WELLINGTON COUNTY – Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) is reporting 50 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend (Aug. 27 to 29).
The region’s active case count now sits at 104, the highest it has been since reaching 106 on June 11. There were 57 active cases in the region one week ago and just 21 on Aug. 3.
The region’s case rate per 100,000 population is on the rise – from 6.4 at the beginning of August to 31.1 as of Aug. 28.
On Aug. 1 less than one per cent of COVID-19 tests were returning positive for the virus, but that rate has is now trending upward, increasing to 3.2% as of Aug. 26.
The region’s effective reproduction number, used to measure how many additional cases spread or result from a single case, has remained above one since Aug. 22 and sits at 1.28 as of Aug. 28. A value of one or above means cases will increase; below one and spread will eventually cease.
There are four people in the region hospitalized due to COVID-19, with three in an ICU as of Aug. 26. Their vaccination status is not known.
According to provincial data, as of the morning of Aug. 30, there are 238 unvaccinated persons hospitalized with COVID-19 across the province, of which 89 are in an ICU.
Fully vaccinated individuals account for 38 hospitalizations across the province, with eight in an ICU.
Delta variant
As of Aug. 29, the Delta variant represents 53.49% of the 473 COVID-19 cases confirmed in the health region since the variant was first reported here on June 15.
On June 14, PHO began allowing all positive COVID-19 samples to be sent for whole genome sequencing, the only way to truly determine how many cases of Delta there are within local health units.
According to PHO data, Delta represented the vast majority (89.5%) of all 2,750 positive COVID-19 tests that had their DNA sequenced between July 11 and Aug. 7.
The proportion of cases returning positive for Delta increased by 2.3% from a week earlier, to 93.5% between Aug. 1 and 7.
From July 11 to Aug. 7, labs sequenced 64 positive cases originating from WDGPH, with 63 returning positive for Delta.
Localized data from WDGPH shows Delta representing an estimated 71.4% of cases in Wellington County between Aug. 22 and 28. Region-wide, that estimate is 57.7%.
Local trends
Wellington County had 14 newly confirmed cases reported over the weekend, with 18 total active cases in the county as of Aug. 30 – up from seven last week.
Active cases in both Guelph and Dufferin County are sitting at 44 and 29, respectively.
The death toll attributed to COVID-19 across the region remains unchanged since last week’s report: 126 total deaths, including 37 in Wellington County.
Municipality-specific active COVID-19 case counts as of Aug. 30, 2021. (WDGPH image)
Vaccinations
Since Aug. 24, another 2,367 residents have become fully vaccinated with two doses in the WDGPH region, bringing the total as of Aug. 30 to 211,719 or 78.5% of the population aged 12 or older. That’s an increase of 1.13% from last week.
There are 14,990 residents who have received one dose as of Aug. 30.
According to WDGPH data, between June 20 and Aug. 23, the number of cases in unvaccinated persons was 5.2 times greater than in those fully vaccinated.
In Wellington County 72.4% of eligible residents are two-dose vaccinated as of Aug. 30, behind Dufferin County (74.4%) and significantly behind Guelph (83.9%).
Across the region, there are an estimated 9,863 high school students who are vaccinated with two doses; 1,011 with only a single dose; and 2,979 students who have not yet received a single dose.
At least 433,201 COVID-19 doses have been administered in the region as of Aug. 30.
Vaccination rates for local high schools as of Aug. 30, 2021. (WDGPH image)
Outbreaks
Outbreaks have been declared at one retail-type and one venue/religious setting in the WDGPH region and active outbreaks are also declared at two childcare facilities in Guelph: The Learning Tree Academy (five cases) and Kensington YMCA (one case).
