Term Care Home, with 21 cases (9 in staff).
• 17 at schools across Waterloo region, with a combined 64 cases.

Several school outbreaks were discovered over the holidays but not reported until after the holiday weekend. Some of those outbreaks weredeclared over on Wednesday.

The region has also shifted how it reports workplace outbreaks. Since Dec. 22, only high-priority, high riskworkplace outbreaks are reported in the dailydata dashboard provided by public health.

Third-dose vaccine clinic next week

A week-long vaccine clinic will be offered from Jan. 2 through to Jan. 8, for people to get their third doses. The clinic will be staffed by the Red Cross, said a news release from Waterloo Region Public Health.

Regional Chair Karen Redman said the 1,400 appointments "would not be possible" without the support of the Red Cross, as well as the provincial government.

In an update on Dec. 17, the region's vaccine services director said to meet the need posed by the Omicron variant, public health will need to vaccinate 20,000 people a day.

"The most we've ever done is 10,000 a day once in July," Vickie Murray said at the briefing. "It feels like an almost impossible task."

Currently 120,000 people in the region have secured their third dose.

The pop-up clinic will be held at 99 Regina St. S. in Waterloo. Appointments are required.